If you’re wondering how to detox PFAs from your body, happily there are things you can do. Check out these science-backed hacks.
The mass industrialization of nature has come at a high cost. We now live in a world where invisible threats lurk in our everyday routines—nonstick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, fast food wrappers, even our drinking water.
Among the most insidious are PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)—a group of man-made chemicals often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily in the environment or the human body.
Originally developed for their water and grease-resistant properties, PFAS are now found in everything from household products to agricultural fertilizers.
The problem?
They accumulate over time and have been linked to serious health concerns, from hormone disruption and immune dysfunction to fertility issues and certain cancers. In fact one report notes that worldwide, “they contribute to almost every chronic disease.”
What makes them particularly concerning—and alarming—is their ubiquity. Studies have found them in the blood of nearly every American tested. And they’re not just environmental pollutants—they’re inside us now.
Detoxing them may not be as simple as a juice cleanse, but there are science-backed strategies to reduce your exposure and support your body’s ability to purge them across time. There are even foods that can help excrete them on the spot.
In this article we’ll explore 15 evidence-backed ways to detox PFAS from your body and your surroundings—steps you can take to control your health in an increasingly contaminated world.
15 Ways to Detox PFAs
Here’s a list of 15 strategies for reducing your body’s burden of PFAs:
1. Incorporate Beta Glucan-Rich Foods
Barley, oats, and mushrooms like reishi and shiitake contain beta glucans, fibers known to support immune function and bind to toxins in the digestive tract. Oats are one of the richest sources of beta-glucans, particularly the soluble form. Oatmeal, oat bran, and oat flour are all great choices.
2. Get Moving with Regular Exercise
Exercise improves circulation, lymphatic flow, and supports liver and kidney function—key systems for detoxification. It also helps maintain a healthy weight, as PFAS tend to accumulate in fat tissue.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), in particular, is effective. Read up on it here.
However the top source is barley, which contains significant amounts. Barley grains, barley grass, flour, and barley-based soups and stews are great options. (Make beta-glucan rich cookies here or check out the top beta-glucan-rich foods here.)
According to Science Direct, a pilot study supported the hypothesis that “oat β-glucan supplementation can reduce PFAS body burdens.”
You can also take a beta-glucan supplement to help:
3. Sweat It Out in the Sauna
Infrared and traditional saunas can promote the excretion of certain toxins through sweat, including some persistent organic pollutants. While PFAS are stubborn and not shown to excrete through perspiration alone, regular sauna use may help reduce overall toxic load and stress on detox organs.
Saunas have also been used for centuries as a detoxification hack. Combined with a healthy diet and fasting, they can reduce your lipid profile—exactly where PFAs like to linger.
2. Eat More Blueberries (and Other Antioxidant-Rich Foods)
Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins and antioxidants, which support liver function and help neutralize oxidative stress caused by PFAS. One study found that “Anthocyanin exposure provided protective effects against PFOS toxicity.” Another notes that anthocyanins offset PFOA induced toxicity via protective antioxidants and enzymes.
Other detox-friendly fruits include strawberries, blackberries, lingonberries, and pomegranates.
5. Intermittent Fasting or Time-Restricted Eating
Fasting produces autophagy, a cellular clean-up process that supports detoxification pathways and reduces the burden on organs exposed to chemical stress. It also promotes weight loss and improves cholesterol, both of which can help your body fight PFAs.
Read up on it here.
6. Ditch Toxic Consumer Products
PFAS are found in many everyday items, including nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, fast food packaging, cosmetics, household cleaning agents, and more. They’re also ubiquitous in laundry detergents and ultra processed foods. Switch to PFAS-free and natural alternatives and read labels carefully.
7. Filter Your Water—The Right Way
Tap and unfiltered water is a major source of PFAS exposure. Use a high-quality water filter certified to remove PFAS, such as reverse osmosis or activated carbon filters specifically tested for these chemicals. Some health food stores like Natural Grocers have filtered water on tap.
8. Eat More Fiber to Bind Toxins
Soluble fibers like psyllium husk, flaxseed, and legumes can help trap and remove toxins through the digestive tract, potentially limiting PFAS reabsorption from bile.
In fact studies show that a high-fiber plant-based diet can substantially help offset the impacts of PFAs across time. A clinical trial published in the journal Environmental Health found “some reductions of PFAs concentrations in people taking dietary fiber supplements for 4 weeks.”
Another by Science Direct notes that “dietary fiber increases the gastrointestinal excretion of PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA.”
In addition, this report says that “For all three PFAS examined, higher intake of dietary fiber was associated with lower PFAS concentrations in serum.”
