Recently, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2020 ruling that glyphosate is safe for humans and endangered species via the U.S. Court of Appeals and the rule was overturned.
This is a small win in the fight for environmental health, but it does not impact farmers’ ability to use glyphosate and other harmful pesticides in the U.S.
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide used in agriculture, forestry, and lawn management across the U.S. You know it best as the main ingredient in the weed killer, RoundUp™.
Among the consequences associate with glyphosate contamination are various types of cancer, infertility struggles, and a range of birth defects. But as an endocrine disruptor and toxin, there are likely dozens of other negative effects that we aren’t yet aware of, even at low levels.
Glyphosate and Gut Health
One of the worst effects of glyphosate may be its effect on our gut microbiome.
Glyphosate disrupts a certain enzyme pathway in plants called the shikimate pathway, suppressing an enzyme that is supposed to produce metabolites like aromatic amino acids (AAA) and many other key biological molecules for health.
Glyphosate’s supposed safety was based on the fact that human cells do not have this key enzyme pathway. But our gut bacteria do.
And we now know that our gut bacteria are the ones who are producing many key nutrients for us (the host), including:
- Vitamins such as B vitamins
- Short-chain fatty acids
- Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
Glyphosate severely restricts our microbiome’s ability to make these key nutrients for us, resulting in widespread damaging effects.
Another severe side effect of glyphosate is that it causes leaky gut the loosening of tight junctions between gut cells in the intestines. Your gut lining is just one cell thick, to allow passage of nutrients from your food into the bloodstream. But this layer is meant to keep much larger food particles, toxins, and even pathogens in the gut as well.
How Does Glyphosate Affect my Cellular Health?
Despite the claim that glyphosate does not directly harm human cells, it severely weakens mitochondria, the energy factories of the cell.
Glyphosate disrupts the mitochondrial membrane, which is harmful to cellular energy production. It can also chelate (bind) key minerals required for the creation of energy. Interestingly, more severe effects on the cellular level have been observed at smaller concentrations.
Support Detoxification From Glyphosate
One way to protect yourself from glyphosate exposure is with liposomal phospholipids.
Liposomal phospholipids support cell membranes, mitochondrial membranes, and the gut lining, all places where glyphosate can do some serious damage.
A few other tips to support glyphosate detoxification:
- Buy organic — and regenerative organic if you have access to it — as much as possible
- Make sure your detox pathways are open: gut, urinary, lymph, and skin.
- Support your liver (major detox organ) with supplements like N-acetyl cysteine, milk thistle, and liposomal glutathione.
- Filter your water with a reverse osmosis system
- Invest in high quality air purifiers for your main living spaces
You don’t have to do everything at once, but the good news is that all of these tips address multiple issues, not just glyphosate. These days, making sure you have clean food, clean water, clean air, and good detoxification are the minimum for good health.
References
“Dr. Stephanie Seneff, PhD on How Glyphosate Is Impacting Gut and Immune Health,” Capital Integrative Health Podcast. July 5, 2022.
Strilbyska, O. M., Tsiumpala, S. A., Kozachyshyn, I. I., Strutynska, T., Burdyliuk, N., Lushchak, V. I., & Lushchak, O. (2022). The effects of low-toxic herbicide Roundup and glyphosate on mitochondria. EXCLI journal, 21, 183–196.
Neto da Silva, K., Garbin Cappellaro, L., Ueda, C. N., Rodrigues, L., Pertile Remor, A., Martins, R. P., Latini, A., & Glaser, V. (2020). Glyphosate-based herbicide impairs energy metabolism and increases autophagy in C6 astroglioma cell line. Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A, 83(4), 153–167.
Van Bruggen, A., He, M. M., Shin, K., Mai, V., Jeong, K. C., Finckh, M. R., & Morris, J. G., Jr (2018). Environmental and health effects of the herbicide glyphosate. The Science of the total environment, 616-617, 255–268.
Milesi, M. M., Lorenz, V., Durando, M., Rossetti, M. F., & Varayoud, J. (2021). Glyphosate Herbicide: Reproductive Outcomes and Multigenerational Effects. Frontiers in endocrinology, 12, 672532.
Soares, D., Silva, L., Duarte, S., Pena, A., & Pereira, A. (2021). Glyphosate Use, Toxicity and Occurrence in Food. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 10(11), 2785.
Samsel, A., & Seneff, S. (2013). Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance. Interdisciplinary toxicology, 6(4), 159–184.