Glyphosate remediation

[Delight]

I am late to the issue of glyphosate. I have been pretty much oblivious because I try to eat organic, local food. It was not on my radar. Also, I do have some woowoo ideas about my personal health that seem to have been validated in experience.

However, I think in terms of Terrain. My terrain is my personal environment and the larger circles and fractals of my own sphere. Now I have been informed that glyphosate in EVERYWHERE in the food supply. That something is labeled organic makes little difference any more.


Think you can avoid glyphosate by buying organic? Think again. A new investigation by Tropical Traditions reveals that many products in the organic grain market in the U.S. contain glyphosate residue at levels almost the same as conventional grains.

ALERT: Certified Organic Food Grown in U.S. Found Contaminated with Glyphosate Herbicide
Brian Shilhavy
Health Impact News Editor (http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/alert-certified-organic-food-grown-in-u-s-found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/)

With over 80% of the U.S. food supply now reportedly contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate, many people are turning to USDA certified organic products to avoid this toxic chemical. Current USDA NOP (National Organic Program) standards do not allow the use of the herbicide glyphosate on organic crops.

However, a new investigation by Tropical Traditions has revealed that the U.S. organic grain market is contaminated with glyphosate.

Tropical Traditions has sold organic grains for years. After reading new research about the issue of “crop desiccation” done by using glyphosate on wheat and other grains just prior to harvest, Tropical Traditions decided to first test some commercial wheat products with wheat grown in Montana, North Dakota, and Canada. They sent the commercial samples to a well-known and respected laboratory to test for glyphosate.

All tested positive for glyphosate residue. The range was from 0.07 mg/kg to 0.09 mg/kg. Keep in mind this is glyphosate found in non-GMO crops. For a GMO crop such as GMO soybeans, which are sprayed heavily with glyphosate, the range is typically between 3.3 and 5.7 mg/kg. (Source.)

Next, Tropical Traditions tested the USDA certified organic grains from suppliers they had been using, sourced mainly from western states such as Montana and Idaho. Sadly, the presence of glyphosate residue was found in organic wheat and other organic grains, including organic barley, oats, spelt, and einkorn. The range was from 0.03 to 0.06 mg/kg, just slightly lower than the conventional grains that were tested.

The only organic grains that tested clean were organic rye and organic millet. There was also one variety of organic wheat from small-scale farmers in Wisconsin that tested clean from glyphosate.http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/alert-certified-organic-food-grown-in-u-s-found-contaminated-with-glyphosate-herbicide/

Also, I am lately realizing that this is an issue that seems so dire, I cannot just ignore it.

This thread is asking... what do we DO to remediate the soil, the body?

[Bubu]

Are you having trouble with your health?

[Olam]

Here is a great video about recent developments as to remove glyphosate from the body by using Chlorine dioxide...

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[Delight]

Are you having trouble with your health?

Actually my health seems stable and strong. The reason?

The anecdotal evidence is that I live in a powerful natural "spot" and my philosophy has always been "the more germs the better". This is not to brag but I have always had a clairsentience about "health" which for me is a lot about the "metaphysical". I may be a witch (as they were called by the inquisition and all who sought to hunt down the heathens.The heathens and all the filtered down understanding of the biome was deliberately destroyed IMo but the knowledge is in the noosphere.)

The earth is ALIVE. All is sentient. We are in a community of conscious life in its expression. That is beautiful. the modern devolution is depressed.

The reason I have become alarmed about glyphosate is because I KNOW that the poison is killing the micro-organisms FIRST and that we are totally connected to the micro world in symbiosis. I have always KNOWN this to be true. In many ways my approach to health is that I LOVE my environment, all the many organisms with whom I share the body "format", the worms, the spiders in my house.... This is not forced and that is why I can say I am a witch. I have many "familiars".

I KNOW we are not stuck with the status quo. No matter what we "see", we can help it be well. I am not sure what steps to take regarding the tangle of glyphosate and the soil and the body. I IMAGINE we can be helped by bringing healthy soil to the sick soil. Perhaps even we can use our own microbiome that has been healed to heal others (fecal transplants based on sharing healthy micro-organisms with others)?

I am not advocating that idea but my understanding is the VALUE of sharing "germs" so the immune system will deal with their effects and germs are only one part of the spectrum we can share. MMS may deal with the pathologic imbalance that happens when glyphosate (for one) kills all the beneficial micro-organisms we symbiotically live with.

This video is so good that I will repost it

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IMO and I am NOT alone, it is impossible to approach the restoration without a new paradigm. You cannot change the issues at hand with the same kind of thinking and belief. That I KNOW.

The place I live has never been assaulted by glyphosate or other industrial chemicals. The soil is very fertile. The two acres I live on are adjacent to forest. The traffic nearby has been light. The man who lived here before me plowed with a mule and the house was built in 1908.

This means that I am living more in nature than most and with fewer challenges to my surroundings.

[Delight]

The impact of
glyphosate on soil health
The evidence to date (https://www.soilassociation.org/media/7202/glyphosate-and-soil-health-full-report.pdf)

What is Vitazyme
? I have not studied this but interested? Not sure if it is "good"?
https://www.renewablefarming.com/images/2017Images/20171218-vitazyme-web.jpg

2015
FIELD TESTS RESULTSA SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTS
USING VITAZYME SOIL AND PLANT
BIOSTIMULANT ON FIELD, ORCHARD,
AND GREENHOUSE CROPS
Compiled by Paul W. Syltie, Ph.D, Director of Research
Vital Earth Resources, 706 East Broadway
Gladewater, Texas 75647, USA
(903)845-2163 • www.vitalearth.com (http://vitalearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2015-Vitazyme-Crop-Results.pdf)

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[Delight]

https://images.theconversation.com/files/179890/original/file-20170726-7204-of2bvu.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1



Don Huber - Glyphosate - Dangers and Soil Remediation
Global Earth Repair
Published on May 9, 2019
Don Huber goes through all the dangers of this defoliant and toxin, why it is so deadly, and how to remove it from bodies and from soil.

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Lawful RebelGlyphosate Destroys health - with Dr Stephanie Seneff of MIT
Published on Mar 24, 2019
Stephanie Seneff gives a clear and comprehensive presentation of the facts about glyphosate. It is not safe in terms of its overall impact on human health and wellbeing.

What is glyphosate?
How does it kill things?
Why is it harmful to Humans?
Is it really in all food?
How can we destroy it?
How can we detoxify from contamination?

These are some of the questions addressed in this show as well as practical ways in which we can minimise our exposure to this substance.

Stephanie Seneff can be contacted at her page at MIT here https://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ and here https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/step...

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[Delight]

https://i0.wp.com/graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/05/12/sunday-review/12SOIL/12SOIL-articleLarge.png


http://farmingsweetbay.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/getting-roundup-out-of-our-farms-soil/
Our Remediation Plan
Glyphosate remediation was a big conversation topic at the Acres USA conference. By the end of the conference, the consensus landed on a “silver buckshot” approach. The approach was to do everything possible to (1) rejuvenate the beneficial soil organisms that will eventually degrade glyphosate and (2) add soil amendments that can help with detoxification. We were happy to learn that we’re already doing most of them! Here’s our plan:
1. Inoculate seeds with beneficial microbes such as mycorrhyzae, nitrogen-fixing bacteria for legumes, etc.
2. Spray microbe inoculants on the fields, especially inoculants that contain pseudomona bacteria. Pseudomona are easily wiped out by glyphosate, and some species are known to be detoxifiers.
3. Include a microbe stimulant, such as molasses or sugar, in the spray mix. This gives the microbes an extra leg up.
4. Bring back tillage. No-till farming, especially when combined with GMO crops, glyphosate, and few to no winter cover crops, tends to shut down the soil biology. Open the soils up to counteract this effect and to wake up the microbes.
5. Amend the soil with humates. Humates are ancient organic matter that has decomposed as far as possible. It’s soft coal, known as leonardite or lignite in the drilling professions. Each microscopic humic acid molecule contains dozens of functional molecular groups and around 100 negatively charged sites that can bind with agricultural chemicals. Humates also add black organic matter (humus) to the soil and provide a nice home for microbes.

I’ve posted about our practices of inoculating seeds, rotovating (tillage) and spraying a microbe inoculant with molasses, so we’ll keep doing this. Adding humates to the soil has now moved up in priority. We found a humate supplier at the conference, so I’ll be posting about that in the near future.

Un-Earthed: Is Monsanto’s Glyphosate Destroying The Soil? (via http://www.occupymonsanto360.org)


Bio char Journal
Terra Preta – model of a cultural technique
by Hans-Peter Schmidt (https://www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/4)
The secret of Terra Preta lies not solely in its use of biochar, but rather in a societal system that has internalized the importance of closed nutrient cycles in nature. Only by means of conscious recycling of all accumulating waste matter could the otherwise nutrient poor tropical soils allow for population densities which exceed present-day Bangladesh, the Netherlands or Japan.

Lessons from historical Agriculture
For decades anthropologists considered it a foregone conclusion that the Amazonian rain-forest could not possibly have allowed the emergence of a higher civilization, because significant civil and cultural achievements would have required the existence of large cities. Large cities in the Amazon have, however, been unthinkable, because the humus layer of rain-forest soils is too sparse to guarantee the food supply of hundreds of thousands people.

This explanation seemed so obvious that no one was seriously putting it into question and the reports of the Spanish conquistadors Francesco de Orellana picturing flourishing cities on ‘the great river’ were written off as mere legends. In the 1960s, however, unambiguous remnants of great indigenous civilizations were discovered at the confluence of the Amazon, Rio Negro and Madeira rivers. Still sceptical, scientists went out to conduct once again soil inspections and to find explanations as to how it could have been possible for the large populations of these cities to feed themselves. It was then that the researchers finally discovered what came to be called “Terra Preta” – the black earth of the Amazonian rain-forest, once created by these bygone civilizations.


Clearly visible Terra Preta site in the Amazon rain-forest. Even in this aerial photograph the difference in soil fertility of the Terra Preta site is visible, although this area has been turned into de-forested pasture land from what was once woodland gardens. (Photo: Bruno Glaser)

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121159539.jpg

Microscopically, spectrally, chemically and physically the scientists examined the earthen back in their quest to uncover its secrets. Pottery, bones, traces of chicken manure, traces of human faeces, charcoal, ash and fish bones were among the substances discovered in the soil – a variety of organic waste which gradually made up the soil’s mighty humus layer. The theory quickly emerged that the secret component allowing for these incredibly fertile soils was the biochar. Word of this supposed miracle substance quickly spread, and in many places in the world charcoal, and soon thereafter biochar, came to be used on agricultural soils. Subsequently, in light of the very modest results in European fields, it took quite a dash of idealism not to lose heart in biochar’s potential as a panacea to the world’s problems. Fortunately there was no shortage of idealism, because the fact is that biochar is an extremely valuable agronomic tool – once you understand that it is not a fertilizer, but rather a very effective carrier for plant nutrients and provides an excellent habitat for microorganisms.

Biochar as a Carrier of Nutrients and a Habitat for Microorganisms
In order to quickly and effectively bring forth biochars soil-enhancing properties, the biochar must first be loaded with nutrients and become organically activated. Besides mixing the biochar with compost, there are numerous other methods for the activation of biochar, the production of organic fertilizers and Terra Preta like substrates.

Biochar is an extremely porous substance with a highly specific surface that has a surface area of up to 300 m2 per gram. Due to the high porosity of biochar, it is capable of soaking up to five times its own weight in water as well as adsorbing large amounts of the therein dissolved nutrients. This property is called the adsorption capacity (AC) of biochar.

Another important property of biochar, which goes to explain its particular nutrient dynamics, is its high cation exchange capacity (CEC). The CEC of biochar is a measure of its ability to bind positively charged ions such as ammonia and ammonium, to its surface, and to make those substances available again to plants and microorganisms under particular circumstances. A high CEC prevents the leaching of positively charged mineral and organic nutrients and, overall, provides a higher total nutrient availability.

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121130157.jpg

Beautifully visible pore structure of biochar which binds water and nutrients and offers a habitat for microorganisms. (Photo: C. Holweg and U. Pieles)

The high CEC and AC values of biochar make it perfectly suitable as a carrier of nutrients. The nutrients absorbed by the biochar offer microorganisms a perfectly suitable habitat, which in turn stimulates the overall micro-biotic activity in the soil, ultimately positively impacting the potential symbiosis between micro-organisms and plants.

Terra Preta – a highly sophisticated Nutrient Cycle
It took several decades to recognize that biochar was only one component of a complex agricultural system. To understand this complex system, a deeper insight into the anthropology of Central and South America is required.

As the American Continent was being settled by humans at the end of the last ice age 13,000 years ago, mammoths, oxen, elephants, rhinos, horses and other big game were present. These animals, however, were not used to the presence of foraging people as they were in Europe, Asia and Africa. Each species of big game inhabited an isolated ecological niche, where no species threatened the existence of any other species. Only when man populated the new continent with his new hunting methods and sophisticated weapons, were these ecological niches destroyed and each major animal species, which could have later been used for animal husbandry, became extinct. (See Jared Diamond’s highly recommended book:Guns, Germs, and Steel)

For the later inhabitants of the Americas, like the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, or Anasazi, the extinction of big game meant that they not only lacked the option to breed any livestock, but also that they could use no animals for agricultural work. The latter was also the reason why neither the wheel nor the plow found widespread application in these lands. These civilizations had to rely on native wild fruits, small animals and fish or horticulture in the woodland gardens to cover their food demand.

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121113336.jpg

Forests are among the most productive agricultural systems (Photo: www.motherearthnews.com)

Instead of burning down forests and replacing them with vast agricultural lands, as is common practice in these regions in modern times, the Indians of the Amazon region took advantage of their forests by practicing horticulture in woodland gardens, which they plotted between fruit-bearing trees. The wood of the forest was used as a construction material, firewood and charcoal production. It was this latter use that made these woodland gardens so very fertile over hundreds of years. The Indian practice of mixing charcoal into the human and animal sewage and waste before dumping it on the fields of the woodland gardens, gradually improved soil fertility. This practice allowed a continual rise in yields, which over time allowed the planting of ever higher yielding crops.

Anthropologists have in recent years provably demonstrated very high population densities for the above-mentioned high cultures of the Americas. These masses of people could be fed only by very intensive land usage. The highest yield per unit area could be achieved through vertically planted mixed crop cultures and woodland gardens. This type of farming was very labour intensive. But labour forces, however, were readily available in the densely populated cities of these bygone civilizations.

Surrounding acreages were intensively used and it can now be assumed that one-hectare of woodland gardens on the Amazon could feed about 15 to 20 people. To achieve these high yields per unit area a sophisticated system of complementary mixed crop culture and, above all, an intelligent closed nutrient cycle had to be worked out. Only when the nutrients, which were taken out of the ground through intensive cultivation, were also continuously being returned to the soil could sustainable long-term cultivation with steady yields be achieved. In the case of Amazonian soils, it is critical that the nutrients are added in a fashion in which they will not be washed out by the tropical rains.

All these elements – vertical and horizontal mixed crop cultivation, systematically organized labour, closed nutrient cycles and humus formation – were inextricably linked factors, allowing the maintenance of a stable supply of food and resources, laying the foundation for the stability of these giant garden cities. Since there was no livestock manure to be used as fertilizer, it was the digestive tracts of the population at large which had to be utilized for the production of the necessary organic fertilizer in the form of sanitized faeces.

To avoid the risk of the spread of infectious diseases from the daily processing of sewage into fertilizer, it seems that charcoal played a crucial part. Regularly sprinkling lavatories with charcoal not only diminished odour, but also drastically reduced the spread of germs. Furthermore, it is possible that the toilets were additionally sanitized with lactic acid enzymes. One can certainly assume that hygienic care was the primary reason for the use of charcoal. That this usage also had a significant effect on nutrient efficiency and the build up of humus in the soils was possibly not even known at the time. Nonetheless, the charcoal was an inseparable part of a functioning nutrient cycle system.

The closed nutrient cycle system of Terra Preta was based on the following two foundations: firstly, the fertility of the soil could be sustained only if the food scraps and other organic waste as well as the residual matter from the digestion processes being returned to the soils in an appropriate fashion; and secondly, the vertical structure of the species-rich woodland gardens maintained its humus formation potential as well as its crucial role in erosion mitigation over time.

Can the Terra Preta technique be applied to Central European Forestry?
To practice sustainable forestry, it is natural that a balanced flow of nutrients must be maintained. If only the debarked logs of trees are being removed from a mixed forest, while its crowns, young twigs, and bark left behind, nutrient deprivation of the forest will be minimal so that a rebalancing of the nutrients in the forest would only have to occur once every few hundred years. If, however, entire trees are being removed from the forest, with even the nutrient-rich young timber being utilized for industrial use, and in addition to that you are not dealing with a humus-building mixed forest, but a monocultural coniferous forest, then even the most selective logging will impact the forest’s nutrient and humus balance. In this case, at the very least a nutrient equilibrium would have to be carried out, for example by repatriating adequate amounts of wood ashes, every 40 to 80 years. Most importantly, forests would have to be appropriately mixed with deciduous trees in order to protect the forest humus.

As long as the European mixed forest remains and as long as no whole-tree harvesting is being carried out and no heavy soil-compacting machineries are being used, the mixed forest ecosystem can be viewed as extremely stable. The use of soil improvement techniques, such as fertilization, use of biochar, biochar compost (Terra Preta like substances), would neither be ecologically nor economically sensible for Central European forestry. Although the biochar would improve water retention capacity, and depending on the soil type also facilitate the build-up of humus, the use of biochar would be an unnecessary encroachment on a stable ecosystem.

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121152189.jpg

Mixed forests are the most stable natural ecosystems of Central Europe. Promoting tree diversity, abstaining from whole-tree harvesting as well as heavy-duty whole tree harvesting machinery are necessary elements for the maintenance of these natural ecosystems. Agricultural mixed use of these forests would in the best case scenario occur in the form of continuously shifting clearance logging.


If, however, the objective is not a sustainable use of forest ecosystems, but rather the most efficient production of biomass as is the case of short-rotation plantations or agricultural forestry systems, then the heavy shift in the nutrient balance and the possibility of mechanical surface machining, would make the Terra Preta technologies once again very interesting. The more resources are removed from a soil or ecosystem, the more important it is to renew these resources sustainably and to close the nutrient cycles.

Carbon and nitrogen, which are continuously being fixed from the atmosphere by the agricultural ecosystem can, by means of removal of biomass from local systems, be channelled to other nutrient and energy cycles. All other non-naturally-replenishing nutrients must, however, be returned appropriately. To this end, the Terra Preta system offers a very promising solution, as nutrients are not being returned solely in the mineral or synthetic form, which results in significant run-off and environmental pollution, but in an organically bound form, allowing for nutrient cycles to be closed.

Interconnectedness of Forestry and Agriculture
Comparing today’s agriculture to the bygone Terra Preta agriculture of the Amazon, the most striking fact we are faced with is that present acreage yields are at least four times lower than they were in the rain forest. The second striking fact is that despite several tens of thousands of actively working university-trained agronomists, we are currently engaging in soil degradation rather than soil improvement and nutrient balances are being maintained only in appearance. Finally, we must not forget that today, for the production of 1 calorie of food more than 15 calories of energy must be spent, whereas in woodland gardens a net positive cost-benefit energy ratio is realized.

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121139467.jpg

For many centuries ‘clearance cultivation’ (Lichtungsfeldbau) has been practiced in Central Europe. In modern agriculture, clearance cultivation would also present a very efficient usage of ecosystems. In addition, this form of clearance cultivation would be aesthetically more pleasing than the current monotony of rigid straight-lined agricultural forestry systems.

One of the main features and also a fundamental element of the Terra Preta system’s recipe for success is its close interconnectedness of agriculture and forestry. In the Terra Preta system as well as modern agricultural forestry systems, agricultural management units are not measured in units of land, but rather in terms of volume, where the vertical levels are as important as the horizontal zoning. The different levels – the root layer, herbaceous layer, shrub layer and lastly the tree layer – are coordinated in such a fashion that the yields can be optimized in long-term cycles.

In the history of Central European land usage, agricultural and forest lands were also not regarded as separate economic domains, but rather as highly inter-linked entities. Due to the use of draft animals and extensive animal husbandry and hunting practices, however, no woodland gardens similar to the ones in South America emerged because cattle were already extinct. Instead, a variety of mixed systems such as clearance cultivation, pasture woodlands, standard fruit tree meadows, low-woods, middle-woods and forest-acre rotations, in which the various elements such as agriculture, pastures and fruit, raw material and nutrient acquisitions were coordinated efficiently with one another.

https://www.biochar-journal.org/itjo/media/img/1406121123595.jpg

The pasture woodland is a stable system of agriculture in which livestock and forestry complement each other very efficiently and provides high biodiversity.
In order to strengthen and maintain the efficiency of agricultural systems, these traditional Central European agricultural forestry systems should once again move more prominently into focus. This would, for example through active clearance cultivation, create microclimates, which would in the face of climate change, significantly increase the adaptability of agricultural systems. It would be equally important to take long-term cycles into consideration, so that trees can be incorporated in the crop rotation cycles.

The planting of tree-rows, forest islands or seam zones around clearing fields improves not only the microclimate of the fields, but also reduces wind speeds by 15 – 20%, prevents erosion, reduces evaporation rates, reduces the risk of frost, increases humus formation and improves overall economic viability.

Impetus from the History of Agriculture
While peoples of nearly all epochs of history believed that the golden age lay behind them and that their forefathers knew better how to tame the natural and spiritual resources at their disposal to ease the hardships of everyday life, this belief was starkly reversed at the dawn of the industrial revolution of the late 18th and early 19th century. From then on, the ideology of progress took a hold of society, where the locus of all wisdom and all knowledge was placed in the future and the past was dismissed as a mere step on the ladder towards knowledge and development.

The past was, abruptly, worth only a contemplative glance and history became the subject of a pleasant, but ultimately useless spiritual pursuits, leading to the fatal arrogance, which denied the knowledge and wisdom of our forefathers and bygone peoples and civilizations any bearing on our present.

The discovery of the Terra Preta soils in the Amazon and the rediscovery of clearance cultivation in Central Europe are two of the few examples where it can be said that archaeology and anthropology stumbled upon ancient techniques which could lead to a major impetus to the solution of major problems in modern times.

At a time when agricultural soils are being degraded, if not completely destroyed, by herbicides, pesticides, eutrophication and erosion, the pressure for food stability for an increasingly overpopulated planet is being continually used as the very excuse to continue with current agricultural practices instead of shifting to more sustainable farming practices. Measures are called for which can lead to the development of intelligent strategies that can raise agricultural productivity, while at the same time protect the climate and preserve nature. The interlinkage of forestry and agriculture, as well as the closing of nutrient cycles, as it was practiced on the Amazon as well as the Elbe rivers over a period of many centuries, could become the basis of a modern strategy for an efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, paving the way to a sustainable bio-economy.

Translated by Thomas Rippel

[Delight]

Biochar Is OBVIOUSLY not Terra Preta but is an ingredient. Maybe biochar manufacture and soil amendment can help remove plastic from the environment, produce some oil products and help restore the soil?

"Carbon Black"is the residue form the process where oil is synthesized from plastic. (https://plasticodyssey.org/en/technologies/)

https://plasticodyssey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/view-of-the-containerised-plastic-to-fuel-unit-4.jpgSlow pyrolysis in Brista



AN EVALUATION OF HEAT AND BIOCHAR PRODUCTION IN
SWEDEN
ERIK JONSSON (https://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:937279/FULLTEXT01.pdf)

.........................
Biogreen
A part of the ETIA group a French engineering company specialized in manufacturing thermal
treatment methods. The pyrolysis unit can handle plastics, biomass, sewage sludge and other waste
materials. The feedstock has a particle size under 20 mm and keep the moisture levels below 8% to
produce bio-oil of high quality. The process is producing char, oil and gas.


