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My last post was about removing toxins from your beauty and household products. Autumn is the time of year where we evaluate what to hold onto and what to let go of. As the leaves drop from the branches, we can see beneath and beyond, and we can take stock of the structure of the trees.
Today I want to talk about PFAs. PFAs, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of different man-made chemicals; they are sometimes popularly referred to by the moniker “forever chemicals.”
My husband Hanbit and I have been on a journey to reduce PFAs for about a year now. It started as Hanbit’s journey to be honest. I was mostly on board, but it took a long time for me to understand that these chemicals simply DO NOT EASILY BREAK DOWN and can stick around for thousands of years.
They have both high toxicity and longevity, thus making them especially potent. PFAs will probably be in the atmosphere and in the water whenever the earth eventually implodes. Talk about unnatural.
PFAs were engineered in the 1930s. One of these PFA substances was trademarked as “Teflon” by DuPont in 1945. From the 1950s onwards PFAs were used to make our lives convenient. “Goretex” technology is another popular chemical compound comprised of PFAs.
PFAs provide nonstick properties and waterproofing. They’re also used in firefighting foam to put out fires. In the 90s, I would always “Scotchgard” (another trademarked PFA substance) my Birkenstocks to waterproof them.
Knowing what I know now, I will never spray my shoes again. Nor do I use nonstick pans or any cookware that’s engineered to be convenient or nonstick. Hanbit and I cook in stainless steel and cast iron only at this point. There are other recent cookware “technologies” that are said to be “safe,” but why eat food prepared in pots and pans with layers of chemicals and adhesives? How can that be good for your health?
Why should we care about PFAs?
PFAs are wreaking havoc on our health. They have been linked to conditions such as high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, birth defects, and decreased response to vaccines.
They have also been linked to developmental delays in children, reduced immunity, obesity, and interfering with (disrupting) our hormones. It’s shocking how harmful these chemicals can be. Sadly, 3M and DuPont tested their own employees decades ago at factories using PFAs and found that those employees had increased rates of birth defects.
PFAs have been circulating in our blood for decades now, even if we are not directly exposed by working at or living near a plant manufacturing products using PFAs.
If you are a person who takes info in by reading, here is the EPA’s page on PFAs. If you like documentaries and learning more visually, Hanbit and I watched this incredibly moving documentary on the history of PFAs and the communities and people impacted by the manufacturing process. I really recommend that you watch this overview.
Now you know the bad news (sorry, and also not sorry, as I want you to be informed), here’s What You Can Do Easily:
Get a water filter. If you do nothing else, do this! 45% of the waterways (including Philadelphia) in the US are now contaminated with PFAs. Here are some filters certified to remove PFAs. We tried the Zero Water filter first but we drink a lot of water and the filter was both very slow and (for us) it only lasted 2 weeks. They technically have a recycling program for used filters, but I couldn’t bring myself to use that many filters. It just felt too wasteful.
A standard Brita filter removes about 66% of PFAs. A Brita “Elite” filter
removes only 22% of PFAs.
We now use Pur Plus (which only technically filters out about 80% of the PFAs but which was more workable for us than the Zero Water pitcher) and we also have a glass LifeStraw filter that lives on our kitchen table; it’s very pretty but too small to take care of our daily water use. We might eventually try a different filtration system that removes 100% of PFAs (according to third party testing) but for now 80% is good enough.
Replace your nonstick cookware. Switch back to old-fashioned cookware your grandparents would have used. This is a one-time thing that will then have some learning curve if you’re used to nonstick, but it’s worth it, I promise! :)
Avoid clothes with waterproofing and look for brands that have pledged to be PFAs-free. (Many brands have promised not to use PFAs by 2025).
If you want to go deep, here are some surprising places PFAs are found: period panties (here are period underwear made without PFAs, assuming we trust the manufacturers to accurately disclose this), contact lens (have you noticed I’m much more into eyeglasses now?; there are a few brands of contacts that claim they don’t use PFAs but I’m also increasingly wary of having chemicals directly on my eyes), the crotch of many yoga pants to make them “moisture wicking” (AHHHH! I now wear these much cheaper but safer organic cotton yoga pants from Pact), dental floss (“Glide” brand floss glides easily because of the forever chemicals–I now use this floss from Raidus), microwave popcorn bags (switch to stovetop, it’s also more fun that way), carpeting, medical devices.
At this point, 99% of all humans have PFAs in their bloodstream. Even indigenous communities in Antarctica and Tibet are exposed to PFAs through rainwater and runoff. Even penguins in Antarctica are passing PFAs to their babies through their eggs. It’s enough to bring anyone to tears of sorrow and rage.
We can’t turn back now, but we can look forward and reduce our further exposure to mitigate potential risks. I’m so sorry if you’re feeling overloaded.
But I need to let you know that you can switch your water filter, avoid nonstick cookware, and buy clothing that hasn’t been treated. Or even just do one of these things while you take this time to digest this information. We didn’t change our habits overnight, but we are constantly becoming more educated so that we can make better choices.
The other thing I want to emphasize is to please go for BETTER choices, NOT “perfect” ones. Do what you need to do but I do encourage you to find at least a couple of ways to mitigate your PFAs-exposure risk.
I work with many people in my acupuncture practice (surprisingly young people!) with ulcerative colitis, thyroid issues, and endocrine disruption, and I often wonder how much of the illness I work to unravel is caused by the environment.
We are one with nature and we are nature. Nature deserves so much better than this, and we, as conscious beings, should know better than this. If we poison the earth, we will be poisoned as well. Please join me in reducing our collective risk of PFAs.
Please boycott brands that are still spraying their products with chemicals that we have known for decades are lethal. We need to work together on this.
I may not have children I’m leaving the earth to, but there are children who will inherit what we collectively create. That’s enough motivation for me to reduce my consumption of and contact with “forever chemicals.”
If you know someone who might be willing to read this newsletter, this newsletter will live on my blog as a resource. Please feel free to bookmark my blog and return to this as needed. Be informed and stay informed.
May you be in the love, and be of the love, and may we make better choices together.
With both a broken heart for the mess we’ve made,
Monica
PS: On one happy note, I’m starting to offer live in-home restorative yoga sessions in 2025. You can register through my website whenever you’re ready! I can’t wait to be with you in cozy connection. I’ve been daydreaming about this for about a year now, and am finally ready to share this life-changing practice of nervous system regulation with you.
This first session (Sunday January 12th, 2025!) will be offered at a lower price point as I’m trying out this new practice format. You can register as an individual or as a household and practice with your family/housemates. Check it out here.