Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called "forever chemicals," are synthetic compounds that linger in our environment and bodies, posing serious health risks like cancer, hormone disruption, and thyroid disease. Found in everything from non-stick cookware to drinking water, PFAS are notoriously difficult to eliminate once they enter the bloodstream. However, a ground-breaking study published on July 17, 2025, in Environmental Health suggests a surprisingly simple solution: beta-glucan, a type of fibre found in oats and barley, may help your body flush out these toxic chemicals. Here's what the research reveals and how you can use it to reduce your PFAS burden.
The study, conducted on 72 men with elevated LDL cholesterol, tested whether beta-glucan, a soluble fibre known for its gel-forming properties, could reduce PFAS levels in the blood. Participants consumed either a beta-glucan-rich oat drink (1 gram of beta-glucan and 1.9 grams of total fibre, three times daily) or a placebo brown rice drink for four weeks. The results were striking:
Significant PFAS Reduction: Only the beta-glucan group saw meaningful drops in long-chain PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), which are linked to serious health issues like cancer and hormone disruption.
Targeting High-Risk PFAS: The fibre group showed reductions in the seven most concerning PFAS compounds identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which are associated with thyroid disease, kidney problems, ulcerative colitis, and certain cancers.
How It Works: Beta-glucan's gel-like structure traps PFAS in the gut, preventing their reabsorption into the bloodstream. Normally, PFAS excreted into bile are reabsorbed in the intestine, cycling back to the liver. Beta-glucan breaks this loop, allowing PFAS to be eliminated through stool.
A follow-up study in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology using mice reinforced these findings. Mice fed beta-glucan, despite consuming more PFAS-contaminated water, had lower blood PFAS levels, improved fat metabolism, and reduced liver stress compared to controls. This suggests beta-glucan not only lowers PFAS but also mitigates their metabolic damage.
PFAS are everywhere, contaminated water, food packaging, non-stick pans, and they accumulate in your body over years, contributing to fatigue, inflammation, hormone imbalances, and chronic diseases. The fact that a simple dietary change, like adding beta-glucan-rich foods, can reduce these toxins in just four weeks is a game-changer. It's especially promising for those with typical exposure levels, as the study participants weren't unusually high-risk but still benefited.
The study offers actionable advice for incorporating beta-glucan while minimising PFAS exposure. Here's how to start:
1.Check Your Gut Health: If you experience bloating, irregular bowel movements, or digestive discomfort, your gut may not be ready for high-fibre foods. Start with simple carbs like fruit or white rice to calm inflammation before introducing fibre.
2.Introduce Fibre Gradually: Once your gut is stable, add resistant starches like cooked-and-cooled potatoes or green bananas to support beneficial gut bacteria. Slowly incorporate beta-glucan-rich foods like oats, barley, organic rye, or shiitake mushrooms.
3.Choose Whole Foods: Opt for minimally processed sources of beta-glucan, like whole oats or barley, to maximise benefits. Be cautious with seaweed, which contains beneficial beta-glucan but also linoleic acid, which can be harmful in excess.
4.Cut PFAS at the Source: Use a PFAS-certified water filter, switch to stainless steel or ceramic cookware, and avoid stain-resistant fabrics or food wrappers. Reducing new exposure is as critical as flushing out existing PFAS.
While promising, the study has limitations. It was conducted on a small group of men with elevated cholesterol, so results may vary in other populations. The four-week duration also doesn't address long-term effects. Additionally, while beta-glucan reduced PFAS, it didn't eliminate them entirely, and ongoing exposure from everyday products remains a challenge.
This study challenges the notion that PFAS are impossible to eliminate from the body. By leveraging the gut's natural detox pathways, beta-glucan offers a practical, accessible tool for reducing toxic load. It also underscores the broader issue of environmental toxins in our food and water, echoing concerns raised in other Mercola.com articles about chemical additives and "forever chemicals" in everyday products.
For those dealing with unexplained fatigue, hormone issues, or chronic inflammation, PFAS could be a hidden culprit. Adding beta-glucan-rich foods like oats or barley to your diet, while minimising new exposures, could be a simple yet powerful step toward better health. As research continues, this humble fibre may prove to be a key ally in the fight against forever chemicals.
