PFAS or “forever chemicals” are now one of the most widespread and serious public health concerns of our time. Understanding where PFAS come from, what they do, and how to reduce your exposure is one of the most important things you can do for your long-term health right now.

Forever chemicals are everywhere. They are in our drinking water, our food, our cookware, our cosmetics, our clothing, and our food packaging. PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of roughly 15,000 synthetic chemicals that have been used in everyday products since the 1940s, and they don’t break down. They can be found in the environment, in wildlife, and in the human body.

How PFAS Affect Your Body

PFAS exposure is linked to some of the most serious health conditions we know of. The EPA has found evidence of kidney, testicular, and breast cancer in people exposed to PFOA, and bladder, prostate, liver, and kidney cancers in those exposed to PFOS. Beyond cancer, PFAS suppress the immune system, including reducing children’s antibody response to vaccines. They disrupt thyroid and sex hormones, and are linked to delayed puberty, irregular menstrual cycles, and earlier menopause. They damage the liver and kidneys, harm cardiovascular health, and are associated with decreased birth weight in infants and developmental delays in children.

What makes this particularly concerning is that these effects compound over a lifetime. PFAS don’t clear the body quickly. Some compounds stay in the human body for up to eight years. The body has no efficient mechanism for clearing them on its own, and a lifetime of low-level exposure adds up. But emerging research is identifying practical steps that can meaningfully reduce your body’s burden over time.

Where PFAS Come From

PFAS have been used in hundreds of everyday products since the 1940s, from nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets to food packaging, cosmetics, clothing, and firefighting foam. They enter our bodies through what we eat, what we drink, what we cook with, what we wear, and what we put on our skin.

Water is one of the most significant exposure routes. The Environmental Working Group estimates that approximately 176 million Americans drink tap water with detectable PFAS. They get there primarily because companies like 3M and DuPont have for decades been allowed to dump their PFAS waste into streams, rivers, and sewage systems with little accountability.

That sewage waste is where one of the least talked about exposure routes comes in. Sewage sludge, the toxic byproduct of wastewater treatment, is spread on farmland across the country under the industry name “biosolids,” marketed to farmers as a free fertilizer. It is one of the primary ways PFAS move from industrial waste streams into our soil, our water, and our food supply, contaminating crops, groundwater, and livestock.

Food is another major route. PFAS leach from food packaging including fast food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes directly into food. They are also in the food itself, through contaminated soil and water used to grow it, and increasingly through pesticides. The Trump EPA has approved five PFAS pesticides since taking office, the most recent being trifludimoxazin, a likely human carcinogen now approved for use on corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, oranges, apples, peanuts, and almonds. Three environmental groups, the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Pesticide Action Network, filed a federal lawsuit against the approval in August 2026, arguing it violates federal pesticide law and the Endangered Species Act.

What You Can Do

The most important first step is filtering your drinking water. A reverse osmosis filter certified to NSF/ANSI 58 standards or an activated carbon filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 standards are both proven to significantly reduce PFAS levels in tap water. Use EWG’s Tap Water Database to check what’s already in your local water supply.

Choose organic produce where possible, particularly for items on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list, which carries the highest pesticide and PFAS contamination. Organic certification prohibits both synthetic pesticides and sewage sludge, two of the primary routes of PFAS contamination in food.

Swap out nonstick cookware for cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic, and store food in glass or stainless steel rather than plastic. Reduce fast food and heavily packaged food, where PFAS-lined containers leach directly into what you eat.

For cosmetics and clothing, look for products free of PTFE and anything containing “perfluoro,” “polyfluoro,” or “fluoro” on the label. Choose natural fibers like organic cotton and wool over synthetic activewear marketed as water-resistant, stain-repellent, or moisture-wicking.

The full guide goes deeper on each of these steps, including the emerging research on soluble fiber, gut health, and other evidence-based strategies for helping your body clear PFAS over time.

Read the Full Guide

Further Reading and Resources

Scan your products before you buy: Yuka scans barcodes on cosmetics and food, rating products out of 100 based on health risks, endocrine disruptors, and allergens, while suggesting safer alternatives. 

EWG’s guide to water filters tested for PFAS removal

Learn more about PFAS in cosmetics from Toxic Free Future

A comprehensive list of PFAS-free products covering clothing, cookware, and baby products

Brands that claim to use no added PFAS, compiled by EWG

Read the research: An oat fiber intervention for reducing PFAS body burden