PFAS Forever Chemicals

PFAS Forever Chemicals: Are They Disrupting Your Hormones and Your Weight? 

Your mind cries for comfort and convenience. Your body didn’t get the memo that these would derail your health. 

I spent 28 years in occupational and environmental medicine and became certified in it. I have a deep understanding of the profound effects toxins can have on a person’s mind, body, and spirit. And I have seen what happens when that burden is finally lifted. 

Clara’s story is one I will always remember. She was in a building when it caught fire. Computers, plastics, and chemically treated furniture and fabrics burned while she escaped. She breathed in that smoke. What followed were years of suffering. In her own words: 

“For years — no, decades — I have suffered from so many ailments ranging from Rheumatoid Arthritis to Parkinson’s Disease to Hypertension. I suffered from pain, imbalance, weakness and fatigue. I was unable to stand or walk any distance. I resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to live a long life and what life I had was going to be with daily pain. I gave up.” 

She tried everything. She saw specialists of every kind. All of them treated her symptoms. None got to the root. Out of desperation, she enrolled in our Foundation program, which included the Detox and Feel Good Again program. Her husband was skeptical. The results astounded him. He became a believer. And so did she. 

“I am a new person. My pain is much improved. I can walk without the leg weakness. I use the stationary bike for 30 minutes every day and take daily walks. I have lost over 25 pounds. I now know I can live a long, healthy and youthful life.” 

Clara’s exposure was dramatic and acute. But the same chemicals that overwhelmed her body in one terrible event are entering yours every single day through your cookware, water, food packaging, and furniture. The difference is speed, not chemistry. Which brings me to PFAS. 

If you’d rather watch than read, I’ve covered everything in this short video.

What Are PFAS and Why Should You Care? 

PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of synthetic chemicals manufactured since the 1940s to make things nonstick, waterproof, and stain-resistant. They do not break down in the environment or in your body; they just keep accumulating, year after year. That is why they are called forever chemicals. 

The consequences go far beyond hormonal disruption. Certain PFAS are classified as probable human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, linked to kidney, testicular, and thyroid cancers, as well as elevated cholesterol, immune suppression, reduced vaccine effectiveness in children, and infertility. These are serious, documented health risks from chemicals most people encounter daily without knowing it. 

Here is what many women find shocking: if you are exposed to PFAS through personal hygiene products, it can take at least four years before half of what you have absorbed leaves your body. And women of reproductive age pass PFAS on to their children through the placenta and breast milk. This is not just a personal health issue. It is a generational one. 

You encounter PFAS in more places than most people realize: 

• Nonstick cookware, including Teflon and similar coatings 
• Microwave popcorn bags, fast food wrappers, and pizza boxes • Waterproof and stain-resistant clothing, shoes, and upholstery 
• Some cosmetics, dental floss, and personal care products 
• Contaminated tap water, in communities across the country 
• Feminine hygiene products: a consumer study found PFAS in 48% of tested sanitary pads, liners, and incontinence pads, 65% of period underwear, and 22% of tampons 

The CDC has found PFAS in the bloodstream of almost every American tested. At this point, almost everyone is carrying them. 

What PFAS Do to Your Hormones 

Estrogen and Progesterone 

A 2025 Harvard study published in JAMA Network Open found that high PFAS exposure significantly raises the risk of hormonal disruption in women, including interference with estrogen and progesterone. When those hormones are hijacked, you feel it. You are moody and irritable, your cycle becomes unpredictable or heavier, PMS worsens, hot flashes arrive earlier than you expected, and you cannot sleep well or

wake feeling rested. You feel anxious in a way that is different from ordinary worry, more like something shifted in your chemistry. Because something did. 

This matters even more for women in midlife. During perimenopause, estrogen fluctuates erratically while progesterone production declines or becomes nearly absent. During menopause, both drop and may also fall out of balance with each other. PFAS compound that instability at exactly the moment when your hormonal reserves are already strained. 

Thyroid 

A 2023 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives was the first to evaluate what happens when people carry a mixture of PFAS, which is how most people are actually exposed. It found that the disruption to fat metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and thyroid function was measurably worse for the combination than for any individual chemical alone. Your metabolism slows, hair starts thinning, you feel cold when you should not, brain fog settles in, and labs look normal. The thyroid is trying to do its job. The PFAS are getting in the way. 

Weight 

A Harvard study published in PLOS Medicine followed people through a weight-loss diet and found that women in the highest PFAS group regained approximately 3.7 to 4.8 pounds more than women with lower levels. Women specifically, because PFAS accumulate in fat and women carry more adipose tissue than men. The chemicals that promote weight gain settle into the very tissue that holds it. If you have been doing everything right and the scale is ignoring you, that is not a failure of effort. It is chemistry. 

How PFAS Tell Your Body to Store Fat 

PFAS activate a cellular receptor called PPARgamma that signals your body to create more fat cells and enlarge the ones you already have, regardless of what you eat, because the instruction is coming from the chemical. They also disrupt leptin and ghrelin, the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, so hunger persists past the point where it should stop. The fat that accumulates holds more toxins, which further disrupts hormones, which makes everything harder. I see this sequence in my patients constantly. 

