GMOs, Pesticides & Glyphosate Health Hazards

Genetically engineered (GE) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs); an infective process where a cell is infected with foreign material triggering significant inflammation in the gut and visceral organs. GM foods are also referred to as frankenfoods.

Twenty-six countries throughout the world restrict or ban the use of GMOs. Currently, Vermont is the only state in the U.S. that requires manufacturers to label products made with GMOs. Many of the world’s educated consumers are pushing for either banning GMO crops or at least requiring GMO labeling. Smart choice!

In the U.S., 90 percent of acres planted are now from genetically modified seeds.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. According to recent research, exposure to glyphosate is partially to blame for rising rates of autism, neurological disorders and chronic diseases. Scientific evidence continues to escalate that glyphosate is more toxic than DDT.

Glyphosate was originally patented as a mineral chelator, which causes nutrients to be removed from the body. It is also patented as a potent antibiotic that can destroy human gut bacteria.

Glyphosate is widely used in yards, fields and gardens across the U.S. with farmers spraying millions of acres of crops with them each year. In 1990, 35 million liters of pesticides were sprayed on fields; in 2013 over 300 million liters were sprayed and that number continues to rise.

Sources of GMOs and Crops Sprayed with Roundup Ready Glyphosate

Ninety percent or more of ALL soybeans and soy-derived ingredients, rice, corn (flours, syrups and sweeteners), canola and cottonseed oils, and sugar beets grown in the U.S. are genetically modified! About 55 percent of the sugar produced in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, 95 percent of which have been genetically engineered.
GMOs are found in ALL processed foods, some fruits and vegetables, and in alarming quantities in animal feed and pet food. If you eat processed foods and non-organic conventional animal protein, you’re consuming glyphosate residues.
All grains are sprayed with Round Up (glyphosate). Besides wheat and grains, glyphosate is applied on barley, oats, canola, sunflower, flax, peas, lentils, dry beans and sugar cane.
Dairy products from cows injected with rbGM, a GM hormone
Meat and eggs from animals that have eaten GM feed (i.e. corn, soy, alfalfa)
Food additives, artificial sweeteners, flavorings and processing agents, and rennet used to make hard cheeses
Flaxseed oil and vegetable oils (corn, soybean, canola, safflower, rapeseed, cottonseed)
Honey and bee pollen that may have GM sources of pollen
Non-food items that may contain GM ingredients include personal care products, aspartame found in some supplements, children’s vitamins, OTC medications and laxatives.
Other items containing GMOs include infant formula, pet food, peanut butter, conventional factory-farmed animal protein, candy, beer, alcohol, salad dressing, coffee, bread, cereals, crackers, canned soup, cookies, chocolate, chewing gum, fried food, chips, juice, margarine, mayonnaise, hamburgers, veggie burgers, hotdogs, ice cream, frozen yogurt, tofu, soy sauce, soy cheese, tomato sauce, some protein powders, baking powder, vanilla, sugar, flour and pasta.

Dangers of Genetically Engineered Foods, Pesticides & Glyphosate

A growing body of evidence connects GMOs and pesticides with serious health problems, environmental damage, and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.

A study published in the Journal of Biological Science reported endless health hazards from GMOs and pesticides. Another study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology reported on the results of a 2-year study in which animals were given GM maize laced with Roundup. The end result was cancer, unsightly tumors, organ failure and premature death.

Laboratory and epidemiological studies of farmers and people exposed to glyphosate confirm that it poses SERIOUS health risks including…..

* Infertility	* Leaky gut (intestinal permeability)
* Autoimmune disorders	* Damage to organs & the GI system
* Parkinson’s disease	* Faulty insulin regulation
* ADD and ADHD	* Birth defects and autism
* Increased allergies	* Accelerated aging
* DNA damage	* Hormone-sensitive cancers
* Alzheimer’s disease	* Neurological disorders
* Altered microbiome	* Antibiotic resistance

A January 2014 study published in the Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology found glyphosate was significantly higher in the urine of chronically-ill people compared to healthy people.

Glyphosate is a potent carcinogen, an excitotoxin to the brain, a toxic antibiotic that kills good bacteria, disrupts gut bacteria, and alters the microbiome.

Roundup ready glyphosate is a chelating agent, particularly chelating vital trace minerals such as magnesium, manganese, iron, molybdenum and cobalt from the body.

Roundup is destructive to the gut, liver, kidneys, brain and immune system. It’s linked to a myriad of chronic illnesses. Symptoms of exposure to glyphosate include eye irritation, blurred vision, skin rashes, burning or itchy skin, nausea, sore throat and difficulty breathing, headache, lethargy, nose bleeds and dizziness.

Roundup and glyphosate have been detected in air, rain, groundwater, in people’s urine, and even circulating in people’s blood.

Glyphosate can cross the placental barrier and the unborn fetus can be exposed. Children, newborns and pregnant women face the greatest potential hazards from pesticides and GMOs. According to a study published in Pediatrics, children who have high levels of pesticide residues are 93 percent more likely to have ADHD. Another study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that pregnant women who live near farms where pesticides are applied had a 60% higher risk of having children with autism.

Glyphosate causes birth defects and tumors in animals, and sharp declines in beneficial insects and bees. Bees consuming pollen from GE plants have shortened life spans and loss of sense of smell. Cows that are fed genetically engineered soybeans have changes in hormone levels and milk content. Toxicity is moving up the food chain. There is severely impaired health and even death in animals from consuming insects that were fed crops infected with toxins, glyphosate and pesticides.

At lower concentrations of Roundup and glyphosate, the main endocrine disruptor is a decrease in testosterone by 35 percent. (Toxicology in Vitro 26 (201) 269-279).

