Common dietary supplement could remove 'forever chemicals' from the body

PFAS – often called “forever chemicals” – show up in food, water, and even the air. An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found PFAS in the blood of an estimated 97% of Americans. These chemicals have been linked to cancer, cardiovascular and liver diseases, and immune suppression.

PFAS are persistent because most can take years to leave the body, and while they are there, they can do some serious damage to your health because they constantly recirculate.

The liver sends PFAS substances into the intestines, and transport proteins pull some back into the bloodstream. A similar recapture can occur in the kidneys.

It can’t be that easy

After asking what people can do about PFAS, a team tested a simple option using a very common and readily available dietary supplement: soluble, gel-forming fiber taken with meals.

Two recent pilot studies suggest that regularly consuming such fiber can reduce PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) – two of the most studied PFAS in a family of over 15,000 human-made chemicals.

The work involves Professor Dhimiter Bello, associate dean of research in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences at UML, and Professor of Environmental Health Jennifer Schlezinger at Boston University.

“By consuming gel-forming fibers such as psyllium with a meal, we can trap PFAS inside the fiber gel, which can then be removed in feces,” explains Bello, whose lab developed methods for measuring PFAS in human tissues and biological fluids while documenting PFAS exposure sources.

“Professor Schlezinger and I have complementary expertise, a shared common interest and the same drive to produce impactful research,” says Bello.

How PFAS reacts with fiber

Researchers used male mice on diets modeled after typical U.S. eating patterns. Some received inulin as a control fiber and others received oat beta-glucan, a soluble dietary fiber found naturally in the cell walls of oats, as the test fiber.

The mice drank water containing a mix of seven PFAS for six weeks, then switched to clean water for four weeks to see how much PFAS cleared during this washout period.

Because the beta-glucan mice drank more water, they took in more PFAS. The team adjusted the results to account for that.

After the adjustment, their blood levels of PFOA and PFOS trended lower (p < 0.1). These mice also had a slightly lower body fat percentage and lower fat in the liver and small intestine.

PFAS turned on some liver genes that help process chemicals; after the clean-water period, only one of those genes, Cyp3a11, moved back toward normal.

Why fiber reduces PFAS

Some of the better-known PFAS, like PFOA and PFOS, have been linked to higher LDL cholesterol, lower vaccine responses, and certain cancers.

Soluble fibers such as beta-glucan and psyllium form gels in the gut that can bind bile acids. That action is known to help lower LDL cholesterol by pushing the body to make new bile acids instead of reusing old ones.

Because PFAS share some chemical features with bile acids, trapping them in the same gel is a reasonable approach.

“As a scientist, I had a life-meets-science moment while looking for ways to control bad cholesterol,” says Schlezinger.

“In published research studies, I found that consuming gel-forming fibers can increase the elimination of bile acids, which in turn reduces cholesterol in the blood.”

The liver then pulls cholesterol out of the blood to replace the lost bile acids.

“It occurred to me that bile acids and PFAS have similar chemical characteristics, and both are recirculated between the liver, the bile and the gut,” Schlezinger continued.

Migrating from mice to people

Earlier research linked high-fiber eating patterns with lower PFAS levels. The new pilot work tested fiber supplements with meals, using beta-glucan and psyllium.

In one pilot study, the researchers documented an 8% decrease in PFOS and PFOA after four weeks among people who took a fiber supplement. The researchers are running additional studies to replicate the results.

“Increasing fiber intake with a supplement could be a win-win situation, reducing PFAS in the body with a supplement that’s available and economical,” Schlezinger enthused.

“Before beginning any fiber supplement routine, however, you should consult with your physician.”

How it all came together

The collaboration between the two universities started as part of a larger effort to build research capabilities for PFAS biomonitoring and develop solutions to the PFAS contamination problem.

Funding from a UMass Lowell seed grant allowed Bello to develop laboratory methods for quantifying PFAS in tissues, blood, stool, and urine in support of the pilot studies.

“Within three years, we amended our analytical method twice to expand biomonitoring from an initial list of 15 common targets to about 50 PFAS,” says Bello.

“Then we built additional expertise to conduct untargeted PFAS analysis and offered in-kind PFAS testing to several research groups to promote initial data generation.”

PFAS, fiber, and human health

PFAS are everywhere and stubbornly stick around, but this research points to a practical, low-cost way to nudge them out: take gel-forming soluble fiber like psyllium or beta-glucan with meals to trap PFAS in the gut and send them out of the body.

The researchers are now testing novel and inexpensive PFAS removal and detoxification strategies such as multiple fibers, different diets, and cholestyramine – a medication used to lower cholesterol.

The field of PFAS testing continues to change as labs refine methods and standards.

“With thousands of PFAS species in use, we as a society have a long way to go before we can claim that we have fully understood the real scope of PFAS exposures to humans and the environment and their health impact,” Bello concluded.

It’s early, not a cure-all, and anyone considering supplements should talk to a clinician, but the signal is promising and actionable.

The full study was published in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology and Environmental Health.

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