Story at-a-glance
A specific type of fiber called beta-glucan, found in oats and barley, was shown to reduce levels of harmful PFAS chemicals in the blood within just four weeks
Participants who consumed beta-glucan experienced significant drops in legacy PFAS compounds like PFOA and PFOS, which are linked to cancer and hormone disruption
The fiber group was the only one to show a meaningful reduction in the seven most high-risk PFAS chemicals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, including those that raise your risk for thyroid disease, cancer and ulcerative colitis
In a follow-up study using mice, animals exposed to high PFAS levels but fed beta-glucan had lower blood PFAS, improved fat metabolism and less liver stress compared to controls
The key to beta-glucan's effect is its gel-forming action in your gut, which traps PFAS and interrupts their reabsorption cycle, allowing your body to eliminate them through stool
Most people have no idea they're carrying around a hidden chemical load that their bodies weren't designed to handle. But the reality is, we're living in a world saturated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. These synthetic compounds are engineered to resist heat, water and oil — and they don't just stay on the surface.
Once these substances enter your bloodstream, they're incredibly hard to get rid of. That's why researchers are searching for real, practical solutions. Many believe that detoxing PFAS is a lost cause — that once they're in your body, they're in for good. But new evidence suggests otherwise.
It turns out your gut, not your liver or kidneys, is one key to turning this around. And the solution doesn't involve harsh protocols or extreme diets. It starts with something as simple as how you digest your food — and whether the right kind of fiber is present to help carry these chemicals out.
If you've ever wondered why you're dealing with persistent fatigue, inflammation, hormone problems or chronic digestive issues, PFAS could be part of the story. These chemicals hijack your system slowly and silently. But there's now a realistic path to lowering that burden, and it starts by focusing on what's happening in your gut.
Four Weeks of Fiber Lowered Toxic PFAS in the Blood
A study published in Environmental Health evaluated 72 adult men with elevated LDL cholesterol who were already enrolled in a trial testing oat beta-glucan's effects on cholesterol.1
Beta-glucans are a type of soluble fiber found in oats and barley that form a gel-like substance in your gut, helping to trap and remove compounds like bile acids and, as this study explored, PFAS as well. PFAS chemicals, also known as "forever chemicals," are notoriously hard to remove from the body, so the researchers wanted to know: could a fiber intervention make a dent?
•Participants received either a fiber-rich supplement or a placebo for four weeks — All participants followed the original protocol, consuming either an oat beta-glucan drink (1 gram (g) of beta-glucan and 1.9 g total fiber per serving, three times daily) or a brown rice drink with no active fiber. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after four weeks to measure 17 different PFAS types.
•PFAS levels dropped significantly but only in the fiber group for legacy PFAS — While short-chain PFAS decreased in both groups, likely due to their shorter half-lives, the study found that only the group consuming beta-glucan showed significant reductions in long-chain PFAS known to persist for years in the body.
These included perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) — two of the most studied PFAS compounds, both associated with increased cancer and hormone disruption risks.
•PFAS reductions occurred even in men with exposure levels typical of the general population — Researchers noted that all participants had detectable PFAS levels at the start of the study. The levels of certain PFAS were higher than previously reported in Canadian populations, suggesting rising background exposure. Despite this, the beta-glucan intervention still reduced PFAS levels, showing promise even for people without known occupational or high-dose environmental exposure.
•Only the fiber group saw a drop in the most concerning types of PFAS — These specific PFAS, identified by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), are known to increase the risk for serious health issues like thyroid disease, kidney problems, ulcerative colitis and certain cancers.
If your blood level of these seven PFAS reaches just 2 nanograms per milliliter, doctors are advised to monitor your cholesterol, blood pressure during pregnancy and breast cancer risk. At 20 nanograms per milliliter, the recommendations expand to include regular screening for thyroid disease, testicular cancer and more. In the study, only the fiber group had a meaningful reduction in this high-risk PFAS group.
•The proposed mechanism is the fiber's ability to trap PFAS in your digestive tract — Researchers believe the gel-forming fiber worked because PFAS share biochemical properties with bile acids — compounds already known to bind to beta-glucan and get flushed out in feces. PFAS and bile acids are both amphipathic, meaning they have both water-loving and fat-loving parts. This allows them to interact with fiber gels and get excreted rather than reabsorbed.
