Bane of NGOs and environmental associations, eternal pollutants, known as “PFAS” are almost inevitable. Composed of a powerful combination of carbon and fluoride which makes them very resistant, the PFAS exist in the thousands and are qualified as “eternal” because of the very long time that they put to degrade (we speak of hundreds, even thousands of years). They are found in many everyday products: paintings, varnishes, pesticides, textiles, food packaging, waterproofing, teflon coverings, toilet paper … and that would not be without consequences. Considered as endocrine disruptors, PFASs are increasingly pointed out in scientific literature as risk factors for human health. They would be at the origin of certain cancers (testicles, breast, kidneys). Significant and prolonged exposure to PFAS can also promote obesity, increase cholesterol levels or cause complications during pregnancy, particularly the increase in the risk of miscarriage or high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia).
The PFAS prove to be all the more problematic as we ingest them. Several scientific studies have indeed shown that certain foods such as fish and seafood contain high quantities of PFAS. This would notably be the case for shrimp and lobster, according to an American study published in April 2024, and eels, according to research carried out in the Netherlands, the results of which were published in 2019. But other foods would allow exposure to eternal pollutants on the contrary. This would notably be the case with fiber -rich foodstuffs, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Health. Researchers from the University of Boston have recovered blood samples from 72 men residing in Canada, from a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of an intervention based on food fibers to reduce cholesterol. The researchers again analyzed these samples, this time to determine if the blood was contaminated by the presence of PFAS.
A protective gel in the intestine
After four weeks of observation, the researchers found that consuming foods rich in fiber was associated with a reduction in PFOS and PFOas (two most widespread and dangerous) eternal pollutants in the participants’ blood. One of the reasons put forward by the authors of the study to explain this phenomenon would be the formation of a protective frost which lines the intestine, therefore favored by the ingestion of fibers. Another research published last December carried out by the same team of scientists, this time on mice, resulted in a similar observation. “”This observation suggests that sustained intervention on dietary fiber can reduce the body load in long channel PFAS, but future intervention studies must control the sources of exposure to PFAS and prolong the taking of food supplements beyond four weeks“, however, nuance the researchers.
Be that as it may, foods rich in fiber such as fruits (especially dry), vegetables, full cereals, legumes or even shell fruits, have many proven health benefits: they are recognized to regulate appetite, improve intestinal transit, strengthen microbiota, reduce blood sugar or prevent the risks of cardiovascular pathologies.