By Dr. Mercola

Cancer has become Americans’ No. 1 health concern. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1,600 people die every day from cancer in the U.S. That’s over 600,000 people each year. When you include the entire world population that number climbs tenfold to over 7.6 million. Statistics suggest half of all men and 4 out of 10 women will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Alzheimer’s disease is another major health threat that has dramatically increased in recent years. Between 1999 and 2014, the death rate from Alzheimer’s increased by 55 percent. According to the latest statistics, Alzheimer’s claims the lives of more than half a million Americans each year, and unless there are radical changes, many experts project half of the population will eventually develop it.

These are grim statistics, but there is hope. Mounting evidence shows both of these conditions — as well as many other top killers — are metabolic diseases. This is actually good news, because that means you can prevent, treat and recover from them like other metabolic conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Ketogenic Diet Shows Tremendous Promise as Tool Against Chronic Disease

A number of experts and researchers are now convinced the answer to our burgeoning cancer and Alzheimer’s epidemics is a ketogenic diet and other metabolic support. Nutritional ketosis is the metabolic state associated with an increased production of ketones in your liver; i.e., the biological reflection of being able to burn fat, and is defined as having blood ketones in the range of 0.5 to 3.0 millimoles per liter.

Personally, I believe metabolic therapy — starting with a ketogenic diet — is an absolutely crucial facet of dementia and cancer prevention and treatment, and hopefully some day it will be adopted as a first line of treatment by mainstream medicine. The two videos included in this article feature Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

He teaches courses in molecular pharmacology and physiology, and maintains involvement in several studies researching metabolic treatments for neurological disorders such as seizures, Alzheimer’s, ALS and cancer, all of which are metabolically linked.

What Is Metabolic Therapy?

(More scientifically – https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=gONeCxtyH18)

Metabolic therapy is an umbrella term that includes nutrition (primarily in the form of a ketogenic diet), dietary supplements, drugs that have a therapeutic influence on energy metabolism, fasting, hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and more. The focus of D’Agostino’s talk is the biological effects of nutritional ketosis and ketone supplements. The first 15 minutes or so are spent explaining the background of how he got into looking at fasting as a therapeutic aid to improve brain metabolism.

The second half of the video goes into practical applications of nutritional ketosis, and its anticancer effects. In my latest book, “Fat for Fuel,” I present a program called metabolic mitochondrial therapy (MMT), which is a form of metabolic therapy.

MMT includes not only cyclical ketosis, but also a variety of other strategies to improve your mitochondria other than diet, such as cold thermogenesis, photobiology, detox, exercise and electromagnetic field (EMF) avoidance. As noted by D’Agostino, metabolic therapies have the ability to treat a broad range of pathologies, not just cancer, making it all the more valuable from a clinical standpoint.

“In one way or another, most diseases, especially diseases of the brain — neurodegenerative diseases — are linked pathophysiologically to energy dysregulation,” D’Agostino says. “So, a metabolic therapy can often enhance brain energy metabolism in the face of these metabolic deficits.” What this means is that while you may be addressing a specific problem such as cancer, the therapy will enhance other aspects of your health as well, including your brain function. So, it’s a multiple-win situation.

Ketones Fuel Your Body and Brain During Starvation

As explained by D’Agostino, it had long been thought that the brain could only function on glucose, but studies looking at the effects of starvation showed otherwise. In fact, during starvation, such as a bout of fasting, your brain switches to using ketones  derived from dietary fats, as its primary fuel, and ketones actually enhance brain function. If you eat a regular diet, which tends to be higher in net carbs than fats, your brain will almost exclusively use glucose as its primary fuel.

D’Agostino cites a study in which overweight participants fasted for 40 days. After the first week, their ketones  skyrocketed, overtaking glucose as the primary fuel source for the body (and brain). Studies have also shown that during fasting, at least two-thirds or more of the energy your body produces is derived from ketone bodies. “So, ketones function as an alternative fuel for the brain [when] glucose is not available,” D’Agostino explains.