Biochar is a black carbon produced during the pyrolysis of biomass under oxygen-limited conditions and at relatively low temperatures (<700°C).
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/black-carbon)


How Biochar Helps the Soil (https://bio4climate.org/downloads/mclaughlin-chapter7.pdf)


Effects of poultry litter biochar on soil enzyme activities and tomato, pepper and lettuce plants growth
July 2015 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281086590_Effects_of_poultry_litter_biochar_on_soil_enzyme_activities_and_tomato_pepper_and_lettuce_ plants_growth)
Biochar application to soils is being considered as a means to sequester carbon (C) while concurrently improving soil functions. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to determine the effects of biochar from the pyrolysis poultry litter (PL) on the soil enzyme activities, organic matter content and growth of tomato, pepper and lettuce plants. In the experiment, the combination of 15.15.15 composite fertilizer with 0, 200, 400 and 600kg/da doses of PL biochar were applied into the clay loam soil. Compared to the control and chemical fertilizer alone, the soil organic matter was significantly increased after biochar amendments. β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase, urease and arylsulphatase enzyme activities in soils were increased by the biochar applications significantly (P<0.05). Plant fresh and dry weight of tomato, pepper and lettuce plants were higher in 4kg/ha PL biochar treatment than in the other treatments. The results showed that PL biochar amendment to soils in the agricultural use increased yield of plants and enzyme activities with increasing soil organic matter content as well as improving soil properties.

I am not in a position to judge the true merits of black carbon/ biochar in soil remdiation but we need research and that is IMO the JOB now.....restoration!

If we are not having global warming, I don't know if this following is an issue? I think we need to study the issues and possible remedies as if our life depends on it.


Beware the Biochar Initiative
Dr Mae-Wan Ho
November 18, 2010 (https://permaculturenews.org/2010/11/18/beware-the-biochar-initiative/)

Turning bioenergy crops into buried charcoal to sequester carbon does not work, and could plunge the earth into an oxygen crisis towards mass extinction
by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

The story goes that charcoal buried in the soil is stable for thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years and increases crop yields. The proposal to grow crops on hundreds of millions of hectares to be turned into buried ‘biochar’ is therefore widely seen as a “carbon negative” initiative that could save the climate and boost food production.

That story is fast unravelling. Biochar is not what it is hyped up to be, and implementing the biochar initiative could be dangerous, basically because saving the climate turns out to be not just about curbing the rise of CO2 in the atmosphere that can be achieved by burying carbon in the soil, it is also about keeping oxygen (O2) levels up. Keeping O2 levels up is what only green plants on land and phytoplankton at sea can do, by splitting water to regenerate O2 while fixing CO2 to feed the rest of the biosphere [1] (Living with Oxygen, SiS 43).

Climate scientists have only discovered within the past decade that O2 is depleting faster than the rise in CO2, both on land and in the sea [2, 3] (O2 Dropping Faster than CO2 Rising, and Warming Oceans Starved of Oxygen, SiS 44). Furthermore, the acceleration of deforestation spurred by the biofuels boom since 2003 appears to coincide with a substantial steepening of the O2 decline. Turning trees into charcoal in a hurry could be the surest way to precipitate an oxygen crisis from which we may never recover.


Burying charcoal to save the climate

The International Biochar Initiative (IBI), according to its website [4], was formed in July 2006 at a side meeting of the World Soil Science Congress at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States, by people from academic institutions, commercial ventures, investment banks, non-government organizations and federal agencies around the world, dedicated to research, development, demonstration, deployment, and commercialisation of biochar on a global scale.

IBI has introduced biochar into the 2008 US Farm Bill, so it now counts among a handful of “new, high-priority research and extension areas”. IBI is also working with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to promote biochar in the post-Kyoto climate agreement. And the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has already included biochar in a section entitled: “Enhanced Action on Mitigation” to serve as basis for negotiations during pre-Copenhagen meetings [5].

Biochar is just charcoal, produced by burning organic matter such as wood, grasses, crop residues and manure, under conditions of low oxygen (pyrolysis). A number of different pyrolysis techniques exist depending on temperature, speed of heating, and oxygen delivery [6, 7], resulting in different yields of biochar and co-products, “bio-oil” (with energy content value approx 55 percent that of diesel fuel by volume) and “syn-gas” (a mixture of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons), which can be used to generate electricity, or as low-grade fuel for ships, boilers, aluminium smelter and cooking stoves.

IBI has encountered strong criticism as a “new threat to people, land and ecosystem” in a declaration signed by more than 155 non-profit organisations worldwide [8]. But patent applications have been made, and companies formed for commercial exploitation of biochar production. Intense lobbying is taking place for biochar to be included in the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism for mitigating climate change [9, 10], so people implementing that technology would be able to sell certified emission reduction (CER) credits.

Things have moved forward so fast with so little public awareness and debate that critics are alarmed, especially over the proposal from some prominent advocates that 500 million hectares or more of ‘spare land’ could be used to grow crops for producing biochar [11, 12], mostly to be found in developing countries; the same as was proposed in the biofuels initiative several years earlier.

Biofuels proving disastrous

The biofuels ‘boom’ has already exacerbated climate change by speeding up deforestation and peatland destruction, loss of habitats and biodiversity, depletion of water and soil, and increased the use of agro-chemicals. Above all, it has generated poverty, land grab, land conflicts, human rights abuses, labour abuses, starvation and food insecurity as documented by BiofuelsWatch and 10 other groups [13, 14] (see also [15] (Biofuels: Biodevastation, Hunger & False Carbon Credits, SiS 33). Calls for moratorium on biofuels came from Africa, the US, and the United Nations [16] (UN ‘Right to Food’ Rapporteur Urges 5 Year Moratorium on Biofuels, SiS 36).

Biofuel production – mainly bioethanol and biodiesel – more than doubled between 2003 and 2008, driven by rising oil prices; while food prices rose 70 percent between 2005 and 2008 [17], according to data compiled by the international Monetary Fund. The UN declared 2008 the year of the Global Food Crisis (see [18] Food Without Fossil Fuels Now, SiS 39); food riots and fuel protests were rife. UK’s Environment Audit Committee joined the call for moratorium in January 2008 [19], and reiterated it in May 2008 [20].

Biochar is widely seen as the successor to biofuels on grounds that it will sequester carbon and improve soil fertility while also producing energy. Biochar is not just carbon neutral; it is “carbon negative”, according to its proponents, because buried biochar is stable for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years.

A lifecycle analysis published in 2008 [21] by John Gaunt and Johannes Lehmann, principal biochar proponent at Cornell University, New York, in the United States, considered both purpose grown bioenergy crops (BEC) and crop wastes (CW) as feedstock. The BEC scenario involves a change from growing winter wheat to miscanthus, switchgrass, and corn as bioenergy crops. The CW scenario considers both corn stover and winter wheat straw as feedstock. The energy balance is much more favourable than the production of biofuels such as ethanol from corn. The avoided emissions are between 2 and 5 times greater when biochar is applied to agricultural land than used solely for energy in fossil energy offsets. Some 41–64 percent of emission reductions are related to the retention of C in buried biochar (so the stability of biochar is important), the rest due to offsetting fossil fuel use for energy, fertilizer savings, and avoided soil emissions of N2O and CH4, as additional effects of biochar. Unfortunately, the analysis is largely based on assumptions. Biochar is now found to be not quite as stable as claimed and can speed up litter decomposition in the soil (see below). The energy balance of pyrolysis is taken as that reported by one company; and there is lack of conclusive evidence in support of the supposed significant N2O reduction for at least ten years [6, 11].

Biochar is not ‘terra preta’

The biochar initiative was inspired by the discovery of ‘terra preta’ (black earth) in the Amazon basin [22, 23], at sites of pre-Columbian settlements (between 450BC and 950AD), made by adding charcoal, bone, and manure to the soil over many, many years (see Fig. 1). Besides charcoal, it contains abundant pottery shards, plant residues, animal faeces, fish and animal bones. The soil’s depth can reach 2 metres, and is reported capable of regenerating itself at the rate of about 1 cm a year. Similar sites are found in Benin and Liberia in West Africa, in the South African savannahs, and even in Roman Britain. According to local farmers in the Amazon, productivity on the terra preta is much higher than surrounding soils.

Investigations in the laboratory revealed that terra preta soils are rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, and manganese, and have high levels of microbial activities. Terra preta contains up to 70 times more black carbon (BC) than the surrounding soils. Due to its polycyclic aromatic structure, black carbon is believed to be chemically and microbiologically inert (but see later) and persists in the soil for centuries, if not thousands of years. During this time, oxidation produces carboxylic groups increasing its nutrient-holding capacity. Bruno Glaser and colleagues at the University of Bayreuth concluded that [24] “black carbon can act as a significant carbon sink and is a key factor for sustainable and fertile soils, especially in the humid tropics.”

Similarly, BC derived from terra preta sites in central Amazon differing in age from 600 to 8 700 years were chemically, biologically and spectroscopically indistinguishable, as consistent with their “extremely slow” rate of decomposition [25].

However, BC collected from 11 historical charcoal blast furnace sites from Quebec Canada to Georgia USA, were quite different from BC newly produced using rebuilt historical kilns [26]. The historical BC samples were substantially oxidized after 130 years in soils compared to the new BC, or new BC incubated for one year at 30 C or 70 C. The major alterations were an increase in oxygen from 7.2 percent in new BC to 24.8 percent in historical BC; a decrease in carbon from 90.8 percent to 70.5 percent; formation of oxygen-containing function groups, particularly carboxylic acid and phenolic functional groups; and disappearance of surface positive charge, to be replaced entirely by negative charges. New BC incubated at 30 C or 70 C for 12 months increased in oxygen concentrations to 9.2 and 10.6 percent respectively; and also had complete replacement of surface positive charges by negative charges.

These findings show that BC is a substantial oxygen sink, and could deplete atmospheric O2 fairly rapidly if massive amounts are produced in a hurry!

The main factor accounting for the changes was mean annual temperature, which was highly correlated with degree of oxidation. BC oxidation was increased by 87 nmoles/kg C / degree Celsius increase in mean annual temperature. BC oxidation to carboxylic groups accounts for the high cation exchange capacity of natural BC in the soil that the authors suggest is the basis of the enhancement in soil fertility.

So charcoal is not the same as terra preta that has been created over thousands of years by human intervention and natural geochemistry. The claim that biochar is a “stable carbon pool” in the soil that does not degrade for thousands of years is not borne out by the study, nor by a number of other studies (see below).

Naturally occurring black carbon has a far more complex relationship with the soil and the earth as a whole, as recent research is revealing. Moreover, black carbon pollution from fossil fuel and biomass burning associated with deforestation contribute as much to global warming as CO2, and climate scientist are proposing a reduction of black carbon emissions as a way of cooling the planet [27] (see Black Carbon Warms the Planet Second Only to CO2, SiS 44). That’s another reason the biochar initiative will spoil the climate, by increasing BC emissions.

Biochar increases loss of organic carbon from humus

A ten-year trial in Swedish forests showed that buried charcoal appear to promote the breakdown of humus, the decomposing plant matter on the forest floor [28], thus completely offsetting the carbon sequestered in the charcoal.

David Wardle and colleagues at Umeå University started their experiment to investigate the effect of forest fires on soil ecology. They buried hundreds of litter bags containing humus, charcoal, or a 50–50 mixture of the two in several sites in the Swedish boreal forest.

Periodically, they weighed the bags and measured the concentration of carbon and nitrogen. After just one year, they began to see an unexpectedly large decrease in mass from the bags containing the humus–charcoal mixture: 17 percent (the expected was 9 percent), compared to 18 percent in the bags with only humus and 2.5 percent in the bags with only charcoal Over ten years, the bags with mixed humus and charcoal released just as much carbon as did those containing only humus (130 mg per g initial mass), instead of only half as much as would be expected if charcoal had no effect on the loss of carbon from humus. The bags with charcoal had lost a small amount of its carbon (less than 5 mg per g initial mass) but gained about the same in nitrogen and microbial activity. The mixture did not gain or lose any nitrogen while humus released 2 mg N per g initial mass.

The results show that burying charcoal can speed up the decomposition of forest humus during the first decade, thus offsetting nearly all of the carbon sequestered in the charcoal itself.

Biochar may not be a stable carbon poolread more here (https://permaculturenews.org/2010/11/18/beware-the-biochar-initiative/)


BioChar and Vinegar Degrade Glyphosate
Posted on September 21, 2017 by Bradford S. Weeks, MD

Dr. Weeks’ Comment: Biochar (charcoal created by burning plant material in a oxygen depleted area (under ground) and vinegar can degrade the highly toxic glyphosate. Biochar is a carbon rich substrate and vinegar (acetic acid) is a powerful acid. Safalab offers that same benefit in The Molecule which people who are exposed to glyphosate-drenched food rely upon.

The effects of biochar, wood vinegar and plants on glyphosate leaching and degradation
Author links open overlay panel MarleenaHagneraOlli-PekkaPenttinenaKariTiilikkalabHeikkiSetäläa
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejsobi.2013.05.002
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Leaching of glyphosate is enhanced in the presence of plants.

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Biochar decreases glyphosate leaching from the soil.

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Biochar decreases the loss of total nitrogen from the soil.

Abstract
Although glyphosate is a commonly used herbicide, its impacts on ecosystems are not well understood. A pot experiment, was established to explore the potential impacts of biochar, wood vinegar, and plants on the environmental fate of glyphosate. In the presence of plants (Lolium perenne), and irrespective of the presence of biochar or wood vinegar, leaching of glyphosate through the soil was multiple compared to the plant free systems. However, the addition of biochar to the soil decreased the leaching of glyphosate irrespective of plants. Soils treated with biochar-wood vinegar mixture showed the lowest glyphosate leaching, both with and without plants. Biochar, wood vinegar or plants, alone, had no effect on the degradation of glyphosate in soil. When the plants were present the degradation of glyphosate was highest in soils treated with biochar-wood vinegar mixture. Our results imply that biochar in particular can be applied as a soil improving agent to reduce the potential environmental risks to aquatic environments caused by glyphosate

[Delight]

Another biochar article and one on replenishing Round Up affected soil



Basic Concepts | Projects | Work by others | Pictures | References

Biochar - The new frontier (http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/research/biochar/biocharmain.html)
Inspired by the intriguing properties of ancient Terra Preta de Indio, biochar‡ was identified as a soil amendment that has the potential to change concepts of soil management. While "discovered" may not be the right word, as biochar has been used in traditional agricultural practices as well as in modern horticulture, never before has evidence been accumulating that demonstrates so convincingly that biochar has very specific and unique properties that make it stand out among organic soil amendments.

The soil fertility benefits of biochar rest on two pillars:

The extremely high affinity of nutrients to biochar and other compounds (adsorption)
The extremely high persistence of biochar (stability)

Beneficial effects of biochar on both soil microbial functions and soil water availability are highly likely but not yet sufficiently quantified to be effectively managed. Biochars are able to correct undesirable pH similar to lime and can therefore be of value to improve acid soils.

These two properties (adsorption and stability) can be used effectively to address some of the most urgent environmental problems of our time:
Soil degradation
Water pollution by agro-chemicals
Climate change

Biochar is not a silver bullet that will solve environmental problems without a much wider and far reaching strategy. But it can provide an important tool to addressing a wide range of the major challenges: soil degradationand food insecurity, climate change, sustainable energy generation and waste management (Figure 1).

http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/research/biochar/Biochar%20systems.jpg

Figure 1: Biochar system components (Lehmann and Joseph, 2009).

Reading:
Lehmann J 2007 Bio-energy in the black. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5, 381-387.
Lehmann J and Joseph S 2009 Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology. Earthscan, London.



The two pillars of biochar properties

Nutrient Affinity
All organic matter added to soil significantly improves various soil functions, not the least the retention of several nutrients that are essential to plant growth. What is special about biochar is that it is much more effective in retaining most nutrients and keeping them available to plants than other organic matter such as for example leaf litter, compost or manures. Interestingly, this is also true for phosphorus which is not at all retained by 'normal' soil organic matter (Lehmann, 2007).

Reading:
Lehmann J 2007 Bio-energy in the black. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5, 381-387.
Lehmann, J., da Silva Jr., J.P., Steiner, C., Nehls, T., Zech, W. and Glaser, B.: 2003a, ‘Nutrient availability and leaching in an archaeological Anthrosol and a Ferralsol of the Central Amazon basin: fertilizer, manure and charcoal amendments', Plant and Soil 249 , 343-357.
Liang, B. , Lehmann, J., Solomon, D., Kinyangi, J., Grossman, J., O'Neill, B., Skjemstad, J.O., Thies, J., Luizão, F.J., Petersen, J. and Neves, E.G.: 2006, 'Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils', Soil Science Society of America Journal 70: 1719-1730.
Mikan, C.J. and Abrams, M.D.: 1995, 'Altered forest composition and soil properties of historic charcoal hearths in southeastern Pennsylvania', Canadian Journal of Forestry Research 25, 687-696.
Sombroek, W., Nachtergaele, F.O. and Hebel, A.: 1993, ‘Amounts, dynamics and sequestering of carbon in tropical and subtropical soils', Ambio 22, 417-426.



Persistence
It is undisputed that biochar is much more persistent in soil than any other form of organic matter that is commonly applied to soil. Therefore, associated benefits with respect to nutrient retention and soil fertility are longer lasting than with alternative management. The long persistence of biochar in soil also makes it a prime candidate for the mitigation of climate change as a potential sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. The success of effective reduction of greenhouse gases depends on the associated net emission reductions through biochar sequestration. A net emission reduction can only be achieved in conjunction with sustainable management of biomass production. During the conversion of biomass to biochar about 50% of the original carbon is retained in the biochar, which offers a significant opportunity for creating such a carbon sink (Lehmann, 2007). This promises biochar to become an appropriate tool to contribute a significant wedge in a wider strategy for the mitigation of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect.

Reading:
Baldock JA and Smernik RJ. 2002, 'Chemical composition and bioavailability of thermally altered Pinus resinosa (Red pine) wood', Organic Geochemistry 33: 1093-109.
Cheng CH, Lehmann J, Thies JE and Burton S 2008 Stability of black carbon in soils across a climatic gradient. Journal of Geophysical Research (Biogeosciences) 113, G02027.
Kuzyakov, Y., Subbotina, I., Chen, H., Bogomolova, I., Xu, X. 2009. Black carbon decomposition and incorporation into microbial biomass estimated by 14C labeling. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41, 210-219.
Lehmann, J.: 2007, 'A handful of carbon', Nature 447, 143-144.
Lehmann, .J, Gaunt, J. and Rondon, M.: 2006, 'Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems – a review', Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 11, 403-427.
Zimmerman, A. 2010. Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory-produced black carbon (biochar). Environmental Science and Technology44, 1295–1301.

Landuse systems and biochar use

Biochar research and development has experienced a meeting of interests by different scientific communities and stakeholders that allow an exciting perspective on how to handle biomass in a future economy. The potential to combine bio-energy production, sustainable agriculture and waste management while reducing greenhouse gas emissions into one approach using biochar offers in many cases significant synergism for a combined strategy (see Figure 2).read more here (http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/research/biochar/biocharmain.html)


NOVEMBER 14, 2013NOVEMBER 19, 2013
Q&A: HOW DO I REPLENISH FARMLAND TREATED WITH ROUNDUP? (https://lunariagardens.com/qa-how-do-i-replenish-farmland-treated-with-roundup/)

Roundup is heavily marketed as a safe, easy-to-use solution for those pesky weeds. Never mind why we’re trying to eradicate these plants for which we’ve created habitat, the marketing & success rate of this product have been an outstanding success. Roundup product sales comprise about half of Monsanto’s profits. Alongside the use of this glyphosate herbicide is the widespread cultivation of genetically-modified “Roundup Ready” crops. Most of our staples – corn, soy, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, etc. – are grown as massive monocultures, repeatedly sprayed to decimate any plant not resistant to the herbicide. However, as is the case with these sorts of things, selection pressure has quickly bred “superweeds”, leading to the need for even stronger concentrations, leading to plants with higher resistance… and so on.

The cultivation of Roundup Ready crops has an extreme effect on ecosystems. At the smallest level, they erode topsoil, and kill most healthy soil microorganisms. The monocultures create expansive fodder for herbaceous insects to feast on host plants, prompting the need for pesticides. These chemicals also kill the predator insects that would naturally keep pest levels under control, and the pests, with their shorter life cycles, build resistance more quickly. The honeybee, which is responsible for pollinating most of the food we eat, is experiencing colony collapse disorder due to highly toxic pesticide cocktails. Industrial agriculture creates water runoff pollution, & affects frogs, birds, and has been linked to reproductive defects in humans. However, the amount of money at stake means there are few studies we can trust. On two occasions, the United States EPA has caught scientists deliberately falsifying test results at research laboratories hired by Monsanto to study glyphosate.

Lunaria Gardens helps people disengage from this dangerous, industrialized food system, & begin working with life to meet human needs while benefiting nature. I was recently emailed the following question from a grower in Bucks County, PA.

Question:

Hey Kristen,
I have a dilemma that I thought you might be able to help me with… or point me in the right direction. I just moved to a farm that grows GMO corn and soy and applies roundup… I’m going to take a small portion of the field for my own garden but I’m not sure how to 1) replenish and clean the soil and 2) coexist with the farmer, buffering my crops and such. I’m not looking for an organic certification right now, but I may in the future. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Answer:

Without knowing whether you are living/ building on this property too, here’s my overall priority overview:

1. Preserve
2. Buffer
3. Optimize siting/ design
4. Work with water: slow it, sink it, spread it
5. Avoid soil compaction
6. Build organic matter
7. Plant woodies: trees & shrubs
8. Be neighborly

1. Preserve:

Preserve any snippets of healthy ecosystem you can. Don’t cut down native species to plant food. Instead, use that unmanaged ecosystem for habitat (toads & birds for integrated pest management), hunting/ foraging, inspiration, & buffer/ screening.

2. Buffer:

Allocate as much land as possible for buffering from the spraying. This is where you’ll try to recreate forested habitat.

3. Optimize siting/ design:

Check out the permaculture concept of zones of use. The areas you plan on tending most frequently should be those you walk by on a daily basis.

https://lunariagardens.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/21878_527982956327_7712650_n.jpg

Rows don't have to be straight. Circles often form sacred gathering spaces. The farmers at Sweetwater Farm, in Hugo, OR, had their wedding ceremony in the middle of this lettuce ring.
Rows don’t have to be straight. Circles often form sacred gathering spaces. The farmers at Sweetwater Farm, in Hugo, OR, had their wedding ceremony in the middle of this lettuce ring.

4. Work with water: Slow it, sink it, spread it.

Usually, optimal building siting is midway along a slope elevation, so you can capture fresh rainwater high to gravity feed for potable uses, then divert greywater further downhill for gardens. In this instance, I’m more worried about chemical runoff, so I would try to site high if possible. In any case, look into swales, rain gardens, rainwater collection to best utilize our most precious resource. Ideally, instead of lots of non-point-source pollution, the runoff is biofiltered through plants & soil flora (your preserve/ buffer). Water will help you grow your crops, but will also be providing the necessary catalyst for the bioremediation work of microorganisms.

