In the first article, you learned about what glyphosate is and why it’s important to educate yourself on the topic to help you and your loved ones understand a major chemical on and in our food. Glyphosate is sprayed as an herbicide to GMO crops and to non-GMO crops as a desiccant (drying agent). It is a chelator, which binds to essential minerals in the soil preventing the plant from absorbing them from the soil. It is an antibiotic, which disrupts and kills the beneficial microbes in our guts, as well as the microbes in the soil.
In this article I will dive into research that disturbingly shows how the effects of glyphosate can contribute to specific health conditions. These studies are in animals unless specified…well because we can’t do studies on humans to show harm. Stephanie Seneff, an MIT scientist talks about in her book, Toxic Legacy, how rats and mice have a lot in common with humans when genetics and disease are examined.1 She also goes on to say that through technology, “bioidentical” rodents are created to help study environmental toxins.1 In other words, harm can be discovered through animal studies, and shouldn’t be ignored when applying to humans.
The rise in many diseases such as cancer (thyroid, pancreatic), inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis), Alzheimer’s, autism, diabetes, kidney, and liver disease all have a very strong correlation with the rise in glyphosate use.2 Very strong correlation, where researchers say “it would be imprudent not to consider causation as a plausible explanation”.1,2
Liver Disease
Let’s first talk about the liver. You or people around you have joked around talking about the liver when alcohols involved. On a very basic understanding of the liver, most people know that alcohol is somehow flushed through the system by way of the liver. This is true. The liver is our super organ that detoxifies (makes less toxic) or filters out chemicals (among many other functions) and distributes the nutrients to our body that we consume from our food. If our liver isn’t functioning properly, an accumulation of toxins develops, in addition to leaving the body nutrient deficient, resulting in damage to cells and multiple organ systems vulnerable to disease.
Research has shown that glyphosate disrupts the main detoxification system in the liver, depleting our own internal antioxidants (chemicals that neutralize toxic compounds), which induces oxidative stress (toxic compounds that cause damage to cells) that causes fatty liver disease (the same disease that excessive alcohol causes, called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD).3 NAFLD is now a world-wide epidemic and is the most common cause of liver problems.4,5 I mentioned at the end of article one, that glyphosate and other environmental toxins work synergistically (toxicity is amplified when combined).2 A study in 2019 showed that the synergistic effects from those toxins cause liver disease,6 stressing the point that overloading the liver with toxins will lead to enough damage that it cannot overcome. I also want to point out that most pharmaceutical medications are detoxified through this system as well, adding to the liver load. A study in 2020 demonstrated that the severity of liver disease seems to be associated with the amount of glyphosate present in peoples’ urine.7 In other words, the worse the disease, the more glyphosate residues was found in the urine. There are multiple studies that show liver damage can occur with exposures considered to be environmentally safe.8, 9, 10, 11, 12 I leave you with a quote from Stephanie Seneff, PhD in her book, Toxic Legacy, “When we slowly poison our liver, we compromise its ability to protect us”.1
Infertility
Among the many reasons for reproduction problems, exposure to toxic chemicals is one of them. Let’s take a closer look at specifically what glyphosate is doing with regards to reproduction. We know that most people have glyphosate in the system. In a study in 2018 of 71 pregnant women tested for glyphosate in the urine in central India, 93% had detectable levels.13 A 2017 study published in JAMA reported 12% of American’s testing positive for Glyphosate between 1993 to 1996 and at least 70% testing positive today.14 We also know that glyphosate passes to the baby in utero15 as well as through breast milk16. Research has shown that glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor, meaning it causes problems or disruption with normal hormone function.17,18 Hormones are released by glands (adrenal, pituitary, pancreas, thyroid, sex glands) into the system, so every single cell in the body is affected. Endocrine disruptors wreak havoc on our body. In another study, pregnancy complications, including birth defects and miscarriages were more frequent with exposure to glyphosate doses lower than higher doses19, which can occur with endocrine disrupting chemicals. Yes, lower doses can be more toxic than higher doses. Now that’s concerning. Five other studies in 2020 confirmed that ‘glyphosate-based herbicides are endocrine disruptors that decrease fertility when offspring are exposed during critical moments of their development”.1, 20 It also has generational toxicology, which means that the exposure to grandma results in worse and worse outcomes as new generations (second and third generations) are born.21 We as a species are in the second generation of exposure to Glyphosate (GMOs initiated in 1996). I’ll leave you with this from Dr. Zach Bush, MD who was one of the scientists presenting this generational data to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This research showing increasing harm with the second and worse with the third generations born from great grandma’s exposure was rejected by the EPA. They said a law was implemented in 2018 that said they could not consider generational data. In other words, it is illegal for the EPA to consider generational data.