Now, putting your body into starvation mode through longer water fasts is not an attractive option for most people. The good news is a ketogenic diet mimics the effects of fasting in that it elevates ketones and lowers blood glucose. The key to nutritional ketosis is twofold: You need to dramatically reduce the amount of net carbohydrates you eat (total carbs minus fiber), and you need to eat a significant amount of healthy dietary fats.

This combination is what elevates your ketone level and lowers your glucose and insulin. It also mobilizes stored energy in your fat cells, which is why a ketogenic diet typically results in significant weight loss.

The Benefits of Ketone Supplementation

Ketones made by your body are called endogenous. But you can also supply your body with exogenous ketone salts or esters or from ketone precursors such as medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, Coconut oil contains some MCTs, but straight MCT oil is a more concentrated source of the shorter chain fats that more easily convert to ketones.

Most commercial brands of MCT oil contain just two of the fatty acids found in coconut oil: eight-carbon (C8) and 10-carbon (C10) fats. They usually contain close to a 50/50 combination of both chain lengths.

I prefer taking straight C8 (also known as caprylic acid), as it converts to ketones far more rapidly than do C10 fats, and may be easier on your digestion. Coconut oil provides a mixture of all the medium-chain fats, including C6, C8, C10 and C12 fats, the latter of which is also known as lauric acid, which makes up over half of the fat in coconut oil. There are benefits to all of these fatty acids. However, MCT oil is more efficient at increasing ketone levels.

MCTs are processed differently from the long-chain fats in your diet. Normally, a fat taken into your body must be mixed with bile released from your gallbladder and acted on by pancreatic enzymes to break it down in your digestive system. MCTs don’t need bile or pancreatic enzymes. Once they reach your intestine, they diffuse through your intestinal membrane into your bloodstream and are transported directly to your liver, which naturally converts the oil into ketones.

Your liver then releases the ketones back into your bloodstream, where they are transported throughout your body. They can even pass your blood-brain barrier to supply your brain with energy. As noted by D’Agostino, research shows MCT oil can improve cognitive function in people with mild cognitive impairment. MCT oil will raise your ketone level even if you’re not on a ketogenic diet or fasting. The effect is not going to be as dramatic as when you’re fasting or eating a ketogenic diet, but it can mimic a mild ketogenic state.

D’Agostino also reviews the use of ketone salts and synthetic ketone esters, which he uses in his own research. Tests reveal the administration of a single dose of the synthetic ketone acetoacetate causes a rapid elevation of ketone esters within 30 minutes and is sustained for over four hours. Some of D’Agostino’s research shows nutritional ketosis can be sustained for up to 12 hours using supplemental ketones.

According to D’Agostino, “Therapeutic ketosis, up to 2.5 millimolar [per liter], is difficult to sustain, but with dietary ketone supplementation we found that it’s possible. So, we can deliver ketones within 15 to 30 minutes with administration of these synthetic ketogenic agents.” Ketone supplementation also causes a significant decrease in glucose within 30 to 60 minutes of administration. In fact, glucose is reduced to a greater degree than what can be achieved with anti-glycemic drugs like metformin.

Ketogenic Diet Often Better Than Drugs for the Treatment of Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain that trigger seizures. The Epilepsy Foundation suggests epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological condition, with an estimated 65 million people worldwide affected by it.¹

Some 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with epilepsy annually, with children and older adults experiencing the highest incidence rates.² Nutritional ketosis has been shown to be a very effective treatment for many epileptics, especially children who do not respond well to the medications used.

Research shows administration of synthetic ketone ester raises seizure resistance in rats by a whopping 575 percent, “which is above and beyond any anti-seizure medication that has been tried in this model,” D’Agostino notes. He then goes on to describe and explain the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective mechanism of ketones. In summary, both a ketogenic diet and synthetic ketone supplementation alters the ratio of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in your brain.

Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter used to produce GABA, which has an inhibiting effect. The ratio between glutamate (excitatory) and GABA (inhibitory) determines the net excitability of the neurons in your brain. When you are in ketosis, the ratio of GABA to glutamate is higher than when you’re not in ketosis, which has a stabilizing and neuroprotective effect on your brain.

