The news out of the Great Lakes region is alarming — and it’s just one piece of a much larger story. Three U.S. states — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota — have issued “Do Not Eat” advisories for local wildlife and fish after testing revealed dangerous levels of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
These are the so-called “forever chemicals” used in thousands of industrial and household products — from nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing to fast-food packaging, cosmetics, and even firefighting foam. They are virtually indestructible, building up in the environment and, over time, in the human body.
Now, scientists are connecting the dots between PFAS exposure and serious health issues — from cancer and infertility to thyroid dysfunction, immune disruption, and liver damage. PFAS exposure can trigger inflammatory responses, which are linked to immune system dysfunction and increased cancer risk. PFAS exposure has also been associated with liver disease and other health problems, emphasizing the potential human health impacts.
The Great Lakes Under PFAS Contamination and Toxic Stress
The Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system in North America, provide drinking water for roughly 40 million people across the U.S. and Canada. But widespread contamination is threatening that lifeline.
- In Michigan, state officials have issued warnings for 98 inland lakes, triple the number from last year. Residents are advised not to eat fish from those lakes due to unsafe PFAS concentrations.
- In Wisconsin, the contamination has spread so widely that the entire 1,600-square-mile arm of Lake Michigan known as Green Bay is under advisory. Locals are told not to eat fish, ducks, or other aquatic wildlife that may have ingested contaminated water.
- And in Minnesota, residents in 10 counties, including those bordering Lake Superior, are urged to avoid fish caught locally after testing showed excessive PFAS accumulation.
Testing confirms that PFAS are now present in every one of the Great Lakes, with the highest concentrations found in Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario.
These toxins enter the water through runoff from factories, landfills, wastewater plants, and manufacturing sites, where they seep into rivers and streams that feed the lakes. PFAS contaminated water poses significant environmental risks, threatening both ecosystems and human populations due to its persistence and bioaccumulation. From there, they infiltrate fish, birds, and ultimately, the people who rely on those ecosystems for food or water.
Contaminated drinking water is now recognized as a major route of PFAS exposure, especially in urban areas near the Great Lakes, where densely populated communities face higher risks from PFAS contaminated water supplies.
Sources of PFAS Exposure in the Great Lakes Region
The Great Lakes region is facing a perfect storm when it comes to PFAS exposure. This area has become a hotbed of contamination thanks to its dense concentration of industries, military installations, and urban infrastructure. These sources are pumping per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into our environment, where they’re contaminating ground water, surface water, and ultimately ending up in your drinking water supply.
Industrial facilities are one of the biggest culprits in this region. Textile mills, paper mills, and metal finishing plants are using PFAS chemicals in their manufacturing processes every single day, and guess what happens? These hazardous substances get released directly into our nearby rivers and lakes. Over time, these synthetic chemicals just keep building up in the water system, creating a snowball effect that’s increasing your risk of exposure and putting your health on the line.
Military installations are another major player in this contamination game. Many bases throughout the Great Lakes area have been using aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) for firefighting training and emergency response for decades. Here’s the kicker – this foam is loaded with high concentrations of PFAS, and its use has created widespread contamination of soil and ground water around these sites. If you’re living near a military base, you’re at significantly higher risk for PFAS exposures, especially if your public drinking water systems are drawing from these contaminated sources.
Wastewater treatment plants are also part of this complex puzzle. These facilities are receiving PFAS-laden wastewater from both industrial and commercial sources every day.
Unfortunately, here’s the harsh reality – most treatment plants simply aren’t equipped to remove PFAS molecules effectively. This means these forever chemicals are passing right through and entering your local water supplies without being filtered out.
Landfills and waste disposal sites are adding fuel to this fire. Think about all those everyday items you use – non-stick cookware, water-resistant clothing, and food packaging. Many of these products contain PFAS, and when you throw them away, these chemicals can leach right into the environment, contaminating ground water and nearby streams. It’s a cycle that just keeps feeding itself.
Even our agricultural areas aren’t safe from this contamination web. The use of PFAS-containing fertilizers and pesticides is introducing these toxic substances directly into the soil and water, creating yet another pathway for PFAS to sneak into the food chain and impact your family’s health. It’s everywhere, and that’s the sobering truth.
