By Catherine Haug, October 29, 2017 (Image, right, by C. Haug based on similar image on an Oregon Right To Know email)
Monsanto’s Roundup contains the herbicide glyphosate, which is sprayed on crops all across the US. Those GMO crops that are Roundup-Resistant have the highest levels of glyphosate. Why should you care about this?
Glyphosate is a patented antibiotic, which means that when you consume foods that contain glyphosate, you are disrupting the microbiome in your gut by killing-off not only the bad bugs but also the good ones that your health depends upon. The good bacteria in your gut help you to digest your food, and play a major role for your immune system (among their many benefits).
When your microbiome is out of balance, you are at risk for many scary diseases including dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and more. Children with disrupted microbiome are more at risk for ADHD and autism. But its harm doesn’t stop there; as Hippocrates once stated, “All disease begins in the gut.” Science now knows that is because all disease can be traced back to your gut’s microbiome.
Examples of contaminated foods
Both GMO and non-GMO crops of many types have been tested for glyphosate levels.
While glyphosate levels are heaviest in GMO foods, the chemical can be found in any food not raised Organically. For example, beef and pork; when cattle and hogs are fed grains and/or alfalfa that are sprayed with Roundup, they take up the glyphosate from their feed into their muscle and fat cells, so that when you eat their meat, you are getting the glyphosate.
From Mercola’s article (1):
- Even foods raised Organically can be contaminated with glyphosate because of drift from spraying nearby crops with Roundup.
- Grains and legumes (including beans) not raised Organically have perhaps the highest levels of glyphosate. This is because they are doused with glyphosate a couple weeks before harvest to speed the process of drying – even if they are not GMO. Just one more reason to buy Organic, and know your farmer.
- Non-Organic wines also contain surprising amounts of glyphosate. Weeds in vineyards are managed by spraying glyphosate, which ends up in the grapes as the roots of the grape vines pick it up through the soil.
Urine testing for glyphosate levels in the body
Now you can find out just how much glyphosate is in your body with a urine test from HRI Labs (3). You can also have your water tested for glyphosate contamination (2)
The following is from Mercola, about this testing (1):
HRI Labs is unique in that they’ve created two glyphosate tests for the public — a water testing kit, and an environmental exposure test kit. The environmental exposure test is a urine test that will tell you how much glyphosate you have in your system..[to] give you a good idea of the purity of your diet. If your glyphosate level is high, chances are you’ve been exposed to many other agrochemicals as well.
So far, HRI Labs has analyzed more than 1,200 urine samples. The testing is being done as part of a research project, which will provide valuable information about the presence of glyphosate in the diet. It will also help answer questions about how lifestyle and location affects people’s exposure to agrochemicals. Here are some of their findings to date:
- 76 percent of people tested have some level of glyphosate in their system
- Men typically have higher levels than women
- People who eat oats on a regular basis have twice as much glyphosate in their system as people who don’t (likely because oats are desiccated with glyphosate before harvest)
- People who eat organic food on a regular basis have an 80 percent lower level of glyphosate than those who rarely eat organic. This indicates organic products are a safer choice
- People who eat five or more servings of vegetables per day have glyphosate levels that are 50 percent lower than those who don’t eat fewer vegetables
According to Fagan [The scientist interviewed by Dr. Mercola]:
“So far, we haven’t seen any connection with rural versus city dwellers, or with seasonal changes. This indicates that most of the glyphosate is coming into our [bodies] through the food we eat and not through the environment around us. Though, we have seen some interesting things. For instance, in the Midwest, we’re seeing that rain water has quite substantial levels of glyphosate … Rain water, although you might think of that as being a healthy source of water, is a little risky that way.”
[Cat’s note: I think there’s a typo in the last bullet item above; that it should read: People who eat five or more servings of vegetables per day have glyphosate levels that are 50 percent lower than those who
don’teat fewer vegetables.]
Read Mercola’s article (1) for lots more about the testing and what can be concluded by analyzing the results.
References
- Mercola article: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/10/29/glyphosate-in-foods-and-population.aspx
- Water test kit: shop.mercola.com/product/2058/1/glyphosate-water-test-kit OR wqpmag.com/testing-kit-detects-glyphosate-drinking-water
- Environmental exposure test kit (urine test): shop.mercola.com/product/2057/1/glyphosate-environmental-exposure-test-kit OR detoxproject.org/glyphosate-testing-test-yourself
Tags: glyphosate, GMO, health