As explained by D’Agostino, “Not only does it deliver more energy to your brain, it prevents the brain from being in a hyperexcitable state that could trigger a seizure.”

Conditions and Diseases That Can Benefit From Ketones

D’Agostino’s research also shows that ketones suppress the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), damaging free radicals, by enhancing mitochondrial function. He explains, “Mitochondria are the energy organelles within the cell. They’re also the site of free radical production.

By enhancing mitochondrial efficiency — as oxygen goes through the mitochondria to produce energy — less of that oxygen becomes an oxygen free radical.” In other words, one of the neuroprotective mechanisms of ketones is their ability to reduce ROS.

This also has direct implications for cancer development. ROS are mostly generated through the coenzyme Q couple in the electron transport chain. Both glucose and fatty acids produce FADH2, which can generate ROS. In contrast, fat-derived ketone bodies produce only NADH, which increases the redox span of the coenzyme Q couple and reduces production of ROS. Hence, ketone bodies are considered a “cleaner” fuel than glucose.

Now, if you have less ROS being generated in the mitochondria, you end up with less mitochondrial damage and less DNA damage. So not only is switching the fuel you’re feeding your body the key component of cancer treatment but, in my view, it’s the primary way that you prevent cancer from occurring in the first place.

Ketones — whether from nutritional ketosis or use of a ketone supplement — also enhance brain energy metabolism and increase the energy reserves in your brain. These therapeutic effects can be exploited for the benefit of many different conditions and diseases, including:

Some of these syndromes, glucose transporter deficiency syndrome and Angleman’s syndrome specifically, require patients to remain on a very strict ketogenic diet to avoid seizures. D’Agostino’s research suggests supplemental ketones may be used, allowing these patients to be less strict with their diet, without forgoing the benefits of strict nutritional ketosis. In terms of wound healing, ketones have been shown to increase profusion of blood into the wounded area, thereby facilitating healing.

How Ketones Affect Cancer Cells

D’Agostino has shown that oxygen, at levels that are nontoxic to healthy cells, are toxic to cancer cells. In essence, cancer cells are more vulnerable to oxygen toxicity. His team has also demonstrated that ketones are toxic to cancer cells. When cancer cells are placed in a petri dish and fed only ketones, they simply die. Healthy cells, on the other hand, will thrive in the presence of ketones without glucose.

What this and other research tells us is that healthy cells, including brain cells, have a very high degree of metabolic flexibility and are able to thrive on either glucose or ketones (obtained through your diet from carbohydrates and healthy fats respectively). Not so with cancer cells. Defects in their metabolism due to having damaged mitochondria prevent them from metabolizing ketones. For this reason, glucose is the predominant fuel that allow cancer cells to thrive.

Research by Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., professor of biology at Boston College and a leading expert and researcher in the field of cancer metabolism and nutritional ketosis, shows that tumor growth is tightly correlated with blood glucose levels.

When glucose and glutamine levels are low, and ketone levels are high, very little tumor growth occurs, and as glucose levels rise, tumor growth increases right along with it. In fact, the fluorodeoxyglucose PET scan is a technology that shows glucose consumption in tissue, allowing you to identify and track the aggressiveness of cancer tumors.

All Cancers Arise From Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Regardless of the cancer, cancer cells have the same metabolic phenotype — they all suffer from glucose overconsumption, which is the result of mitochondrial dysfunction. Ketones are metabolized entirely within the mitochondrial membrane, so the mitochondria must be fully functional in order to make energy from the ketones, and this is the functionality that all cancer cells lack.

Now, aside from a poor diet, your mitochondria can also be damaged from a number of chemical and environmental triggers, which is why it’s so important to eat organic whole food (to avoid pesticides and synthetic food additives) and avoid chemical exposures from household and personal care items used on a daily basis.