Animals given a free choice will not touch GE crops unless they’re starving. Every study, including those by the industry itself shows adverse reactions to animals that eat GE crops.

Even at low levels pesticides affect insulin-binding receptors and have a negative impact on gut microbiotia. Gestational exposure to several common pesticides can induce developmental neurotoxicity in humans, and has been associated with developmental delay and autism. [Source: Environ Health Perspectives]

Research lead by a team from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand has found that commonly used herbicides, including the world’s most used herbicide Roundup, can cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.

Pesticide exposure has been linked to gut dysfunction, leaky gut, food allergies and food sensitivities, decreased testosterone levels, hormone dysfunction, increased estrogen load, neurodegenerative and cognitive dysfunction, systemic botulism, birth defects, infertility, weight gain, IBS, cancer and more. The negative side effects of pesticides can take years to show up, and by the time symptoms are clear the damage may have already been done.

Do You Know What You’re Eating?

There are unique PLU codes on fruits and vegetables for organic, conventionally grown and GM, which is usually 4 digits. A fifth digit may be prefixed to the code to indicate whether the fruit or vegetable is organic (prefixed by the numeral 9) or GM (prefixed by an 8).

Conventional apple. Grown with chemicals. The PLU code consists of four numbers, such as 4021
GM apple. The PLU code consists of five numbers beginning with the number 8, such as 84021.
Organic apple. The PLU code begins with the number 9, such as 94021.

Processed foods are genetically engineered and don't carry PLU codes. Ingredients in processed foods specifically corn, canola oil and soy are genetically modified and should be avoided at all costs.

How to Avoid GMOs, Pesticides and Glyphosate

Many pesticides are systemic, meaning that the pesticides are taken up by the plant’s roots and distributed throughout the plant so unfortunately while washing fruits and veggies is important, no amount of washing completely removes them. Included in this class of pesticides are genetically engineered crops, which express an endotoxin that is impossible to wash off.

Avoid all processed, packaged and canned foods, fake foods and fast foods.
Stick with real food. Real food has NOT been injected with hormones, antibiotics, synthetic hormones or sprayed with poisonous pesticides and glyphosate. Real food does NOT come from a factory farm and is NOT found at a drive up window. Real food does NOT contain dyes and colorings, soybean, corn or canola oil, artificial sweeteners, trans fats, chemicals, preservatives or HFCS.
Buy organic. Eating organic foods for just one week can reduce pesticide levels in the body nearly 90 percent! Organic fruits and veggies have 20-40% more antioxidants, fewer pesticide residues and lower levels of cadmium compared to conventional produce.
Be proactive upon consumption. Educate yourself, your family and friends regarding food quality and what’s really happening to our food supply, crops and livestock feeding.
Always buy the Environmental Working Group’s list of “Dirty Dozen” veggies and fruit as organic (www.ewg.org)
Buy certified-organic products: fruit and veggies, grass-fed butter and meats, free-range pastured poultry and eggs. A study in the Journal of Environmental Research found that eating an organic diet for just one week can reduce pesticide levels in adults nearly 90 percent.
Read the list of ingredients on every single product and specifically avoid soy and soybean oil, corn (syrup, meal, starch), canola, cottonseed and all vegetable oils, sugar, Hawaiian papaya and conventional, factory-farmed animal protein. Avoid these ingredients at all costs.
Follow the lifestyle principles found in The Power of 4 and Fat Loss Revolution.
When eating at a restaurant, ask what type of oil they cook with
Plant a garden. Use only non-GMO seeds
Swap out toxic pesticide and lawn chemicals for organic weed and pest control alternatives
Look for “verified non-GMO” labeling and “certified organic” labeling
Download, print and use the Non-GMO Shopping Guide
Plant milkweed plants to attract birds, bees and butterflies. Also, fennel, parsley and dill. Here’s a list of Milkweeds by state.
Understand that nutrient density is the fundamental quality standard for food.
All grains are sprayed with All grains are sprayed with Round Up (glyphosate), a potent carcinogen, an excitotoxin to the brain, a toxic antibiotic that kills good bacteria, disrupts gut bacteria and alters the microbiome. Besides wheat and grains, glyphosate is applied on barley, oats, canola, sunflower, flax, peas, lentils, dry beans and sugar cane.

Round Up is destructive to the gut, liver, kidney, brain, immune system, and is linked to a myriad of chronic illnesses and diseases. Round Up is a chelating agent, particularly chelating vital trace minerals such as magnesium, manganese, iron, molybdenum and colbalt from the body.

Besides wheat and grains, glyphosate is applied on barley, oats, canola, sunflower, flax, peas, lentils, dry beans and sugar cane.

Clinical pearl: All grains have elevated levels of mycotoxins, which are endocrine disruptors. Remove ALL grains from your diet and testosterone increases.

Together, we have the power to stop the chemical technology industry from destroying our food supply, the future of our children, and the earth as a whole. If just five percent of American shoppers simply STOP buying genetically engineered foods, the food industry would have to reconsider their source of ingredients regardless of whether the products have an actual GMO label or not.

As always, keeping you informed. Make it a Happy, Healthy Day! Smile

As a holistic nutritionist and functional health practitioner, my philosophy is to identify the root cause of any underlying health issues, slowly "peel away the layers of the onion," and design a healing protocol and comprehensive LIFESTYLE plan specific to your unique biochemistry so you can heal, experience vibrant health, balanced hormones, healthy gut function, and look, think and feel better than ever for a lifetime. I consult with men and women around the world and with clients locally in the Phoenix area. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation!

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