We regularly get updates on the issue of PFAs – commonly known as ‘forever’ chemicals in our food and food packaging materials. But now, what may be one of the last has come down the Food newswire…
Anti-PFA bacteria ‘soaking up the so-called ‘forever chemicals’…
Okay. That’s admittedly a bit of a stretch. But an encouraging new breakthrough has reached our eyes and ears. And it may eventually mean the end of PFA’s in the food chain!
What is it?
Just ask Tom Sawyer… It’s always nice when others volunteer to do the dirty work for you.
In Mark Twain’s American Classic, The Adven-tures of Tom Sawyer, Tom tricks his friends into whitewashing his Aunt Polly’s fence for him, making it appear like a desirable activity.
Not only that, but by the end, Tom’s convinced them it’s such a right-eous pursuit that they’re falling all over themselves to pay him for the privilege.
So it is with several species of human gut bacteria recently identified by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge (UoC) that seem to compete with each other for the privilege of corralling PFAs and running them out of Dodge – ‘Dodge’ being not only your gut, but your entire system.
Scientists allow that these bacteria may not rid out bodies of 100 percent of the PFAs they encounter. But their intitial mouse-based studies showed that the bacteria in question dramatically reduced PFAs in their lab subjects by as much as 74 percent!
Concentrate the attack
PFAs are man-made chemicals found in many everyday items including waterproof clothing, non-stick pans, lipsticks and food packaging, used for their resistance to heat, water, oil and grease. But because they take thousands of years to break down, they are accumulating in large quantities in the environment – and in our bodies. Alas, they’re so useful and convenient, manufacturers have found it hard to resist using PFAs in their products.
The good news is, the PFA-busting bacteria target PFAs in a manner never witnessed before. They concentrate their attack, acting almost immediately on detecting the noxious chemicals, ‘soaking them up’, and flushing them out of your body.
Even better news: The good-guy bacteria are found naturally in our bodies. Just usually not as abun-dantly as we might like to see. The Cambridge team says it sees no problem in encouraging them to proliferate to levels that would optimize their usefulness against PFAs – without risking unwanted side effects.
The takeaway
Even more good news! The UoC team says there should likewise be little difficulty developing a drug form of its anti-PF bacteria that would allow folks to rid their systems of PFAs simply by taking regu-lar doses in pill or capsule form.
My take
Thus it appears is anti-PFA research turning around from being such a daunting concern that, “so little [was] being done about removing [PFSs] from our bodies,” to one tempting drug manufacturers to jump ‘with both feet’ into the market for the ‘wonder’ drugs the UoC team foresees.
We can’t cross PFAs of our list of major health concerns yet – but surely, within our lifetimes! Even mine!
~ Maggie J.