A recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives found that synthetic chemicals from everyday products have started accumulating in our bodies- and that they are (slowly) making us sick.
These chemicals enter our bodies through the day-to-day products that we use. Including things like tiny molecules from pizza boxes, tiny molecules from our clothes, and more.
Since these chemicals aren’t consumable, they take a long time to break down, and they begin accumulating in our bodies (hence the name “forever chemicals”). Once their levels exceed certain limits, they cause us to fall sick.
In the study, researchers looked at data from 100 previous studies involving humans and rodents to examine whether PFA exposure was linked to high levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) – a liver enzyme released when the liver is damaged.
The study found rising levels of ALT to be linked with three of the most commonly found PFAs in the human body– perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Since these molecules are present in extremely tiny amounts in our bodies, and since they take years to accumulate to a noticeable level, there is a debate on whether they have any significant effects on our health at all.
However, new research has started to surface, which shows that these chemicals increase the likelihood of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in humans (a disease that causes fat to build up in the liver).
With these results, scientists have also begun worrying about the possible interference of these particles with our hormones- potentially giving rise to fertility issues.
The worrisome part is that there seems to be no real escape from these PFAS. They’re present everywhere in the environment, like rain, snow, water, and even air. This means that we can’t seem to be able to do anything about the levels of these molecules in our body and how much damage they might cause us.
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