Roundup, Paraquat herbicides lead to liver disease and Parkinson’s

By Catherine Haug, February 7, 2017

If you regularly eat processed foods (boxed, bagged, dried, fried, canned or frozen), or meats, dairy and eggs from livestock not raised Organically, you may have a risk for these diseases: (1)

  •  NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), which can lead to cirrhosis and increases likelihood of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes (from exposure to Roundup, (13))
  • Parkinson’s disease (from exposure to Paraquat, (2)).

This is another reason to avoid GMO foods. Read on for more.

There is help

Before I get to the details about Roundup and Paraquat, please understand there is help for those (including pets) who have been exposed to these and other herbicides/pesticides.

Taking humic/fulvic acid supplements  can help to break down (detox) these toxic chemicals. Fulvic works inside the cell; humic works outside the cell in the digestive tract. These are powerful detox agents. (15,16) Examples of such supplements include:

  • Ancient Earth Minerals (liquid);
  • Vital Earth Minerals (liquid);
  • Shilajit (liquid or caps depending on brand)
  • Black MP Living Powder (powder)

All of these come from soil that is rich in these mineral complexes from centuries of organic decay, and that have not been exposed to modern agricultural chemicals. Another source is root vegetables that are grown in such soil. There is not much of this soil left in the USA, but regenerative agriculture movement hopes to change that for the future; see my article: Importance of Regenerative Agriculture for more). If you garden, consider adding some of the humic/fulvic acid liquid or powdered supplements to your soil.

If you regularly eat processed and/or non-Organicallly raised/grown foods, consider taking humic/fulvic acid supplements. These foods include (list is not complete; see also list in Roundup section, below):

  • canned soups, canned tomato sauces, canned spaghetti, etc.;
  • boxed or bagged cereals;
  • potato/corn chips, french fries and other fried foods (including those fried in restaurants);
  • frozen meals such as TV dinners;
  • commercial breads, cookies, crackers, desserts;
  • commercial salad dressings including mayonnaise;
  • commercial ice cream and other frozen desserts;
  • fruits, nuts and produce not grown Organically;
  • meats, dairy, eggs from livestock not raised Organically (that is, not pasture fed, pasture finished).

The following is from Fulvic Acid – The Miracle Molecule (16) NOTE: the reference numbers in the following quotation refer to references in the original article, not the reference list below for this ESP article. Note, however, that fulvic acid can detoxify all toxic chemicals, not just Paraquat.

An important aspect of humic substances is related to their sorptive interaction with environmental chemicals, either before or after they reach concentrations toxic to living organisms.(33) The toxic herbicide known as Paraquat is rapidly detoxified by humic substances (Fulvic acids).(34) Fulvic acids have a special function with respect to the demise of organic compounds applied to soil as pesticides.(35) It has been established that Fulvic acid is vital in helping to form new species of metal ions, binding with organic pollutants such as pesticides and herbicides, and catalyzing the breakdown of toxic pollutants.”

Roundup (glyphosate)

This herbicide is commonly known in relation to GMO Roundup-ready crops: field corn, soy and canola. In processed foods, look for ingredients such as (lists are not complete):

  • corn (5,7): cornflakes and other cereals, cornmeal, corn starch, corn syrup, HFCS, caramel and caramel color, dextrin, dextrose (glucose), maltodextrin, ethanol, artificial and natural flavors, and many other processed food ingredients. Also found in pet foods.
  • soy (6,7): soy meal, soy flour, soy milk, soy sauce, tofu, soy oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, non-dairy creamers, ice cream. Also found in pet foods.
  • canola and rapeseed oil (7,8): canola oil, salad oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, crackers, cookies, fried and deep-fried foods, french fries, cake mix, peanut butter, packaged foods, restaurant food. Also found in pet foods.

This is because the most commonly grown versions of corn, soy and canola are Roundup-resistant, meaning they can be heavily sprayed with this herbicide. Roundup is systemic, meaning is taken up by the entire plant – leaves, stems, roots, flowers and seeds – so that if you eat any foods made from these plants, you are getting roundup with your meal. Also, livestock fed GMO corn and/or soy take up the Roundup into their muscles, bones and organs, which you then get with your meal.

A study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports (17), provides more evidence that glyphosate may lead to liver injury (specifically non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatosis (NASH)), even at extremely low doses. The study involved glyphosate exposures of 4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day, which is 75,000 and 437,500 times below EU and U.S. permitted levels, respectively. Study author Michael Antoniou, Ph.D., told Sustainable Pulse (17):

“The findings of our study are very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of Roundup consumption over the long-term and a serious disease — namely non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. 

Our results also suggest that regulators should reconsider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides.”

See Mercola’s article, What Does Roundup do to Your Liver? (17) for more.

