The most recent of the convenience chemicals to very loudly sound the alarm, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are synthetic, man-made chemicals produced since the 1940s. Before we get into why they are produced, we need a quick organic chemistry refresher to explain their significance. The key with PFAS is that they have a partially or fully fluorinated carbon on their backbone. If you recall from Misguided Medicine, fats that have a single site of unbound carbons and a resulting double bond along their backbones are monounsaturated (mono = one) and fats that have many unbound carbons and adjoining double bonds are polyunsaturated (poly = many):
Monounsaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated Fat
Trans fats, on the other hand, are artificially hydrogenated (i.e. blasted with hydrogens) to create bound carbons along their backbone. Notice in the graphic below, the polyunsaturated fat has multiple unbound carbons by the arrows that become artificially bound with hydrogens (i.e. hydrogenated) to saturate all the carbons, thereby producing a “fake” saturated fat:
The process of hydrogenation basically leaves these synthetic trans fats as artificial, for lack of a better term, and difficult to break down, gunking up any system where they may end up. We do not need to get into what a mistake it was to promote trans fats: just ask the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), who led a massive media assault against McDonald’s for using lard and saturated fats and forced them to replace them with trans fats. The rest is history.
PFAS are analogous, except they are artificially fluorinated with a fluorine instead of a hydrogen:
I am sure the biochemists reading this will have issue with my simplification, but you get the point. This creates an artificial substance that, like trans fats, is difficult to break down and greasy. The latter is what made them valued by industry, particularly for waterproofing materials. This, however, and as is often the case with many synthetic chemicals, is the double-edged sword. And judging by the fact that I am writing an entire article about them, you can guess that this sword is sharper than we expected on one side.
At this point, you are probably thinking, uh oh, here we go again with our artificial substances. Don’t be such a priss! They can’t be that bad for you, screams the devil on your shoulder. Better living through science! PFAS are often referred to as chemicals that make our lives better, easier, or more convenient. And that, of course, should make your ears perk up as these benefits have burned us many times before. While this is a topic that is far more complex—though that gut feeling needs further discussion, perhaps over a late-night cheesecake in the kitchen with Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Ma.
The greasiness of PFAS allow them to act as surfactants and block out water and also resist friction, like other oils and greases. Surfactants decrease the surface tension between two substances, and thus are generally valuable for many industrial processes and also for packaging. These properties have led them to be used in paper products, fireproof foams, Teflon and nonstick pans, clothes like yoga pants (think twice before shelling out $100 for your next Lululemons), plastic floors and walls in newer and prefab homes, food wrappers, ChapStick, and makeup. (Newsflash, if you are still using cosmetics made with phthalates, creams, petroleum, and PFAS on your skin, please stop immediately. Look at the ingredients of anything you put on or in your body. We cannot pretend these things do not matter anymore.)
PFAS and Our Body:
Much like trans fats, the strength of PFAS is also their weakness, at least when it comes to our health. These substances are difficult to break down and remain in the environment for a long time, whether that environment is nature or our bodies. As a result, PFAS are now found nearly everywhere throughout our environment in varying levels, and I mean everywhere. Most worrisome, they are in most of our drinking water. Below is a heat map of PFAS levels in our tap water from the US Geological Survey:
In the above map, darker = more PFAS
And from the Environmental Working Group:
In the above map, lighter blue and purple = more PFAS.
And like those friends and coworkers that hang around and continuously try to interfere with our health, they are extremely difficult to avoid and ubiquitous at this point. They remain in our bodies and the environment for such an incredibly long time—thousands of years for the latter—they are called “forever chemicals”. The half-life of PFAS in the human body (i.e. how long it takes to reduce a substance to half the initial amount) is about 1.5-6 years, though some data would suggest this can be a couple days to 8 years.
PFAS are absorbed in the intestines after contamination of our food and water and the lungs via air pollution. They can then take a ride throughout the body, lodging in our blood proteins and tissues (think brain, kidneys, liver, etc.). Most PFAS are poorly metabolized, though some can apparently be broken down to other PFAS. Then are then eliminated through our urine, but in the process can be transferred to newborns via breastmilk or to fetuses through the placenta.