Read up with this high-fiber food list.
9. Support Your Liver With Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale contain compounds like sulforaphane that upregulate liver detox enzymes, supporting your body’s natural ability to process and eliminate toxins. One of the best sources of sulforaphane is broccoli sprouts, but you can also take supplements.
Learn how to grow your own broccoli sprouts here.
10. Boost Glutathione Production
Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant, playing a key role in detoxification by binding to and helping eliminate harmful compounds—including persistent environmental toxins like PFAS—through liver metabolism and excretion pathways.”
Boosting foods like asparagus, avocado, and spinach help support glutathione levels.
You can also tap supplement precursors like NAC (N-acetylcysteine) and alpha-lipoic acid to boost levels.
11. Improve Gut Health
A healthy gut barrier can prevent reabsorption of toxins (including PFAS) and support immune function. Include probiotic-rich foods (yogurt, kefir, kimchi) and prebiotics (garlic, onions, bananas) to nourish your microbiome.
12. Limit Processed and Packaged Foods
Microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and many fast food wrappers are coated in PFAS. Reduce intake of packaged foods and cook more meals at home using whole ingredients and safe cookware (e.g., stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic).
13. Improve Your Cholesterol
Improving cholesterol levels can help reduce the body’s burden of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because PFAS tend to bind to proteins and lipids in the blood, particularly those involved in lipid transport.
Studies have shown that individuals with higher cholesterol levels often have higher PFAS concentrations, likely because PFAS hitch a ride on lipoproteins like LDL (low-density lipoprotein). By improving cholesterol—especially by lowering LDL and increasing HDL—your body may reduce the capacity for PFAS to circulate and persist in the bloodstream, potentially enhancing their clearance through the liver and kidneys.
This connection suggests that managing lipid levels is not only important for cardiovascular health, it may also support the detoxification of PFAS. Therefore, anything you do that improves cholesterol—losing weight, exercise, high-fiber-diet, bioactive foods—can serve the process.
14. Lose Body Fat
Losing weight can help reduce your body’s PFAS burden because these chemicals tend to accumulate in body fat. When you lose fat mass, especially through gradual and sustained weight loss, your body may begin to mobilize and excrete some of the PFAS stored in adipose tissue.
Indeed studies show that “lipid-lowering via lifestyle modification may impact on circulating levels or distribution of PFAS.”
Additionally, weight loss can boost liver and kidney function—organs critical for filtering and eliminating toxins—thereby enhancing your body’s ability to clear PFAS.
However, rapid weight loss may also temporarily increase PFA levels in the blood as stored chemicals are released, so slow, steady gains are generally safer and more effective for long-term detoxification.
15. Take Zeolites and Folate
Zeolites, naturally occurring or synthetic porous minerals, may help reduce the body’s burden of PFAS due to their strong adsorption properties. Their cage-like structure and high surface area allow them to bind a wide range of positively and negatively charged molecules, including certain PFAS.
While most evidence of zeolites capturing PFAS comes from environmental cleanup studies (e.g., in water filtration), emerging research and preliminary studies suggest that some forms of zeolite may also absorb toxins in the gastrointestinal tract, preventing their reabsorption and promoting excretion.
Though human data is still limited, these properties suggest zeolites could support detoxification by interrupting the enterohepatic circulation of PFAS and enhancing their elimination through the digestive system.
One report notes that “Zeolites possess unique sieving properties that offer a high selectivity for removing pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).”
Folate has also been shown to potentially reduce the body’s burden of PFAs. One report notes “consistent inverse associations for most examined serum PFAS compounds in relation to folate concentrations measured in either red blood cells or serum among both adolescents and adults.”
It’s suggested that folate “might confer protection against PFAS exposure because the two compounds share common transporters in the human placenta. Specifically, the organic anion transporter family, solute carrier family, and the adenosine triphosphate–binding cassette family, implying a biological interaction between folate and PFAS.”
In fact three recent studies show that folate “has some ability to reduce the accumulation of PFAs in blood serum.”
Takeaway
Therefore, reducing the body’s burden of PFAS requires a multi-faceted approach that supports both limiting exposure and enhancing elimination.
By combining dietary changes, lifestyle improvements, and targeted detoxification strategies—such as improving cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating high-fiber, beta-glucan-rich foods—you can better help your body process and excrete these persistent chemicals.
Keep reading . . .
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The medical and health topics covered on the PlateofGrass website have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to prevent or cure any disease. This article and its content is presented ‘as is’ for informational purposes only.