But liver damage is not the only health issue with Roundup’s main ingredient. Glyphosate is a patented antibiotic (11); note that references (5) and (6) are not my references of the same number:

“In 2003, Monsanto filed for a patent on glyphosate as a parasitic control type antimicrobial, or antibiotic. This patent was granted in 2010 (5). It is proposed that glyphosate be used as a treatment for microbial infections and parasitic control of various diseases such as malaria. A 2013 peer reviewed study documented that glyphosate kills certain beneficial gut flora in chickens at a level as low as .075 ppm.(6).”

This antibiotic nature can also explain whey Roundup-Ready crops eventually succumb to root-rot, because the soil’s microbiome is damaged or destroyed by repeated exposure to this herbicide. When you consume foods/ingredients from crops sprayed with Roundup, your gut is subjected to the antibiotic nature of glyphosate, killing the good bugs in your gut and greatly weakening your immune system. No wonder inflammatory and auto-immune diseases are on the rise?

In 1985, EPA concluded that glyphosate is a likely carcinogen, then back-tracked its statement in 2015 (9). There is evidence that Monsanto interacted with the FDA to keep evidence of collusion secret, allowing them  to claim that glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup) is not a likely carcinogen. (1) This, despite independent research by the World Health Organization (WHO) that shows glyphosate is a likely carcinogen (9, 10, 11).

 

Paraquat

When Roundup-resistant crops succumb to crop failure (primarily root damage), growers resort to other toxic herbicides such as Paraquat, known to be lethal to all mammals when ingested in small amounts – a single sip is used to commit suicide. It is known to cause Parkinson’s disease (3,4). “In fact, it’s so good at causing Parkinson’s that researchers routinely give it to mice to create an animal model. Multiple studies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2) show clear links between the chemical and Parkinson’s.” (1)

While the EPA is weighing whether to continue to allow Paraquat to be sprayed on American crops, a decision is not expected until 2018.

On a side note, if you have been exposed to Paraquat or Glyphosate (Roundup) or other toxic pesticides/herbicides, taking humic/fulvic acid supplements (15) can help to break down (detox) the toxic chemicals in this pesticide, as well as herbicides. See “There is help” section, above for more.

References:

  1. Alliance for Natural Health article, Now Serving: Parkinson’s and Liver Disease (anh-usa.org/now-serving-parkinsons-and-liver-disease)
  2. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21269927
  3. Science Daily article, Feb 15, 2011: “Two pesticides — rotenone and paraquat — linked to Parkinson’s disease, study suggests”(sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110214115442.htm).
  4. Kamel, F. (Aug 16, 2013). “Paths from Pesticides to Parkinson’s”. Science. 341 (6147): 722–723 (science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/722)
  5. Live Corn-Free: livecornfree.com/2010/04/ingredients-derived-from-corn-what-to.html
  6. GMO Compass:.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/ingredients_additives/34.ingredients_additives_soybeans.html
  7. Pure Zing: purezing.com/living/toxins/living_toxins_foodcornproducts.html
  8. Be Food Smart: befoodsmart.com/ingredients/rapeseed-oil.php
  9. WHO and IARC: Q&A on Glyphosate: iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/Q&A_Glyphosate.pdf
  10. List of scholarly articles on carcinogenic nature of glyphosate: scholar.google.com/scholar?q=glyphosate+carcinogen+classification&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC9Mym-4DSAhWjwFQKHWUZA8wQgQMIGjAA
  11. Scientific American: scientificamerican.com/article/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer
  12. GMO-Free USA: gmofreeusa.org/research/glyphosate/glyphosate-overview
  13. Multiomics reveal non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats following chronic exposure to an ultra-low dose of Roundup herbicide, by Mesnage, et. al; Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 39328 (Jan, 2017): nature.com/articles/srep39328
  14. Mercola: What does Roundup do to the liver: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/24/what-does-roundup-do-to-liver.aspx
  15. Wellness Mamma: The benefits of humid acid: wellnessmama.com/61295/humic-acid-uses-benefits
  16. Fulvic Acid – The Miracle Molecule (pdf): supremefulvic.com/documents/pdf/8.fulvic.acid.report.pdf; the paragraph quoted above includes the following references to scientific studies: (34) Fisher, A.M., Winterle, J.S., & Mill, T. (1967). Primary photochemical processes in photolysis mediated by humic substances. In R.G. Zika & W. J. Cooper (Eds). Photochemistry of environmental aquatic system (141-156). (ACS Sympoium Series 327). Washington DC: American Chemical Society; and (35)  Aiken, G.R., McKnight, D.M., & MacCarthy, P. (1985). Humic substances os oil, sediment and water. New York: Wiley- Interscience.
  17. Mercola: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/24/what-does-roundup-do-to-liver.aspx [includes the following references to scientific studies: (4) Sustainable Pulse January 9, 2016 (sustainablepulse.com/2017/01/09/groundbreaking-study-shows-roundup-herbicide-causes-liver-disease-at-low-doses/#.WH0gH5JMEUG) and (5) Scientific Reports January 9, 2017 (nature.com/articles/srep39328)]
  18. Black MP Living Powder blackmp.tech/product/blackmp-living-powder

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