Most PFAS don't leave your body easily. Once excreted into the bile, they're typically reabsorbed in your intestine, returning to your liver in a loop. Beta-glucan breaks this cycle by holding PFAS in your gut, giving your body a chance to eliminate them through stool rather than cycling them back into your bloodstream.
Oat Beta-Glucan Helped Mice Eliminate PFAS
In a related study published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, researchers from Boston University used mice to examine whether oat beta-glucan could reduce the body's PFAS load.2 They exposed mice to a mixture of seven PFAS compounds in drinking water while feeding them diets that included either inulin, a non-gel-forming fiber, or oat beta-glucan — a gel-forming fiber.
•Despite drinking more contaminated water, fiber-fed mice had lower PFAS in their blood — The mice fed beta-glucan consumed more PFAS-contaminated water, yet ended up with lower blood levels of some of the most harmful PFAS. This suggests that the fiber helped block reabsorption of PFAS in the gut. In other words, even when these mice took in more of the toxic chemicals, their bodies were better at flushing them out before they could circulate back into the bloodstream.
•Mice on the fiber diet had better fat metabolism and lower liver fat — The beta-glucan-fed mice showed lower liver triglycerides and reduced fat accumulation in the small intestine and fat tissue overall. This matters because PFAS have been linked to metabolic disruption and fatty liver disease. These findings suggest that fiber offers a double benefit: lowering toxic load while improving fat regulation in the body.
•Fiber-fed mice experienced better lipid balance without triggering other stress responses — The researchers also looked at markers of liver stress and detoxification. A key enzyme linked to chemical detox was lower in the fiber-fed group during the cleansing phase, indicating that their bodies were under less toxic stress after PFAS exposure.
How to Reduce Your PFAS Burden with Targeted Fiber and Smarter Food Choices
If you're dealing with fatigue, hormone issues or unexplained weight gain, and you've already cleaned up your water, cookware and household products, you could be missing the last piece of the puzzle: what's stuck inside your body. PFAS aren't just external threats; they're internal ones too.
Once these forever chemicals get in, they linger for years unless you take direct steps to push them out. Here's where smart, gut-focused nutrition comes in. The right type of fiber, at the right time, makes a meaningful difference in your toxic load. But timing and your gut's condition matter. So, if you're trying to reduce PFAS levels in your system, start here:
1.Check your gut health first — If you regularly feel bloated after meals, go days without a bowel movement or have frequent loose stools, your gut likely isn't ready for high-fiber foods. Don't guess — listen to your symptoms. These are signs that your microbiome is imbalanced and your gut lining is inflamed or damaged. For now, avoid complex carbs and stick to simpler ones like fruit and white rice while your gut settles down.
2.Avoid fiber and fermentable carbs if your digestion is impaired — A damaged gut can't handle even "healthy" foods. Beans, leafy greens, cruciferous veggies and whole grains all ferment quickly and feed the wrong microbes when your gut is compromised. That drives more bloating, inflammation and gas. In this phase, you want fuel that doesn't backfire — whole fruit and cooked starches that digest cleanly without fermenting too fast.
3.Reintroduce fermentable fibers in small amounts once your gut calms — When your bloating stops and your digestion becomes regular, that's your green light. Start with resistant starches like cooked-and-cooled white potatoes or green bananas. These feed butyrate-producing bacteria — the kind that protect your gut lining and regulate inflammation. Slowly add in garlic, leeks and onions. Keep portions small and build up as your tolerance improves.
4.Eat foods high in beta-glucans once your gut is stable — Oats and barley contain beta-glucan, which binds to PFAS in your digestive tract and helps your body eliminate them through your stool. Once your digestion is in good shape, make this fiber part of your daily routine. Other good sources include organic rye, maitake and shiitake mushrooms, and seaweed like kombu.
Be mindful of your portions though, as most seaweeds contain polyunsaturated fats, including linoleic acid, which is harmful to your health in excessive amounts. Choose whole, minimally processed forms of beta-glucans whenever possible to get the most benefit.
5.Cut off PFAS exposure at the source — While you work to flush them out, don't let more in. Use a water filter certified for PFAS. Stop storing food in nonstick containers or wrappers. Replace your nonstick cookware with stainless steel, ceramic or enameled cast iron. Skip stain-resistant treatments on clothes and furniture. PFAS are everywhere, but the more you avoid them now, the less your body has to fight later."