Everyday products that often contain PFAS forever chemicals: nonstick cookware, water-resistant clothing, and athletic shoes.

PFAS & Forever Chemicals: Health Effects & How to Reduce Them

Last updated: April 2026

PFAS and Forever Chemicals: What They Are, Health Effects, and How to Reduce Exposure

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly called forever chemicals, are a group of more than 15,000 human-made chemicals used to make products resistant to heat, grease, stains, and water. Because PFAS do not easily break down in the environment or the human body, they can accumulate over time and have been associated with endocrine disruption, fertility challenges, immune dysfunction, certain cancers, and other long-term health concerns.

Written by Sophia Ruan Gushée, bestselling author and Practical Nontoxic Living™ expert

▶ Watch · 9 min

The Forever Chemicals in Your Home and Body Were Invented for WWII

The chemicals in your nonstick pan, waterproof jacket, and couch were invented to help American soldiers win World War II. In this 9-minute overview, Sophia Ruan Gushée explains how they ended up in your home—and inside you—and what you can do about it.

Watch on YouTube →

This video is an excerpt from Sophia's 4-day Forever Chemicals Detox crash course, originally recorded in September 2022. Some regulatory details have evolved since recording—for the latest, see the sections below.

Key takeaways

PFAS are a class of 15,000+ synthetic chemicals used in nonstick, stain-resistant, and water-repellent products.
They are called "forever chemicals" because they resist breakdown in the environment and accumulate in the human body.
Peer-reviewed research has associated PFAS exposure with thyroid, reproductive, immune, and certain cancer outcomes.
The EPA finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds in April 2024.
The most effective strategy is reducing ongoing exposure through water filtration, cookware choices, food packaging, and textiles.

What's on this page

What are PFAS and why are they called "forever chemicals"?
Health risks of PFAS
Why low-dose exposure still matters
Where PFAS hide in everyday products
How to reduce PFAS exposure at home
Recent developments
Frequently asked questions
Forever Chemicals Detox podcast series
Sources & further reading

The Basics

What Are PFAS and Why Are They Called "Forever Chemicals"?

PFAS are synthetic chemicals developed for durability. That same durability is what makes them a concern for human health and the environment.

Why PFAS persist in the body and environment

Resist breakdown in air, water, and soil
Accumulate in food chains and human tissue
Remain in the body long after exposure ends, with elimination half-lives measured in years for compounds like PFOS and PFOA

How people are exposed to PFAS

DietFood and grease-resistant food packaging

WaterContaminated drinking water supplies

Household productsNonstick cookware, cleaning and personal care products

TextilesStain- and water-resistant furniture, carpets, and clothing

PFAS also reach us through indoor air and household dust.

These exposures are nearly universal. Studies measuring PFAS in the blood of healthy volunteers have found detectable levels in more than 95% of Americans, according to Stanford Medicine.

Forever chemicals earn their name—they resist breakdown in the environment and quietly build up in the body.

Health Effects

Health Risks of PFAS and Forever Chemicals

Scientific bodies including the Endocrine Society have identified PFAS as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they can interfere with hormone signaling at very low doses.

PFAS, hormone disruption, and reproductive health

Peer-reviewed studies have associated PFAS exposure with thyroid dysfunction, reproductive hormone imbalance, fertility challenges, and developmental effects.

PFAS and cancer, immune, and chronic disease risks

Scientific research has associated PFAS exposure with certain cancers, immune system suppression, pregnancy complications, and metabolic and cardiovascular effects. In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) and PFOS as Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans).

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), peer-reviewed research has associated PFAS exposure with a range of effects—though the strength of the evidence varies by compound and by outcome. Reported associations include:

Increased cholesterol levels
Reduced antibody response to vaccines, including in children
Changes in liver enzymes
Pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia
Small decreases in infant birth weight
Increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer

Both agencies stress that this science is still evolving. ATSDR describes the epidemiological evidence as "suggesting associations" rather than proving cause, and the EPA notes that research is ongoing to determine how different PFAS and different exposure levels affect health. In practical terms, that uncertainty is a reason to reduce avoidable exposure—not to panic.

