I have been looking for some answers regarding why more and more people seem to intolerant to gluten. I wrote of my concerns and reasoning of Why I don’t buy into the Paleo Diet. I haven’t bought into wheat is harmful to the body and our ancestors didn’t eat wheat. I’ve made the comment to my hubby stating it’s not the wheat, it’s something they are doing to the wheat. I had no idea what they were doing and what was causing leaky gut, autoimmune disorders, imbalanced gut bacteria, gluten sensitivities, and all the links between wheat and/or gluten. All I knew was, it’s not the gluten.
photo credit: Ian Hayhurst via photopin cc
Gluten and Glyphosate
Normally I wouldn’t be so interested in gluten and/or wheat. I would simply write the Paleo Diet off and go on with my life. The one thing that kept irritating me was every time I researched Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune disorder that I recently was diagnosed with), the answer always seemed to be Go gluten free, Wheat is evil, Paleo is the answer, or something along those lines. With all the many sites very avidly suggesting to go gluten free, all I could think was they are missing something.
Today, I was browsing, you guessed it, Facebook and this article was published; The Real Reason Wheat is Toxic (It’s not the gluten). It looks like Monsanto should be up for a world record for most horrible company. The Healthy Home Economist tells about the disturbing process that modern farmers are using to harvest our wheat. Like I said, Monsanto is a real winner.
Standard wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as withered, dead wheat plants are less taxing on the farm equipment and allows for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest – See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/#sthash.o7C5OuEB.dpuf
Here is a very interesting article from The Organic Prepper. Daisy from The Organic Prepper thought she was gluten intolerant. She had blood work to test her gluten sensitivity only to find out she wasn’t gluten intolerant. While her symptoms said she was gluten intolerant, her blood work said she wasn’t. She also said her friend experience the same issue. Read more about her story at Maybe Your Aren’t Actually Gluten Intolerant. Maybe You’re Just Poison Intolerant.
Make sure to check out The Healthy Home Economist’s The real reason wheat is toxic (It’s Not the Gluten) for the full story. Most of you probably know what Roundup is and what it is used for. While I have done some past research on the harmful effects of Roundup, it wasn’t until reading The Healthy Home Economist’s article that made me re-investigate the whole subject altogether.
What is Glyphosate?
Glyphosate is an herbicide that is used to kill weeds. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. The sodium salt in glyphosate is used to ripen fruit . Another interesting factor is GMO foods (Genetically modified foods) are Roundup ready. This means most GMO foods are designed to be sprayed with Roundup. Basically, if you’re eating GMO foods, you are eating Roundup. Is your mouth watering yet? Yeah, I didn’t think so. GMO crops and weeds that are sprayed with Roundup have built up a tolerance to glyphosate. Due to this tolerance, they are having to use more Roundup to kill off the weeds. Looking at the last 5-10 years, they are using 2X more Roundup than they were initially. In the last 10 years, celiac disease (autoimmine disease where body can’t break down gluten) has doubled. Look at the chart below. Another article to about Gluten intolerance and Glyphosate, check out Mother Earth News article Is Glyphosate the cause of ‘Gluten Intolerance?
What are the dangers of Glyphosate?
If you want a more detailed scientific explanation of how glyphosate causes the problems it does, watch the video above. I’m just going to focus on the issue glyphosate causes. Are you ready for this list?
- inflammation
- leaky gut
- autoimmune disorders
- gut flora imbalance
- Gut disorders (Croh’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, acid reflux, celiac disease)
- strong connection with autism (Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide)
- digestive issues
- sulfate deficiencies
- gluten intolerance
- depletes aromatic amino acids such as tryptophan and tyrosine
- Tryptophan is a precursor to tryptophan>precursor to serotonin >precursor to melatonin)
- Seratoninin deficiency > linked to obesity, autism, Alzheimer’s, depression, and violent behavior
- Melatonin deficiency > Melatonin is important for your sleep/wake cycle
- depletes tyrosine which is a precursor of dopamine, adrenaline, and melanin
- Melanin deficiency >protects skin from UV rays which can lead to skin cancer
- Dopamine deficiency (linked to Parkinson’s disease)
- Methionine deficiency >supplies sulfur to the body >link between sulfur deficiency and Autism
- depletes minerals such as calcium, manganese zinc, cobalt, iron
- disrupts cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes which regulates Vitamin D regulation and activation, cholesterol, sex hormones (can lead to infertility), detoxifies toxins, stabilizes blood (hemorrhaging, and blood clots), and bile acid production
- high serum nitrate and ammonia
- impaired immune function
- chronic low grade inflammation in the brain
- endocrine disruptions
- neurological disorders
- kills good bacteria such as bifidobacteria (converts gluten to less toxic form. It aids in the breakdown of gluten in the body)
- promotes breast cancer
- possible link between Anencephaly (rare disease that child is born without a brain ) Glyphosate and Anencephaly
“When future historians write about our time, they’re not going to write about the tons of chemicals we did or didn’t apply. When it comes to glyphosate, they’re going to write about our willingness to sacrifice our children and jeopardize our existence, while threatening and jeopardizing the very basis of our existence; the sustainability of our agriculture” – Professor Dob Huber on Glyphosate
Most of my iinformation has been gained from watching the video below. Dr. Stephanie Seneff covers the harmful effects of glyphosate in her presentation below.
What can we do about our exposure to Glyphosate?
If I’ve freaked you out enough, then you probably want to limit your exposure to glyphosate. I knew this was going to be bad as soon as I learned farmers were spraying their crops with roundup but I didn’t realize I was opening a can of worms. I highly suggest you watch the videos, visit the links, and do your own research. Yes, the videos are lengthy and it’s alot of information but they will help you understand the seriousness of our exposure to glyphosate. Anyways, what can we do? It’s been said a million times and I’m going to say it again.
Eat Organic whenever possible. Look for foods that are GMO free. Grow your own foods or buy locally from trusted farmers. Don’t be afraid to ask the farmers if they use Monsanto’s products such as Roundup. In most cases, the farmer will be strongly against GMOs and probably begin to tell why. Or he will try to say something like “We use Monsanto to feed the world.” HA!! By the way, GMOs are NOT a sustainable way of farming. Monsanto’s seeds have to be bought EVERY year and you can’t save the seeds due to Monsanto patenting the genetically modified seeds. Even if you did, they are modified to not sprout the next year. Oh, and skip the Roundup whenever spraying your own lawn.
When it comes to flour, I recommend King Arthur Flour. They are non-GMO and they are of a high quality. I used to think there was no difference in the brand of flours but the first time I used King Arthur flour, I could taste a difference. The texture was also better in baked goods.
Look for the Non-GMO Project Seal. For more information about the seal, visit The Non GMO Project.
Support organizations for GMO labeling. There are many people outrage by the GMO foods and strongly want GMOs labeled. The more who fight for GMO labeling, the more pressure we put on politicians to label GMOs.
Share the knowledge. Share the link to my blog, share the videos, share the links, and let everyone know about the harmful effects of Roundup.
Before you go, if your new to the harmful effects of GMOs and Monsanto’s role in all of this, check out Food Inc. If you have amazon Prime, you can watch it for free.
And also check out GMO OMG. It talks about the GMOs specifically. This one is available on Netflix instant queue and DVD.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10
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photo credit: Ian Hayhurst via photopin cc
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