Also, as explained by D’Agostino, your mitochondria become increasingly damaged and dysfunctional with advancing age, and, since the mitochondria produce at least 90 percent of the energy in your cells, as your mitochondrial function starts to decline, glucose metabolism is upregulated to make up for the decline in energy production. As mitochondrial function declines, you also get destabilization of the nuclear genome, which triggers the activation of oncogenes — genes that cause cancer.

It can also inhibit tumor suppressor genes. With the activation of oncogenes, enzymatic activity of glycolysis is also increased, allowing increased generation of energy from sugar.

As noted by D’Agostino, “If all cancer arises from mitochondrial dysfunction, then replacement of damaged mitochondria with normal mitochondria should prevent cancer. In other words, mitochondrial producing sufficient respiration, i.e., energy, should suppress tumor growth regardless of the numbers and types of mutations … present in the nucleus of cancer cells.”

This, in a nutshell, is what metabolic therapies are all about, as healthy mitochondria act as an ultimate tumor suppressor. Research even shows healthy mitochondria suppress tumor growth even in the presence of an oncogene in the nucleus of a cell. As mentioned, mitochondrial function can be improved in a number of different ways, but when it comes to diet, a low-carb, high healthy-fat diet and/or fasting are the keys that unlock mitochondrial health.

According to D’Agostino, in rats, the best results were obtained from a combination of ketogenic diet, ketone supplementation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In summary, the rationale for using a ketogenic diet and other metabolic therapies is to address and repair the mitochondrial defects causing the condition or disease in the first place. Again, nutritional ketosis prevents and combats cancer by:

How to Assess the Health of Your Mitochondria

So, how can you assess the health of your mitochondria? There are a couple of ways of doing this. Seyfried has published a paper on the glucose ketone index (GKI) calculator³ in an open access journal, which can be accessed by anyone. You can use that calculator to assess the health and vitality of your mitochondria. The GKI calculator looks at your glucose to ketone ratio. Ketones must be measured by blood, not urine, and your glucose must be entered in millimoles, not in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

If you have a glucose-to-ketone ratio of 1.0 or below, you know you have healthy mitochondria. Now, getting down to a 1.0 can be difficult. The last time I did a four-day fast, on the last day my glucose was 40 (2.2 mmol/l) and ketones were 8, giving me a ratio of 0.27, well below the 1.0 threshold.

You will likely need to do a complete water fast like I did in order to get that low. However, you don’t need to remain in that ultra-low zone for very long. On the other hand, if you have cancer, you’ll want to hit that mark as much as possible.

As explained by Seyfried in a previous interview,⁴ you can drive your blood sugar way down by doing a water fast for three to four days and then taking some exogenous ketones, such as MCT oil. Also, to prevent cancer, you don’t have to remain at this low level for longer than about five days every six months, as a general guide. If you already have cancer, you’ll want to remain at a low level longer. As explained by Seyfried:

“We’ve done some interesting linear regression analysis on survivability of mice with cancer using the GKI … There definitely is statistical relationship on how long you can keep your GKI [and] how long you can survive with a very aggressive cancer. Clearly, it’s just one biomarker system that allows individuals to help battle their own cancer.”

Helpful Resources for Implementing Metabolic Therapy

If you end up being as convinced of the merits of this theory as I am, there are several really good resources out there that you can peruse to learn more about the practical implementation of various metabolic therapies. As mentioned, “Fat for Fuel” details my complete program aimed at optimizing mitochondrial function. I also offer an online course on MMT to go along with the book.

The course consists of seven comprehensive lessons to teach you the keys to fighting chronic disease and optimizing your health and longevity. If you or someone you love has cancer, it will also augment any oncological treatment you might be undergoing. A key component that differentiates MMT from most other ketogenic eating plans is its emphasis on CYCLICAL ketosis.

