PFAS refers to a group of over 10,000 chemicals which have an extremely strong bond, making them very durable. This durability means they’re also know as ‘forever chemicals’ as they bioaccumulate in the environment and inside our bodies. PFAS are a huge concern to human health and the environment and are widely used in the products we use in our day to day lives.
PFAS are invisible, odourless and tasteless, making them particularly worrying as they’re impossible to detect without testing equipment.
Children are exposed to PFAS chemicals from everyday items such as swimwear, outerwear, sportswear, cookware and more. Sadly, even babies are exposed to PFAS as early as in the womb, as we know that these chemicals pass through the placenta, with studies showing negative effects on the baby’s development linked to higher levels of PFAS, including fetal growth restrictions.
PFAS are linked to a number of serious health concerns, including hormonal imbalance, infertility, immune suppression, developmental delays in children and cancer.
Due to their worrying health effects, and their ability to bioaccumulate in our bodies, several groups of PFAS have now been restricted for use. However, many of the 10,000 of these chemicals are still widely used in everyday items and unfortunately often added to children’s products.
How are children exposed to PFAS
- Commonly used to create waterproof barriers on coats and outdoor wear.
- Often added to synthetic fabrics to improve ‘performance’ qualities like water resistance or stain resistance.
- Used in non-stick cookware, most famously Teflon saucepans and bakeware.
- Used in food packaging, particularly cardboard packaging boxes and takeout mugs which have waterproof coating to stop the cardboard going soggy.
- Added to crop pesticides so they don’t wash off in the rain.
- Often used to treat carpets to make them stain resistant.
- Found in unfiltered tap water.
- Wild swimming in contaminated water.
How can we reduce our children’s exposure to PFAS
Avoid synthetic fabrics, especially those claiming additional ‘performance’ qualities, like water-repellent, wrinkle resistant, stain resistant etc.
Look for coats and outerwear that are specifically labeled as PFAS free. Some options include brands like Little Green Radicals, Passenger and Patagonia.
Make sure your swimwear is also PFAS free, as these chemicals are often added to improve water-repellent properties. Pure Earth Collection’s organic swimwear range for the whole family is proudly free from PFAS and other harmful chemicals, using a minimum of 98% GOTS certified organic cotton.
Chooses stainless steel or ceramic cookware, avoiding all non-stick coatings in the kitchen.
Where possible, buy organic food produce to minimise intake from pesticides and cook as much as you can from scratch in your own kitchens. Processed foods and takeouts contain higher levels of PFAS.
Check water quality apps like Surfers Against Sewage before swimming in rivers and oceans, to make sure there aren’t chemical plants nearby dumping PFAS effluent into our waterways.
Install an under sink water filter, or use reverse osmosis. Hoover and dust your homes more regularly, and open windows to clear out household air.
How can we detox our bodies from PFAS
Forever chemicals are notoriously difficult to detox from our bodies, but there are some ways which have been shown to be effective at eliminating some of these chemicals. The most important first step is to reduce current exposure to give our bodies the change to eliminate these toxins without adding more.
PFAS tend to be hydrophobic and protein-bound, so they are not easy to detox through sweat, and are more likely to pass out of our bodies through stools and urine with the right dietary support, like increasing fibre intake and vitamin C.
Lucinda Miller from Naturedoc gives research-backed recommendations including eating broccoli, lots of vitamin C, purified Omega-3 supplements, citing studies which have shown significantly reduced PFOS in just 14 days of the above. If you’re worried about your family’s previous PFAS exposure you can contact a health practitioner or naturopath to test the levels in your blood and get advice on how to effectively detox from these chemicals.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002n2hr/panorama-the-truth-about-forever-chemicals
https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/113/5/580/5906528?login=false
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37741007
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7926449
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935123023575
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRzBnR0jH6i/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11785707
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022003117