Young people who eat according to the dietary advice have higher levels of the “eternity chemicals” PFAS in their bodies than those who eat less harmful food, new Swedish research shows.
The amount of seafood on the plate seems to play a role.
Open image in full screen mode
Picture: Christine Olsson/TT
– This is important knowledge because young people belong to the groups that can be particularly sensitive to chemicals such as PFAS, says Jennifer Nyström-Kandola.
She recently submitted a thesis at the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) on the connection between Swedish youth’s eating habits and levels of PFAS in the blood.
PFAS are chemicals that break down extremely slowly and therefore accumulate in nature and in our bodies. In the long run, they can increase the risk of various negative health effects.
The dissertation is based on data on just over 1,000 people aged 10–21 who reported on their dietary habits in the Swedish Food Agency’s National Diet survey. The PFAS levels in their blood and drinking water were analyzed.
Fish and seafood
Almost 30 percent of the young people had levels in their blood that show they had ingested more PFAS than the EU’s Food Safety Authority (Efsa) considers safe for health.
Advertisement
Advertisement
– This is important information, among other things, when setting limit values for PFAS in drinking water and food, says Nyström-Kandola.
Drinking water was a significant source of PFAS for many, but so was food. Young people who ate a healthy and varied diet, according to Swedish advice, had higher levels than those who ate more junk food.
– This is probably due to the fact that those who eat according to the recommendations ingest larger amounts of PFAS, mainly from fish and shellfish, says Jennifer Nyström-Kandola.
Open image in full screen mode
The connection applied to consumption of fish and shellfish in general – not just from lakes particularly contaminated with PFAS.
Last year, limit values were introduced within the EU for some PFAS substances in certain foods, including fish and crustaceans. Within the EU, a risk assessment is also being produced that weighs the health benefits of eating fish against the risk of ingesting environmental toxins, but it will take some time.
The water affects more
Are there already reasons to cut back on fish and shellfish in view of PFAS?
Fish caught in a contaminated area should be avoided. But generally there is no reason for that, believes Mattias Öberg, researcher in toxicology at the Karolinska Institutet.
He believes that it is important to examine the influence of diet, but that the water in the tap plays a greater role.
Advertisement
– If you live in a place where the drinking water is not purified, it affects much more than what you eat, he says.
Advertisement
In 2026, larger water producers, who exceed the limit value, will be obliged to purify the drinking water from PFAS, and various methods are being tested in several places.
Fact
Fact: PFAS
PFAS stands for poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances.
There are several thousand different PFAS substances. They have been produced since the 1950s and were considered useful due to their ability to repel water, grease and dirt.
Because they are difficult to break down, they are everywhere in the environment.
Repeated exposure to PFAS over a longer period of time can affect health in the long term. Fetuses, infants and children are believed to be particularly sensitive. Studies have shown that PFAS substances can affect the immune system, birth weight, cholesterol levels in the blood, and increase the risk of certain forms of cancer.
Source: Swedish Food Agency
