‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Lurking Inside of You—Can Eating More Fiber Flush Them Out?

Concerned about so-called “forever chemicals” building up in your body? A daily fiber supplement might help flush them from your system.

In a March 2025 study published in Environmental Health, people who consumed a fiber supplement right before meals reduced their blood levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—synthetic chemicals that may cause a number of health problems and are known to be difficult to remove from the body. This research follows a study by several of the same authors that found similar results in mice.

Below, experts weigh in on whether this means that extra fiber is the key to lowering your PFAS levels.

PFAS, often referred to as forever chemicals, “are a group of chemicals initially developed in the 1930s for their non-stick properties,” Bradley Lampe, MPH, DABT, principal research toxicologist at NSF, told Health. “Over time, they’ve been used in a variety of products, including cookware, clothing, firefighting foams, housing materials, and more.”

Despite efforts to reduce PFAS in U.S. products, the chemicals have made their way into the environment. “Since they do not break down, they sometimes end up in groundwater or surface water used for drinking water,” said Lampe. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the most likely means of exposure to PFAS include consuming contaminated water or food.

Research shows that nearly all people in the U.S. have PFAS in their blood. (In the Environmental Health study, they were detected in 100% of participants.) Increased exposure to PFAS could lead to health problems like higher cholesterol, reduced vaccine effectiveness, changes in liver enzymes, and even certain cancers.

According to Jennifer Schlezinger, PhD, lead author of the new study and a professor of environmental health at Boston University, there are currently only two known options for removing PFAS once they’re in your system:

• Blood donation
• The use of a therapeutic resin-like cholestyramine, which is a medication used primarily to lower cholesterol

The idea for the new research emerged accidentally, Schlezinger told Health. “For personal health reasons, I was looking for a way to control bad cholesterol without medication,” she said. “In this exploration, I found that consuming gel-forming fibers can increase elimination of bile acids.” 

That discovery sparked the theory that dietary fibers could also help the body eliminate PFAS, given that bile acids and PFAS have similar chemical characteristics, she explained. “It was a life-meets-science moment,” she said.

Researchers began with 72 adult men whose blood contained PFAS. Forty-two of these participants consumed 1 gram of an oat beta-glucan (a soluble fiber found in the endosperm of oat kernels) supplement three times a day, right before a meal, while 30 consumed a rice-based control supplement. This went on for four weeks.

At the end of the experiment, the researchers re-tested the men’s blood samples. Those who took the oat-based fiber supplement had an 8% decrease in levels of perfluorooctanoate and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, two chemicals considered concerning enough that the U.S. phased them out of any use involving contact with food.

Encouraging as this research may be, Don Thushara Galbadage, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of applied health sciences at Texas Christian University, who was not involved in the study, stressed that it’s not necessarily the final word on fiber and PFAS. “This was a pilot study with several limitations, including a small sample size, short duration, and lack of control for ongoing exposure.”

The potential effects of this type of fiber on PFAS may have to do with its gel-forming ability. “Only some soluble fibers can form a gel. Beta-glucan is [one of them],” Schlezinger said. “As it forms this gel, it can capture the PFAS and bile acids. When the PFAS are trapped in the fiber gel, they cannot be taken back up by the body, and they more efficiently leave the body in the feces.”

According to Galbadage, fiber might also disrupt the recycling route PFAS use between the liver and intestine, preventing reabsorption.

Lampe said that because this study was the first of its kind, it’s probably too soon to say whether adding fiber guarantees lower PFAS levels.

But Schlezinger believes that taking an oat beta-glucan before meals is a low-effort strategy for improving health in multiple ways. “Increasing fiber intake with a supplement could be a win-win situation, reducing PFAS in the body along with reducing cholesterol and improving metabolic health.”

However, she said it’s important to consult a doctor “before beginning any fiber supplement routine.” For some people, a fiber supplement could cause uncomfortable digestive symptoms like bloating and gas.

In the meantime, further research could settle the question of how effective fiber is at decreasing PFAS in the blood. Schlezinger’s research team is following up their human study with an extensive preclinical evaluation of dietary fibers in mice exposed to PFAS. “This will allow us to establish cause and effect. And the early results are promising,” she said.