Once your body starts to burn fat for fuel, you need to switch to a cyclical ketogenic diet, as long-term continuous ketosis has some serious drawbacks that may actually undermine your health and longevity. The “metabolic magic” in the mitochondria actually occurs during the refeeding phase, not during the starvation phase. Alas, you cannot get to that magic unless you first go through the starvation phase. Other helpful resources include the following:

• DietaryTherapies.com: A resource provided by Miriam Kalamian, a nutritionist who has worked with Seyfried since the very beginning, and has counseled many cancer patients about the ketogenic diet he recommends. She also collaborated with me on the creation of my MMT course
• The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies:⁵ Recommended by D’Agostino, the Charlie Foundation is aresource for people seeking help for a diverse array of conditions, including epilepsy, migraines, depression, neurological disorders and cancer
• MetabolicOptimization.com:⁶ A blog created by D’Agostino and Travis Christofferson, author of “Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure.” Here you can find interviews with scientists involved in ketogenic research and much more

By Dr. Mercola

Human fertility is declining, and recent studies suggest conventional food may be a significant contributor to this disturbing trend, seen in both men and women. Pesticides have repeatedly been implicated in worsening fertility, and one of the most recent studies adds further support to this hypothesis.

The study,^1,2 published in JAMA Internal Medicine, evaluated the influence of factors known to affect reproduction on the reproductive success of 325 women between the ages of 18 and 45 (mean age 35), who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF). As reported by Time,³“The women in the study filled out detailed questionnaires about their diet, along with other factors that can affect IVF outcomes, like their age, weight and history of pregnancy and live births.”

High Pesticide Exposure Associated With Reduced IVF Success

Using a U.S. government database listing average pesticide residues on food, the researchers estimated each participant’s pesticide exposure based on their food questionnaires. On average, women with high pesticide exposure ate 2.3 servings per day of fruits, berries or vegetables known to have high amounts of pesticide residue. Those in the lowest quartile ate less than 1 serving of high-pesticide produce per day.

Compared to women with the lowest pesticide exposure, women with the highest amounts of pesticide exposure had an 18 percent lower IVF success rate. They were also 26 percent less likely to have a live birth if they did become pregnant. Using modeling, the researchers estimate that exchanging a single serving of high-pesticide produce per day for one with low pesticide load may increase the odds of pregnancy by 79 percent, and the odds of having a live birth by 88 percent.

Pesticide Regulations Fail to Protect Human Health

Senior investigator Dr. Jorge Chavarro, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health told Time:⁴

“I was always skeptical that pesticide residues in foods would have any impact on health whatsoever. So, when we started doing this work a couple of years ago, I thought we were not going to find anything. I was surprised to see anything as far as health outcomes are concerned. I am now more willing to buy organic apples than I was a few months ago.”

Coauthor Dr. Yu-Han Chiu, research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, added:⁵

“There have been concerns for some time that exposure to low doses of pesticides through diet, such as those that we observed in this study, may have adverse health effects, especially in susceptible populations such as pregnant women and their fetus, and on children. Our study provides evidence that this concern is not unwarranted.”

As noted by Dr. Philip Landrigan, dean for global health and professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in an accompanying commentary,⁶ “The observations made in this study send a warning that our current laissez-faire attitude toward the regulation of pesticides is failing us,” adding:

“We can no longer afford to assume that new pesticides are harmless until they are definitively proven to cause injury to human health. We need to overcome the strident objections of the pesticide manufacturing industry, recognize the hidden costs of deregulation, and strengthen requirements for both premarket testing of new pesticides, as well as postmarketing surveillance of exposed populations — exactly as we do for another class of potent, biologically active molecules — drugs.”

Male Fertility Rates Have Also Plunged

Research also shows sperm concentration and quality has dramatically declined in recent decades, and the evidence suggests endocrine disrupting chemicals are largely to blame. While there are many sources, pesticides, including glyphosate,⁷ are known endocrine disruptors as well. According to the first of two recently published papers,⁸ a meta-analysis of 185 studies and the largest of its kind, sperm counts around the world declined by more than 50 percent between 1973 and 2013, and continue to dwindle.

The most significant declines were found in samples from men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. (Men suspected of infertility, such as those attending IVF clinics, were excluded from the study.) Overall, men in these countries had a 52.4 percent decline in sperm concentration and a 59.3 percent decline in total sperm count (sperm concentration multiplied by the total volume of an ejaculate).