5. Avoid soil compaction:

Soil bacteria & fungi are who to thank for neutralizing toxicity. When we talk about certain plants being good for filtration, it’s really their symbiotic relationships with microorganisms. Healthy soil has organic matter, water, inorganic matter (subsoil/ minerals), air, and living things: plants, bacteria, fungus, bugs, burrowing animals.

Air is the huge component most people overlook. After years of erosion and being driven over with heavy equipment, your soil will have very little resemblance to healthy soil, but compaction is something that isn’t easily undone. Plan your growing area to minimize soil compaction as much as possible. Plan for vehicle access, wheelbarrow access, and human access in the appropriate areas. Check out keyhole beds.

I don’t recommend tilling, as I think encouraging plants and animals to do that work will be better, and it’s far easier to dump good things on top.

6. Build organic matter:

Build up as much as possible, as soon as possible. Truck in any organic matter you can get. Luckily it’s fall leaf season. To grow immediately, lay down cardboard and dump soil on top of it to get around the compaction issue. If there’s woody debris, look up hugelkulture – basically piling wood/ branches and dumping soil on top and letting the wood soak up and store moisture, improve fungal activity.

On a larger scale, just try to encourage lots of growth, biomass, topsoil regeneration, and dynamic accumulation. You’re trying to accelerate natural succession, which is natures attempt to heal disturbed areas. So encourage what we would consider weeds, the plants with taproots that draw nutrients up from subsoil, reduce compaction, and decompose and mulch their foliage to let other plants access those nutrients. These are called dynamic accumulators. Dandelion, chicory, dock, horseradish, apiaciae (carrot family), comfrey are all good stuff for soil healing. You can plant native seed mixes, plant perennials, or just let stuff grow. You’re just trying to encourage as much natural biodiversity as possible. Start that ASAP, like this fall. Simply avoid mowing, or seed to get things off to a good start.

https://lunariagardens.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/290110_570317557447_8241818_o-1024x768.jpg

Integrate animals. They’ll graze all this fodder while fertilizing the fields for optimal soil activity. Pigs are nature’s rototillers, sheep the lawn mowers, goats the poison ivy eaters. Take advantage of their voracious appetites.

Sheep are great for integrating with orchards, as they mow the grass that competes with tree roots, and eat fallen fruit which harbors pest larvae. The breed shown here is Tunis, a colonial American breed with North African origins, as well as one Jacob sheep, a primitive, spotted & horned breed.
Sheep are great for integrating with orchards, as they mow the grass that competes with tree roots, and eat fallen fruit which harbors pest larvae. The breed shown here is Tunis, a colonial American breed with North African origins, as well as one Jacob sheep, a primitive, spotted & horned breed.

7. Plant woodies: trees & shrubs

Most agriculture is based on annual crops because there’s a quick return on investment. There are some issues with this mode of operation, however. It requires continuous labor inputs season after season. Annual ecosystems only occur briefly after major environmental disturbance; our native ecosystems naturally rely on a balance including far more perennials & woodies.

I don’t think your plot of land can ever really heal so long as native trees & shrubs are absent.

I’m not against growing tomatoes or basil, but I believe in planning for the joy of producing blueberries & paw paws and persimmons – some of our native foods that have a role in ecosystem health. I recommend planting some initial edible forest garden trees, and then shrubs, then herbs, groundcovers. Inoculate logs or wood chips with mushroom spawn. Try to encourage fungal growth, it’s a really crucial component of mature natural systems that scientists are just staring to figure out. These plantings can provide human uses: food, fiber, fodder, farmaceutecals; and lots of indirect uses.

8. Be neighborly:

You’re going to interact with your farmer neighbor a lot. You might as well start it off right by being non-judgemental & helpful. You probably think differently in a lot of ways, but offer to lend a hand, or share a meal, and I think you’ll learn a lot from each other and form an appreciation for each other’s expertise & resources. Interdependence is stronger than independence.

I realized after I wrote this response, that the steps outlined are the same ones I would recommend to anyone who wants to make informed decisions about interacting with the land, because the steps are based in the principles of permaculture. Readers, how have you coped with Roundup-damaged soil & GMO-growing neighbors?

[Constance]

Hi Delight,

I started a thread called A path to soil health and food independence (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?105727-A-path-to-soil-health-and-food-independence) a little while ago. I thought it might be beneficial to cross post and reference here if that is helpful to members? The thread is based upon the remarkable work that Dr. Zach Bush is spearheading called Farmers Footprint (https://farmersfootprint.us/).

[Delight]

Hi Delight,

I started a thread called A path to soil health and food independence (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?105727-A-path-to-soil-health-and-food-independence) a little while ago. I thought it might be beneficial to cross post and reference here if that is helpful to members? The thread is based upon the remarkable work that Dr. Zach Bush is spearheading called Farmers Footprint (https://farmersfootprint.us/).

Thanks... I like Zack Bush a lot. I want to add this here and we all are looking in the same direction!


MARCH 18, 2018
The Rich Roll Podcast – Zach Bush, M.D. on GMO’s, Glyphosate, and Healing the Gut

Zach Bush, MD is a triple board certified physician specializing in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, as well as in Hospice and Palliative care. The director of M Clinic in Virginia, Dr. Bush has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the areas of infectious disease, endocrinology, and cancer.

This is a mind-blowing conversation that explores new insights into the mechanisms behind human health and longevity. It's about the massive and misunderstood impact of industrial farming, chemical pesticides, the pharmaceutical industry and even errant Western medical practices have on both human and planetary health.

It's a conversation about the difference between the science of disease and the science of health. It's about the microbiome as a critical predictor of and protector against illness. And it's an exploration of autism, epigenetics and the mechanics of intercellular communication..

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Key Takeaways (https://podcastnotes.org/2018/03/18/zach/)
The immune system lies throughout the body, but 60% of the immune system volume, and 80% of the work done by the immune system, is done in the gut lining
Glyphosate is a chemical used in Roundup as a pesticide, here’s how it’s harmful:
It block an important enzyme pathway in soil bacteria, fungi, and plants that makes a number of essential amino acids (so we’re treating a food chain with a chemical that blocks the ability of these plants to make the building blocks for a healthy human body)
“Less than 1/10th of 1% of the Roundup used on a plant actually hits a weed. The other 99.9% gets into the soil and water system, and runs off.”
Glyphosate appears to increase the permeability of the tight cellular junctions lining the microbiome, as well as the tight junctions holding the blood brain barrier together (which protects the peripheral nervous system, as well as the brain)
This has led to a MASSIVE increase in neurological injury to children and adults – leading to increased rates of Alzheimer’s disease, autism, Parkinson’s, and MS
We know about tight junctions which weld cells together, but glyphosate also damages the gap junctions which exists at the midpoint of the cell (these regulate communication between cells)
Cancer cells divide like crazy because (at a really simple level) they think they’re the only cell left in the body (due to damaged gap junctions, they are not able to communicate well with other cells), and must replicate to survive
Normal cells, once damaged, are able to kill themselves off (through apoptosis) by communicating with other cells – this breaks down when gap junctions are damaged
Antibiotics
There is a strong correlation between antibiotic use and mood disorders (anxiety, panic attack, depression)
1 course of antibiotics increases your rate of depression within the next 12 months 25% due to interactions with the gut microbiome
You destroy the gut flora, develop a leaky membrane, get overly inflamed, and the neurological system starts to get hit as the blood brain barrier fails
2 courses or more of antibiotics increases the risk of major depression within the next 12 months 60%
How can you improve your microbiome?
Breathe as many environments/ecosystems as you can
Get around ferns – a fern won’t grow unless it has access to the oldest ecosystem on the planet (so go read a book next to a fern)
Eat more fermented foods – Zach recommends to do the fermentation yourself
Be cautious about probiotics
Most probiotics, are made of up bacteria that don’t normally colonize a human gut
99.9% of the products on the market in the probiotic industry are made from bacteria that grow in the bovine intestine – the guts of bovines have different features than humans
Buy organic food
You should never eat non-organic food from the Dirty Dozen list
“Never put a non-organic strawberry in front of your children. It’s a chemical bomb.”
Other health tips
Stop using aluminum based deodorants and cosmetics – They are damaging the neurons in the brain
Get more magnesium – Humans used to get most of our magnesium from bathing in live streams and ocean water, which we don’t do anymore, so we’re all magnesium deficient
Stop over soaping and using alcohol based sanitizers
Think about this – the plants that an animal eats are stressed, the animal itself is stressed when it dies, we then eat the animal, and an hour later we wonder why we’re having a panic attack
99% of the human genome is not making any proteins, however it produces microRNA
microRNA turn on and change from second to second, telling your genes what the environment is doing
If you’re stressed, lonely, or fearful – you start making a totally different population of microRNA that enters the blood stream, courses through you, and is eventually secreted through your breath and saliva – effectively telling the environment how you’re feeling
When cows are killed, this is what they put into their blood stream (and in turn the meat) right before they’re butchered
5% of the microRNA in your bloodstream is from your last meal
Your last meal is literally going into your genome, telling your genes which genes to turn on and off, and which proteins to make from those genes
Intro
All physical ailments are caused by inflammation – the body’s immune response to stress of any kind
Dr. Zach Bush (Website, Twitter, Facebook) is a triple board certified physician, with training and certification in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, as well as in Hospice and Palliative Care
“We have more power than we allow ourselves to believe when it comes to healing ourselves”
It All Comes Back to Chronic Inflammation
Cancer and ulcers, when reduced down to a simple level, are both results of chronic inflammation
“Western medicine is trying to manage diseases rather than induce health”
In 1975, 1 in 5,000 children had autism. Today 1 out of 36 children have an autism spectrum disorder.
The fastest acceleration in this growth has happened between 2012 and today
At the current rate we’ll see one third of children with autism by 2035
1 out of 2 people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer before they die (not counting skin cancer)
In 1996 there was a sudden rise in the rate of Alzheimer’s/dementia in women. This same pattern was seen for Parkinson’s disease in men.
Autoimmune diseases also took off in the late 1990s
Inflammation and the Gut
Inflammation is a normal biological response to an injury
The immune system lies throughout the body, but 60% of the immune system volume, and 80% of the work done by the immune system, is done in the gut lining
The gut
It really starts in your sinuses
It’s the barrier system between the outside world and what you breathe, eat, drink etc.
The gut is the largest surface area that we have exposed to the outside world (~2 tennis courts in area) – compare this to the skin which is ~1.8 square meters
The only covering of this surface is a thin layer of epithelial cells – these cells are around 50 microns in diameter (which is half the thickness of a human hair)
This is the only thing that protects you from every bite of food you eat and every chemical that comes into the food chain
“Sometime between 1982 and 2000, we did something to the environment to totally decimate the protection abilities of our immune system”
Check out GMO’s Revealed
The Beginning
Nowadays, we are calorically replete and nutritionaly deficit
During the close of World War II, the United States had a large petroleum industry. As the war ended, this industry which was forced to a halt.
People realized they could extract nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium out of the same oil used for the war, and chemical based fertilizers were made for the first time
Farmers started using these fertilizers, leading to the Green Revolution
However, plants lacked nutrients and medicine – the plants became weak
Just like a human being who lacks nutrients, the plant’s immune system shuts down, leaving it more prone to viruses and pests
What is glyphosate and how is it harmful?
Glyphosate is a chemical used in Roundup as a pesticide
There is 4.5 billion pounds of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, sold to treat the soils of the earth annually
Glyphosate blocks the Shikimate enzyme pathway in soil bacteria, fungi, and plants
This pathway is important because it makes a number of the essential amino acids
There are 26 amino acids, 9 of these are known as the essential amino acids which can’t be made by the human body, (these 26 amino acids code for 200,000 proteins in our body)
By tweaking any of the 9 essential amino acids (which you’d get by eating plants treated with glyphosate), you start to lose the functionality of tens of thousands of protein structures
Long story short – we’re treating a food chain with a chemical that blocks the ability of these plants to make the building blocks for a healthy human body
“Less than 1/10th of 1% of the Roundup used on a plant actually hits a weed. The other 99.9% gets into the soil and water system, and runs off.”
The Mississippi river collects over 80% of all the round up in the country – this evaporates, goes into the air you breath, then the clouds, and eventually it rains down on us
Recent studies show 75% of the air and 75% the rain are contaminated with Roundup
“You may be growing organic crops, but they’re getting rained on with Roundup”
Current estimates say if we stopped spreading Roundup tomorrow, it’d take about 50 years before our ecosystem sees a drop of Roundup below toxic levels
The Ties Between Glyphosate, the Microbiome, and Neurodegenerative Diseases
In 2012, Zach found molecules in soil similar to the chemotherapy drug he had been making
In turns out, they were made by bacteria and fungi in the soil
In the mid 2000s, papers started coming out examining bacteria in the gut, and how it might predict which type of cancer you may develop
Now, we know the bacterial genome is way more important in determining cancer than the human genome
The take away – what if, like the bacteria in the soil, the bacteria in our guts are doing the same thing, and are actually our best source of medicine
Glyphosate appears to increase the permeability of the tight cellular junctions lining the microbiome
Outside of affecting the shikimate pathway, glyphosate causes direct injury to the protein structure holding the gut lining together
Every macro membrane in the body (like blood vessels that fuel the entire body with oxygen and nutrients) are held together with the same tight junctions
Same with the blood brain barrier which protects the peripheral nervous system and the brain – the same tight junctions holding this membrane together is getting destroyed by glyphosate
This has led to a MASSIVE increase in neurological injury to children and adults – leading to increased rates of Alzheimer’s disease, autism, Parkinson’s, and MS
The kidney tubules, held together to detox the body, are also held together by the same tight junctions
The damage to gap junctions
Tight junctions weld cells together (regulate the flow of material), gap junctions exist at the midpoint of the cell (they regulate communication between cells)
Cells communicate with each other through light, and the passage of electrons from one cell to the next using these gap junctions
Glyphosate damages these gap junctions, and thus hinders communication between cells
The connection to cancer:
Cancer cells divide like crazy because (at a really simple level) they think they’re the only cell left in the body (due to damaged gap junctions, they are not able to communicate well with other cells), and must replicate to survive
Normal cells, once damaged, are able to kill themsevles off (through apoptosis) by communicating with other cells – this breaks down when gap junctions are damaged
The tie between glyphosate and neruodegenerative diseases
“We are barely human when it comes down to the shere number of non-human cells we carry within us, that we are completely dependent upon”
We have about 50 trillion human cells, and 1.5 quadrillion bacteria, and 10x that in fungi (so around 14 quadrillion microbiome elements in our body)
The brain is the most ATP demanding element we have – there can be 2,000 mitochondria in one neural body
50% of the calories burned at night are burned by the brain
Therefore the brain will be the first to show damage to mitochondria
The hallmark of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease – mitochondrial damage, and hence a loss mitochondrial function (a loss of ATP) and metabolites (mitochondria make oxygen based redox molecules which act as the communication tool/electrical energy which travels across gap junctions to communicate with other cells)
Simplified – in a neurodegenerative processes we lose energy and lose the healing potential in the intercellular environment because we are losing that communication network
Every autistic child has a very abnormal microbiome
They have difficulty detoxing and are highly permeable across all membranes
Because of this, they have a build up of toxins from food and the environment
After leak occurs – mitochondria are damaged at a very high rate, causing them to lose mitochondrial capacity
In optimal health – electrical potential across a cell is at a level 10
At level 3.5, we die
As we age, this number tends to drop
With autism, we see an electrical potential similar to someone with elderly dementia
KEY POINT – ***This occurs because of the damage to mitochondria, which in turn effects gap junction function, hindering communication between cells***
Other Side Effects of a Leaky Microbiome
The leak between the outside world and inside world, through a breakdown of the tight junctions leads, leads to an inhibited identity of the outside world and the inside world
This is literally taking away self identity from the immune system, leading to autoimmune disease – we react to our own body as if it was foreign
At the macro level, Zach think’s we’re losing our own self identity as human beings as we start to leak
We become depressed, have anxiety, panic attacks, fear – “We are literally losing self identity at the cell level because we are eating a chemical that breaks our identity at the cell level”
Cows and Micro-RNA
99% of the human genome is not making any proteins, however it produces microRNA
microRNA turn on and change from second to second, telling your genes what the environment is doing
If you’re stressed, lonely, or fearful – you start making a totally different population of microRNA that enters the blood stream, courses through you, and is eventually secreted through your breath and saliva – effectively telling the environment how you’re feeling
When cows are killed, this is what they put into their blood stream (and in turn the meat) right before they’re butchered
5% of the microRNA in your bloodstream is from your last meal
Your last meal is literally going into your genome, telling your genes which genes to turn on and off, and which proteins to make from those genes
Antibiotics
There is a strong correlation between antibiotic use and mood disorders (anxiety, panic attack, depression)
1 course of antibiotics increases your rate of depression within the next 12 months 25% due to interactions with the gut microbiome
You’re destroying the gut flora, develop a leaky membrane, get overly inflamed, and the neurologic system starts to get hit as the blood brain barrier fails
2 courses or more of antibiotics increases the risk of major depression within the next 12 months 60%
The rate at which physicians are prescribing antibiotics hasn’t changed in the last 15 years
Antibiotic use in animals has gone way up
We’re using 5x more antibiotics in the beef, poultry, and pork industries than we are in humans (7.7 million pounds of antibiotics used in humans, 30 million pounds of antibiotic used in animal production in North America)
What’s the solution? How can we move forward?
We need to get back to true farming
Breathe as many environments/ecosystems as you can to repopulate your microbiome
Get out of your house, go hike, go travel, and as Wim Hof says – BREATH MOTHER****ER
Get around ferns – a fern won’t grow unless it has access to the oldest ecosystem on the planet (so go read a book next to a fern)
Eat more fermented foods – Zach recommends to do the fermentation yourself
Be cautious about probiotics
Most probiotics, are made of up bacteria that don’t normally colonize a human gut
99.9% of the products on the market in the probiotic industry are made from bacteria that grow in the bovine intestine – the guts of bovines have different features than humans
Buy organic food
EWG Website – Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen
The Clean 15 is a list of the 15 cleanest crops/plants that grown conventionally, have extremely low amounts of pesticide/herbicides, so it’s not worth buying them organic
You should never eat non-organic food from the Dirty Dozen list
“Never put a non-organic strawberry in front of your children. It’s a chemical bomb.”
The drive for organic products is driving the cost down
Check out Thrive Market
Stop using aluminum based deodorants and cosmetics
They are damaging the neurons in the brain
Get more magnesium
Humans used to get most of our magnesium from bathing in live streams and ocean water, which we don’t do anymore, so we’re all magnesium deficient
Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin
Charles Poliquin, as noted in this Podcast Notes Summary on Sleep, recommends Magnesium Threonate at bedtime
Stop over soaping and using alcohol based sanitizers
The vast majority of viruses that would cause the flu are airborne, not translated via handshake
Thought Provoking
As mentioned earlier –
“Any society faced with the fact that 1 in 3 children have autism will collapse under a financial blow that is inescapable”
“The politicians are not the solution, you and I are the solution, as consumers”
The organic food movement is taking off – 4-5% of the food sold in the country is organic
Studies predict if this number gets to 16%, chemical farming would lose its financial stability
Think about this – the plants that the animal eats are stressed, the animal itself is stressed when it dies, we eat the animal, and an hour later we wonder why we’re having a panic attack – WOW
Methane from cows is the number 1 greenhouse gas produced in North America
Zach is working on a product for cows, it reduces the amount of gut stress and methane they produce
Cows on feed lots are very similar to autisitc children – they are skiddish, can’t make eye contact, are easily startled – they have lost their filter systems just like the child with autism has
The end of the Mississippi, the last 90 miles or so, which collects all the Roundup/glyphosate, has the highest rates of cancer in the developed world – it is known as Cancer Alley

[Justplain]

Here is a great video about recent developments as to remove glyphosate from the body by using Chlorine dioxide...

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This vid is fantastic, Olam. Thanks.

[Delight]

Glyphosate interferes with the essential amino acids pathway in plants
Posted on March 20, 2019 by Mimi Castellanos (http://simplymimi.net/archives/1394)

Zach Bush: Glyphosate has interrupted and interfered with the essential amino acids plants were providing to humans.

How did it do this? It did it thru blocking an enzyme pathway called the shikimate pathway.

Wikipedia:
The shikimate pathway (shikimic acid pathway) is a seven step metabolic route used by bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, some protozoans, and plants for the biosynthesis of folates and aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan).

This pathway is not found in animals and humans. Animals and humans require these amino acids. Hence the products of this pathway represent essential amino acids. They must be obtained from organisms which are not animals; or, from animals whose diet includes lower organisms who do have the shikimate pathway and can make these amino acids.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikimate_pathway

Monsanto claims Roudup is safe because it interferes with an enzyme pathway only present in bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, some protozoans, and plants .

So Gly kills the pathway in plants that makes teh essential amino acids humans need.

He details the snowballing effects on infants of loss of healthy bacterial biome.

He says if you go 100% organic, in three weeks, some chronic symptoms begin backing off.

Round Up is Ubiquitous in The American Landscape. There is more about the shikimate pathway starts at 17:00. We need to grow our own organic food, find organic CSA's and stop eating all processed foods and any non organic foods to minimize the exposure.

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[Constance]

Think about this – the plants that an animal eats are stressed, the animal itself is stressed when it dies, we then eat the animal, and an hour later we wonder why we’re having a panic attack

Thanks for sharing this transcript. Awesome work! :flower:

Here is a little story that aligns with what Zac Bush has said.

I used to help run a series of wholistic health and wellbeing workshops. Before the lunch break, we would always kindly ask participants to eat a light, plant-based meal for lunch.

However, not all of our participants would oblige. I recall during one afternoon, about an hour after lunch, one of the participants experiencing a fully blown panic attack.

The participant was literally gasping for air. Once they had been treated for their panic attack and they had returned to a balanced state, we then asked them what they had eaten for lunch and they had replied, "fish." Fish gasp for air just before they suffocate to death.


99% of the human genome is not making any proteins, however it produces microRNA. MicroRNA turn on and change from second to second, telling your genes what the environment is doing. If you’re stressed, lonely, or fearful – you start making a totally different population of microRNA that enters the blood stream, courses through you, and is eventually secreted through your breath and saliva – effectively telling the environment how you’re feeling.
When cows are killed, this is what they put into their blood stream (and in turn the meat) right before they’re butchered. 5% of the microRNA in your bloodstream is from your last meal. Your last meal is literally going into your genome, telling your genes which genes to turn on and off, and which proteins to make from those genes.


What has been shared here has deeply profound implications for our health and wellbeing.

[Delight]

This information Could be very depressing? We could feel afraid? I think we need to demand that there be change from a place of serious concern (in My country USA the glyphosate is in our rainwater even).

There are some things we can do if concerned, and IMO they can be done with reverence for how strong we are as humans. It has been shown that organics eaten exclusively for even 3 weeks can yield health measures improvement. I personally add intention that everything I do will effect me with the highest good.

Personally as I am concerned, I will NO LONGER eat junk food and I will be cooking at home.


How To Protect Yourself From Glyphosate
(https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/how-to-protect-yourself-from-glyphosate")

If you have read my previous two articles on the world's most used pesticide Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) you will know how widespread this chemical is in our food water and environment.

You will also know how damaging it is to our health.

If you haven't read these two articles, you can read them here:

Part 1 - Glyphosate: The Weed Killer Found In Our Food & Water (https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/glyphosate-the-weed-killer-found-in-our-food-water)

Part 2 - Glyphosate: Why You Need To Eat Organic (https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/glyphosate-why-you-need-to-eat-organic)

In this article, part 3 of my glyphosate series, I want to show you 24 ways to protect yourself from the harmful effects of glyphosate - the herbicide found in weed killers like Roundup and Accord.