Together, these sources are creating an incredibly complex web of PFAS contamination throughout the Great Lakes region. This isn’t just an environmental issue – it’s a public health crisis that’s unfolding right in our backyard. That’s exactly why it’s essential for you as a resident to be aware of these potential exposures and understand just how critical water quality monitoring has become for protecting yourself and your loved ones.
What’s Lurking in Our Water?
The scale of PFAS contamination in our environment—and especially in our drinking water—has become nothing short of a perfect storm threatening public health nationwide.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has drawn a line in the sand with their lifetime health advisory level for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most extensively studied PFAS chemicals, setting the bar at just 0.07 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water. Yet here’s the sobering reality: PFAS levels in countless water systems across the United States, including those dotting the Great Lakes region, are blowing right past this threshold with alarming frequency.
Recent eye-opening data from the Environmental Working Group dropped a bombshell—PFAS were detected lurking in the drinking water of more than 1,900 water systems nationwide, directly impacting an estimated 110 million Americans. That’s not just a number on a page; that’s your neighbors, your family, your community. The EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) further pulled back the curtain on this widespread crisis, uncovering PFAS in over 70% of public water systems tested. In some jaw-dropping cases, PFAS concentrations were through the roof—exceeding 100 ppb in certain communities, levels that should make anyone sit up and take notice.
The Great Lakes themselves aren’t getting a free pass in this contamination saga. Comprehensive studies have confirmed what many feared: all five lakes contain measurable PFAS levels, with Lake Michigan unfortunately taking the dubious honor of showing the highest concentrations. This widespread presence of PFAS infiltrating our surface water, groundwater, and the very tap water we drink daily underscores the truly persistent nature of these forever chemicals and the monumental challenges we face in ensuring safe drinking water for everyone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered another wake-up call when they reported that PFAS have been detected in the blood of over 98% of the U.S. population—with children and adolescents showing the highest PFAS levels of all. This isn’t just widespread human exposure; it’s practically universal contamination of our bodies. This reality raises serious red flags for our health, as mounting research continues to link PFAS exposure to increased risks of kidney cancer, thyroid disease, liver injury, and a growing list of other adverse health outcomes that no one should have to face.
With PFAS detected in so many water systems and coursing through virtually everyone’s bloodstream, the urgent need for more comprehensive research, better water quality monitoring, and stronger regulatory action under the Safe Drinking Water Act has never been more crystal clear. As PFAS concentrations continue to be measured and tracked across the nation, understanding the sources and true scale of this contamination represents a crucial first step toward protecting public health and reducing future risks for generations to come.
PFAS and Cancer Risk Research
A major study from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California found that PFAS contamination in public water systems correlates with higher cancer rates across multiple regions of the United States. Case control studies have also been used to investigate the association between PFAS exposure and thyroid cancer risk.
Researchers analyzed cancer data from 2016 to 2021 and compared it with PFAS measurements in public drinking water collected through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3 in 2013-2015 and UCMR5 in 2023-2024).
The findings were chilling:
- Counties with high PFAS levels had 2% to 33% higher cancer incidence, depending on the type of cancer and the specific PFAS compound.
- Men in contaminated regions had elevated rates of leukemia, brain, kidney, bladder, and soft tissue cancers.
- Women showed higher rates of thyroid, oral/throat, and soft tissue cancers.
- Additional cancers linked to PFAS exposure include testicular cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and breast cancer, with positive associations observed in epidemiological studies.
- Researchers estimate roughly 6,800 new cancer cases per year may be tied to PFAS-tainted drinking water.
Certain PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS, as well as other PFAS, have been linked to increased risk of these cancers, with suggestive evidence emerging from recent research. PFAS measured in blood and water samples, as well as data from nutrition examination surveys, have contributed to our understanding of these associations.
The study pulled data from 22 cancer registries across the U.S., encompassing both urban and rural regions — including the Great Lakes states now under advisory.
The implication is clear: PFAS are not just environmental pollutants; they’re metabolic disruptors that infiltrate our biology, slow detox pathways, and can trigger disease when the body becomes too burdened to clear them. Further investigation and future studies are needed to clarify the links between PFAS exposure and cancer, especially for the six PFAS recently regulated by the EPA.
