Glyphosate – Unsafe on Any Plate
Trying to eat a healthful, balanced diet since you care about your health? Although you may be conscious of carbs, calories and consuming fruits and veggies there is something else you may not being close enough attention to and it’s called glyphosate.
Glyphosate is the most heavily used chemical weed killer in food and is the active ingredient in Montsanto’s Roundup. Anresco Laboratories, an FDA registered laboratory that has performed food testing since 1943, tested multiple food products in the US for glyphosate. The limit at which there is probable harm to human health is .1 parts per billions (ppb). Many food items had levels of glyphosate between 290 and 1125 ppb. The US regulations allow an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 1.75 mg/kilogram body weight/day (versus .3 mg./kilogram body weight/day in the European Union). You can find the full laboratory reports of testing on this link.  According to this report many American breakfast cereals, crackers, cookies and chips have high levels of glyphosate.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you may recall I call myself the undecided voter. My philosophy and principles are to weigh in on issues when most of the data and research is in. I can say that in the history of my practice I have never seen so many health challenges including autoimmune disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and hormone issues. Since glyphosate residues are found in crops like wheat, soybeans, corn, oats and barley they are affecting our whole population. What is the harm? Multiple studies show possible links to cancer, hormone disruption, changes in absorption of nutrients (iron, zinc), and antibiotic resistance. Research is in the early stages, but why play with fire? If you’ve been exposed to glyphosate for years it may be impacting your life in ways you may not be conscious of.
Research published in 2014 in the Journal of Environmental Research found that families that consumed an organic diet for just 1 week removed 90% of the pesticides from their systems, which was confirmed by urine tests. You may be thinking you can remove glyphosate by washing food but glyphosate residues cannot be removed by washing, cooking or baking and remain stable in food, even if it is frozen.
How can you ensure your diet is low in pesticides? Although you may pay significantly more for organic food, the easiest way to reduce exposure to pesticides is to consume an organic whole foods diet since GMOs and Roundup are prohibited. Health advocates state eating organic food and produce is not any more healthful than conventional. Although conventional crops may contain the same nutrients as organic in terms of vitamins and minerals their pesticide level can be much higher, causing the layer of health concern.
If you’ve ignored this part of your Life Style Solution it may be one piece of the puzzle to address – your health bank account may thank you in the future with avoiding a health crisis or unwelcome diagnosis.
August 31, 2018 @ 12:02 pm
I eat oatmeal corn on the cob and wheat bread. Does this mean that these foods are harmful?
September 2, 2018 @ 6:22 pm
Hi Claire – it could add up to a lot of carbohydrates and pesticides in your diet – so best to limit.