As it stands, half of the men in most developed nations are now near or at the point of being infertile. Lead author Dr. Hagai Levine, who called the results “profound” and “shocking,”⁹ worries that human extinction is a very real possibility, should the trend continue unabated.¹⁰

Microwave Exposure — Another Invisible Contributor to Infertility

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) is another major contributor to infertility. In fact, I believe this may be the most significant factor for the observed decrease in male sperm count. Women’s reproductive organs are a bit more shielded, but can still be affected, just not as easily as men’s testicles.¹¹ During World War II, it was well-known that radar operators could easily create sterility by exposing the groin to radar waves. Radar is microwave radiation and was the precursor to cellphones that use similar frequencies.

More modern research also suggests microwave radiation may play a significant role in male reproductive health. While evaluating studies showing you can radically reduce biological microwave damage using calcium channel blockers, Martin Pall, Ph.D., discovered a previously unknown mechanism of biological harm from microwaves emitted by cellphones and other wireless technologies.¹²

Embedded in your cell membranes are voltage gated calcium channels (VGCCs). It turns out these VGCCs are activated by microwaves, and when that happens, about 1 million calcium ions per second are released.

This massive excess of intracellular calcium then stimulates the release of nitric oxide (NO) inside your cell and mitochondria, which combines with superoxide to form peroxynitrite. Not only does peroxynitrites cause oxidative damage, they also create hydroxyl free radicals — the most destructive free radicals known to man.

Hydroxyl free radicals decimate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, their membranes and proteins, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. During a 2013 children’s health expert panel on cellphone and Wi-Fi exposures,¹³ it was noted, “The testicular barrier, that protects sperm, is the most sensitive of tissues in the body … Besides sperm count and function, the mitochondrial DNA of sperm are damaged three times more if exposed to cellphone radiation.”

In addition to male testes, the tissues with the highest density of VGCCs are your brain and the pacemaker in your heart. What the research tells us is that excessive microwave exposure can be a direct contributor to conditions such as infertility, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, depression, autism and cardiac arrhythmias.¹⁴

Indeed, other studies have linked low-level electromagnetic radiation exposure from cellphones to an 8 percent reduction in sperm motility and a 9 percent reduction in sperm viability.^15,16 Wi-Fi equipped laptop computers have also been linked to decreased sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation after just four hours of use.¹⁷ So, if you care about your reproductive health, the most important strategies to implement are to:

• Avoid carrying your cellphone in your pockets or on your hip
• Avoid using portable computers and tablets on your lap
• Turn off your cellphones at night, as even if you are not talking they can damage you up to 30 feet away
• Turn off your Wi-Fi at night (ideally in the day also)
• Most importantly, turn off the electricity to your bedroom at the circuit breaker. This typically works for most bedrooms unless you have a room or rooms adjacent to your bedroom, in which case you might need to shut that off too. This will radically lower electric and magnetic fields while you sleep. If you need a clock you can you a battery operated one and even better a talking clock with no light that can be picked up on Amazon

Study Reveals Shocking Increase in Glyphosate Levels

In related news, researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine recently reported there’s been a shocking increase in glyphosate exposure in recent decades and, subsequently, the level found in people’s urine.

For this study,¹⁸ the researchers measured excretion levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid in 100 participants from the Rancho Bernardo Study of Healthy Aging, which ran for 23 years, starting in 1993, the year before genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in the U.S.

As one would expect, the introduction of Roundup Ready GE crops led to a massive increase in the use of Roundup, the active ingredient of which is glyphosate. Glyphosate has also become a popular tool for desiccating non-GE grains, legumes and beans.

Data^19,20 reveals that between 1974 (the year glyphosate entered the U.S. market and just over two decades before GE crops were introduced) and 2014, glyphosate use in the U.S. increased more than 250-fold. Globally, glyphosate use rose nearly fifteenfold since 1996, two years after the first GE crops hit the market.