Before we begin, if you want simple practical takeaway points (saving you the long read) be sure to click HERE (https://www.alexfergus.com/email-capture-e8a04a36-97a3-49d3-9397-f9cc5bba060c) to download my 'Protect Yourself from Glyphosate' Cheat Sheet.

24 Ways To Protect Yourself From Glyphosate
1. Eat More Sulfur Rich Foods
Examples of sulfur rich foods include eggs, organic cheese, onions and garlic. Why consume more sulfur? Glyphosate exposure in the body depletes sulfur and also effects sulfate pathways.

Insufficient sulfate in the brain impairs the body's ability to remove metals and toxins. Not ideal with glyphosate and other pollutants ubiquitous in our food. Sulfur is also important for the body's detoxification processes.

Dr Stephanie Seneff, a senior scientist at MIT, has done a lot of research on glyphosate and health. She has this to say about sulfur:

One of the most important things [to protect yourself from the harmful effects of glyphosate] is to be sure to get enough dietary sulfur.
2. Eat Organic
This is a no brainer. If you're looking to reduce your glyphosate load then avoid foods sprayed with pesticides!

In fact, research has shown that eating an organic diet for 1 week reduced pesticide exposure in the diet by 90% (1).

If you can't afford or source organic, then look for pesticide-free food. Or better yet, grow your own.

If you are one of the fortunate ones eating a 100% organic diet, be sure to continue working through the rest of this article. Studies have found glyphosate residue in organically certified food (33). Not to mention residues in our rain water (3).

3. Avoid All GMO Foods
GMO - genetically modified organisms crops were introduced to the market by Monsanto in 1996. Monsanto was the original developer of glyphosate and continues to sell the pesticide under the trade name Roundup.

Monsanto developed their GMO crops to be 'RoundUp Ready', this meant that the plant wouldn't die when exposed to glyphosate. Farmers could spray entire fields with Roundup knowing that only the weeds would die.

In turn, GMO crops are exposed to huge levels of pesticides.

GMO food is one of the worst offenders for glyphosate contamination. If you are eating non-organic but are still worried about glyphosate in your diet, make sure you avoid all GMO (also known as GE) food in your diet. This means avoiding grains like canola, soy and corn. Remember, these grains (or their byproducts) are used in a range of foods including:

Cooking Oils
Margarine
Biscuits
Baked Goods
Snack Bars
Cereals
Soda Drink

4. Consume Plenty of Dietary Probiotics
Glyphosate is a patented antibiotic. It kills bacteria living in our gut. I go into this in more detail in Part 2 - Glyphosate: Why You Need To Eat Organic.

One way to protect against this damage and to help with glyphosate toxicity is to increase your consumption of dietary probiotics.

What are the best go-to sources of probiotics? Fermented foods are a great start. Dr Seneff states:

The other [way to protect yourself from glyphosate is to] get plenty of dietary probiotics. Especially important are fermented foods with a live culture of acetobacter. This includes organic apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, some cheeses and probably yogurt.

5. Test Your Body's Exposure Levels
If you want to find out how much glyphosate is in the body, and in turn track your progress of reducing your toxin load, then look at testing for glyphosate contamination.
I asked Dr Seneff what she thought were the best ways to test for glyphosate. Here is what she said:

It's possible to measure glyphosate levels in the urine. I recommend My Labs for Life (www.mylabsforlife.com). Also Great Plains Laboratory (https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/glyphosate-test).
This doesn't necessarily map directly to your total glyphosate burden, because there's a large percentage of the glyphosate you're exposed to daily that washes out through the kidneys over probably a two-week period, but there's another small percentage that insidiously accumulates in your bone marrow and elsewhere in your tissues and this part is not easy to measure! It's that part that accumulates that continues to cause disease long after you were first exposed to it.

6. Supplement With Manganese
Glyphosate is a powerful chelator of certain minerals. It is even patented as a chelating agent. One mineral that it binds very well with is manganese. Studies have shown that roundup depleted manganese levels in animals and plants (4).

Manganese deficiency is linked to a wide range of health effects including mitochondrial function, gut health and cognitive decline (4).

Look at supplementing with a quality manganese supplement such as Thorne Research, Manganese Bisglycinate.

Alternatively consume plenty of manganese rich foods such as tea, cloves, mussels and molasses. Ensure these are all organically sourced.

7. Avoid the Worst Offenders
Avoid foods tested to be high in glyphosate residues.

All GMO crops are going to be high on this list. But some non-GMO crops are sprayed with Roundup days prior to harvest. This is known as desiccation.

Farmers do this to help increase crop yield (as the plant dies from glyphosate exposure, it sends all it's energy to the seed in one last survival push).

The biggest offenders include:

Any GMO product (soy, canola, corn, cotton)
Vegetable Cooking oils such as canola oil (for more on this read my article on PUFA's)
Bread *
Corn *
Beer *
Sugar *
ChickPeas & Lentils*
Avoid these foods at all costs!
*Non-Organic. Organic varieties of these foods are ok.

8. Read The Book Poison Foods of North America
Tony Mitra's new book Poison Foods of North America: Guide to navigating the glyphosate mine field in our food web looks at glyphosate levels of over 8000 foods sourced from 60 countries. Dr Seneff recommended this book to me saying:

Tony is an activist in Canada who has persuaded the Canadian government to measure glyphosate levels in many foods, and then who has obtained the data from the government through Canada's freedom of information act. He is still in the process of analyzing the data, but his results are very interesting. Most telling is that by far the highest contaminations are found in foods from Canada and the U.S. Foods imported into Canada from Mexico consistently had very low levels of contamination, as did imports from other countries around the world.

Tony found that food from the USA is 'the most toxic food in the world'.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/blogs/1049/images/mEzJ6nhsSzO3bocGOMFk_MP671b_NA-ROW.jpg

For those not living in the USA, he presents this table showing glyphosate residues in the samples he tested:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/blogs/1049/images/7il8OYjQFS8D7UOWQvGg_MP673_ROW.jpg
Educating yourself on where toxic food exists, and what foods have the highest glyphosate residues, empowers you to make informed and healthy decisions.

9. Use only Organic or Grass Fed Bones for Bone Broth
I'm a big fan of bone broth. I ensure I have at least a cup of it a day (read why and how to make it HERE).

But you need to certain that your broth is coming from a healthy animal. An animal with minimal glyphosate exposure.

Dr Seneff and her colleague Anthony Samsel report that Glyphosate is dangerous because it mimics glycine. Meaning animals (or humans) exposed to glyphosate could store the harmful pesticide in their bone matrix.

So if you are a regular consumer of bone broth (and you should be!) make sure you are sourcing quality bones. They don't need to be organic, bones from grass fed cows are fine. You want to avoid bones from cows that have been fed GMO grains.

10. Avoid Non-Organic Collagen Products
Following up on the point above, be wary of foods that contain collagen ( a structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues). Collagen is very high in glycine.

So if you are a regular consumer of collagen-containing products, make sure the collagen is organically sourced.

Collagen is used as a thickener and examples of foods that contain collagen include Jell-O products, candies, ice creams, some cheeses and dips.

If you're looking for an organic source of collagen powder I use and recommend Great Lakes collagen powder (I add it to my morning coffee).

11. Don't Use RoundUp at Home.
Another obvious way to protect yourself from glyphosate exposure is to avoid using it around the home. Roundup and other glyphosate-containing pesticides are a common sight in garden sheds. People use them to clear weeds, kill of overgrowing grass and even to clear sections of a building.

If you use it around the home and want to improve your health, stop using it! Look at using natural weed killers instead. Or physically remove the plants.

If you must use Roundup, then ensure you follow all the protection guidelines - wear gloves and coveralls and a quality breathing mask.

12. If your Neighbours are Spraying, Stay Inside
Maybe you live next to a GMO farm? Or perhaps you're over zealous weed control neighbour uses a lot of Roundup. Either way, if you see your neighbours spraying, get inside fast!

Glyphosate is even more harmful when inhaled. Worse, studies show that inhaling glyphosate, even in trace amounts, can cause DNA damage (5).

This is also anther reason why you should use a quality mask if you are dealing with glyphosate.

13. Avoid Recently Sprayed Parks & Play Areas
Roundup is used by city councils, schools and sports fields all around the world. If you're looking to minimise your glyphosate load, then eating organic may not be enough.

Most councils will display when they have sprayed (or are about to spray). I recommend avoiding parks and play areas around these times.

14. Detoxify If Exposed to Glyphosate
If you are unlucky enough to come into contact with a large amount of glyphosate then you may want to look at using a detoxification protocol to help minimise the damage.

Activated charcoal, bentonite clay, sauerkraut juice and organic soil matter can all help here. Dr Seneff had this to say about detoxifying glyphosate:

Experiments on cows showed both reduced urinary levels of glyphosate and improved health following a treatment regimen that consisted of orally delivered fulvic acid and humic acid (organic matter from the soil) along with sauerkraut juice, activated charcoal and bentonite clay. I think these nutrients from the soil bind to glyphosate and take it out through the feces.

16. Supplement with Glutathione
Glutathione is one of the body's most important antioxidant and detoxification factors. Crucial for health and detoxification it's important to ensure our levels of this antioxidant are high.

Unfortunately, glyphosate has been shown to create deficiencies in glutathione (6).

Eating sulfur rich foods can help boost glutathione levels, so can supplemental whey protein powder. Otherwise, you can use a quality glutathione supplement such as Thorne Glutathione-SR.

17. Don't Use Vegetable Oils for Cooking
Vegetable or Seed oils such as canola oil, peanut oil, corn oil soybean oil and sunflower oil are all extremely high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAS). These fats are easily oxidised can cause a lot of health problems (read more in my article PUFA's: The Worst Thing For Your Health That You Eat Everyday).

Worse, a lot of these oils are made from GMO crops - corn, rapeseed (used for canola oil) and soy. These crops contain high levels of glyphosate residue.

For improved health, you should be avoiding excess PUFAs anyway, but if you are looking to protect yourself from glyphosate, here is another good reason to avoid these oils. Instead, use fats higher in saturated fats for cooking (coconut oil, tallow, lard, butter, ghee etc).

18. Avoid Eating Non-Organic Bread, Even If You're Not Celiac
Dr Seneff has linked gluten intolerance to glyphosate exposure. In fact, experts have claimed that the growing number of people who suffer when eating gluten isn't necessarily due to the gluten itself, but instead the glyphosate residues in the wheat.

Wheat is often sprayed with glyphosate preharvest, so it's going to be high in pesticides. And tests have revealed that 60% of bread sold in the UK is contaminated with glyphosate (7).

If glyphosate is a concern, avoid wheat and wheat containing products like bread. If you must eat wheat, ensure it's certified organic.

19. Use Plant Extracts To Protect From Glyphosate Exposure
If you know you are going to be exposed to glyphosate (whether it's through diet or environment) Dr Seneff suggests that common plants such as dandelions, barberry, and burdock may be able to provide some protection by supporting sulfate transport.
Use nature to protect the body from man-made chemicals!

20. Eat a Cholesterol-Rich Diet
If you're worried about saturated fat or cholesterol, be sure to read my article 9 Reasons Why Your Doctor Is Wrong About Fat.

Now you know that saturated fat isn't going to 'clog up your arteries' you will be pleased to know that it can help protect yourself from glyphosate.

Cholesterol serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones (such as testosterone) and vitamin D.

For a great explanation of why cholesterol and sulfur are important for health (and how glyphosate messes all these systems up) have a watch of the following:

21. Get Some Sun!
This tip is easy - get outside! Expose your skin to the sun (and minimise sunscreen use).
Glyphosate can disrupt the enzyme that is responsible for making cholesterol sulfate. This is not a good situation to be in. Cholesterol sulfate can help shuttle cholesterol around the body without needing it to be packaged up in LDL particles (which are associated with heart disease)

If you watched that video above you would have learnt how sunlight exposure helps synthesis vitamin D and sulfate. The skin is the main producer of cholesterol sulfate. When exposed to the sun it produces cholesterol sulfate and vitamin D.

If we are exposed to glyphosate, we need to do everything we can to ensure our body can still produce cholesterol sulfate - sun exposure is the best way to do this (along with avoiding glyphosate of course!)

22. Sleep More
Quality sleep not only helps us feel great in the morning but research has shown it can even help the body eliminate toxins (8). Also, Dr Seneff states in this interview (9):

Besides needing melatonin to transport sulfate into the brain, we also need melatonin to reduce heavy metal toxicity. Where supplies of melatonin are adequate, melatonin will bind to aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, and lead, and reduce their toxicity. Where melatonin is low, a lot of damage can result.
Melatonin - released at night as long as we're not exposed to blue light can help the body detoxify. More reason to get to bed early tonight. If you are looking for free tips on how to increase your sleep, be sure to head over to THIS page.

23. Supplement with Vitamin C
Like glutathione listed earlier, supplemental vitamin C has been shown to help mitigate glyphosate exposure.

A 2006 paper found that:

glyphosate alone or included in Roundup 3 plus(®), induced significant changes in cellular antioxidant status as a glutathione depletion, enzymatic (catalase, glutathione-peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) disorders, and increased lipid peroxidation
They then tested the impact of Vitamin C supplementation and concluded that Vitamin C might have:

preventive effects against deleterious cutaneous cell damage caused by Roundup.(10)
Dr Seneff, in an interview on Liveto110.com, said that she thinks glyphosate may disrupt red blood cells ability to maintain vitamin C status.

If you are looking to protect yourself from glyphosate, I would suggest supplementing with a quality vitamin c capsule such as Thorne C.

24. Drink Spring Water
As I outlined in my article Glyphosate: The Weed Killer Found In Our Food & Water, glyphosate is not only found in out food, it's also in our waterways and rain water supply.

If you are serious about decreasing your intake of glyphosate, ensure you drink a quality spring water (bottled at the source).

Otherwise, install a reverse osmosis filter in your house to remove all pollutants and chemicals (not just glyphosate) from your house water supply.

Bonus Tip - Supplement with Restore
Restore is a new gut support product to hit the market. Developed by Zack Bush, it's getting a lot of hype around it's effectiveness, one of the benefits to the supplement is it's ability to protect the gut against glyphosate exposure!

I have done some digging into the efficacy of Restore, and it does look promising. But as it's a new product it is hard for me to make a solid recommendation.

Wanting a second opinion, I reached out to Dr Seneff. Her response was clear - it's a good supplement and the Restore supplement was high on her list of worthwhile supplements.

So if you are looking for a supplement that can protect against the harmful effects of glyphosate, Restore is the go to choice. You can order it from iHerb. Be sure to use discount code BHS654 to save a few dollars.

Looking For A Cheat Sheet Guide?
Are you looking for a simple to follow, one-page cheat sheet guide with practical tips to protect yourself from glyphosate? HERE (https://www.alexfergus.com/email-capture-e8a04a36-97a3-49d3-9397-f9cc5bba060c)

Print it out, share it with the family, carry it with you when you do your shop. These simple to follow tips will help you and your family minimise the negative impact this toxic chemical has on our health.

[Delight]

Michelle Perro, MD, and Vincanne Adams, PhD, are basically a dream team on the topic of industrialized food and how it may be connected to chronic childhood illness.

Michelle is a pediatrician with over 35 years of experience in acute integrative medicine. Vincanne is professor and vice chair of medical anthropology at the University of California, San Francisco, not to mention editor of the Medical Anthropology Quarterly.

In 2017 Michelle and Vincanne wrote an incredible book called What’s Making Our Children Sick?: How Industrial Food Is Causing an Epidemic of Chronic Illness, and What Parents (and Doctors) Can Do About It to lay out their case.Wellness mama podcast (https://wellnessmama.com/podcast/glyphosate/)

Interview with Wellness Mama (https://episodes.castos.com/wellnessmama/wm133.mp3)here

Transcript of Wellness Mama interview with Perro + Adams here (https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wm.podcast.transcripts/wm133.pdf)


What's Making Our Children Sick + What We Can Do About It - Perro + Adams (July 2018)
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[Delight]

May 13, 2019
Laboratory testing has revealed high levels of glyphosate pesticide in vegan protein proteins like pea protein, even the organic versions!

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Glyphosate Detox: How To Rid Your Body of Harmful Herbicide and Pesticide Residues
Jul 2, 2018 Carly Fraser (https://livelovefruit.com/glyphosate-detox/)

It’s in our waterways, air, and food supply. Glyphosate is a sickness plaguing our planet. The bad news? It’s starting to show up in our bodies.

Glyphosate has many adverse side effects, and may be a contributor to chronic conditions like autism-spectrum disorders and cancer.

This is why it is so essential that we do a glyphosate detox. Not only will the following recommendations help chelate glyphosate from deep down in your tissues, but they will assist in the removal of other harmful pesticides, herbicides and toxins from the body.

What is Glyphosate?
Glyphosate is the primary active ingredient found in Roundup herbicides, as well 700 other products ranging from household products to non-Roundup herbicides.

Glyphosate was originally developed as an industrial cleansing agent to chelate heavy metals and other substances from clogged pipes (1). When the discovery was made that glyphosate actually kills microbes, it was transformed into what became one of the most widely used weed killers in conventional agriculture.

Nearly 200 million pounds of glyphosate are dumped on American soil each year. This includes Roundup that has been sprayed for agricultural purposes, as well as home use for gardens and yards.

While hundreds of tests and independent, reliable studies have shown that glyphosate is a major threat to human health, the FDA and EPA only rely on tests done by the manufacturer. This means results are largely biased, and as a result, no regulations are put in place to protect humans, animals, or the environment.

Glyphosate is not only used as a means to prevent weeds from popping up, but it is used as a drying agent that is sprayed heavily on crops like wheat and sugarcane.

Dangers of Glyphosate
When our bodies start storing glyphosate, it becomes evident in the form of chronic health conditions. This is why it is so important to perform a glyphosate detox. This chemical has no purpose in the body, other than making us chronically inflamed and sick.

Studies have found that Monsanto’s GMOs increase human allergy susceptibility, suppress the immune system and possibly cause autism, Parkinson’s and cancer (2). In 2009, glyphosate was temporarily banned in Argentina after incidents of cancer and birth defects started rising in areas where people lived next to glyphosate-sprayed crops (3).

A recent study published in JAMA (4) tracked people over the age of 50 in Southern California from 1993-1996 to 2014-2016. The researchers collected urine samples over this time to measure excretion levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). They found that the percentage of people who tested positive for glyphosate increased by over 500% in that time period. The levels of glyphosate usage during this time period also spiked by over 1208%. Coincidence? I think not.

The researchers go on to note that the values observed in their study are higher than in European adults. They also state that chronic exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides can “induce adverse health outcomes,” as they go on to cite a study that makes the following claims (5):
– Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most heavily applied herbicide in the world, and their use continues to rise
– GBHs, worldwide, contaminate drinking water sources, precipitation, and air, particularly in agricultural regions
– The half-life of glyphosate in water and soil is longer than previously recognized
– Glyphosate and its metabolites are widely present in the global soybean supply
– Human exposure to GBHs are rising
– Glyphosate is now authoritatively classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a probable human carcinogen
– Regulatory estimates of tolerable daily intakes for glyphosate in the United States and European Union are based on outdated science.

And while glyphosate-containing products don’t kill people on the spot, that doesn’t mean it isn’t safe. The effects of glyphosate are slow and build up over months and years until you finally start presenting symptoms.

Over time, glyphosate slowly damages our delicate gut flora, leading to chronic diseases rooted in gut dysfunction (like gut inflammation and leaky gut). By destroying our gut villi, glyphosate reduces our ability to absorb vitamins and minerals (6).

Glyphosate also disrupts the shikimate pathway found in beneficial gut microbes (7). The shikimate pathway is a probiotic pathway that helps synthesize critical amino acids as well as cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. These enzymes are used by the body to detox chemical compounds in the body, as well as xenobiotics.

As you can probably guess, a lack of enzymes to help remove toxic substances from the body means that anyone who is exposed to high levels of glyphosate become even more vulnerable to the damaging effects of other chemicals and environmental toxins they encounter.

Glyphosate Detox: Crops To Avoid
One of the first things you should consider when doing a glyphosate detox is to quit eating the very foods this chemical is sprayed on. GBHs are used on crops like maize, soy grain, canola, wheat, barley, and edible beans (8). That’s not all, though. Glyphosate is also sprayed as a desiccant on things like almonds, grapes, and rice (9).

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the following non-organic crops are sprayed with glyphosate (reporting years: 2004-2013) (10):

1. Alfalfa*
2. Almonds**
3. Apples*
4. Apricots
5. Artichokes
6. Asparagus
7. Avocados
8. Barley*
9. Beans, Green
10. Blueberries
11. Broccoli
12. Brussels Sprouts
13. Cabbage
14. Caneberries
15. Canola*
16. Canteloupes
17. Carrots
18. Cauliflower
19. Celery
20. Cherries*
21. Chicory
22. Corn**
23. Cotton**
24. Cucumbers
25. Dates
26. Dry Beans/Peas*
27. Fallow**
28. Figs
29. Garlic
30. Grapefruit*
31. Grapes**
32. Hazelnuts
33. Kiwifruit
34. Lemons*
35. Lettuce
36. Nectarines
37. Oats*
38. Olives
39. Onions
40. Oranges**
41. Pasture*
42. Peaches*
43. Peanuts*
44. Pears*
45. Peas, Green
46. Pecans*
47. Peppers
48. Pistachios*
49. Plums/Prunes*
50. Pluots
51. Pomegranates*
52. Potatoes
53. Pumpkins
54. Rice*
55. Sorghum**
56. Soybeans**
57. Spinach
58. Squash
59. Strawberries
60. Sugar Beets**
61. Sugarcane*
62. Sunflowers**
63. Sweet Corn*
64. Tangelos
65. Tangerines
66. Tobacco
67. Tomatoes*
68. Walnuts*
69. Watermelons
70. Wheat**
*Over 100,000 pounds of glyphosate herbicide sprayed on them throughout the year
**Over 1,000,000 pounds of glyphosate herbicide sprayed on them throughout the year

Applying glyphosate to non-GMO crops as a desiccant before harvest is probably one of the worst times to spray, because the glyphosate then absorbs into the food crop directly. In other words, glyphosate can’t simply be “washed off,” as it has become part of the food itself. This chemical is them ingested by those who consume the whole, unprocessed food, or via processed foods that contain glyphosate as an ingredient.

To be honest, I was a little shocked by the number of crops that are sprayed with glyphosate. I was always under the impression that the major crops to stay away from (and to buy organic) were those like wheat, soy, canola, and the basic ones you hear mentioned by many health food websites. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Glyphosate doesn’t only taint our food supply, but it can enter ground water and taint organic crops. Not to mention spray fall-out which can travel miles upon miles on windy days. If we’re not directly eating glyphosate-sprayed crops, then we’re inhaling it, or drinking it (or even bathing in it). There is quite literally no way to escape the glyphosate chemical giant Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) has created.

As a result, we need glyphosate detox methods, and thankfully, certain foods and herbs help remove this herbicide with ease.

Glyphosate Detox: How To Rid Your Body of Harmful Herbicide and Pesticide Residues
Scientists and clinicians have identified some ways in which harmful herbicide and pesticide residues can be removed or lessened in the body. One of the best ways is to consume a “detox diet.”