Why Detoxification Is Essential Now
PFAS chemicals are lipophilic — they bind to fats and tissues rather than flushing out easily. This means they can accumulate over time in the liver, thyroid, and fatty tissue, creating a slow, silent toxic load that disrupts hormonal signaling and immune function.
Supporting your body’s natural detox pathways is no longer optional; it’s a daily necessity. The liver, thyroid, kidneys, lymphatic system, and gut must all work in harmony to eliminate these modern toxins.
This is where strategic supplementation comes in. The right bioavailable nutrients — used in the right sequence — can help the body unbind, neutralize, and eliminate toxins like PFAS more effectively.
Individuals with known PFAS exposure may benefit from clinical follow up to monitor health outcomes and guide detoxification strategies.
The Foundation: How Iodine, Salt, and Targeted Nutrients Help Detox “Forever Chemicals”
To truly detoxify PFAS and other halogen-based chemicals, the body must have the right minerals, cofactors, and enzyme support to release, bind, and eliminate them efficiently. This is where the Accelerated Detox Stack — featuring Acceleradine® Iodine, Accelerated Ancient Salt®, Accelerated Cellular Detox® Powder, Accelerated Liver Care®, and Accelerated Thyroid® — provides full-spectrum support for cleansing, repair, and rejuvenation.
Phase 1: Iodine and Salt Foundation
Modern toxins like fluoride, bromine, chlorine, and fluorinated PFAS all belong to the halogen family — the same chemical class as iodine. This means they compete with iodine for receptor sites in the thyroid, brain, and fatty tissues. When iodine levels are low, these toxic halogens take its place, blocking normal hormone production and slowing metabolism.
Acceleradine® Iodine delivers 100% bioactive monoatomic iodine, scalar-enhanced for maximum resonance and absorption. Its unique form may help:
- Displace toxic halogens and PFAS residues from thyroid receptors, breast tissue, and fat cells
- Activate iodine-dependent enzymes that convert fat-soluble toxins into excretable forms
- Support mitochondrial ATP production, restoring the cellular energy needed for detox
- Enhance hormone metabolism by stabilizing thyroid hormone synthesis
- Neutralize oxidative stress and inflammation triggered by environmental pollutants
By restoring iodine saturation throughout the body, Acceleradine® Iodine gives cells the “signal” to release stored toxins — including fluorinated chemicals that mimic halides and disrupt hormonal communication.
Why Salt Is Iodine’s Essential Partner
Iodine cannot perform its detox role effectively without proper mineral balance.
That’s where Accelerated Ancient Salt® comes in — a raw, unrefined mineral salt charged with scalar frequencies that enhance cell signaling. It’s naturally rich in sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, boron, calcium, and dozens of trace elements essential for detox and hydration.
These minerals play multiple roles in the clearance of PFAS and halides:
- Supports halide detoxification: Sodium chloride helps displace fluoride and bromide through the kidneys and sweat glands, accelerating excretion.
- Optimizes iodine uptake: Magnesium, potassium, and boron improve cell membrane permeability, allowing iodine to enter tissues more efficiently.
- Prevents detox fatigue: Balanced electrolytes stabilize adrenals and blood pressure during halogen release, easing “detox flu” symptoms.
- Enhances cellular signaling: Scalar-charged minerals strengthen the body’s bioelectrical field, improving communication between detox organs.
Together, Acceleradine® Iodine and Accelerated Ancient Salt® create a synchronized halogen-clearing effect — iodine liberates toxins from tissues, while mineral salt escorts them safely out of the body. Think of iodine as the mobilizer and salt as the transporter that ensures toxins leave rather than recirculate.
Phase 2: Open Liver Pathways — Accelerated Liver Care®
PFAS and other persistent chemicals are lipophilic, meaning they dissolve in fat rather than water. The liver must convert them into water-soluble compounds before they can leave the body — but without proper bile flow, these toxins accumulate.
Accelerated Liver Care® provides targeted herbal and bile-flow support to help enhance all three phases of detoxification:
- TUDCA: May improve bile flow and mitochondrial function, allowing efficient toxin transport out of liver cells.
- Phyllanthus & Eclipta: May help in liver cell regeneration and antioxidant defense against chemical stress.
- Milk Thistle (Silymarin): May shield hepatocytes from PFAS-induced oxidative damage.