For more on how the gut and hormones interact in this same cycle, see Gut Bacteria: The Secret to Outstanding Health. 

How to Reduce Your Exposure 

You cannot eliminate PFAS entirely. But you can significantly reduce the most repeated exposures, and that matters because the body does clear some PFAS over time when new input decreases. 

• Switch nonstick cookware for cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic
• Filter your drinking water with a carbon block or reverse osmosis system. Check ewg.org for contamination levels in your zip code 
• Choose fresh food over packaged and store leftovers in glass or stainless steel • Look for PFAS-free labeling on dental floss, cosmetics, and menstrual products 

Helping Your Body Clear What Is Already There 

Reducing exposure is step one. Step two is giving your body what it needs to clear what has accumulated. Your liver processes fat-soluble toxins in two phases and both need nutritional support. Here is what helps: 

• B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin C to support phase one liver detox 
• Cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale. They provide the sulfur compounds that drive phase two 
• Fiber to bind toxins in the gut and carry them out before they are reabsorbed • Daily bowel movements. Non-negotiable 
• Adequate water throughout the day 
• Regular movement and sweating through exercise or sauna 

Clara’s exposure was visible and dramatic. Most of us cannot draw such a clear line from exposure to symptom because the buildup is invisible and gradual. But the biology is the same. A chronic low-level toxic burden produces the same downstream effects as an acute one, just slower and quieter. 

If you are ready to lower your toxic load and support your body’s ability to clear it, the Detox and Feel Good Again program was designed for exactly this. It removes the inputs that are overwhelming your system, replaces them with what your liver and gut need to function well, and helps restore what has been suppressed. 

Your body is not broken. It is carrying too much. Up next in this series: pesticides, herbicides, and glyphosate, and what they are doing to your hormones every time you eat conventionally grown food. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: What are PFAS and where are they found? 

PFAS are synthetic chemicals used since the 1940s to make products nonstick, waterproof, and stain-resistant. They do not break down in the environment or in the body. They are found in nonstick cookware, food packaging, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant furniture, some cosmetics and dental floss, feminine hygiene products, and contaminated drinking water. The CDC has detected them in the bloodstream of almost every American tested. 

Q: Are PFAS linked to cancer? 

Yes. Certain PFAS are classified as probable human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, with the strongest evidence linking them to kidney and

testicular cancer. They have also been associated with thyroid cancer, elevated cholesterol, immune suppression, and developmental harm in children exposed in utero and through breast milk. 

Q: Can PFAS cause weight gain in women? 

Yes. PFAS activate receptors that drive fat cell creation, disrupt hunger and fullness hormones, and accumulate in adipose tissue. A Harvard study found that women in the highest PFAS group regained approximately 3.7 to 4.8 more pounds after dieting than women with lower levels, an effect seen primarily in women. 

Q: How do PFAS affect the thyroid? 

PFAS interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism and signaling. A 2023 study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that exposure to a mixture of PFAS, which is how real people are exposed, disrupted lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and thyroid function simultaneously. The result can be slowed metabolism, hair thinning, cold intolerance, fatigue, and brain fog even when TSH labs appear normal. 

Q: How can I support my body in clearing PFAS? 

Reduce new exposure first. Then support your liver with B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, and cruciferous vegetables. Eat plenty of fiber, maintain daily bowel movements, drink enough water, and sweat regularly through exercise or sauna. A structured detox program that addresses both the dietary and nutritional sides is more effective than piecing it together on your own. 

References 

1. Ripon RK, et al. PFAS exposure and endocrine disruption among US women. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(12):e2539425. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.39425
2. Goodrich JA, Walker DI, He J, et al. Metabolic Signatures of Youth Exposure to Mixtures of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Multi-Cohort Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2023. doi:10.1289/EHP11372
3. Liu G, Dhana K, Furtado JD, et al. Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: A prospective study. PLOS Med. 2018;15(2):e1002502. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002502
4. Mamavation / Environmental Health News. Consumer study: PFAS in sanitary pads, panty liners, and incontinence pads. 46 products tested; 48% positive. 2020-2022. mamavation.com
5. Venier M, et al. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in reusable feminine hygiene products. Environ Sci Technol Lett. July 22, 2025.
6. Olsen GW, et al. Half-life of serum elimination of perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorohexanesulfonate, and perfluorooctanoate in retired fluorochemical production workers. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(9):1298-1305.
7. Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Bourguignon JP, Giudice LC, et al. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. Endocr Rev. 2009;30(4):293-342. doi:10.1210/er.2009-0002
8. International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC Monographs Volume 135: PFOA, PFHxS, and related compounds. 2024.

 

QUICK LINKS

Anti Aging Doctor  |  Functional Medicine Doctor  |  The Gut Skin Connection  |  Nutrition