Dr. Robert Zieve, an integrative medicine expert and medical director of Partners in Integrative Cancer Therapies, in Prescott, AZ poses the question:

“How do we engage in this lifelong process of detoxification? As a foundation, this involves eating healthy food. This means organic, GMO-free food,” he said in an e-mail interview (11). “Herbs such as cilantro help us to eliminate metals such as lead and mercury,” he said. “Herbs like turmeric and garlic help to lower the levels of inflammation that are often the underlying causes [of chronic diseases.]”

Dr. Zieve also recommends adaptogenic herbs like Siberian ginseng, ashwagandha, rhodiola, and other similar herbs to help guard against the herbicide-induced endocrine disruption. Other herbs like milk thistle and dandelion root help protect the liver. Dr. Zieve philosophically points out that “detoxification is a lifelong process. The body already knows how to do this. We just need to get out of the way and support it in doing what it already knows how to do.”

If you believe you have high levels of glyphosate poisoning in your body, you can also order a Glyphosate Environmental Exposure Test from Health Research Institute. It also screens from AMPA, the metabolite of glyphosate, at no extra cost.

A study published in the December 2014 issue of the Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology found that by consuming the following substances, you can effectively reduce your urine levels of glyphosate (12):
– Fulvic and humic acids
– Activated charcoal
– Bentonite clay
– Sauerkraut juice

While this study was conducted on cows, it is important to note that there was significant reductions of glyphosate in urine following supplementation. Of course, the amounts they fed the cows were to make up for their weight. A normal serving of these detox items could very likely perform similar glyphosate detox effects in humans.

Other studies have found that certain plant extracts help restore CYP enzyme (mentioned above) activity often disrupted by glyphosate (13), as well as protect liver cells from glyphosate intoxication (14).

These plant extracts include:
– Dandelion
– Alder buckthorn
– Radish
– Milk thistle
– Burdock root
– Barberry
– Greater celandine

Other suggestions to help eliminate glyphosate from the body are as follows:
– Use infrared sauna for sweating out toxins
– Consume probiotic-rich foods, or take a high-quality probiotic (I love Garden of Life brand)
– Eat nutrient-dense whole foods, particularly raw, organic fruit and vegetables
– Eat organic foods as much as possible
– Avoid animal products like meat or dairy where GMO foods were used to feed the animals
– Avoid using herbicides and pesticides on your lawn
– Avoid consumption of GMO foods that are directly contaminated with glyphosate


How can I remove glyphosate from my body? (https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-remove-glyphosate-from-my-body)

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in herbicides such as Roundup.

The degree to which glyphosate exposure represents a threat to human health is controversial, in part because most of the toxicology studies have been performed on animals and the results might not hold true for humans. [1]

Pharmacokinetics indicate 99% of the chemical is eliminated through the body’s metabolic processes within 7 days.[2] This suggests that occasional exposure is probably not a concern, however, chronic exposure could be.

Glyphosate has more than one metabolic pathway for elimination from the body, involving the liver and the kidneys. Animals studies have found signs of oxidative stress within the liver at low doses and found the levels of the body’s primary anti-oxidant, glutathione (GSH), were reduced. [3]

Based on these references and others I consulted, it appears to me that the body is efficient at getting rid of glyphosate but this efficiency comes at the expense of the body’s resources of anti-oxidants. Rather than focusing on how to get rid of glyphosate, I suggest you focus on restoring your anti-oxidant status.

Anti-oxidant restoration could be achieved through the following mechanisms:

reduce your exposure to glyphosate by consuming organically grown foods and filtered water
support your body’s ability to make glutathione by
consuming these sulfur-rich foods: dairy - especially whey protein, beef, fish, poultry, onions, garlic, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, watercress and mustard greens.
making sure you get lots of vitamin C from sources like papaya and bell peppers. Ask your doctor if it’s okay for you to take a vitamin C supplement (some people with an enzyme deficiency cannot tolerate it). If it is safe for you, take 500 - 1000 mg per day.
ensure you are getting enough selenium (needed as a cofactor for GSH production) by eating foods such as brown rice, cottage cheese and Brazil nuts.
increase your intake of turmeric and talk to your healthcare provider about supplementing curcumin (a medicinally active constituent of turmeric associated with higher activity in GSH enzymes).
talk to your healthcare provider about taking milk thistle. The medicinal ingredient silymarin has been shown to increase both increase GSH and prevent it’s depletion. If it is safe for you to take, a typical dose would be 150 mg three times per day for one month followed by 150 mg one time per day for one month. If your liver enzyme levels test in the normal range after 2 months of treatment, discontinue the supplement. If they are still high, continue at 150 mg once per day for up to 3 months.
Don’t bother with oral glutathione supplements because they are very poorly absorbed. You could consider consulting a naturopathic doctor about treatment with nebulized GSH administered by inhalation.




15 Ways to Raise Glutathione
October 27, 2016 (https://www.drhardick.com/glutathione)

With so many man-made chemicals being released into our atmosphere, waterways, foods and medications today, you might wonder how your body even knows what to do with them. Relentless toxic exposures, poor diets, medication overuse, chronic stress and insufficient exercise compound our toxic burden and whittle away at our reserves. Fortunately, your body has wisely equipped itself with a natural detoxification system that relies primarily on one powerful antioxidant: glutathione.

Frankly, with today’s toxic onslaught, just about everyone benefits by boosting their glutathione levels — with food, supplements, or a few other tricks we’ll explore below.

Why is Glutathione the #1 Antioxidant in the Human Body?
Glutathione (GSH) has long been called your “master antioxidant.”
CLICK TO TWEET

When we think about increasing our antioxidant levels, we typically think of superfoods—but glutathione is different. Largely, your body must manufacture most of its own glutathione, requiring adequate amounts of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamate and glycine. Although some foods contain natural GSH, studies suggest relatively little of your glutathione reserves come from your diet because GSH doesn’t survive the digestive tract. This makes many oral glutathione supplements of questionable value. (We’ll get to that.)

To aid detoxification naturally, glutathione levels are the highest in your liver and kidneys, which are your body’s primary detoxification organs. Glutathione is important to your overall immune system, protecting your cells and mitochondria from the damaging effects of oxidative stress and helping keep inflammation at bay. As my friend and colleague, Dr. David Jockers, reports, every cell in your body faces as many as 10,000 free radical strikes per day—therefore, preventing damage is a formidable task. (1)

GSH is of particular importance for “Phase II detoxification,” where toxins are bound directly to glutathione (aka glutathione conjugation) so they can be eliminated from the body. However, GSH must sacrifice itself in the process—which is why you must continuously make more.

Glutathione is labelled the “master antioxidant” for its unique ability to “recycle” other antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10, so they can be reused by your body. It follows that by increasing your GSH levels, you are effectively increasing many of your other antioxidants as well. (2)

What happens to Glutathione as we age?
Glutathione levels tend to decline as we age, therefore deficiency is common among the elderly (3), and among alcoholics and athletes who overtrain. Individuals with the lowest GSH levels are 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those with the highest levels. (4). Essentially, the more glutathione your body can make, the healthier you will be—and some research suggests, the longer you will live. (5, 6)

The problem is that your body faces a number of challenges in maintaining adequate glutathione levels, which may explain why so many people today are battling toxicity-related diseases. We are bombarded daily with thousands of man-made chemicals that continuously use up our glutathione reserves, and most of us don’t derive enough glutathione (or its building blocks) from our daily diets to keep up. Detoxification is further challenged by the fact that nearly half of us may be missing one or more of the genes necessary to manufacture GSH. What happens when we don’t have enough GSH?

Glutathione deficiency is linked to a number of serious illnesses such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, arthritis, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, HIV infection and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome—and those are just for starters. (7, 8)

Glutathione deficiency is linked to serious illnesses e.g. cancer, Alzheimers, arthritis, etc.
CLICK TO TWEET

If we can’t get enough of this uber-important antioxidant from our diets, then how do we increase it? The answer to this question will be the focus of this article, but first let’s take a closer look at glutathione’s important functions in your body.

Glutathione Grabs Toxins and Gives Them the Boot
Glutathione is different from other antioxidants in that it’s intracellular, so it supports detoxification at the cellular level. (Extracellular, or systemic detoxification, is what people typically think of when it comes to detox … a kidney, liver, or bowel cleanse. Here, I’m talking about getting toxins out of your individual cells so that they can then be pulled from those systems.)

Although GSH plays a role in dozens of important biological operations, its benefits can generally be grouped into two broad categories: detoxification and immune support. (9)

By way of its plentiful sulfur, GSH can eliminate an impressive array of toxins (carcinogens, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, xenobiotics, radiation). It binds with them to form soluble compounds that can then be excreted through the urine or bile. Its sulfur atoms scavenge free radicals, transforming them into harmless compounds, such as water. For example, glutathione-mercury complexes are the primary way by which mercury is eliminated from your body. If you consume a great deal of fish, the total mercury retained in your tissues directly depends on your glutathione stores. (10, 11, 12)

This is why your body must continuously replenish its GSH by making more. If you become deficient, toxins can build up—a bit like overflowing dumpsters during a garbage strike.

The best example of glutathione’s unique binding power is illustrated by its role in the treatment of Tylenol (acetaminophen) overdose. Since cysteine is the limiting factor in how much glutathione your body can produce, overdose patients are given an IV containing the amino acid N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC, which triggers a sudden flood of glutathione production. This deluge of GSH to the liver flushes out the acetaminophen and can be the difference between life and death, between full recovery and living with a severely damaged liver.

Your brain is very susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high fat composition and oxygen requirements. Although your brain makes up only two percent of your body weight, it consumes 20 percent of your oxygen. Strong oxidation defenses reduce inflammation levels in the body—including the brain—and we know that brain inflammation is a factor in many neurodegenerative diseases. This may explain why glutathione deficiency is common in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. One meta-analysis detected a possible link between GSH deficiency and autism. (13)

Glutathione plays a role in countless biological operations, a few of which are outlined below. Keep in mind that these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Maintains energy, strong athletic performance and recovery
Reduces muscle pain
Helps synthesize proteins, and aids transport of amino acid into and out of cells
Sleep quality
Skin health
Helps regulate homocysteine
Enhances immune function (leukotrienes, T-cells, macrophages, etc.)
Makes medications more bioavailable; enhances efficacy and modulates side effects of chemotherapy and radiation (14)
Induces cancer cell death (apoptosis) (15)
Acts as cofactor (“helper”) in many enzymatic reactions
Boosting Your Glutathione Production Naturally
It is difficult to optimize GSH levels through diet alone. A large percentage of oral glutathione breaks down and oxidizes in your digestive tract, with only a small fraction making it into your bloodstream, tissues and cells.

Nevertheless, you can increase your glutathione levels to some degree by consuming foods rich in glutathione and its building blocks. A variety of foods, vitamins, minerals and herbs have been scientifically shown to work. We should be getting 250 milligrams of dietary GSH daily, but the standard American diet contains a paltry 35 milligrams. Researchers tested a variety of foods for their GSH content and drew the following conclusion in a report published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer:

Dairy products, cereals, and breads are generally low in GSH; fruits and vegetables have moderate to high amounts of GSH; and freshly prepared meats are relatively high in GSH. Frozen foods generally had GSH contents similar to fresh foods, whereas other forms of processing and preservation generally resulted in extensive loss of GSH. (16)

Cooking raw vegetables destroys nearly 100 percent of their usable GSH. Similarly, the glutathione stores available in meat, dairy, and eggs, are only significant when the foods are consumed raw. It’s unlikely you’ll be consuming large quantities of raw meat and eggs, but have no fear—it turns out the top ten glutathione-containing foods are actually plants: (17)

Asparagus
Avocado
Spinach
Okra
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Tomato
Carrot
Grapefruit
Orange
Other foods may boost your GSH levels by providing the nutritional building blocks to support your body’s own GSH production. Sulfur-rich cruciferous vegetables are great for this (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.). (18) Others include garlic, onions, parsley, spinach, beets, curcumin (turmeric), cinnamon, cardamom and black cumin. High-cysteine foods are also beneficial. Raw dairy is the best source of cysteine, but also undenatured raw whey protein. (19) Not surprisingly, GSH is almost entirely absent in pasteurized dairy. On a side note, a ketogenic diet was shown to increase mitochondrial glutathione in rats, but human studies are lacking. (20)

Other nutritional compounds play important roles in glutathione synthesis—your body can’t make GSH without them:

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is glutathione’s number one “crime-fighting cohort,” working with GSH to purge water-soluble toxins from your body. Vitamin C raises glutathione levels by helping your body manufacture it, and glutathione helps recycle vitamin C.
Vitamin D (plus zinc): Vitamin D appears to increase glutathione production. In a rat study, GSH levels tripled when the rats were given vitamin D. However, the zinc-deficient rats did not make as much GSH as rats with adequate zinc. (21)
Sulfur: Sulfur is a key compound in GSH, which is why cruciferous vegetables are so beneficial. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) can be used for additional sulfur. In animal studies, MSM is shown to promote glutathione synthesis and upregulate the activity of glutathione enzymes.
B vitamins: Vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12 are required for synthesis of glutathione. Folate (B9) is able to divert cysteine preferentially towards glutathione and away from homocysteine.
Selenium and Magnesium: Along with vitamin E, selenium is required for your body to manufacture GSH. The best source of selenium is Brazil nuts, and you only need two or three per day. Magnesium is also required for glutathione synthesis.
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA): ALA is important for recycling GSH and restoring its levels after depletion. Food sources of ALA include organ meats and spinach, although the human body has difficulty extracting it from foods, so the majority must be produced.
Green tea, fish oil, and resveratrol: These substances have been found to switch on the genes responsible for glutathione synthesis.
Milk thistle: A source of silymarin, milk thistle stimulates the growth and regeneration of liver cells by helping prevent glutathione depletion in the liver.
Are There Any Glutathione Supplements Worth Taking?
Glutathione is rapidly broken down in the digestive tract, so supplementation is tricky.

Oral supplementation has been the subject of much debate as studies are inconsistent and technology is evolving. The studies showing effectiveness tend to involve higher doses and longer treatment duration. (22, 23) Intravenous GSH has been successful for some, but it’s less practical, expensive, and presents only a temporary fix. IV glutathione is better reserved for extreme situations—like getting a jump when your car battery is totally dead.

A while back, though oral GSH supplements and injections were found largely ineffective, recent biotechnology now gives us better options. Research supports the efficacy of the following four strategies for glutathione supplementation, so my recommendation would be to experiment and see what works best for you.

1. N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC)

As already discussed, NAC is a precursor to glutathione. Research supports the effectiveness of NAC in upregulating glutathione levels, but the effect tends to be temporary with GSH levels dropping below baseline afterward. NAC also has some reported risks and side effects (nausea, diarrhea, muscle cramps, and others ref). NAC is probably the least optimal of the four supplements, but I’m including it for the sake of completeness.

Recommended Dosage: 400-1200 mg per day, in 2-3 dosages, with or without food.

2. Glutathione Intra-Oral Spray

Glutathione sprays have been shown as effective in increasing intracellular GSH levels. They are rapidly absorbed through oral mucus membranes, largely bypassing the digestive tract.

3. Liposomal Glutathione

Liposomal glutathione—meaning glutathione combined with liposomes—is an excellent option. The liposomes help the glutathione survive your digestive tract in order to make it to your cells. Be sure to avoid the varieties that use soy lecithin, opting for sunflower lecithin instead.

Recommended Dosage: 200-500 mg taken 1-2 times daily, away from food

4. Acetylated Glutathione

The acetylated form is quite similar to liposomal glutathione in that it also survives the gut and makes it into your cells, but it has an additional advantage. Acetylated GSH is cleaved by cellular enzymes, so utilizing it requires no energy expenditure by your body. My personal favorite is the S-acetylated form due its superior bioavailability compared to NAC and liposomal glutathione.

Recommended Dosage: 200-500 mg taken 1-2 times daily, away from food

Ultimately, the best way to determine which method works best for you is to test your body’s levels of GSH, before and after supplementation over a period of time.

One thing we know for sure: Exercise Boosts Glutathione
If you wish to boost your glutathione naturally, get off your butt. The first longitudinal study measuring the effect of exercise on glutathione levels found a positive connection—physical activity increased glutathione. A combination of cardio and weight training was most effective. (24)

The effect of exercise is not surprising when you consider it’s the number one way to increase the number of mitochondria in your muscles, for increased energy and ATP. Synthesis of macromolecules like GSH is energy-intensive. If your GSH is low, then chances are your cellular ATP is also low. Glutathione depletion can also cause ATP shortage, as was found by a study in Journal of Biological Chemistry. (25)

If you want higher glutathione levels without turning to a supplement, you have to get your body to make more, and this requires providing it with the right building blocks and ample energy to fuel the operation. Moving your body, improving your diet and reducing your toxic load are the best strategies for accomplishing the task.

Do not use the information on this website or in Dr. Hardick’s seminars to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, or to determine your need for medication or treatment. Always consult your healthcare professional before adjusting any diet, exercise or medical regimens. Nothing contained in this website should be considered complete or instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. Click here to read the complete disclaimer.

pinterest_15-ways-to-boost-your-glutathione

Dr. B.J. Hardick
About Dr. B.J. Hardick
Raised in a holistic family, Dr. B.J. Hardick is a Doctor of Chiropractic, organic foodie and fanatic for green living and earthly sustainability. He has spent the majority of his life working in natural health care.

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Glyphosate and How to Detox It with Dr. Stephanie Seneff

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Transcript pdf (https://zl8r4yljp7281pio28kcrwnb-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/166-Stephanie-Seneff.pdf)


Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance.
Samsel A1, Seneff S2 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24678255).

Celiac disease, and, more generally, gluten intolerance, is a growing problem worldwide, but especially in North America and Europe, where an estimated 5% of the population now suffers from it. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, skin rashes, macrocytic anemia and depression. It is a multifactorial disease associated with numerous nutritional deficiencies as well as reproductive issues and increased risk to thyroid disease, kidney failure and cancer. Here, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup(®), is the most important causal factor in this epidemic. Fish exposed to glyphosate develop digestive problems that are reminiscent of celiac disease. Celiac disease is associated with imbalances in gut bacteria that can be fully explained by the known effects of glyphosate on gut bacteria. Characteristics of celiac disease point to impairment in many cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are involved with detoxifying environmental toxins, activating vitamin D3, catabolizing vitamin A, and maintaining bile acid production and sulfate supplies to the gut. Glyphosate is known to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes. Deficiencies in iron, cobalt, molybdenum, copper and other rare metals associated with celiac disease can be attributed to glyphosate's strong ability to chelate these elements. Deficiencies in tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine and selenomethionine associated with celiac disease match glyphosate's known depletion of these amino acids. Celiac disease patients have an increased risk to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which has also been implicated in glyphosate exposure. Reproductive issues associated with celiac disease, such as infertility, miscarriages, and birth defects, can also be explained by glyphosate. Glyphosate residues in wheat and other crops are likely increasing recently due to the growing practice of crop desiccation just prior to the harvest. We argue that the practice of "ripening" sugar cane with glyphosate may explain the recent surge in kidney failure among agricultural workers in Central America. We conclude with a plea to governments to reconsider policies regarding the safety of glyphosate residues in foods.


Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies
Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff1,* (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392553/)

Manganese (Mn) is an often overlooked but important nutrient, required in small amounts for multiple essential functions in the body. A recent study on cows fed genetically modified Roundup®-Ready feed revealed a severe depletion of serum Mn. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, has also been shown to severely deplete Mn levels in plants. Here, we investigate the impact of Mn on physiology, and its association with gut dysbiosis as well as neuropathologies such as autism, Alzheimer's disease (AD), depression, anxiety syndrome, Parkinson's disease (PD), and prion diseases. Glutamate overexpression in the brain in association with autism, AD, and other neurological diseases can be explained by Mn deficiency. Mn superoxide dismutase protects mitochondria from oxidative damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction is a key feature of autism and Alzheimer’s. Chondroitin sulfate synthesis depends on Mn, and its deficiency leads to osteoporosis and osteomalacia. Lactobacillus, depleted in autism, depend critically on Mn for antioxidant protection. Lactobacillus probiotics can treat anxiety, which is a comorbidity of autism and chronic fatigue syndrome. Reduced gut Lactobacillus leads to overgrowth of the pathogen, Salmonella, which is resistant to glyphosate toxicity, and Mn plays a role here as well. Sperm motility depends on Mn, and this may partially explain increased rates of infertility and birth defects. We further reason that, under conditions of adequate Mn in the diet, glyphosate, through its disruption of bile acid homeostasis, ironically promotes toxic accumulation of Mn in the brainstem, leading to conditions such as PD and prion diseases.

Keywords: Autism, cholestasis, glyphosate, manganese, Parkinson's disease
Go to:
INTRODUCTION
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup®, the most widely used herbicide on the planet.[314] Glyphosate enjoys widespread usage on core food crops, in large part because of its perceived nontoxicity to humans. The adoption of genetically engineered “Roundup®-Ready” corn, soy, canola, cotton, alfalfa, and sugar beets has made it relatively easy to control weeds without killing the crop plant, but this means that glyphosate will be present as a residue in derived foods. Unfortunately, weeds among GM Roundup®-Ready crops are developing ever-increasing resistance to Roundup®,[107,221] which requires an increased rate of herbicide application.[26] In 1987, glyphosate was the 17th most commonly used herbicide in the United States, but, in large part due to the introduction of glyphosate-resistant core crops, it became the number one herbicide by 2001.[146] Its usage has increased steadily since then, in step with the rise in autism rates. Glyphosate's perceived nontoxicity is predicated on the assumption that our cells do not possess the shikimate pathway, the biological pathway in plants, which is disrupted by glyphosate, and whose disruption is believed to be the most important factor in its toxicity.

It may seem implausible that glyphosate could be toxic to humans, given the fact that government regulators appear nonchalant about steadily increasing residue limits, and that the levels in food and water are rarely monitored by government agencies, presumably due to lack of concern. However, a paper by Antoniou et al.[12] provided a scathing indictment of the European regulatory process regarding glyphosate's toxicity, focusing on potential teratogenic effects. They identified several key factors leading to a tendency to overlook potential toxic effects. These include using animal studies that are too short or have too few animals to achieve statistical significance, disregarding in vitro studies or studies with exposures that are higher than what is expected to be realistically present in food, and discarding studies that examine the effects of glyphosate formulations rather than pure glyphosate, even though formulations are a more realistic model of the natural setting and are often orders of magnitude more toxic than the active ingredient in pesticides.[189] Regulators also seemed unaware that chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors (such as glyphosate[108]) often have an inverted dose–response relationship, wherein very low doses can have more acute effects than higher doses. Teratogenic effects have been demonstrated in human cell lines.[212] An in vitro study showed that glyphosate in parts per trillion can induce human breast cancer cell proliferation.[289]more here (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392553/)

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Water filtration?


Independent Lab Testing: Big Berkey® Removes 100% Glyphosate from Water
by David on March 19, 2019 in Berkey® Water Purifier (https://www.directive21.com/blog/2019/03/independent-lab-testing-big-berkey-removes-100-glyphosate-from-water/)

On February 12, 2019, Mike Adams, director of Consumer Wellness Center Labs (CWC Labs), released results of independent lab testing to show that the Big Berkey® Water Purification System was one of two gravity-fed water filtration systems that removed 100% of glyphosate from water containing the debated carcinogen. In the video, the Big Berkey® System was configured with (2) Black Berkey Elements and (2) PF2 Fluoride & Arsenic Reduction Elements.

In the 21 minute video, Mike discusses the technical equipment and processes used to run the tests which included several sport bottle water filters, filtration pitchers, and gravity-fed countertop systems. The water used had a dilution of 2 parts per million (ppm) of 41% glyphosate “concentrate weed & grass killer”.