- Bupleurum & Andrographis: May stimulate detox enzymes (CYP450, GST) needed for conjugation and elimination of persistent chemicals.
- Artemisia capillaris: May enhance bile secretion and assists in hormonal and chemical clearance.
- Thai Black Ginger: May increase circulation and energy within the liver for faster metabolic detox.
- Pau Pereira: May support DNA protection and may reduce viral or toxin-induced cellular damage.
These ingredients work together to liberate fat-stored toxins, optimize bile chemistry, and increase the excretion of PFAS and plastic residues via stool and urine — all while protecting the liver’s delicate mitochondrial machinery.
Phase 3: Bind and Eliminate — Accelerated Cellular Detox® Powder
Binding the toxins happens in the gut. As the liver excretes PFAS and chemical residues through bile, they enter the intestines — where they must be bound, or they risk being reabsorbed back into the bloodstream (a process called enterohepatic recirculation).
Accelerated Cellular Detox® Powder is formulated to stop that cycle using six targeted detoxifiers:
- Micronized Zeolite: May act as a molecular sponge, trapping PFAS, fluoride, and heavy metals through ionic exchange.
- Human-Grade Diatomaceous Earth: May help physically scrub the intestinal lining and support the removal of parasites and microplastics.
- Vegan Chitosan: May help bind fat-soluble chemicals like PFAS and microplastics for excretion through the stool — shown in studies to increase elimination of plastic particles.
- Triphala: An Ayurvedic blend that may enhance peristalsis, reduces oxidative stress, and nourishes gut mucosa.
- Slippery Elm: May soothe and repairs the intestinal wall to prevent toxin reabsorption.
- Activated Charcoal: May absorb volatile organic compounds and neutralizes chemical byproducts before they can circulate systemically.
By combining ionic binders, fibrous adsorbents, and mucosal protectants, this formula helps trap PFAS and forever chemicals where they can safely exit — through the digestive tract — rather than recirculating to the liver or thyroid.
Phase 4: Revive Thyroid Function — Accelerated Thyroid®
Because PFAS are endocrine disruptors, they often impair thyroid hormone production and metabolism. Accelerated Thyroid® helps restore this vital hormonal axis using a triple-layered approach — herbal, glandular, and metabolic cofactors.
Key Detox and Hormone-Supportive Ingredients:
- Kanchnar (Bauhinia variegata): May support lymphatic drainage and helps dissolve toxic accumulations, nodules, and cysts within the thyroid and glands.
- Guggul (Commiphora mukul): Enhances fat metabolism and mobilizes stored chemicals; also shown to improve lipid clearance and antioxidant defense.
- L-Tyrosine: Provides the amino acid backbone for T3 and T4 production — ensuring efficient hormone synthesis even during detox stress.
- Grass-Fed New Zealand Glandular: Supplies natural thyroid peptides and enzymes that may help nourish the gland and promote tissue regeneration.
- Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB): May support clean mitochondrial energy production and balances blood sugar, reducing detox-related fatigue.
This formula is bioenergetically enhanced with Scalar Field Technology designed to support cellular communication, halogen release, and heavy-metal detoxification at the energetic level. Together, these ingredients help the thyroid reawaken — restoring temperature regulation, metabolism, and energy production after toxic disruption.
How They Work Together: The Complete PFAS Detox Blueprint
Phase | Focus | Core Supplements | Primary Function |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Halogen Displacement & Mineral Balance | Displaces halogens, boosts iodine absorption, and restores mineral terrain | |
2 | Liver & Bile Flow | Converts fat-soluble “forever chemicals” into water-soluble forms for excretion | |
3 | Bind & Flush | Captures PFAS, microplastics, and heavy metals in the gut for safe elimination | |
4 | Thyroid & Metabolic Repair | Rebuilds hormone balance, metabolism, and energy for sustained detox capacity |
The Takeaway
PFAS exposure represents more than an environmental concern — it’s a cellular and hormonal crisis. These chemicals hijack the body’s communication systems, burden the liver, and accumulate in glands and fat stores where they interfere with energy production and detox.
By strategically combining iodine and mineral therapy with gut binding, liver activation, and thyroid support, you empower the body to release and eliminate the toxins it’s been holding onto for years.
Sara Banta
Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.