PFAS and Disease
So how bad is the tradeoff of our health for convenience? More studies have been surfacing, revealing the potential health issues of PFAS. DuPont and 3M apparently knew in 1950 that these chemicals were toxic based on animal studies at the time, followed by a laundry list of animal and human studies. A decade later, 3M would label them as toxic and DuPont would start preparing for a major lawsuit based on these studies and the fact that they poisoned the water of a large chunk of the US. DuPont would later lose a class action lawsuit of about $1 billion (which would be like a couple hundred bucks for us plebes). Studies are now accumulating at a rapid pace:
Figure from Pelch et al. The PFAS-Tox Database: A systematic evidence map of health studies on 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Environment International. Volume 167, September 2022, 107408
Some of these include:
Kidney Cancer: PFAS exposure was associated with a double risk of renal cell carcinoma. This was, of course, a population study. The kidneys are a concern as they are the organs with highest exposure due to PFAS in our drinking water.
Testicular Cancer: Military personnel at some bases have experienced high exposure to PFAS, and studies in these areas have shown an increased risk of testicular cancer.
Breast Cancer: An association was seen with breast cancer and PFAS exposure, and particularly estrogen sensitive breast cancer. The association was significant but not large. I would like to see more studies here.
Immune System Impairment: Data have revealed that PFAS potentially blunt immune system function, especially in children, though the exact mechanism remains unknown, but appears to be a reduction in antibody production.
Increased “Bad” Cholesterol Values: An association was found with potential “bad” cholesterol, i.e. small cholesterol components, though this relationship seems least clear of the bunch.
There are several other connections between PFAS and Cancer. Due to these findings and others, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been deemed hazardous substances and banned (keep in mind these are only two of thousands of PFAS). The EPA has also declared that PFAS are dangerous at any level. However, we must remember that, while these are only association studies, we will be unlikely to get stronger studies and will certainly never have randomized studies. We must go with the precautionary principle on these—i.e. provide caution when the data is pointing to some potential (and major) health issues with a chemical in the environment.
PFAS: Uniting Us All
While the United States may seem divided on many topics these days, we can all come together over the measurable amounts of PFAS in all of our bodies and blood. The NHANES database, which we cite here often, revealed that we basically all of us test positive for PFAS via blood samples. Perhaps more frightening, breast milk samples also showed the presence of PFAS.
PFAS are like Rich James’ UNITY ring in the Chappelle show, bringing us together by popping us in the face when we least expect it.
According to the NHANES database, mean blood levels in 2017-2018 were as follows (the below represent various forms of PFAS):
- PFOS: 4.25 ng/mL, with 95% of the general population ≤14.6 ng/mL,
- PFOA: 1.42 ng/mL, with 95% of the general population ≤3.77 ng/mL,
- PFHxS: 1.08 ng/mL, with 95% of the general population ≤3.70 ng/mL, and
- PFNA: 0.411 ng/mL, with 95% of the general population ≤1.40 ng/mL.
We now have evidence that most of us are carrying around these harmful chemicals and potential carcinogens that are often used in plastics. To add insult to injury, newer studies reveal that nearly all of us have plastic in our lungs, testicles (including our pets’ testicles), breast milk, and even in placentas.
OK, so we can all agree that PFAS are bad and likely worse for our children as they hang around for a long time. Instead of being hopeless and defeated, we can now ask what actions can we take to minimize our exposure? The easiest first steps are:
- Stop making and using nonstick pans
- It is crazy to think nonstick pans still exist, but apparently, they do, scattered haphazardly across the shelves of stores like Marshalls. Throw them out and get plain cast iron pans that your grandmother and great-grandmother used. We still have my grandmother’s pan that she got as a wedding present in the 1940s and they are flawless (and probably haven’t been seasoned since Dean Martin first sang Volare).
- Look up your PFAS levels at your local water authority and start hounding them to fix things (yes, Moon and Coraopolis, I am talking to you).