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Bob Quinn grows Kamut an ancient grain and is showing organic farming works!

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It seemed to me that taking glycine supplements might help detox and found ways it may?

https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=11274


How to detox glyphosate (Roundup) from your body
Posted on February 6, 2019 by Cat (https://www.catsfork.com/CatsKitchen/how-to-detox-glyphosate-roundup-from-your-body/)

I am strongly opposed to use of the plant-killer glyphosate, because of the harm it does to our bodies from intake of GMO foods, and from its use as a desiccant before harvesting grain crops. Also because of the harm it does to our soil and environment.

Now I have some good news: you can detox your body from glyphosate, using several methods. This article is mainly about using a simple daily dose of glycine (an amino acid) to detox, and how to test for glyphosate levels in your body.

Includes: 1. Glycine and glyphosate, and detox methods; 2. Testing methods for glyphosate levels you body
See also: 1. Natural Healing Remedies Menu; 2. The EssentiaList articles on Glyphosate (written by Cat)
Printable pdf version of this article: How to Detox Glyphosate from your Body (pdf, 020919 update)
Glycine and glyphosate
The main way glyphosate harms our bodies, is by substituting for glycine in our body’s peptides and proteins (such as enzymes, collagen, etc.). (1,2) That is, glyphosate is an analog of the amino acid, glycine. The chemical formulas are (note the similarities as indicated in purple-bold) (3):

glycine amino acid is: NH2‐CH2‐COOH;
glyphosate is: H2(PO3)-CH2–NH-CH2-COOH
This similarity allows glyphosate to take glycine’s place in peptides and proteins, causing all kinds of havoc. Glycine is found in all parts of the body; for example, it is part of collagen and gelatin. Substitution by glyphosate can easily explain links with (2):

“diabetes, obesity, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary edema, adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, prion diseases, lupus, mitochondrial disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, neural tube defects, infertility, hypertension, glaucoma, osteoporosis, fatty liver disease and kidney failure.”

How to detox from glyphosate
The good news: you can detox your body from toxic glyphosate, by increasing your dietary intake of glycine. Your body builds new peptides and proteins every day to replace aging ones, or for new uses. An easy way to ensure your body uses glycine and not glyphosate is by flooding it with glycine. Meanwhile, the aging peptides/proteins containing glyphosate are flushed from your body.

Taking glycine supplementally can be very effective. Here are two suggestions:

add glycine powder to a smoothie, shake, or fresh veggie juices (such as for a juice fast – see below);
use it as an alternative sweetener for coffee, tea, and other beverages, because it is slightly sweet.
Per Mercola’s article (1), “Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt recommends taking 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of glycine powder twice a day for a few weeks and then lower the dose to one-fourth teaspoon (1 gram) twice a day. This forces the glyphosate out of your system, allowing it to be eliminated through your urine.”

Or you can take collagen supplementally, because it is an excellent source of glycine. Just be sure the source of collagen is from grass-fed/pasture-raised meat sources (conventionally raised livestock are fed Roundup-resistant soy and grains that are heavily contaminated with Roundup, which ends up in their muscles (meat)).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Using glycine to detox will not work for other brands of herbicides/pesticides, unless they too contain glycine in their structure.

Cat’s testing note: I have not yet tried this detox method, but I will do that soon, after getting both a hair analysis and radionics tests (see Testing, below) to determine my starting levels, and will report my results over time.

Other detox methods:

Easy Health Options (8) recommends first doing a pre-detox of your intestines using Miralax to create liquid stools. They also recommend sweating in a sauna, and doing a liver detox with specific herbs and supplements.

A veggie-juice fast such as that offered by Wellness Education Center (WEC) in Kalispell helps with many different detox needs; I would recommend doing this glycine detox along with the WEC fast (add glycine powder to the juices).

Bonuses with increasing glycine intake:
Impact on glutathione:

One of the most important peptides containing glycine is glutathione, a major antioxidant and detox agent made by the body, and essential for the liver’s detox ability. Glutathione is comprised of three amino acids: glycine, L-glutamine, and L-cysteine. When you take glycine supplementally, you help increase glutathione production, which improves your ability to detox toxic substances.

If glyphosate has taken glycine’s place in glutathione, that lessens your body’s ability to detox, not only from glyphosate, but from many other toxins as well. By flooding your body with glycine, you have a double-impact: restoring glycine to peptides/proteins, and restoring glutathione’s ability to detox your body from the damage created by glyphosate.

Impact on glycine/methionine balance in our bodies:

According to Chris Masterjohn, PhD. (10), “maintaining proper dietary balance between [glycine and methionine] is also important because too much methionine represses glycine. The former is “especially abundant in eggs, dairy, meat, poultry, and fish. Glycine is especially abundant in skin and bones.” Unfortunately many of us avoid skin and bones in our meals; “for example, skinless, boneless chicken breast is rich in methionine, but the glycine-rich skin and bones have been removed.”

For those who don’t eat enough skin and bones (as in stock and bone-broth), increasing glycine intake can help restore the balance and benefits of both, noting that (10):

— Methionine helps prevent fatty liver disease and improves mental flexibility. It can help cool our anxiety or lift us from depression;

— Glycine helps stabilize our blood sugar, and helps to prevent us from drifting into endless distractions. It promotes healthy sleep, and it revitalizes our skin and bones.

Glycine supplement examples
Here are a few you can check out. Go to iherb(dot)com (link disguised), and search for the following codes:

Powders:
NOW-00225 for NOW-brand glycine powder
CAR-06835 for Carlson’s-brand glycine powder
Capsules:
NOW-00107 for NOW-brand glycine in capsules
THR-51202 for Thorne-brand glycine in capsules
SOL-01370 for Solgar-brand glycine in capsules
I recommend the powder because it is easier to adjust the amount you take.

Another form of glycine is its salt form, such as magnesium glycinate, but I am still researching its ability to detox glyphosate.

Testing for glyphosate levels in your body
We are all exposed to glyphosate – it’s unavoidable because it is everywhere. Even certified Organic foods are contaminated by drift from nearby spraying. We were safe from drift, here in NW Montana, until local farmers started growing GMO canola. So you may as well assume you have enough glyphosate to be concerned.

You can minimize your exposure to glyphosate by preparing all your meals using foods you grow/raise yourself, but in this day and age, that is difficult.

There are several recommended tests for your body; each provides information for a specific range of exposure over time (4a,5,6):

Hair Testing shows your exposure to pesticides over a period of 90-120 days;
Urine Testing shows your exposure for approximately 14-21 days; and
Blood Testing shows your exposure for 2-3 days.
Breast Milk Testing if you are nursing (exposure time not provided) (7)
Hair Testing has several advantages (6):

Easy collection
Easy transport
Enables continuous cost effective bio-monitoring over a year: 4 samples vs 100 for blood vs 26 for urine
You can also have your water tested, as it is one source of exposure close to home.

Labs:
Detox Project offers:
hair testing (Glyphosate test includes glyphosate, AMPA, and glufosinate); other pesticide tests are also available (4b),
food and water testing (4c)
Great Plains Lab offers both urine and water testing (5)
Energy testing methods for glyphosate toxicity:

These methods are controversial and declared as shams by conventional medicine practitioners, but I have found them to be helpful and accurate, and will use them to evaluate my glyphosate toxicity, in addition to the more conventional hair test (above).

Radionics, a form of energy testing available at our local Swan Valley Herbs store. It doesn’t provide the level in p.p.b. (parts per billion) like the hair, urine or blood testing; rather in relative numbers. The higher the number, the heavier the load of glyphosate.
Body Talk and/or NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques) and/or use muscle testing to determine if a substance is a problem, and if yes, how serious the problem might be. This too is not measured in p.p.b.; rather in whether your arm muscles are strong or weak to the substance or question asked. My acupuncturist (9) practices NAET.
References
Mercola: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/02/04/what-is-nadph-and-nox.aspx
Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry: tonu.org/tonu/MyFiles/MF021-Glyphosate-V.pdf
Wikipedia
glycine: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycine
glyphosate: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate
Detox Project:
Five Things You Need to Know About Glyphosate Testing: detoxproject.org/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-glyphosate-testing
Testing for pesticides in hair: detoxproject.org/testing/pesticides-in-hair
Testing food and water: detoxproject.org/testing/glyphosate-test-home-food
Great Pains Lab: greatplainslaboratory.com/glyphosate-test
Sott: sott.net/article/398589-Human-hair-testing-finds-high-levels-of-glyphosate
Natural News: naturalnews.com/050658_glyphosate_testing_Roundup_contamination_carcinogen.html
Easy Health Options: easyhealthoptions.com/testing-treating-body-glyphosate/
Steve Martinez Acupuncture, Kalispell MT: stevemartinezacupuncture.net
Christ Masterjohn: chrismasterjohnphd.com/balancing-methionine-and-glycine-in-foods-the-database/



23 Proven Benefits of Glycine Supplements + Glycine Foods
By Joe Cohen (https://selfhacked.com/blog/glycine-little-protein/)
Glycine is a great supplement to reduce inflammation, build muscle and joint tissue, reduce wrinkles, improve your sleep, and heal your liver all in a breakfast shake.

What is Glycine?
Glycine is one of many amino acids that commonly comprise protein. It is the smallest of all amino acids and is incredibly important for the synthesis of other amino acids, glutathione, creatine, heme, RNA/DNA, and it can also help with the absorption of calcium in the body [1, 2].

1) Glycine is an Anti-inflammatory
Glycine acts directly on inflammatory cells to suppress the activation of transcription factors, the formation of free radicals, and inflammatory cytokines [3].

Glycine reduces TNF-alpha and increases interleukin-10 [4].

Glycine can reduce TNF-receptor I levels, and raise interferon (IFN)-gamma levels in diabetic patients [4].

Glycine significantly inhibits NF-κB activation and IL-6 production in heart artery cells [5].

Glycine increases the anti-inflammatory IL-10 production in toxin-induced liver injury, increasing rat survival rates [6].

Glycine significantly improves toxin-exposed mice survival rates by lowering TLR4 and TNF-alpha and inhibiting Nf-kB [6].

Feeding rats diets high in glycine (5%) totally prevented death after exposure to an injection of a toxin (E Coli) by blunting TNF-alpha. Whereas 50% of the control group died within 24hrs [7].

In this same study, glycine fed rats who had liver damage and also injected with a toxin had an 83% survival rate, whereas the non-glycine control group had 0% rate of survival [7].

Glycine plays an important role in reducing oxidative stress in the body [8].

As a precursor to glutathione, glycine can restore previously lowered levels of glutathione [9, 10].

Glycine is recommended to the elderly because glutathione levels naturally fall with age [11].

2) Glycine Helps You Sleep and Function Better on Less Sleep
Taking glycine before sleep improves sleep quality and sleep efficacy by increasing the time to fall asleep, and slow wave deep sleep [12].

After taking glycine for sleep, the following day subjects had lessened daytime sleepiness and improved performance of memory recognition tasks [12].

Glycine helps improve REM sleep and decrease non-REM sleep [13].

3g Glycine given to volunteers before sleeping resulted in improvements in fatigue, ‘liveliness and peppiness’, ‘clear-headedness’ [14].

Glycine appears to improve daytime sleepiness and fatigue induced by sleep deprivation [15].

Glycine affects certain neuropeptides in the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) in the region in the hippocampus which regulate the circadian rhythm [15].

Specifically, glycine increases VIP, which is critical to the circadian rhythm.

This effect on the SCN indirectly contributes to reducing sleepiness and fatigue induced by sleep restriction [15].

3) Glycine Improves the Skin
Glycine (through the consumption of collagen) significantly improves skin elasticity in elderly women and improved skin moisture and water loss [16, 17].

Collagen peptide is beneficial in suppressing UV-B induced skin damage and photoaging [18].

Women taking 2.5g of collagen peptide for 4 weeks significantly reduced eye wrinkles by 20%, with positive effects lasting after the study ended [19].

At 8 weeks, collagen significantly improved skin content of procollagen type I by 65%, and elastin by 18%.

Glycine increases the speed by nearly double of which skin ulcers heal [20].

Glycine enhances wound healing in diabetic animal models [21].

Glycine in combination with l-cysteine and dl-threonine topically applied to leg ulcerations significantly improved the degree of wound healing and decreased pain [22].

4) Glycine Helps the Gut
Glycine inhibits stomach acid secretion and protects against chemical and stress-induced ulcers [3].

Glycine possesses significant anti-ulcer activity [23].

Glycine prevents chemically induced colitis in animal models [23].

Glycine prevents alcohol-induced stomach lesions (ex. ulcers) when used as a pretreatment in animal models [24].

Glycine can dramatically help increase the tolerability of Aspirin in the upper GI tract [25].

In small intestine grafts, glycine improves smooth muscle dysfunction after transplantation as well as reduces inflammation [26].

Glycine, but not L-arginine, is able to maintain intestinal wall integrity and mucosa in cancer treatment irradiation in animal models [27].

Glycine has protective effects against oxidative stress in intestinal cells in test tubes [28].

5) Glycine May Help Your Thyroid
Glycine might also increase the conversion of T4 to T3 in the liver (but this has only been studied in Trout) [29].

6) Glycine Can Help the Brain
Small amounts of glycine have been shown to dilate the microvessels in the brain by up to 250% [30, 31].

In rats with alcohol poisoning, glycine was able to reduce the accumulation of cholesterol, free fatty acids, and triglycerides in blood circulation, liver, and brain. Ultimately, this decreases swelling in the brain [32].

A shortage of glycine in the brain can negatively influence the brain neurochemistry, synthesis of collagen, RNA/DNA, porphyrins, and other important metabolites [33].

7) Glycine Helps Mental Illnesses
Glycine supplementation has been shown in one instance over the course of 5 years to significantly reduce symptoms of OCD and body dysmorphic disorder [34].

Glycine has positive results when used in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults [35].

Glycine supplementation significantly reduced symptoms of schizophrenia [36].

In treatment-resistant schizophrenia glycine improved cognitive and depressive symptoms (dosed at 0.8g/kg).

Interestingly, the group who made the most improvement were also the most deficient in glycine [37].

Glycine helps in chronic schizophrenia by increasing NMDA-receptor-mediated neurotransmission [38].

This effect on NMDA-receptor-mediated neurotransmission allows for glycine to work synergistically with schizophrenia medication [36].

8) Glycine May Help Combat Depression
Depression is associated with lower levels of blood glycine, as well as high levels of taurine [39].

9) Glycine May Reduce Obesity
Glycine increases adiponectin, which can help with weight loss [40].

10-11) Glycine Helps With Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders
Glycine helps with diabetes and metabolic disorders [2].

Glycine intake decreases free fatty acids in blood, fat tissue cell size, and blood pressure in sucrose-fed rats [41].

Glycine reduces glycated hemoglobin (A1C), a risk factor associated with poor blood glucose management in patients with type 2 diabetes. The dose was 5g/d [4].

5g Glycine taken in the morning increased total insulin response in healthy first-degree relatives of Type 2 diabetes patients [42].

Glycine stimulates the secretion of a gut hormone (glucagon) that helps insulin remove glucose from circulation [43].

Diabetic patients have 26% lower blood glycine levels than “normal” population [44].

Glutathione synthesis is restored in patients with uncontrolled diabetes and hyperglycemia with glycine (+cysteine) added to their diet [9].

Glycine helps patients with oxidative stress in the development of metabolic syndrome [8].

12) Glycine May Help Glucose Balance
Glycine helps with lipid profiles in insulin-resistant patients (but not insulin resistance).

Glycine can help with positive glucose management by stimulating the production of Glucagon, a hormone which helps potentiate the action of insulin [43].

Glycine helps HIV patients restore insulin sensitivity [45].

13) Glycine Helps Reduce Inflammation From High Fructose
In mice fed with various types of sugar, TNF-alpha is significantly higher in mice fed fructose [46].

Glycine has protective properties against the harms of Fructose by its ability to prevent the release of the inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) release with fructose exposure [47].

14-15) Glycine Helps Your Heart and Lowers Blood Pressure
In heart attack conditions (Post-ischaemic reperfusion) glycine can prevent the death of heart muscle cells by inhibiting mitochondrial permeability [48].

Glycine depletion within cells during a heart attack (hypoxia/re-oxygenation) makes the heart cells more vulnerable to cell death [48].

Glycine can lower systolic blood pressure in patients with metabolic syndrome [8, 45].

16-18) Glycine Helps with Joints, Bones, and Muscle
Glycine can help body composition and muscle strength in people with HIV [45].

Glycine protects against (peptidoglycan polysaccharide-induced) arthritis [3].

Glycine combined with green tea benefits tendon recovery processes after tendinitis by better collagen bundling organization [49].

Glycine can potentially help in menopause because of its estrogen-like bone protective effects [50].

Glycine plays a large role in maintaining the health of mice suffering from osteoarthritis [50].

19) Glycine Helps the Liver
Glycine prevents lactate dehydrogenase leakage (a cell death indicator) in rat liver cells in test tubes [51].

In rats with alcohol poisoning, feeding glycine reduced accumulation of cholesterol, phospholipids, free fatty acids and triglycerides in blood circulation, liver, and brain, ultimately reversing liver disorder associated with fat accumulation [32].

In rats deficient in choline and methionine, glycine supplementation prevents liver injury [52].

Glycine reduces liver damage and decreases mortality rates in rats suffering from a serious bacterial infection (sepsis) [53].

Glycine was able to maintain Vitamin D blood levels in animals models with induced liver disease (bile duct ligation), and also slow liver damage [54, 55]

Supplementation of glycine for five days in animal models prior to complete or partial liver donation significantly inhibited liver injury and liver-related enzymes [56].

Glycine maintains mitochondrial activity and bile composition in liver injury in animals [57].

20) Glycine Slows Alcohol Absorption
Glycine slows alcohol absorption by reducing the rate at which the stomach absorbs alcohol as well as empties into the intestine [58].

Blood alcohol levels were significantly lower in individuals who had consumed glycine prior to intoxication over controls who had not [59].

21) Glycine Helps the Kidneys
Kidney tubes (proximal tubules) are resistant to oxygen deprivation damage if glycine is present in the test tube [60].

22) Glycine Prevents Cavities
In rat models, supplementation with 4% glycine caused a 65.7% reduction of cavity occurrence [23].

23) Glycine Can Help Stroke Patients
In ischemic stroke patients, taking glycine 1 – 2g/day normalized autoantibodies, reduced glutamate and aspartate levels, increased GABA concentrations, and reduces lipid peroxidation [61].

Those who consume regularly low doses of glycine actually reduce damage in future strokes [61].

The glycine treatment at the dose of 1 – 2g/day was accompanied by a tendency to a decreased risk of dying over 30-days [61].

500mg/kg glycine combined with 500mg/kg Piracetam improved cognitive impairments and promoted recovery in the prefrontal cortex in animals with a stroke [62].

Note: Some of the scientific sources obtained for this article was found on Vladamir Heiskanen’s blog.

Dietary requirements
Glycine is sometimes called a semi-essential nutrient because it is both made by the body and obtained from food, although the combination of the two is not always enough to supply various tissues, bone, muscle, and skin with what is needed.

The average person usually can make roughly 3g of glycine, and usually consume 1.5 – 3.0 g from food, making their daily intake from roughly 4.5 – 6g [63].

Clinical and nutritional studies over twenty years indicate that the amount of glycine available in humans is not enough to meet metabolic needs and that a dietary supplement is appropriate (see the body of study) [63].

One study suggests that humans may fall significantly short of the amount needed for all metabolic uses – by about 10 g per day for a 70 kg (154 lbs) human [63].

How Much Glycine Do I Take?
I try to get in about 3 – 5g of extra glycine daily, either from pure Glycine Powder or from 20g of Collagen.

Side Effects of Glycine
Slight sedation is a possible side effect of taking Glycine [61]. This is often why it is recommended to take in the evening.

Potential Downsides of Glycine
In a Japanese study of nearly 30,000 patients, the risk of dying after stroke may be increased by meat consumption. The scientists suggest it is the increase in glutamic acid and glycine which cause this correlation [64].

Glycine is not recommended to take while suffering from diarrhea. It may worsen the condition and lead to poor rehydration [65].

Top Foods with The Highest Glycine Content
You can get a good amount of glycine from glycine, collagen or gelatin.

A list of foods high with glycine:

Gelatin
Whitefish
Soy Protein Isolate
Chicken
Turkey
Pork
Beef
Collagen contains 22 – 30% glycine. Adding 1 – 2 tbsp. a day to a breakfast smoothie will give you an additional 2.5 – 3.5g glycine per Tbls.

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"Correlation does not mean causation" is the mantra that is used to discount all anecdotal evidence (such as with all the accounts from parents that vaccination was associated with the injuries to children)

Jim Humble and MMS (chlorine dioxide) has been discussed in other MMS related forum threads (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/search.php?searchid=17708296)

This is a very coherent discussion of Chlorine Dioxide and why it may be effective with glyphosate?

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Kerri Rivera has offered a free book Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism (http://www.healingthesymptomsknownasautism.com/Healing_the_Symptoms_Known_as_Autism_SECOND_EDITION_9780989289023s.pdf)

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In the previous video, mention was made that glyphosate may remain in soil for years.
Biochar can remediate glyphosate in the soil.
Charcoal can be used as a standard additive to animal feed to remove toxins, including glyphosate.....


The use of biochar in cattle farming
(http://www.ithaka-journal.net/pflanzenkohle-in-der-rinderhaltung?lang=en)
by Achim Gerlach and Hans-Peter Schmidt
90% of the biochar produced in Europe is used in livestock farming. Whether mixed with feed, added to litter or used in the treatment of slurry, the positive effect of biochar very quickly becomes apparent. The health – and consequently the well-being – of the livestock improve within just a short space of time. As regards nasty smells and nutrient losses, the use of biochar could even herald a new age of livestock farming, closing agricultural cycles of organic matter.

Introduction
Hormonal, chelating, antibiotic, teratogenic, carcinogenic and neural effects are the main symptoms of the cattle diseases, with which I am faced in my daily practice as a vet. The productivity of cows and thus of production units are greatly dependent on the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. This is the reason why diseases of the digestive tract and the corresponding treatment strategies play a key role in commercial livestock farming. Maintaining “eubiosis” (host and microflora living together in symbiosis) in the gastrointestinal tract of animals is becoming increasingly difficult, as more and more farms (i) specialise in either crop farming or livestock farming, and (ii) merge together to form increasingly larger units. The result is that feedstuff can no longer be “home-grown” in sufficient quantities and quality and instead has to be purchased from outside. More often than not, farmers are no longer in a position to assess the quality of such feedstuff (purchase is based on trust).
Directly linked to this problematic situation is the appearance of chronic botulism that reached disturbing levels in herds of cattle over the last few years (Krüger et al. 2012, Böhnel u. Gessler 2012). Affecting cattle, the disease – a toxic infection – is caused by clostridium botulinum toxins and is leading to significant direct and indirect losses in livestock farming. In her search for the main factor(s) influencing the emergence of this new phenotype, Krüger (2012) took a close look at the role played by glyphosate, a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide, and AMPA, its main metabolite. Her research revealed major amounts of glyphosate notably in the urine of dairy cows (up to 164 micrograms / l in Germany and up to 138 micrograms / l in Denmark, on average 20-50 micrograms / l) but also in rumen fluid (0.04 to 122 micrograms / l). Glyphosate was also found in human urine (up to 2.8 micrograms / l), although to a much lesser degree (see: Herbicides found in Humane Urine). Moreover glyphosate has also been detected in digestate from biogas plants and in different animal feeds, often in alarming concentrations. The fact that glyphosate has antibiotic effects is incidentally well-known to the producers of the herbicide, with Monsanto even filing an application for it to be patented as such (US-Patent 7,771,736, EP0001017636). When glyphosate gets into the digestive tract of animals and humans, it causes detectable changes in the gastrointestinal microbiota.
A good prophylactic, metaphylactic and therapeutic possibility of binding botulinum toxin and other toxins formed by clostridia, as well as the herbicide glyphosate increasingly detected in feedstuff, in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle seems to be the administration of biochar.
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The effect of activated carbon and biochar in feeding
For some hundred years, research into activated carbon has been showing effective ways of adsorbing pathogenic clostridial toxins such as C. tetani und C. botulinum (Kranich 1920, Luder 1947, Starkenstein 1915). Wang et al (2010) have shown that biochar has good sorption qualities with regard to the hydrophobic herbicide terbuthylazine and underline the important role it can play in protecting ground water. Graber et al. (2011) studied the binding qualities of the model herbicides S-Metolachlor and Sulfentraton on biochars with different surface sizes. Graber (2012) confirmed that biochar can adsorb glyphosate. The use of carbon gained from pyrolysis for feeding purposes has been known for a long time and is recommended in Germany. Mangold (1936) presented a comprehensive study on the effects of charcoal in feeding animals, concluding that “the prophylactic and therapeutic effect of charcoal against diarrhoeal symptoms attributable to infections or the type of feeding is known. In this sense, adding charcoal to the feed of young animals would seem a good preventive measure.”