At the start of the study, very few of the participants had detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine, but by 2016, 70 percent of them did.²¹ Overall, the prevalence of human exposure to glyphosate increased by 500 percent during the study period (1993 to 2016), while actual levels of the chemical in people’s bodies increased by an astounding 1,208 percent.

Rising Glyphosate Levels in Urine Is Cause for Concern

The exact implications of glyphosate exposure to human health is still unclear, but other recent research²² found that daily exposure to ultra-low levels of glyphosate for two years led to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats, and the levels found in people’s urine were a hundredfold greater than those in this rat study.

In response to the findings of rising glyphosate levels in people’s urine, Monsanto was quick to say that the amounts reported “do not raise health concerns,” and that the fact that the chemical is detected in urine is just “one way our bodies get rid of nonessential substances.”²³ Speaking to GM Watch, Michael Antoniou of King’s College London had another take on the matter:²⁴

“This is the first study to longitudinally track urine levels of glyphosate over a period before and after the introduction of GM glyphosate-tolerant crops. It is yet another example illustrating that the vast majority of present-day Americans have readily detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine, ranging from 0.3 parts per billion, as in this study, to 10 times higher — 3 or more parts per billion — detected by others.

These results are worrying because there is increasing evidence to show that exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides below regulatory safety limits can be harmful.”

Glyphosate Found in Breast Milk

Three years ago, the first-ever independent testing for glyphosate in the breast milk of American women found high levels in 30 percent of the samples.²⁵ The testing, which was not a formal scientific study, was carried out by Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse. Still, the findings strongly suggest glyphosate bioaccumulates and builds up in your body over time, despite claims to the contrary.

Breast milk levels were found to be 76 to 166 micrograms per liter (ug/l), which is up to 1,600 times higher than the European Drinking Water Directive allows for individual pesticides, but still well below the 700 ug/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) for glyphosate allowed in the U.S. However, the U.S. level was set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on the now-ridiculous premise that glyphosate will not bioaccumulate.

Importantly, many of the participants in this study were familiar with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and had been actively trying to avoid them for several months to two years. This makes the findings all the more disheartening, and shows just how difficult it is to avoid this chemical unless you’re consistently eating an organic diet.

Corporate Machinations Kept Glyphosate on the Market

As noted in a recent investigation by In These Times,²⁶ in the wake of Moms Across America’s findings, Monsanto defended its flagship pesticide with a study that found no glyphosate in breast milk. However, this study, which was purported to be “independent,” was actually backed by Monsanto. According to In These Times:

“More and more research suggests that glyphosate exposure can lead to numerous health issues, ranging from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and kidney damage to disruption of gut bacteria and improper hormone functioning. The Moms Across America episode fits a pattern that has emerged since 1974, when the EPA first registered glyphosate for use:

When questions have been raised about the chemical’s safety, Monsanto has ensured that the answers serve its financial interests, rather than scientific accuracy and transparency. Our two-year investigation found incontrovertible evidence that Monsanto has exerted deep influence over EPA decisions since glyphosate first came on the market — via Roundup — more than 40 years ago.”

Manipulation of Science Led to Underestimation of Glyphosate’s Risks

Suspiciously, archived EPA documents from decades ago, when the agency was initially considering glyphosate for approval, have been heavily redacted. Despite much of it being illegible, the documents reveal that EPA scientists were greatly concerned about a 1983 mouse study showing that glyphosate caused cancer. The documentation also shows that their interpretation of the data was “subsequently reversed by EPA upper management and advisory boards, apparently under pressure from Monsanto.”

“In years to come, that pivotal 1983 mouse study would be buried under layers of misleading analysis to obscure its meaning. Today, the EPA and Monsanto continue to cite that study as evidence that glyphosate poses no public health risk, even though the study’s actual evidence indicates otherwise,” In These Times reports.

The EPA has also been accused of overlooking other evidence of harm. I wrote about this in “Unveiling the Glyphosate Conspiracy.” As mentioned earlier, glyphosate was introduced in 1974, and the earliest example of Monsanto’s attempts to downplay evidence of harm dates back to May 1973, the year before its ultimate approval.