- Remove plastic from your life immediately
- Wear clothes made of cotton and wool and avoid polyester and other plastic clothes
- This includes yoga pants (the PFAS are what help squeeze your lower half into supermodel shape…kidding, kind of) and other polyester and waterproof clothes
- Always look at the labels of your clothes (just like with food and all products). I know, that takes an extra 5 seconds, but you can do it!
- Avoid flame retardants and stain-resistant coatings on furniture and rugs
- These also contain endocrine disruptors, so you can get a two-for-one here. Always research products to confirm this.
- Bring glass or stainless-steel containers from home for to-go food and water.
- I know, I know. It is so easy using plastic. Stop being lazy.
- Grow your own food, it is actually quite easy to do and immensely rewarding
- Stop being lazy.
- Stop buying premade, processed foods, and create/cook your own meals
- “But I don’t have time” say many of the retired 60–80-year-olds who spend 7 hours a day watching TV, rarely exercise, and continue to pollute the environment with PFAS that are getting lodged in my daughters’ kidneys and GI tracts. Yeah, I went there but it’s time to stop with the not-so-white-lies and pathetic excuses and get off your rear ends. Your lack of caring about health affects everyone around you and it is time to be healthy for others.
- Stop being lazy.
- Look up the ingredients of everything you put on, and in, your body, and minimize foods that have labels with ingredients in the first place.
- I know, this also takes 5 seconds. Stop being lazy
- Stop Being Lazy
- Prioritize your food, clothes, behaviors, and activities
- I don’t care how many kids you have and your work hours, if you prioritized your time i.e. stopped spending hours on your device, watching TV, and texting memes to your friends (even though I am sure some of them are hilarious) you would have plenty of time to prioritize. Put entertainment to the side and start living. If you do all these things and still don’t have time, let’s—to use annoying bureaucratic verbiage—talk offline.
- Kids are not an excuse as it makes all of this more important
- Maximize the world you are leaving for the next generation as they will thank you and their kids will thank you
Tangible Takeaways:
- Water: In the Champ household we utilize a two-stage whole house central water filter with carbon and an under the sink tankless reverse osmosis system for our drinking water to avoid plastic. Both are from APEC and rank highly efficient at removing PFAS and other chemicals, but apparently APEC has been bought by Culligan.
- Portables: We carry all food products in glass or metal. Water goes in metal clean canteens. We never use plastic bags, ever (especially food storage bags which have shown to leach PFAS directly into our food).
- Food: We grow as much of our food as possible and cook all our food. We limit premade packaged foods (i.e. convenience foods), which is an obvious source of the above-mentioned chemicals, and additionally, views food as a convenience item instead of a source for nourishment. We generally just try to buy actual food to eat for nutrition, i.e. vegetables, meat, fruit, etc.
- Clothes: We ensure our clothes are 100% cotton or wool. I am actually pretty psychotic about this and probably driving Juli a bit nuts, but she married me and agreed to all my insanity. (In giving this article a proof-read, she did say that all these changes are of utmost importance to help our children, neighbors, communities and generations to come.) For stretch clothes we keep the percent of non-cotton material low and ensure it is elastane or a similar non-polyester derivative (still npot great and we try to avoid). My favorite is Pact, though their sizing can be a bit wonky at times (still check the label for polyester). These pants are my favorite as they are cotton but still have a little give so I can wear them on days when I am on the floor coaching. They are not plastic and covered in PFAS like Vuori and the other expensive cool guy brands.
- Paper Products: We use chlorine, BPA, and PFAS free toilet paper from EcoHiny and paper towels from Reel (use the code COLINCHAMP for $15 off), though we do not use a lot of the former because we have life-changing Toto seats.
- Due Diligence: Check everything, no more excuses. We all know that most companies are fine slipping hazardous chemicals into our food, water, clothes, and furniture and will lie, cheat, and steal to make a profit. We have to do our due diligence: CAVEAT EMPTOR.
- Turn Off The Consumption Machine: Focus on quality and not quantity. The era of insane consumption has to end. We do not consume a lot, but do have battles with friends and family who continually buy our kids PFAS-laden junk. We basically throw it all away but it still ends up in a landfill that can leach into the environment so it remains a lose-lose for us all.