Activated carbon = biochar?
Generally speaking, all activated carbons are originally biochars. Active carbons are however “activated” using acids or hydroxides or 900°C water steam. In doing so, their specific surface area increases from app. 300 m2/g to over 1000 m2/g. Activated carbon is 5 – 10 times more expensive than simple biochar, so it is possible to use 2-3 times the amount of biochar to achieve the same result – whether with regard to digestion in cattle or in a sewage treatment plant. As activated carbon is for the most part produced without adequate controls in South-East Asia or South America, the eco-balance often leaves a lot to be desired. Biochar by contrast is produced from controlled, locally grown raw materials using controlled production methods. There is no real difficulty involved in producing activated carbon from biochar.

Volkmann (1935) describes an efficient reduction in excreted oocysts through adding charcoal to the food of pets with coccidiosis or coccidial infections.
Haring (1937) recommends mixing charcoal into cattle feed, while Barth and Zucker (1955) were not able to establish any negative growth effects in poultry when the level of added charcoal was kept at around 1%.
From an international perspective, we are currently seeing repeated reports on the advantages of mixing biochar into animal feed:

• It’s used with goats in North Vietnam. Growth rates improved here when feed included 0.5-1g of bamboo coal / kg per day (DoThiThanVan, 2006).
• Kana et al. (2011) have shown that 0.2-0.6% corncob charcoal added to chicken feed results in significant weight increases.
• Iwase et al. (1990) have demonstrated – in an experimental environment – the storage effect of activated carbon in rumen acidosis in Holstein bulls.
• Leng et al. (2012) proved that methane formation could be reduced by 12.7% (10%) when 1% (0.5%) char is added to an artificial rumen system.

The effects of biochar are based on the following mechanisms: adsorption, coadsorption, competition, chemisorption, adsorption followed by a chemical reaction, desorption. From a toxicology perspective, classifiable distinctions need to be made to the time-dependent processes of adsorption, distribution, biotransformation and excretion of the toxic substances in the digestive tract of animals.
With regard to the specific mechanisms, more detailed research is urgently needed.
Schirrmann (1984) describes the effect of activated carbon on bacteria and their toxins in the gastrointestinal tract:

1. Adsorption of proteins, amines, amino-acids
2. Adsorption of digestive tract enzymes, as well as concentration of bacterial exoenzymes in the activated carbon
3. Adsorption, via chemotaxis, of mobile germs disposing of special attachment mechanisms.

Of particular importance is the specific colonisation of the char with gram-negative germs with increased metabolic activity. This results on the one hand in a decrease in endotoxins needing to be resorbed and on the other hand in the adsorption of the toxins in the char.
Ariens and Lambrecht (1985) describe the advantages of activated carbon, stating that it is non-toxic, quickly available, has an unlimited shelf-life, is effective in the gastrointestinal tract, and is effective against already absorbed toxins and mineral oil products.
One major advantage in the use of biochar is to be found in its “enteral dialysis” property, i.e. already absorbed lipophilic toxins can be removed from blood plasma by the char, as the adsorption power of the huge surface area of char interacts with the beneficial permeability properties of the intestine. Adsorption applies to both lipophilic and hydrophilic substances. The speed at which adsorption takes place is dependent on the size of the activated carbon’s pores. What we are thus seeing is the emergence of a genuine alternative to the established medical therapies – peritoneal dialysis, haemodialysis or haemoperfusion.
Via manure and slurry, the biochar mixed with the feed is returned to the soil, closing the organic cycle. The fact that biochar returned to the soil this way can be of interest for agriculture was already described by Perotti back in 1935. For him, the presence of biochar in the soil meant an improvement in its microbiological properties and a better supply of chlorophyll for the plants.
In his view, the benefits of biochar were as follows:

1. Moisture retention
2. Increased adsorption of ammonium salts
3. Decreased dispersion of nitrates
4. Adsorption of microbial metabolites

Söhngen (1913) sees the formation of ammonium carbonate combined with the char adsorption as playing a key role in the longer-term development of rich cultures of bacteria which find their way into their surroundings through desorption. In a slightly acidic environment in particular, this process of alkalization through the adsorption of carbon only takes place slowly. Schirrmann (1984) reports that the oxidisation reactions on activated carbon can be improved through increasing the nitrogen content. Nagel (1990) studied activated carbon populated by bacteria, without being able to find any efficient method of desorbing adherent bacteria. Proving the existence of bacteria via excreted metabolites was not possible, and the only way of determining adherent cell counts was through the use of a gamma-ray marker (Fe-59).
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The use of biochar in cattle farming
Biochar was administered at a dosage of 200-400g per cow and day in the farms I myself am responsible for, on the basis of studies by Feldmann (1992), who conducted in vitro experiments with activated carbon. But the adsorption capabilities of chars gained by pyrolysis show major variations. Chars produced from wood and plants are unable to exceed the level of the so-called “blood carbon” which contains a further adsorbent, bentonite, and is activated at higher temperatures. Feldmann (1992) studied the effects of activated carbon on fermentation processes in rumen fluid (in vitro), detecting an up to 25% increase in the pH-level, an up to 32% decrease in the redox potential, a reduction in the concentration of volatile fatty acids (though the production rate remained constant), and a rising adsorption rate with increasing chain lengths of the volatile fatty acids. These effects were dependent on the char dosage.
The use of biochar as a feed ingredient is subject to strict food quality rules under EC Regulation 178/2002 and to the strict regulations for organic livestock feed under EC Regulation 834/2007. In particular, the levels of heavy metals, dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans play an important role as limiting factors, whereby biochar produced under the European Biochar Certificate meets all the animal feed threshold values. In our own tests, the only biochar used was inert biochar (carbo ligni) made by means of a technical pyrolysis using the so-called “Schottdorf reactor”. The safety of biochar as a feed additive has been certified by Biocheck, a laboratory for veterinary diagnostics and environmental hygiene. Preliminary tests on the adsorption capacity of the biochar used were performed by the Central Laboratory of German Pharmacists, comparing it with commercially available activated medical charcoal using the phenazone adsorption test. The adsorption capacity of 16.7 g phenazone/100g dried biochar is about one-third of the levels reached by medical charcoals of 40g phenazone/100g charcoal. These results confirm the findings of Luder, W. (1947), who studied the adsorption capacity of carbo ligni and carbo adsorbens and came up with a ratio of 1:3-4.
Now that biochar can be produced economically (i.e. it is available at low cost and high quality), the long-known benefits of feeding biochar can be feasibly put into practice.



Practical use of biochar in feeding cattle
21 farm managers, each with an average herd of 150 cows, gave their impressions of the effects they had observed during and after the administration of biochar. It should be noted that biochar administered as treatment for dysbiosis was concomitantly supported in about 1/3 of the farms by sauerkraut brine (acetylcholine, lactobacilli, enterococci, B-vitamins, vitamin C).
Observations of initial effects (1 – 4 weeks after starting biochar administration):

• Generally improved health and appearance
• Improved vitality
• Improved udder health
• Decreased cell counts in the milk (interrupting the administration of biochar leads to higher cell counts and a drop in performance)
• Minimisation of hoof problems
• Stabilisation of post-partum health
• Reduced diarrhoea within 1-2 days, faeces subsequently generally more solid
• Decline in the mortality rate
• Increase in milk protein and/or fat
• Combining biochar and sauerkraut brine has proved worthwhile
• Marked improvement of slurry viscosity, with less stirring needed and less scum on the surface
• Slurry not smelling as bad as it used to

Preliminary tests on the slurry show that adding biochar via the gastrointestinal tract or via direct application:

• Increased ammonium nitrogen
• Reduced nitrate and nitrite



Summary and conclusions
The use of biochar in livestock farming offers solutions to the increasingly complex problems of modern-day farming, the result of a combination of profit maximisation and disrespect for the physiological needs of the animals. The adsorption qualities of biochar permit a wide range of toxic substances to be bound in the gastrointestinal tract. They also lead to the detoxification of already resorbed toxins (in particular lipophilic toxins) in the plasma via “enteral dialysis”. The oxidation and deamination of biogenic amines also play a particularly stabilising role in the intestines. Dysbiosis can be very efficiently and positively influenced by biochar, and eubiosis can be maintained much longer despite environmental fluctuations in the digestive tract.
A clear separation of the impact in the pro- or metaphylactic field and the therapeutic approach is desirable in theory, though in practice these effects are overlapping. In cases of acute intoxication, the parallel administration of saline laxatives is recommended (Wiechowski 1914).
One current problem affecting Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony in particular is the high level of nitrate pollution in drinking water, the result of intensive farming. The scientific methods for reducing nitrates in the soil have been known for more than a century. Reductions can be achieved by the intelligent use of commercial fertilisers based on biochar. Reports in this area have been published by Sommer (2005). Similarly, the changed economic conditions under which farms operate mean that what is now needed is a re-assessment of certain practices from an epidemiological perspective. These include the disposal of placentas via the slurry system and the widespread use of bone meal as a fertiliser especially on account of increased maize production. One option available for minimising expected epidemiological and drinking water problems involves the inclusion of inert biochar in agricultural cycles of organic matter.
Also necessary are tests on the biochar used, making sure that it complies with the structural, chemical, physical and biological requirements of the European Biochar Certificate (EBC). This is the only way to achieve a transferability of the results gained in the use of different chars to other studies.



Achim Gerlach is a vet working for the Schleswig Holsteinschen Landkreis Dithmarschen and is probably the expert with the most experience in Europe on the administration of biochar in livestock feed. Should readers wish to directly contact the author, please just drop us a line.

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Literatur
Krüger, Große-Herrentey, Schrödel, Gerlach Rodloff: Anaerobe, 18 (2012) S.221-223
Böhnel u. Gessler: Tierärztliche Umschau, 67, 7 (2012)
Krüger, M.: Vortrag Bad Fallingbostel 2012
Kranich, J.: Tierärztliche Rundschau (1920)S.610-612
Luder, W.: Unters. ü. d. Bakt. Adsorption durch Holzkohle – Diss. 1947 Univ. Bern
Mangold, E.: Der Forschungsdienst (1936) Bd.1 S.862-867 Hrsg: Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaften d. Landwirtschaftswissenschaft
Volkmann, A.: Beh. vers. der Kaninchen- bzw. Katzencoccidiose… -Diss. Univ. Leipzig 1935
Haring,F.:Mitt. f. d. Landwirtschaft 52 (1937)S.308-309 Hrsg: Reichsnährstand
Barth und Zucker: Z.f. Tierernährung und Futtermittelkunde 10 (1955) S.300-307
DoThiThanVan, Nguyen Thi Mui, Inger Ledin: Animal Feed Science and Technology 130 (2006) S.242-256
Kana, Teguia, Mungfu, Tchoumboue: Trop. Anim. Health Prod. (2011) S.51-56
Iwase, Matui, Hoshi, Motoyoshi: XVI Congresso Mundial DE BUIATRIA, Salvador –Brasil,(1990)S.436-440
Leng, Inthapanya u. Preston: Biochar lowers net methan production from rumen fluid in vitro
http:/Irrd.cipav.org/Irrd24/6/sang24103.htm (26.6.12 -22.06)
Schirrmann,U.: Aktivkohle u. ihre Wirkung auf Bakterien… Diss. 1984 TU München
Ariens u. Lambrecht: Schriftenreihe d. Bundesapotherkenkammer zur wiss. Fortbildung,Meran 1985, 20. Intern. Fortbildungskurs f.prakt.u. wiss. Pharmazie, S.
Perotti,R.:Bolletino delle Sezione Italiana di Microbiologia 7 (1935)S.449-452
Söhngen, N.L.: Centralblatt f. Bakt., Parasitenkunde u. Inf. Krankheiten 38 (1913)S.621-646
Nagel, S.: Unters.z. bakt. besiedelter Aktivkohle, Diss. 1990 Univ.Stuttgart
Feldmann, M.: Auswirkungen von Aktivkohle auf Fermentationvorgänge im Pansensaft des Rindes (in vitro), Diss. 1992, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover
Starkenstein, E.: Feldärztliche Beilage zur Münch.med.Wochenschr. (1915) S.27-29
Hellerich,B.:Diss.TiHo( 2008) Zusammenhänge zwischen Fütterung, Haltung sowie Managementaspekten und der Tiergesundheit in Milchviehbetrieben.
Dechow,CD; Smith,EA;Goodling,RC: The effect of management systems on mortality and other welfare indicators in Pennsylvania dairy-herds. In:Animal Welfare 2011;20:145-158
Wang,Linn,Hou,Richardson,Yan: J. Soils Sediments (2010) 10:283-289
Graber,Tsechansky,Gerstl,Lew:Soil Sci.Soc.of Am.J. (2011) 75:1365-1373
Graber (2012):pers.Mitteilung
Eisenberg,Ph: Z.bl.f.Bakt.,Parasit.kde u. Inf.krakh. (1914),1.Abt. Bd. 81S.72-104
Wiechowski,W.:Pharmakologische Grundlagen einer therapeutischen Verwendung von Kohle.Dt
Kongreß f. Innere Medizin, Wiesbaden (1914)

[Delight]

Dr. Seneff is IMO a genius.

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[Delight]

The synergy between aluminum and glyphosate is deadly


July 2016
Clinical Insights from the Sophia Health Institute
by Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, and Dr. Christine Schaffner (http://www.townsendletter.com/July2016/clinical0716_2.html)

Aluminum and Glyphosate
There is growing awareness of the increasing environmental exposure of aluminum and glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

We have been tracking both of these toxicants in our patients and use several treatment strategies to decrease the body burden of both of these harmful substances.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff first opened our eyes to the biological impact of glyphosate. Her recent paper "Aluminum and Glyphosate Can Synergistically Induce Pineal Gland Pathology: Connection to Gut Dysbiosis and Neurological Disease" demonstrates the synergy of aluminum and glyphosate.1

In summary, through several mechanisms glyphosate increases the uptake of aluminum in the gut while blocking the uptake of a variety of needed trace minerals. The increased body burden of aluminum damages the pineal gland. Both aluminum and glyphosate disrupt the CYP450 enzymes, which have a role in melatonin production. In addition, glyphosate disrupts the production of tryptophan – a precursor to melatonin – by our beneficial bowel microbes. Both toxicants impair the body's production of melatonin. We just reviewed how sleep is imperative for the glymphatic system. Disrupted melatonin production directly impairs the brain's ability to detoxify.

It is difficult to demonstrate the body burden of aluminum using a traditional urine challenge test. Aluminum is firmly bound to tissue proteins and very hard to mobilize with any type of challenge test. We recently started using the OligoScan, a device that uses a technology called spectrophotometry to determine tissue trace element and heavy metal levels. The majority of our patients have overwhelmingly elevated aluminum. Aluminum is today the most prevalent toxic metal in our patients – ahead of lead, mercury, nickel, and tin.

It is also challenging to demonstrate the body burden of glyphosate. We look at PON1 gene status and exposure history to determine necessity of treatment. We support PON1 epigenetically with antioxidants such as açai, pomegranate, vitamin C, selenium, and vitamin E. We also use low-dose immunotherapy to facilitate the removal of glyphosate and other herbicides that typically are in the same cocktail. When we split-sampled patients' urine in the past, typically the US labs did not find any glyphosate, while the German labs found significantly elevated levels in the same urine. A new US-based urine glyphosate test is now available that we do not have clinical experience with yet.

Our current aluminum detoxification strategies include silica-based products. We commonly use liposomal silica, horsetail, and a silica-based binder called Enterosgel to decrease aluminum in our patients. The US-trained neurologist Margaritha Griess-Brisson (living in the UK) found that a cilantro tincture given 3 times per day combined with an ionic footbath used twice weekly increased the elimination of all toxic metals, especially the excretion of aluminum. Y. Omura, MD, also found that cilantro was effective in removing lead, mercury, and aluminum (study on mice).

Case Study: 28-year-old female, chronic fatigue, constipation, nausea, head pain, pressure .pdf

Case Study
J.F. was an 8-year-old autistic boy who was mute. He had been through the biomedical approach for years and had improved largely. What was not addressed in his treatment was the intrauterine exposure to Lyme and glyphosate and the early exposure to aluminum (ambient air, vaccines) and ethylmercury. We added the strategies for these issues, included LDI treatment for mercury, Lyme, glyphosate, and aluminum. After a few initial crises, he started to make one-syllable words; within a few weeks, two-syllable words; and after 9 months (of the added treatment), he was completely age-appropriately fluent in English and near neurotypical.

Conclusion
Microbes evolve, toxins used in our environment have changed – and exposures to them, and with them illnesses evolve. What we see today in our medical offices is almost completely different from what Dr. Klinghardt saw when he started seeing patients 41 years ago. Lab methods are often hopelessly behind the times and we, the frontline physicians, have often to rely on other tools to help diagnose our clients. The current plague of Lyme disease, retroviral infections, and environmental toxins affecting us were not discovered in a university lab. These most pressing issues were discovered by us, the people. In this article, we point toward several illness-causing issues that are relevant to almost every person we see in the office. In a future article, we may highlight the other big one: exposure to microwaves and adverse electromagnetic fields and what we can do about it. When we know what is underneath our illnesses and causing them, we can still protect and heal others and ourselves and have fulfilling, joyful lives.

Notes
1. Seneff S, Swanson N, Li C. Aluminum and glyphosate can synergistically induce pineal gland pathology: connection to gut dysbiosis and neurological disease. Agric Sci. 2015;6:42–70.

Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhDDietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, was born, raised and educated in West Germany, where he graduated from Freiburg Medical School/Albert Ludwigs University in 1975. He also studied psychology and completed a 3-year research project/PhD in angiology. He is internationally known for his successful treatment of chronic pain and illness. Dr. Klinghardt combines nonsurgical orthopedic medicine with immunology, endocrinology, toxicology, neural therapy, hypnotherapy, and energy psychology. He has been in practice for over 40 years and has been a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, applying his 5 Levels of Healing model. Dr. Klinghardt founded Sophia Health Institute in Woodinville, Washington, where he sees patients.

Dr Christine Schaffner

Dr. Christine Schaffner is a board-certified naturopathic physician who graduated from Bastyr University. She completed her undergraduate studies in pre-medicine and psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Schaffner specializes in the treatment of chronic illness and is the clinic director of Sophia Health Institute in Woodinville, Washington.


Recovery Methods for a Brain with Aluminum and Glyphosate Exposure (https://drjess.com/recovery-methods-brain-aluminum-glyphosate-exposure-2-2/)

Please see my previous post on the importance of understanding the pathophysiology of Glyphosate, better known as Monsanto’s RoundUp. The first part is entitled Monsanto’s Round Up and Aluminum Now Linked to Autism, Alzheimer’s, Gut Dysbiosis and Pineal Gland Calcification. This is the second part with solutions.

This pesticide which has far reaching effects, has been shown to bind up aluminum and bypass the gut barrier, decimating all immunity and amino acids made by our beneficial gut bacteria.

By popular demand, I will be discussing how to detoxify from aluminum and pesticide exposure. Together, heavy metals like aluminum and Glyphosate have synergistically devastating effects. My previous blog post showed that pesticides provide an easy passage to aluminum where the bloodstream filters it quickly through the brain and the kidneys. The issue with this is that the pineal gland, which sits inside the optic chiasma in the brain, is not protected by the blood brain barrier and gets the brunt of unfiltered blood. If it is exposed to aluminum and/or pesticides, it is at a higher risk to accumulate these toxic substances. The repercussions of this are thought to be far reaching but have not been substantially researched.

Glyphosate

Glyphosate, or RoundUp, is the best selling pesticide in history since going to market in 1974. Nearly 90% of all corn, soy and cotton are aerially sprayed with this toxic pesticide. A recent study showed Glyphosate was found 700 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s legal limit in the breast milk of mothers. Another study found that Americans have ten times more Glyphosate in their urine than their European counterparts. Seeing as how recent studies have shown the devastating effects of Glyphosate on our gut bacteria, which helps to sustain mood, immunity, and overall wellbeing, all of this is quite concerning.

Aluminum

Specifically, Dr Seneff’s work has shown how aluminum works with Glyphosate to avoid our body’s defenses as it enters the body. Heavy metals in general have known negative effects on the body. Both mercury and aluminum are highly neurotoxic and can accumulate in the brain. Multiple studies have shown a direct link to aluminum toxicity and Alzheimers. Now Dr Seneff’s work has shown correlation to aluminum and pineal gland calcification, as nearly all Alzheimers patients have a calcified pineal gland. Both mercury and aluminum have vague toxic profiles including emotional instability and lability, lethargy, depression, anxiety and attention problems. Aluminum alone causes flatulence, headaches, colic, dryness of the skin, tendency to come down with colds/flus, and heartburn.

An average adult in the United States eats about 7–9 mg of aluminum per day in their food. Approximately 95% of an aluminum load becomes bound to transferrin and albumin intravascularly and is then eliminated via the kidneys. In healthy subjects, only 0.3% of orally administered aluminum is absorbed via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, however, this statistic is not taking into account that the bioavailability becomes much higher when bound to Glyphosate. Only when the GI barrier is bypassed, such as by intravenous infusion (think vaccines), when bound to pesticides, or if the kidneys are diseased, does aluminum have the potential to accumulate. As an example, with intravenously infused aluminum, 40% is retained in adults and up to 75% is retained in babies.

A calcified pineal gland is also linked to high fluoride consumption, which is found added to tap water, medications and toothpaste.

For more information, please revisit my blog post concerning the synergistic effects of Glyphosate and aluminum.

How To Detox From Heavy Metals and Glyphosate

I make an excellent heavy metal detox which you can check out in the Dr Jess store, but for now, lets investigate what you can do to actively clear your pineal gland and the gut of these toxic substances.