"Each new study that comes out concerns us more—not just because of what these chemicals do, but because of how hard it is to get rid of them once they're out there."Lisa Patel, MD · Stanford Medicine

PFAS, epigenetics, and why your genes aren't your destiny

While genetics influence health risk, environmental exposures help determine how genes are expressed. Emerging research on PFAS suggests exposure may influence health outcomes across generations through epigenetic mechanisms. Stanford Medicine environmental epidemiologist Andres Cardenas and colleagues have reported that PFAS do not appear to alter DNA directly, but can change when and where genes are switched on—a process known as epigenetic regulation (Stanford Medicine). Learn more in our podcast episode: Your Genes Aren't Your Destiny: How Everyday Household Exposures Shape Your Health.

The Science

Why Low-Dose PFAS Exposure Still Matters

Why "safe" levels are difficult to establish

PFAS can cause biological effects at extremely low doses due to non-monotonic dose-response relationships, hormone-mimicking behavior, and cumulative exposure over time. This concept is well-documented in the peer-reviewed literature on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Learn more in our podcast episode: When Less Isn't Safe: How Low Doses of Toxins Affect Your Health.

Why daily PFAS exposures add up

Daily contact across food, water, products, and indoor environments can create a chronic chemical burden that may affect health over time.

The dose that matters most often isn't one big exposure. It's the small, daily ones that add up.

In Your Home

Where PFAS Hide in Everyday Products

Household Repeat Offenders™

Traditional nonstick cookware and bakeware manufactured with PFAS
Grease-resistant food wrappers and containers
Furniture, carpets, and rugs treated with PFAS-based stain repellents
Water- and dirt-repellent clothing and textiles
Certain cleaning and personal care products

Learn more in our podcast episode: Household Repeat Offenders™: Everyday Products That Hide Forever Chemicals (PFAS).

Community-wide PFAS contamination

PFAS contamination has affected drinking water supplies in many communities, sometimes years before it is publicly disclosed. The EPA's 2024 drinking water rule requires public water systems to monitor for six PFAS compounds and notify the public of results. Hear one family's story in our podcast episode: When Forever Chemicals Hit Home: How Senator Judy Seeberger Turned PFAS Contamination into Hope.

Four common sources of PFAS exposure: diet, drinking water, household products, and textiles.

What To Do

How to Reduce PFAS Exposure at Home

You can't quickly "detox" PFAS that are already in your body—research shows forever chemicals leave slowly, over years—so the most effective, evidence-based way to lower your PFAS body burden over time is to reduce ongoing exposure. These are the changes that matter most.

Simple ways to reduce forever chemical exposure

Filter drinking water with a certified PFAS-reducing filter (look for NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 certification). Not sure which to buy? See our guide to how to choose the right water filter for your home.
Avoid traditional nonstick cookware when possible; choose cast iron, stainless steel, carbon steel, glass, or enameled cast iron. Here's the hidden dangers of Teflon® and PFAS, and why nonstick is worth rethinking.
Be cautious with stain- and water-resistant products.
Reduce reliance on grease-resistant food packaging like microwave popcorn bags and some fast-food wrappers.
Bring your own container for restaurant leftovers and takeout, since grease-resistant wrappers and boxes are a common source—a simple swap Stanford Medicine clinicians suggest.
Dust and vacuum with a HEPA filter to reduce indoor dust exposure.

Highest-impact changes to focus on first

Food contact materials (cookware, packaging, storage containers)
Personal care and skin contact products
Indoor environments and household dust

For the easiest free steps, listen to our podcast episode: The 6 Easiest (and Free!) Ways to Cut Forever Chemicals from Your Life.

Stanford Medicine's researchers are candid that the largest reductions in PFAS exposure will come from stronger regulation and from manufacturers using fewer of these chemicals. But that kind of change takes years. In the meantime, reducing your own exposure at home is the most effective thing you can do now—and it's exactly what the Ultimate Home Detox™ is built for. The free Kickstart series is the simplest place to begin.

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Start Reducing Your PFAS Exposure Today

Join the free Ultimate Home Detox™ Kickstart Series—10 daily emails with practical shifts to reduce your toxic exposures.