At the time, a biologist at the EPA’s Toxicology Branch Registration Division recommended including the word “Danger” on the label, due to the chemical’s ability to cause eye irritation. Monsanto strongly objected, saying the eye irritation observed was merely the result of “a secondary infection in previously irritated eyes.” After three years of deliberations back and forth, the EPA finally agreed to Monsanto’s request to replace the word “Danger” with the less attention-grabbing “Caution.”

How to Check Your Glyphosate Level

As food has become increasingly adulterated, contaminated and genetically engineered, the need for laboratory testing has exponentially grown. In response to this need, the Health Research Institute (HRI Labs) has created two glyphosate tests for the public — a water testing kit, and an environmental exposure test kit.

The latter is a urine test that will tell you how much glyphosate you have in your system, which can give you a good idea of the purity of your diet. If your glyphosate level is high, chances are you’ve been exposed to many other agrochemicals as well.

I had the environmental exposure test done a while back, and had a glyphosate level below the threshold of detection, which is 40 parts per trillion, likely because I eat primarily organic and homegrown foods, and expel toxins I might come in contact with through exercise and regular sauna use.

So far, HRI Labs has analyzed more than 1,200 urine samples. The testing is being done as part of a research project, which will provide valuable information about the presence of glyphosate in the diet. It will also help answer questions about how lifestyle and location affects people’s exposure to agrochemicals. Here are some of their findings to date:

• 76 percent of people tested have some level of glyphosate in their system
• Men typically have higher levels than women
• People who eat oats on a regular basis have twice as much glyphosate in their system as people who don’t (likely because oats are desiccated with glyphosate before harvest)
• People who eat organic food on a regular basis have an 80 percent lower level of glyphosate than those who rarely eat organic. This indicates organic products are a safer choice
• People who eat five or more servings of vegetables per day have glyphosate levels that are 50 percent lower than those who don’t eat fewer vegetables

Which Foods Are the Most Important to Buy Organic?

Everyone can be harmed by pesticides, but if you’re a man or woman of childbearing age or have young children, taking steps to reduce your exposure is especially important. Ideally, all of the food you and your family eat would be organic. That said, not everyone has access to a wide variety of organic produce, and it can sometimes be costlier than buying conventional.

One way to save some money while still lowering your pesticide exposure is to purchase certain organic items, and “settling” for others that are conventionally grown, based on how heavily each given crop is typically treated with pesticides.

Animal products, like meat, butter, milk and eggs are the most important to buy organic, since animal products tend to bioaccumulate toxins from their pesticide-laced feed, concentrating them to far higher concentrations than are typically present in vegetables. Beyond animal foods, the pesticide load of different fruits and vegetables can vary greatly.

In 2015, Consumer Reports analyzed 12 years’ worth of data from the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program to determine the risk categories (from very low to very high) for different types of produce.²⁷ Their results are featured in the video above. Because children are especially vulnerable to the effects of environmental chemicals, including pesticides, they based the risk assessment on a 3.5-year-old child.

They recommend buying organic for any produce that came back in the medium or higher risk categories, which left the following foods as examples of those you should always try to buy organic, due to their elevated pesticide load. Another excellent source, which is updated annually, is the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists of produce with the greatest and least amounts of pesticide contamination. The EWG’s 2017 shopper’s guide²⁸ to pesticides in produce can be downloaded here.

How to Clean Pesticides Off Your Produce

Washing your produce will help remove surface pesticide residues. According to recent research,²⁹ the most effective cleaning method, by far, is to wash your produce using a mixture of tap water and baking soda. Soaking apples in a 1 percent baking soda solution for 12 to 15 minutes was found to remove 80 percent of the fungicide thiabendazole and 96 percent of the insecticide phosmet.

The reason thiabendazole was not as effectively removed is because it penetrated the apple to a depth of 80 micrometers. Importantly, the industry standard for cleaning apples — running under tap water or treating with the bleach solution for two minutes — was ineffective in comparison.