PFAS: the 'everlasting' toxin that quietly undermines your health

You got it. Your kids, too. Even if you live on organic food, spring water and healthy intentions, chances are that there is PFAS in your blood. According to the RIVM, this applies to almost everyone in the Netherlands. Not because we take it consciously. But because it's everywhere. In pizza boxes, rainwear, mascara, dental floss, drinking water, dust. The industry is pushing for it. Even in the air you breathe. PFAS is like an invisible roommate who never announces himself — but leaves its mark everywhere. 


However, PFAS is not a “classic poison”. It doesn't bite. It doesn't burn. It does not bind to anything. It's so chemically stable that it barely reacts with anyone or anything. In chemistry, this is called inert. And inert sounds comforting. 
Because something that doesn't do anything can't hurt either, right? So what are we concerned about? How can a substance that doesn't bind to anything still undermine your health?
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Why a substance that doesn't bind to anything can still undermine your health
At first glance, it sounds reassuring: PFAS is inert. A molecule that barely reacts, does not bind to fats or cellular structures, and actually doesn't really seem to get between anything. So how dangerous can it be? 
After all, “inert” means: stable, slow, chemically indifferent. 
Not like a toxin that settles in your organs. Not like a substance that destroys everything. And yet, the RIVM calls PFAS “worrying”, blood concentrations are being closely monitored, and the number of studies that link suppressed immunity, increased cholesterol, fatty liver disease, developmental disorders and certain cancers is growing.

Circulating burden

PFAS are inventions of the twentieth century. In the 1940s, chemical giant DuPont developed the substance Teflon. Other manufacturers followed with applications in raincoats, fire foam, pizza boxes, makeup and non-stick pans. The molecular strength of PFAS lies in their structure: the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest in chemistry. Good news for industrial applications. Bad news for all living things.
PFAS are persistent. That means: they don't break down. Not in the environment. Not in the body. Not in time. It has earned them the nickname “forever chemicals” — and for good reason. Where other toxins accumulate in adipose tissue or disappear through faeces, PFAS will circulate in your blood for years. They do this without classically binding to fats or cellular structures. Instead, they attach to proteins in the blood, such as albumin. Through this route, they reach the liver, kidneys, thyroid and other organs that are sensitive to biochemical disruption.

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PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are not classic toxins. So they don't accumulate in fat like PCBs, they don't hide in bone tissue like lead. 
What they do do: persist in your blood for years. Not because they commit to you, but because you won't lose them.

PFAS is hydrophobic and lipophobic. That is to say: it mixes neither with fat nor with water. Your body, which runs mostly on fat and water, therefore literally has no control over this substance. She slips everywhere. There is no natural discharge route. No breakdown. No storage. Only: circulation. Slowly. Year in, year out.
Some variants of PFAS have a half-life of more than eight years. And that is with a single exposure. In reality, we are re-exposed every day — via tap water, cosmetics, food packaging, clothing, dust particles in the home. Even organic vegetables can contain PFAS via irrigation water or contaminated soil.

_{Not poison, but saboteur}
But still: what makes something that is inert a risk? The answer is: subtle, chronic disruption. Don't think about a hammer that breaks something. Think of a fake key that slowly wrenches the lock. PFAS mimics the body's own substances — such as fatty acids — and thus hijacks areas in your system that are crucial for regulation.
Scientists have shown that PFAS binds to blood plasma proteins such as albumin (Peng et al., 2024). Through this route, it reaches the liver, kidneys and thyroid. It does not bind permanently there, but it does influence biological processes. For example, by activating receptors such as PPARα and PPARγ, which play a key role in fat metabolism, inflammatory responses and hormonal balance (in vitro studies, BioMed Central & ResearchGate).
In other words: PFAS does not have to crawl into the cell. It doesn't have to save. It doesn't even have to commit en masse. It just has to be in the wrong places — and long enough — to slowly unbalance your body's control.

You won't notice it until years later
That does not make PFAS an acute threat. It doesn't make you sick like salmonella. You don't notice it like you do with allergies. PFAS is the type of disruption that you only see in trends, in population studies, in statistics. It increases the risk of autoimmune disorders. It reduces the effectiveness of vaccinations. It disrupts cholesterol levels. It increases the risk of liver problems.
In 2022, an international working group concluded that no safe exposure level for PFAS can be established. Not because it is acutely fatal — but because prolonged exposure at low levels already leads to significant health problems.

And then? What can your body do with it?
Actually, nothing. That is the painful answer. Because PFAS does not bind to fat or cellular structures, your body cannot remove it easily either. It does not recognize it as dangerous, and therefore sees no reason to transport it out via the bile, kidneys or intestines.
This makes PFAS a unique enemy. It's not an intruder hiding — It's not an intruder breaking anything. It's a silent guest who sits on your couch, speaks your language, and turns your thermostat knobs unnoticed.

SMPL72 Fulvic Acid: A helper at the edge of the playing field
In the search for ways to get PFAS out of the body, binders, saunas, fibers and supportive substances are often looked at. One of them is fulvic acid
SMPL72 Fulvic acid is extremely small, has a negative charge and many free bonds. Laboratory studies have shown that it can bind to pesticides, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, and antibiotic residues. It also supports the absorption of minerals such as zinc and selenium, and enhances the effects of glutathione — the most powerful antioxidant that your body produces itself.

But: SMPL72 fulvic acid is not a proven solution for PFAS. So far, there are no animal or human studies that show that it removes PFAS from blood. However, there are indications that it could bind residual fractions in the intestine, or that it supports the body in a broader sense with systemic detox.
That's also how some integrative doctors use it: not as a wrecking ball, but as a helper. In combination with good nutrition and sweat activation (sauna, exercise), SMPL72 fulvic acid could contribute to relieving the load.

What does the science say so far?
Albumin binding
PFAS binds to serum albumin, a transport protein in the blood (Peng et al., 2024), and thus reaches the liver, kidneys and thyroid.
Receptor interference
PFAS activates nuclear receptors such as PPARs, which are involved in fat burning, inflammation, and hormone control (ResearchGate, 2022).

Chronic disruption
Long-term exposure leads to increased cholesterol, decreased immunity, and higher risk of certain cancers (Environmental Health, 2023).

Inert ≠ innocent
And that is perhaps the most important lesson. Just because something doesn't bind doesn't mean it doesn't do anything. Sometimes it is precisely the absence of binding, the absence of recognition, that makes a substance so dangerous. PFAS is not toxic because it destroys something, but because it unbalances your body just enough for decades to cause unnoticed damage.
You don't see it. You're not feeling it. But it is there. And it stays.

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What SMPL72 does do
We say it like it is: SMPL72 does not remove PFAS from your blood. That has not been proven (yet). What has been proven: fulvic acid binds to heavy metals and pesticides, supports liver function, promotes cell repair and improves the absorption of essential minerals such as zinc and selenium.Dat does not make it a panacea, but a valuable helper in the great work that your body does every day.
Not proven against PFAS.
It makes sense as part of a broader detox strategy, which focuses on nutrition, excretion and support.Underpinned by studies published in MDPI and Frontiers in Microbiology.