Neurological Disease
Next, I want to point out research correlating autism with toxic environmental chemical exposure but understand that the cause of autism is multifactorial. There is research strongly correlating autism with three chemicals…aluminum (antiperspirant deodorants), PBDEs (flame retardants) and glyphosate.22 We know that aluminum is a neurotoxin and PBDEs have been studied extensively associating them with impaired neurodevelopment.23,24 Glyphosate by itself has evidence to support its contribution to the rise in autism, demonstrating that it is a neurotoxin.25,26,27 It works together with other chemicals amplifying its toxicitiy.2,28,29 In this example, it helps aluminum get into the brain.28 Remember, how glyphosate is a chelator, which binds to minerals with charge? Aluminum has a +3 charge, which glyphosate (negative charge) encloses, helping it get into the brain.28 In fact, the protective barrier (epithelial cells) that lines our whole body designed to ‘protect’ us from outside invaders, allows glyphosate to freely go into the cell (more discussed on this topic in article 3), causing damage.30
Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter (a messenger) in our brains (responsible for learning and memory) that relies on the mineral manganese to convert it to a non-excitatory state. We know that Glyphosate chelates minerals like manganese, therefore preventing this conversion.2 Glutamate is also frequently used as a flavor enhancer, commonly in the form of MSG (monosodium glutamate), but can also be hidden as hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed plant protein and yeast extract.1 A retired neurosurgeon, Russell Blaylock, MD said that excitotoxins such as glutamate and aspartame are ‘the taste that kills’.1 Studies show that Autistic brains have higher levels of glutamate in their brains and blood.31, 32 Research has also shown that Roundup increased the amounts of glutamate in the brain causing it to be neurotoxic23 in addition to interfering with its clearance from the brain.23
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin, which has a center atom of the mineral cobalt) has been found to be ‘extremely low in animals chronically exposed to glyphosate’.1,33 It’s also been found that B12 levels are low in brains of children with autism, people with schizophrenia and the elderly, contributing to neurological disease.34 It also so happens that B12 inhibits the release of glutamate, thus in B12 deficiency, glutamate levels rise.35 The study of epigenetics looks at how external triggers affects our gene expression, really emphasizes how genes are not everything. Genes are interacting with environmental stressors i.e., Glyphosate, increasing the expression (DNA strands turned on or activated) of those genes associated with autism.36
Autoimmunity
A systematic review in 2012 showed an increase in prevalence and incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and Ulcerative colitis), including celiac disease (unable to metabolize gluten) world-wide.37 These are considered autoimmune diseases. A study from 2013 compared blood samples (frozen), measuring antibodies for the gluten protein from people between 1948 and 1954 and today.38 They found that the incidence of celiac disease increased 4-fold (400% increase) in today’s group compared to the 1948-1954 group.38 There is also research showing how glyphosate decreases activity of our digestive enzymes that break down our food (lipase, amylase, protease), resulting in disruption of the mucus and intestinal wall features characteristic of celiac disease.39.40,2 Multiple factors can cause this disruption of the intestinal wall or increased gut permeability termed ‘leaky gut’. When increased gut permeability is present the immune system is activated, increasing the risk of autoimmunity. I’ll go into more detail of what leaky gut is and how glyphosate exposure can be a contributing factor in article 3.
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References
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