10 daily emails with small, science-backed shifts
The Forever Chemicals Detox Guide (PDF)
The Nontoxic Cleaning Guide (PDF)

One small shift a day. That's it.

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The Latest

Recent Developments in PFAS

The science and the regulatory landscape around PFAS are moving quickly. A few recent developments worth knowing:

July 2026: New York Attorney General Letitia James sued six of the nation's largest chemical manufacturers—including 3M, DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva—alleging they made and sold PFAS they knew to be toxic while concealing the risks (as reported by The New York Times).
April 2024: The U.S. EPA finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds.
2023: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans).
2022–present: Multiple U.S. states including Maine, Minnesota, and California have passed laws restricting PFAS in consumer products.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About PFAS and Forever Chemicals

What are PFAS in simple terms?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of more than 15,000 human-made chemicals engineered to resist heat, grease, oil, stains, and water. They are called "forever chemicals" because the strong carbon-fluorine bonds that give them their useful properties also make them extremely resistant to breakdown in the environment and in the human body.

Are PFAS in my drinking water?

PFAS have been detected in drinking water supplies across the United States, including both public water systems and private wells. In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first national enforceable drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds, including PFOA and PFOS. You can check your local water utility's Consumer Confidence Report or the EWG Tap Water Database to see if PFAS have been detected in your area. If you're ready to filter, see our guide to choosing the right water filter for your home.

What are the health effects linked to PFAS exposure?

Peer-reviewed research and federal health agencies have associated PFAS exposure with a range of health concerns, including thyroid dysfunction, elevated cholesterol, reduced vaccine response in children, pregnancy-induced hypertension, decreased fertility, and certain cancers. In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) and PFOS as Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans). For more, you can read the NASEM 2022 PFAS Guidance report.

Which cookware is made without PFAS?

Cookware options made without PFAS include cast iron, stainless steel, carbon steel, glass, and enameled cast iron. Some ceramic-coated cookware is marketed as PFAS-free, though consumers should look for third-party verification—such as GreenScreen Certified®, NSF 537 PFAS-Free Certification, and Intertek—since "nontoxic" and "natural" are not regulated terms. Traditional nonstick cookware labeled PTFE, Teflon, or with water-beading coatings typically contains PFAS or is manufactured using PFAS; here's why the hidden dangers of Teflon® and PFAS are worth understanding. For a detailed comparison of cookware materials, see our guide to PFAS-free cookware options.

Is Teflon a PFAS?

Yes—Teflon is a brand name for PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), which is itself a fluoropolymer in the PFAS family, and traditional nonstick coatings have historically been manufactured using other PFAS such as PFOA. In practical terms, cookware labeled Teflon, PTFE, or "nonstick" with a water-beading coating is generally considered part of the PFAS class. Some newer nonstick products are made without PFOA, but PTFE itself is still a PFAS. For the fuller story, see the hidden dangers of Teflon® and PFAS.

How do you detox PFAS from your body?

There is no proven way to quickly "detox" or flush out PFAS that have already built up in your body. Research indicates PFAS accumulate and have long elimination half-lives—PFOS and PFOA, for example, take several years to decrease by half even after exposure stops—so the most effective, evidence-based strategy is reducing ongoing exposure, so your body burden declines over time rather than being continually topped up. Some studies have examined blood donation, therapeutic phlebotomy, and cholestyramine as potential interventions, but these should only be considered under medical supervision, and the 2022 National Academies report offers clinical guidance for individuals with elevated PFAS blood levels. For practical, low-cost starting points, see our guide to reducing PFAS at home.

What are the symptoms of PFAS exposure?

For most people, PFAS exposure does not cause noticeable, day-to-day symptoms—it isn't like an acute poisoning with obvious warning signs. Instead, the health effects that research has associated with PFAS tend to be long-term and subclinical: changes such as higher cholesterol or shifts in liver enzymes that would typically be detected through bloodwork over time rather than felt as symptoms. Because these associations come largely from population studies, they can't tell any one person whether their own health has been affected, and routine blood testing for PFAS isn't part of standard care. For those reasons, the practical focus is on reducing ongoing exposure rather than watching for symptoms. If you know you've had unusually high exposure—for example, through certain occupations or contaminated drinking water—a qualified healthcare provider can discuss the 2022 National Academies guidance on PFAS testing with you.

