By: Arjun Walia

I constantly come across individuals not knowing the difference between organic food and food that’s riddled with pesticides, that’s why awareness is so important. A recent study conducted by researchers from RMIT university, published in the journal Environmental Research found that an organic diet for just one week significantly reduced pesticide (commonly used in conventional food production) exposure in adults. (1)

Thirteen participants were randomly selected to consume a diet consisting of at least 80% organic or conventional food for precisely 7 days, afterwards crossing over to the alternative diet from which they started. Urinary levels were used for analysis. The study found that urinary dialkylphosphates (DAPs) measurements were 89% lower when they ate an organic diet for seven days compared to a conventional diet for the same amount of time. (1)

“A lot of these agents were initially developed as nerve gases for chemical warfare, so we do know that they have toxic effects on the nervous system at high doses. Conventional food production commonly uses organophosphate pesticides, which are neurotoxins that act on the nervous system of humans by blocking an important enzyme. Recent studies have raised concerns for health effects of these chemicals even at relatively low levels. This study is an important first step in expanding our understanding about the impact of an organic diet” (5) - Dr. Liza Oates

The research was conducted by Dr. Liza Oates as part of her PhD project and supervised by Professor Marc Cohen from RMIT’s School of Health Sciences. It was supported in part by a donation to RMIT University from Bharat Mitra, co-founder of Organic India Pty Ltd..

I’ve written many articles on pesticides, and have presented many studies that confirm the findings of this study. Below I took information from various articles and provided them for you to further your research. I’d also like to mention that not long ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) raised the allowable concentrations of Monsanto’s Glyphosate on food crops, you can read more about that here.

A new groundbreaking  discovery found that the most active ingredient in Monsanto’s best selling herbicide “Roundup” is responsible for fueling breast cancer by increasing the number of breast cancer cells through cell growth and cell division. (2)

Glyphosate exerted proliferative effects only in human hormone-dependent breast cancer. We found that glyphosate exhibited a weaker estrogenic activity than estradiol. Furthermore, this study demonstrated the additive estrogenic effects of glyphosate and genisein which implied that the use of glyphosate-contaminated soybean products as dietary supplements may pose a risk of breast cancer because of their potential additive estrogenicity. (2)

A chronic kidney disease has been affecting poor farming regions all over the world, and a new study that was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggests that Roundup, or glyphosate, becomes highly toxic to the kidney once mixed with “hard” water or metals like cadmium and arsenic. These metals often exist naturally in the soil or are added via the fertilizer.(3) Because of this, Sri Lanka has completely banned Monsanto Herbicide citing the deadly link to Kidney disease, you can read more about that here.

When you ingest Glyphosate, you are in essence altering the chemistry of your body. It’s completely unnatural and the body doesn’t resonate with it. P450 (CYP) is the gene pathway disrupted when the body takes in Glyphosate(4). P450 creates enzymes that assist with the formation of molecules in cells, as well as breaking them down. CYP enzymes are abundant and have many important functions. They are responsible for detoxifying xenobiotics from the body, things like the various chemicals found in pesticides, drugs and carcinogens. Glyphosate inhibits the CYP enzymes. The CYP pathway is critical for the normal, natural functioning of multiple biological systems within our bodies. Because humans that’ve been exposed to glyphosate have a drop in amino acid tryptophan levels, they do not have the necessary active signalling of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with weight gain, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. This study was conducted by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff. Stephanie Seneff is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Here is a link to more information on how the Roundup herbicide was recently found to be 125 times more toxic than regulators claim. Here is an article about how significant concentrations of glyphosate were found in the urine of people across Europe. Here  is one about the roundup herbicide existing within 75% of air and rainfall test samples. The list goes on and on.

Just two weeks ago I had a friend that did not believe the difference between organic food and non-organic food was big, these studies clearly illustrate that it is, it’s quite significant. So hopeful this encourages you to start eating pesticide free food.

These new studies, and the several others referred to in this article further confirms the evidence relating to the negative health effects of organophosphate pesticides like glyphosate, showing that there is significant pesticide exposure in adults who feel they are on a “normal diet” in contrast with a dramatically reduced exposure when the same individuals switch to an organic diet. 

There is a reason that multiple countries around the world have banned GMOs and the pesticides that go with them.

Sources:

(1) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511400067X

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23756170

(3)https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1084784-jayasumana-glyphosate-study.html

(4)http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

(5) http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=e3hoqm8befvj1

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/05/12/new-study-finds-organic-diet-for-one-week-drops-pesticide-levels-by-90-percent-in-adults/

About the Author:

Arjun Walia