You may ask yourself, why is a 4-part blog series going to be dedicated to one chemical…Glyphosate. Why is it relevant in your life and to people you care about? It is a chemical that is ubiquitous in our environment…a toxin that’s detectable in the rain, soil, and air. You may ask yourself, ‘If it’s everywhere, then there’s nothing I can do about it, right?’ I’m here to convince you that there is something you can do about it, and it could be a contributing factor to why you might be struggling to meet your health and wellness goals.
In this first article, I will talk about what Glyphosate is and why it’s important to talk about. I will provide you with evidence of harm and paint a clear picture as to how this chemical is contributing to the decline of human health and biodiversity of living things on the planet.
In the second article, I will present research on Glyphosate and how it may be contributing to the rise of liver disease, neurological disorders, autoimmunity, and fertility/reproductive problems.
Third, I will present evidence showing how Glyphosate destroys the microbiome. For those of you who have had a conversation with me regarding nutrition, the mention of the microbiome will always come up because it is pivotal to human health. The term ‘microbiome’ refers to the whole ecosystem that resides in our gut, that’s unique to us and composed of living organisms…bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Why is this crucial to our health? Because 70-80% of our immune system function comes from these living organisms that reside in our gut lining. The microbiome is critical to health at its very core.
In the fourth article, you will recognize that knowledge is power. Now that you know the story of Glyphosate, you may ask, ‘What can I do about it?’. I will give you strategies for limiting glyphosate in your diet, around your living space as well as strategies for eliminating it from your body more efficiently.
Glyphosate. Evidence of harm. The big picture.
What is Glyphosate? It is most known as an herbicide (a chemical that kills plants). It is the primary ingredient in the weedkiller, Roundup®. It’s also in 100 other brands of weedkillers on the market. This weedkiller is the most widely applied chemical to major agricultural crops in the United States and globally. It’s applied to GMO (genetically modified organisms) crops, such as corn, alfalfa, soy, and sugar beets (not a complete list) so weed picking can be avoided without killing the plant, hence genetically modified (with a different species not occurring in nature) to not die when Glyphosate is applied. It’s also applied to non-GMO crops, such as wheat, purposely to kill the plant faster, making it go to seed quicker, resulting in a quicker harvest. Sounds great on paper, until you look at the consequences of growing our food by fighting against nature. In 2014 alone, 1.8 billion pounds were applied globally and continues to increase 15-fold each year.1 It was patented as an herbicide in 1968 by Monsanto, now owned by Bayer.2,3 In 2018, the company lost in a lawsuit, ordered to pay $289 million to a groundskeeper who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma due to failing to warn consumers that it’s a known carcinogen. Thousands more lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto since. In 2015, the WHO (World Health Organization) categorized Glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. In July 2021, Bayer announced Glyphosate-based herbicides will not be sold in the US for home and garden use starting in 2023. They said they are doing this to, “manage litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns”.
If you go to your garage or the next time at Home Depot®, look at the back of the container of Roundup® and read how it works. It says, “Glyphosate targets an enzyme found in plants, but not in people or pets” or “Glyphosate works by targeting an enzyme that is essential for plant growth”. An enzyme is simply a protein that has a specific function that acts as a catalyst to make one reaction take place. In this case, glyphosate inhibits a specific enzyme in plants that is necessary for the plant to live or for a critical reaction to take place. Humans or animals may not have that enzyme to inhibit, but we do have critical uses for the product of that reaction. What I mean is that the product of the reaction that is inhibited by glyphosate prevents the production of three essential amino acids, tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. Amino acids are referred to many times as our building blocks for life. They are what make up proteins that make and sustain the structures and functions of living things.
These three amino acids are essential, meaning we need to consume them through our diet. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin and melatonin. Phenylalanine is a precursor to tyrosine, which makes epinephrine, norepinephrine (together are adrenaline), dopamine, thyroxine (thyroid hormone) and melanin. Many of you have heard of these hormones. Serotonin is associated with mood, including anxiety and depression. Melatonin is essential for sleep regulation. Your adrenaline hormones are essential to keep you alive in times of stress. Dopamine is needed for pleasure, memory, and learning. Thyroid hormone controls your metabolic rate, meaning it controls the rate at which your body uses energy. Melanin is a hormone that is photoprotective to the skin and eyes. I’ll let you ponder this for a bit. What might happen to us if the plants we consume are void of these AMINO ACIDS that are necessary for the functions that I mentioned above?
In addition to an herbicide, glyphosate is a chelator. A chelator is something that binds to other chemicals, inhibiting their function. In this case, it binds to minerals in the soil, such as zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, cobalt, and iron, preventing the uptake into the plant4. It is so good at this function that it was first patented as a chelator for use from the company, Stauffer Chemical Company in 1961 to strip mineral build-up off pipes and broilers in commercial hot water systems2,5. I want you to think about this now. What happens when the plant can’t uptake essential MINERALS from the soil, which then we consume?
A third function of glyphosate is that it is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. This means that it kills a wide variety of bacteria and other living microbes. In 2003, Monsanto patented it as an oral antibiotic.2,6 I’ll go into this more in article 3, but beneficial microbes in our gut, AKA our microbiome, are compromised due to the nature of this chemical. Lastly, I want to emphasize that glyphosate is not the only herbicide sprayed on our crops. There are 250 other chemicals (i.e., LibertyLink) used in combination (which is done most often) with glyphosate that have a cumulative effect on toxicity.7 In other words, when glyphosate is combined with other chemicals, the toxicity increases. A third question…what might happen if much of our MICROBIOME is killed, which is responsible for 70-80% of our immune system that resides on our gut lining?
Based on these 3 major functions of glyphosate, as an herbicide, a chelator and an antibiotic, the plants we consume are void of 3 essential amino acids required for multiple hormone production, depleted of vital minerals needed for cells to function properly, and a super killer of the very life (microbes) that is required for humans to be healthy and stay healthy. If the plant we consume is depleted or deficient in those nutrients, we are depleted or deficient in those nutrients. If glyphosate residues (and other chemicals) are in our food, and in the air, deterioration of the microbiome results, contributing to a dysfunctional immune system.
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References
1. C.M. Benbrook. Trends in Glyphosate Herbicide Use in the United States and Globally. Environmental Sciences Europe. 2016;28(1):3.
2. Stephanie Seneff. Toxic Legacy. How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment. 2021
3. US patent number 3455675 A; filed: June 25, 1968; awarded: July 15, 1969.
4. Stephen O Duke, Stephen B Powles. Glyphosate: A Once-in-a-century herbicide. Pest Management Science. 2008 Apr;64(4):319-25.
5. US patent number 3160632; filed: January 30, 1961; awarded December 8, 1964.
6. US patent number 20040077608 A1; filed: August 29, 2003: awarded: April 22, 2004.
7. Nancy L. Swanson, Andre Leu, Jon Abrahamson, Bradley Wallet. Genetically Engineered Crops, Glyphosate and the Deterioration of Health in the United States of America. Journal of Organic Systems. 2014 Jan;9(2):6-37.