How do I test for PFAS exposure?

Blood tests can measure certain PFAS compounds, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) published clinical guidance in 2022 recommending testing for individuals with known elevated exposure—for example, firefighters, people living near contaminated sites, or those with certain occupational exposures. Testing is typically ordered through a qualified healthcare provider and is not yet standard preventive care.

Are PFAS banned?

PFAS regulation varies by country, state, and chemical. In the United States, the EPA's 2024 drinking water rule set enforceable limits for six PFAS compounds, and states including Maine, Minnesota, and California have passed laws restricting PFAS in consumer products such as food packaging, cosmetics, and textiles. The European Union is considering a broad restriction on the entire PFAS class under REACH. As of 2026, there is no single comprehensive federal ban on PFAS as a chemical class in the United States.

How can I avoid PFAS (forever chemicals)?

You can't avoid PFAS entirely—they're widespread in water, dust, food, and air—but you can meaningfully lower how much you bring into your home. Focus on the biggest entry points: choose cookware made without PFAS (cast iron, stainless steel, carbon steel, glass), filter drinking water with an NSF/ANSI 53- or 58-certified filter, skip grease-resistant packaging like microwave popcorn bags and fast-food wrappers, and look for furniture, carpets, and clothing not treated with stain- or water-repellent finishes. Because "PFAS-free" and "nontoxic" aren't regulated terms, favor products with independent certification where you can. PFAS are one of the Household Repeat Offenders we help you work through, room by room, in the Ultimate Home Detox—start free with the Kickstart.

Listen

Forever Chemicals Detox Podcast Series

Explore the full Forever Chemicals Detox series on the Practical Nontoxic Living™ podcast. The series is organized below as a learning journey—start with the foundational episodes, then deepen your understanding of the science, identify your own exposures, and finish with clear action steps.

Start here — Foundational episodes

🎧 Podcast
Your Body Is Brilliant: Why Detoxing Forever Chemicals (PFAS) Matters

An introduction to PFAS, why your body accumulates them, and why exposure reduction matters.

🎧 Podcast
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Nancy Buermeyer of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners explains how endocrine-disrupting chemicals—including PFAS—affect hormone health.

Understand the science

🎧 Podcast
From Alarming Health Trends to Healthy Futures: How to Reduce Toxic Exposures

Connecting rising health trends to environmental exposures and what you can do about them.

🎧 Podcast
Your Genes Aren't Your Destiny: How Everyday Household Exposures Shape Your Health

How environmental exposures influence gene expression and long-term health outcomes.

🎧 Podcast
When Less Isn't Safe: How Low Doses of Toxins Affect Your Health

Why low-dose exposure to PFAS and other chemicals can still cause meaningful biological effects.

Identify your exposures

🎧 Podcast
Household Repeat Offenders™: Everyday Products That Hide Forever Chemicals (PFAS)

A practical audit of the everyday products most likely to contain PFAS in your home.

🎧 Podcast
When Forever Chemicals Hit Home: How Senator Judy Seeberger Turned PFAS Contamination into Hope

Minnesota Senator Judy Seeberger on discovering PFAS contamination in her community and driving legislative change.

Take action

🎧 Podcast
The 6 Easiest (and Free!) Ways to Cut Forever Chemicals from Your Life

Six no-cost, high-impact changes you can make today to reduce PFAS exposure at home.

References

Sources & Further Reading

This page draws on current research and guidance from the following authoritative organizations. Specific citations are noted inline throughout the content.

Ready to begin? The free Ultimate Home Detox Kickstart Series turns all of this into 10 small daily steps. Start the Kickstart →

Scientific Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and reflects current scientific research on PFAS and environmental and public health. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure disease. This information does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider for personal health decisions.

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Ruan Living offers education in environmental and public health. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual experiences vary. Learn more.