We are still using this hottie’s pan from almost a century ago while Baby Boomers and other consumption machines continue to buy garbage from HomeGoods several times per week.
Stop Using Plastic: No More Excuses
I have been annoyingly railing against plastic for about 2 decades now. If you are still using plastic containers to transfer food or drinking out of plastic water bottles, please at least advance to 2004 and start using glass or metal containers. If you live in a house made of plastic with plastic floors and plastic pipes, perhaps it is time to dig deep and think things over. If you are still drinking water out of plastic bottles, it is time to stop. Not only are they terrible for the environment and wasteful, the water in them is loaded with PFAS and microplastics. Just…stop…now.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
Moving Forward Together
Yes, I get it. We all got duped. The Champ family included. Yes, we drank loads of PFAS-loaded Topo Chico while my wife was pregnant and breastfeeding. We are upset about it and still beat ourselves up over it. We got duped. It is still on the shelves at Whole Foods, and they don’t seem to care and played dumb when we returned a case and asked them about the PFAS levels. Topo Chico sells so well and is good for the bottom-line… This is an entire other discussion about what benefit a mega-corporation “health foods grocer” is bringing us.
But we cannot, as a society, play dumb anymore. The tide is turning. We understand the consequences of the load of bull we have been sold. We have to act. For instance, mothers in our community are now fighting to remove devices from kids in the local community and public schools. We know the issues, now add this to the list.
The other question is how many times are we going to let these mammoth companies utterly annihilate the population of the United States, particularly when it comes to our health, and give them a slap on the wrist effectively signaling to future companies that they can do the same. The Sackler’s killed upwards of a million people with OxyContin and destroyed the Midwest via the opioid epidemic but seemingly won’t spend a day in jail (nor will the prior head of the FDA who approved the drug with no long-term safety studies and then, surprise, surprise, went to work for them). If this stays the norm, we can count on the next megacorporation coming in here to wreak havoc, get a slap on the wrist, and rinse and repeat.
Revenge of the Convenience Chemicals
Conveniencism strikes again. It went undetected at first, which is often the case. We have now figured it out and the issues are no longer hidden. This means we cannot pretend we are not aware of the issues that are out in the open and clear as day. Thus, we have two options here, to care or not to care. The easy response is to say bah humbug it doesn’t matter, bury our heads in the sand and keep the consumption machine turned on. Yet, it is very clear that Conveniencism is causing us a slow death by a thousand paper cuts.
Once again, we should not be asking why we are getting higher rates of cancer at younger ages, but rather why wouldn’t we be if we are all living in an environment contaminated with carcinogens. We are bathing (literally) in carcinogens that often work to physically damage us directly, and indirectly damage us through the reasons for their creation in the first place—to increase convenience and often minimize those aspects of daily life that require effort.
For instance, when the East Palestine disaster left a chemical mushroom cloud over Ohio and Pennsylvania, it should have been a hard stop where we asked ourselves “why are we using these carcinogenic and toxic chemicals in the first place?” The answer, of course, is to make plastic. While the convenience chemicals continue to kill us and the environment around us with a thousand paper cuts, this episode just happened to be a rather large one (don’t worry, the billion dollar company got a slap on the wrist for destroying part of Ohio by inundating it with carcinogens, polluting their drinking water, and then burning the chemicals so they could rain down on adjacent communities as well).
While PFOA and PFOS are now banned, there are thousands of PFAS and other chemicals that have replaced them. Many suspect some of these replacements may be even worse. We can keep banning certain chemicals, but they will merely be replaced with the next one that present health issues down the road. Chemicals, in this case, are like the cartel drug lords. You can take one out, but he will quickly be replaced with another. Until we stop using their products, the need will continue. Absolute elimination is an impossible task in this situation. What we have to do is ask ourselves why we are using these chemicals in the first place and whether they are even necessary. The only tangible solution is to eliminate the need for these toxic chemicals.
This may have started as a scientific and industrial issue, but we have to ask if it is now a cultural, societal, or philosophical one?
These are the questions that need to be addressed, otherwise the problem will continue to grow. And until that happens, we will continue exposing our children to the next line of harmful chemicals.
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