Eat organic-One Swedish study showed a family who tested positive for glyphosate at the beginning of the study. They all ate organic for the next three weeks and their urinary excretion of Glyphosate dropped significantly. Avoiding GMO food, which has a considerably higher amount of pesticide used on it, avoiding soy, corn and wheat, as well as educating yourself on foods that help to eliminate these toxins by providing necessary cofactors and nutrients.
Eat sulfur rich foods-sulfur is one of the nutrients disrupted by Glyphosate and proven by the Seneff study. This includes brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, legumes, bok chop, garlic, cauliflower, kale, radish and watercress. The high sulfur content of these foods provide necessary cofactors to make glutathione, the master antioxidant of the body. It is also used in step one and two detoxification in the liver.
Take probiotics-since glyphosate and heavy metals can help decimate the beneficial bacteria in the gut, it makes sense that exogenously replacing these colonies with probiotics would help to rid the body of toxins. Our gut bacteria are life and provide necessary amino acids, building blocks and cofactors for immunity and stable moods, If our guts are not happy, then our brains are likely unhappy too.
Silica-Research published in 2013 showed that drinking up to one liter of a silicon-rich mineral water daily for 12 weeks effectively excreted aluminum via the urine, without detrimental effects on essential metals such as iron and copper. According to the authors: “We have provided preliminary evidence that over 12 weeks of silicon-rich mineral water therapy the body burden of aluminum fell in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and, concomitantly, cognitive performance showed clinically relevant improvements in at least 3 out of 15 individuals.” Think Fiji water.
Humic and fulvic acid-Found in rich supply in Shilajit and in the soil, these two minerals have been shown to remove glyphosate from the villi of the intestines in third party studies. They also help to modulate the immune system by working in the gastrointestinal tract.
Melatonin: Research shows that melatonin has a metal binding role and is a useful supplement in the treatment of neurological disorders in which oxidative stress is involved, which includes Alzheimer’s. Melatonin can travel freely across all cellular barriers, facilitating the removal of toxic metals such as aluminum. It also appears to suppress the oxidative activity of aluminum in your brain. Melatonin is also one of the hormones that is blocked by Glyphosate exposure, so exogenous support is quite beneficial to rid yourself of this toxin. New research shows melatonin also has anti cancer properties.
Raise your Glutathione- Your body synthesizes this master antioxidant from three amino acids: “cysteine, glutamate, and glycine. Raw fruits and vegetables, particularly avocado, asparagus, grapefruit, strawberries, orange, tomato, cantaloupe, broccoli, okra, peach, zucchini, and spinach are rich in the precursors glutamate and glycine. Dietary sources of cysteine include eggs, meat, red peppers, garlic, onions, Brussels sprouts, and wheat germ.” Other helpful treatments for improved glutathione metabolism are exercise and the proper vitamin D levels. (I like my patents around 50).
Chlorella-this ancient blue green algae contains nearly all essential amino acids and is jam packed with protein. It not only works in unison with cilantro, but can remove the heavy metals from the body through urinary excretion.
Cilantro-Cilantro works well with chlorella to chelate, or bind, up heavy metals to excrete them. The issue with cilantro alone is that although it chelates heavy metals, it does not remove them in the urine. This means they can recirculate to deposit elsewhere in the body. This is why I recommend that you always take cilantro with chlorella as chlorella does remove the metals through kidney excretion. In one study, in Japan in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers found that cilantro was able to chelate aluminum. “After the 25-day trial period, the mice were checked for lead. The results showed that both the cilantro and the DMSA had “significantly decreased lead deposition in the femur and severe lead-induced injury in the kidneys.” Moreover, the cilantro increased the urinary excretion of delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which is known to increase with lead intake.”
Iodine/Kelp-iodine dispels fluoride and bromide as well as heavy metals from the body. Iodine deficiency has come into question for a number of cancers including breast, thyroid and prostate cancer.
Avoiding fluoride/Buy a water filter-a Berkley runs around $200-300 and you can order fluoride filters specifically to remove this toxic halide from your water supply. Check them out at www.berkey.com. I do not think its advantageous for anyone to be drinking out of the tap these days.
Third Eye Meditation-this meditation involves staring up at the point in between the eyes with your eyes closed. This can send awareness and blood supply to the area.
Epsom salt baths-provide detox baths for heavy metals. Magnesium stores are depleted during heavy metal toxicity and detox. The body uses magnesium in over 300 processes in the body and heavy metal detox is one of them! Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and sitting in a bath for approximately 30 minutes is a great way to replenish these stores.
MSM supplementation-MSM is a form of sulfur which acts on cell membranes and can help to replenish sulfur stores that are disrupted by Glyphosate exposure. It has also been known to help mercury toxicity.
N-acetyl L-cysteine (NAC) may also be useful. NAC is the rate-limiting nutrient for the formation of the master antioxidant glutathione. So replacing these stores can help boost glutathione levels in the body.
Curcumin- Research suggests that curcumin has a protective effect against aluminum-induced damage by modulating the extent of oxidative stress. Studies have shown that curcumin can help improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients. There are some contraindications that curcumin is not recommended if you have biliary tract obstruction (as it stimulates bile secretion), gallstones, or on a blood thinner. (curcumin is a natural blood thinner).
Other supplements that may help include: Gotu kola, boron, coconut oil, beets, apple cider vinegar, ginseng, bentonite clay (avoid contamination with heavy metals), milk thistle, dandelion root and burdock root.
CHELATION-This is the most effective way to remove all heavy metals. It can bind up other beneficial nutrients that you wouldn’t necessarily want removed. Chelation can also be hard on the kidneys. However, I have witnessed amazing results with IV chelation with EDTA, DMSO or DMPS concerning heavy metal toxicity and heart disease.
You can heal!

Much love
Dr Jess

REFERENCES:
httpss://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11535365
Séralini G-E, Clair E, Mesnage R, Gress S, Defarge N, 1, Malatesta M, Hennequin D, Spiroux de Vendômois J. Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Environmental Sciences Europe 2014, 26:14.
httpss://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1130580/
[2] Wolff J (1964) Transport of iodide and other anions in the thyroid gland. Physiol Rev 44:45-90


Are you detoxing with the correct binders? (https://www.sophianutrition.com/blogs/sophia-life-blog/are-you-detoxing-with-the-correct-binders)

Intestinal binders are a crucial part of any detox protocol. When the liver processes toxins, they get excreted through bile and into the small intestine. If the toxins are not bound to anything, most of them will get reabsorbed in the gut. This is called enterohepatic recirculation. Binders can be used to bind to the toxins so that they can pass all the way through the digestive tract to be eliminated.

There are a variety of binders available. Different binders have affinities for different toxins based on the net charge and different molecular bonds. The following are some of the most commonly used binders:

Chlorella: Chlorella is algae that has a high affinity for heavy metals, but also volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, herbicides, and mycotoxins. Because chlorella is a living organism, it has evolved to bind only to toxic metals, not essential minerals. For this reason, it can be used long term with no risk of nutritional deficiency over time. It is also a good idea to take chlorella before eating any higher mercury fish, such as tuna or swordfish.

Chlorella is algae that has a high affinity for heavy metals, but also volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, herbicides, and mycotoxins. Because chlorella is a living organism, it has evolved to bind only to toxic metals, not essential minerals. For this reason, it can be used long term with no risk of nutritional deficiency over time. It is also a good idea to take chlorella before eating any higher mercury fish, such as tuna or swordfish.

Other Algaes: Ecklonia cava and spirulina have similar properties as chlorella.

Charcoal: A very broad-spectrum binder that will bind a little bit of everything. This means it will bind toxins, as well as vitamins and minerals. For this reason, it is best used for acute situations, not long term.

Clays: Zeolite, bentonite, and pyrophyllite clays fall somewhere in between chlorella and charcoal. Clays are more selective to binding toxins than charcoal, but can still bind to nutrients. They are most commonly used for binding to biotoxins from mold and other microbes but can bind to other toxins as well. Clays are usually used for weeks to months at a time.

Enterosgel: A silica-based gel that has a high affinity for aluminum. It is also good for binding to gut endotoxins and is marketed to be used for food poisoning. It has a low affinity for vitamins and minerals.

Silica-Rich Mineral Waters: Silica easily obtained through mineral water can bind to aluminum.

Biosil and Other Silica Products: Bind mostly to aluminum, but also other trivalent metals like thallium and tin.

Cholestyramine and Welchol: These are prescription medications that were developed to bind cholesterol. They are commonly used to bind to mycotoxins, but they can decrease absorption of fat-soluble vitamins over time.

Chitosan: A compound derived from crustaceans that has a binding ability almost identical to welchol.

Modified Citrus Pectin: A fiber made from the peel of citrus fruits that has a high affinity for lead, but also other heavy metals. It also has some immune-modulating properties.

Fiber: Plant fibers have a weak affinity for many different toxins. Fiber can easily be obtained through the diet or supplemented.

Humic and Fulvic Acids: These are made of decomposed plant matter, essentially dirt. They have been shown to detox glyphosate.

Intestinal Metal Detox: A specially designed silica molecule that has a very high affinity for heavy metals.

When choosing binders, sourcing is extremely important. Algaes, clays, and charcoal are notorious for being contaminated with toxins themselves, so cheapening out can actually make you worse. For this reason, it is important to make sure you are buying high-quality binders.

The binder that works best for someone can also differ greatly based on the specific toxin load. What works well for someone can also change during different phases of treatment. Because binders can bind to nutrients, they should also be taken away from food. It is generally recommended to take them at least 30 minutes before, or 1 hour after eating or taking any supplements or medications. Binders can also cause constipation, so make sure to take them with plenty of water. Chasing them with magnesium citrate can also help reduce constipation. If it persists, a different binder may be needed.



A safe and effective way to detox aluminum, scientist reports
by: Lori Alton, staff writer | March 18, 2019 (https://www.naturalhealth365.com/effective-way-to-detox-aluminum-2910.html)

(NaturalHealth365) Truth be told, the presence of aluminum in the environment is nothing new. This naturally-occurring metal is the third most prevalent element on the planet. But, to be clear: aluminum has no biological value inside the human body – which makes the demand for an effective way to detox more important than most people can imagine.

No doubt, the modern ‘abundance’ of aluminum in processed foods, cookware, food storage wraps and medications has raised concerns among many integrative healthcare providers – who view the accumulated toxicity of aluminum to be a contributing factor to the rising rates of autism and Alzheimer’s disease.

Now, a study highlights the ability of silicon-rich mineral water to safely decrease levels of aluminum in the body. Even more encouragingly, consumption of this kind of water was associated with improvements in cognition among individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

Why an effective way to detox aluminum is so important
To repeat the undeniable truth: aluminum – which has no nutritional value and serves no purpose in the human body – can enter the system through ingestion, inhalation or absorption. This unwanted metal then accumulates in the lungs, liver, thyroid, bone and brain – where it can cause harmful oxidative stress in tissues and cells.

One of the primary reasons for the alarm over aluminum is that autopsies of patients with Alzheimer’s disease have shown elevated levels of inflammation-causing aluminum in the brain.

And, animal studies have shown that increased aluminum accumulation is associated with the formation of neurofibrillary tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Did you know? The liver is the most important detoxifying organ in the body. When the liver can’t effectively neutralize and dispose of toxins, they accumulate in the body. Two essential nutrients for healthy liver function are milk thistle and glutathione. These two ingredients - plus much more – are now available in an advanced liver support formula. Click here to learn more.

Note: animal studies have shown that aluminum is associated with problems with learning, cognition, memory and coordination in non-aged animals as well.

In addition, some research suggests that aluminum inhibits the uptake of important neurotransmitters – such as dopamine, norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine – needed for restful sleep, stable mood, cognition and alertness.

Aluminum associated with many other health problems – including NAFLD
Aluminum toxicity can play havoc with a wide variety of body systems – and lead to many chronic disease conditions.

Because aluminum interferes with the metabolism of iron, chronic exposure can cause anemia.

Aluminum toxicity can also cause or worsen nonalcoholic fatty liver disease – which is currently approaching epidemic proportions in the industrialized world. And, aluminum toxicity has been associated with kidney damage – as well as with increased risk of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

According to Analytical Research Labs, Inc., the prevalence of aluminum toxicity has soared recently, with 80 percent of individuals tested for metal toxicity displaying excessively high levels of aluminum in hair samples.

Note: hair samples are generally considered as among the most reliable ways of evaluating metal toxicity – as long as hair has not been washed at the laboratory prior to testing.

Early symptoms of aluminum toxicity include headaches, colic, dry skin, heartburn, flatulence and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.

According to ARL, more advanced symptoms of aluminum toxicity can involve memory loss, confusion and paralytic muscular conditions.

Study reveals: Just three months of drinking a ‘special kind’ of water yields encouraging results
In a study conducted by Professor Christopher Exley, PhD and published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, volunteers with Alzheimer’s disease drank a liter of silicon-rich mineral water a day for twelve weeks. (Silicon is a naturally-occurring metalloid element that appears in foods such as Bell peppers, soybeans and asparagus. It is also present in mineral water).

And the results were impressive.

Dr. Exley – a professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at Keele University – reported that the consumption of the mineral water led to decreases of up to 70 percent in the volunteers’ body burden of aluminum.

And, drinking the silicon-rich water for 12 weeks produced significant, clinically relevant improvements in cognitive functioning among some of the participants – with no reported side effects.

Dr. Exley explained that the soluble silicon found in mineral water follows water molecules through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream, where it then combines with aluminum to form a compound called hydroxyaluminosilicate.

This substance is more easily filtered from the blood than aluminum is, causing more efficient excretion via the kidneys and urine.

This exciting research suggests that drinking a liter a day of silicon-rich mineral water is a safe, inexpensive and effective natural method of accelerating the removal of aluminum from the body.

Dr. Exley advises both the Fiji and Volvic brands as containing optimal amounts of silicon. (Check the label to make sure the brand contains a minimum concentration of 30 mg/L, or 30 ppm, of silica.)

Health tip: For maximum benefit, opt for unsweetened, unflavored varieties of mineral water.

Incidentally, Dr. Exley is not the only health expert to advise using silicon or silica formulations to detoxify aluminum.

Christine Schaffner, ND, a board-certified naturopathic physician and noted aluminum toxicity expert, also recommends Enterosgel, a silica-based binder, to reduce the body burden of aluminum.

Reduce aluminum exposure with common-sense choices
While it is impossible to avoid all aluminum, you can reduce your exposure significantly.

Simple steps include bypassing the use of aluminum cookware, aluminum foil wrapping and aluminum cans – especially when it comes to acidic foods and beverages. Experts warn that cooking tomatoes in an aluminum pan, or sipping juice from a can, could lead, over time, to aluminum toxicity in susceptible individuals.

Carefully checking labels of health and beauty products can help you detect aluminum in unexpected places.

For instance, aluminum is found in antiperspirants, in the form of aluminum chlorhydrate.

Aluminum is also in commercial antacids such as Rolaids, Maalox and Mylanta. (Note: the Tums brand, however, is free of aluminum).

Even if you’re ‘symptom-free,’ don’t ignore these warnings
As you can imagine – by now, the importance of a high-quality personal water filtration system can’t be overstated. Just make sure your system for water purification removed aluminum – before you buy.

Of course, no discussion about aluminum would be complete without warning you about the the current vaccine schedule and geoengineering programs designed to ‘control’ the weather. These are two of the biggest ways that people are getting exposed to aluminum.

Plus, as if the above mentioned sources weren’t enough, aluminum can appear in foodstuffs such as cocoa, baking powder and even salt. But, you can still benefit from small – yet significant – changes. For example, just opt for sea salt over (heavily processed) commercial salt.

In addition to drinking mineral water, you can detoxify your body with proper nutrition, along with appropriate dosages of vitamin C and E.

Other natural neutralizers include chlorella, cilantro, the mineral selenium, the herb horsetail (naturally rich in silica) and the amino acid N-acetyl-cysteine.

Of course, always consult with an experienced integrative physician before supplementing – or before undergoing any sort of detoxification program.

Finally, don’t forget the garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, arugula and kale). These beneficial foods can help promote the production of glutathione – the body’s ‘master antioxidant.’

Our current era has been dubbed “The Age of Aluminum” – for good reason. But mineral water – safe, non-invasive and cost-effective – just might be your most important ally for surviving it.

So, raise a glass (of mineral water) to your health!

Sources for this article include:

HippocraticPost.com
ARLTMA.com
NaturalHealth365

[Delight]

The best thing we can do is grow our own organic food and protect the right to have a garden. Good news here.


Florida Residents Defeat Front-Yard Garden Ban
Jim Satney May 22, 2019 (https://prepforthat.com/florida-sb-82-garden-front-yard/)

Floridians claimed victory last month when the state’s legislature passed a bill that allows residents to grow gardens in their front yards. Sadly, the state has a history of harassing residents who choose to grow gardens on their properties.

The state’s new law now forces all cities to respect people’s property rights, which includes the basic and survival concept of growing food. The new bill prohibits “local governments from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties.”

The Florida Senates’ decision to allow residents to grow gardens in their front yards was sparked by a couple’s lawsuit against the city of Miami Shores. Hermine Ricketts and Tom Carroll used their Miami Shores property to provide food for 17 years. However, the city decided to harass the couple, thrusting the couple and city into a national legal debate. In November of 2017, a state appeals court ruled against the couple. The couple also faced a series of fines back in 2013 after the city passed an ordinance banning front yard gardens. The couple is unable to use their backyard due to lack of sunlight.

“What we’ve seen over the last several years is a movement to locally source food to have food be more organic and be more natural and not have to be subject to so many preserves and chemicals so that it travels across the country,” Bradley said. “Instead, it can be in your backyard to be eaten.”

SB 82 prohibits municipalities from banning vegetable gardens on any part of a Florida residents property. It should be noted that the verbiage of SB 82 leaves out water regulation, something the state or city could regulate during drought conditions. Sen. Rob Bradley’s bill does not intervene in homeowners association rules.

Learning how to build a survival garden is a basic prepper need. No state should be given such sweeping power that allows for telling people they can’t grow tomatoes on their property. The fact is, there are plenty of neighborhoods that are governed by homeowners associations. If you fear a neighbor growing cucumbers and ghost peppers in their front yard, purchase a home in a regulated neighborhood.


Author: Jim Satney

[Delight]

"It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to avoid
a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure."
Don Huber
Leaked letter in 2011 that went viral but never resulted in any action.


Letter Sent to Secretary Vilsack
by Dr. Huber That Was Leaked
January 16, 2011
Dear Secretary Vilsack:
A team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to my
attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that appears
to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human
beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread, very serious, and
is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans and
corn — suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the presence of
Roundup. This organism appears NEW to science.
This is highly sensitive information that could result in a collapse of US
soy and corn export markets and significant disruption of domestic food and
feed supplies. On the other hand, this new organism may already be responsible for significant harm (see below). My colleagues and I are therefore moving our investigation forward with speed and discretion, and seek assistance
from the USDA and other entities to identify the pathogen’s source, prevalence, implications, and remedies.
We are informing the USDA of our findings at this early stage, specifically
due to your pending decision regarding approval of RR alfalfa. Naturally, if
either the RR gene or Roundup itself is a promoter or co-factor of this pathogen, then such approval could be a calamity. Based on the current evidence,
the only reasonable action at this time would be to delay deregulation at least
until sufficient data has exonerated the RR system, if it does.
For the past 40 years, I have been a scientist in the professional and
military agencies that evaluate and prepare for natural and manmade
biological threats, including germ warfare and disease outbreaks. Based
on this experience, I believe the threat we are facing from this pathogen is
unique and of a high risk status. In layman’s terms, it should be treated as
an emergency.
A diverse set of researchers working on this problem have contributed
various pieces of the puzzle, which together presents the following disturbing scenario:
Unique Physical Properties
This previously unknown organism is only visible under an electron
microscope (36,000X), with an approximate size range equal to a medium
size virus. It is able to reproduce and appears to be a micro-fungal-like organism. If so, it would be the first such micro-fungus ever identified. There is
strong evidence that this infectious agent promotes diseases of both plants
and mammals, which is very rare.
Pathogen Location & Concentration
It is found in high concentrations in Roundup Ready soybean meal and
corn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents, and
pig and cattle placentas.
Linked with Outbreaks of Plant Disease
The organism is prolific in plants infected with two pervasive diseases
that are driving down yields and farmer income — sudden death syndrome
(SDS) in soy, and Goss’ wilt in corn. The pathogen is also found in the fungal
causative agent of SDS (Fusarium solani fsp glycines).
Implicated in Animal Reproductive Failure
Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of this organism in a wide
variety of livestock that have experienced spontaneous abortions and infertility. Preliminary results from ongoing research have also been able to reproduce abortions in a clinical setting.
The pathogen may explain the escalating frequency of infertility and
spontaneous abortions over the past few years in US cattle, dairy, swine, and
horse operations. These include recent reports of infertility rates in dairy
heifers of over 20%, and spontaneous abortions in cattle as high as 45%.
For example, 450 of 1,000 pregnant heifers fed wheatlage experienced
spontaneous abortions. Over the same period, another 1,000 heifers from the
same herd that were raised on hay had no abortions. High concentrations of
the pathogen were confirmed on the wheatlage, which likely had been under
weed management using glyphosate.
Recommendations
In summary, because of the high titer of this new animal pathogen in
Roundup Ready crops, and its association with plant and animal diseases
that are reaching epidemic proportions, we request USDA’s participation in a
multi-agency investigation, and an immediate moratorium on the deregulation of RR crops until the causal/predisposing relationship with glyphosate
and/or RR plants can be ruled out as a threat to crop and animal production
and human health.
It is urgent to examine whether the side-effects of glyphosate use may have
facilitated the growth of this pathogen, or allowed it to cause greater harm
to weakened plant and animal hosts. It is well-documented that glyphosate
promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more
than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can
cause animal disorders. To properly evaluate these factors, we request access
to the relevant USDA data.
I have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years. We are now seeing
an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this
problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to avoid
a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure.
Sincerely,
COL (Ret.) Don M. Huber
Emeritus Professor, Purdue University
APS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System
(NPDRS)https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/artman2/uploads/1/May2011_Huber.pdf


USDA Scientist Reveals All
Glyphosate Hazards to Crops, Soils, Animals, and Consumers
Don Huber painted a devastating picture of glyphosate and GM crops at UK Parliament Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji

In less than an hour, Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University and USDA senior scientist (see Box) delivered to the UK Houses of Parliament a damning indictment of glyphosate agriculture as a most serious threat to the environment, livestock, and human health [1].

Don Huber
Don Huber, Emeritus Professor at Purdue University and senior scientist on USDA’s National Plant Disease Recovery System, has been a plant physiologist and pathologist for over 40 years. His academic career began with 8 years as a cereal pathologist at the University of Idaho, and the next 35 years at Purdue University where he specialised in soil-borne disease control, physiology of disease, and microbial ecology. For the past 20 years, he has conducted extensive research into the effects of glyphosate on crops, in response to the increase in crop diseases on glyphosate-applied fields.

Since his letter to the US Secretary of State Tom Vilsak was leaked in February 2011, there has been a great deal of controversy over what Huber described as a pathogen “new to science” and abundant in glyphosate-tolerant GM crops (see [2] Emergency! Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?, SiS 50). As he concluded in the letter: “We are now seeing an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this problem”.

His talk linked glyphosate to reduced nutrient availability in plants, increasing plant diseases, the emergence of a new pathogen, animal illness and possible effects on human health (see [3, 4] Glyphosate Tolerant Crops Bring Death and Disease, Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil, SiS 47).

Pathogen new to science
The conversion of US agriculture to monochemical herbicide practice has resulted in the extensive use of glyphosate herbicides. Coincidentally, farmers have been witnessing deterioration in the health of corn, soybean, wheat and other crops, and epidemics of diseases in small grain crops. All are associated with the extensive use of glyphosate, which has increased further since the introduction of glyphosate-tolerant, Roundup Ready (RR) crops.

Glyphosate immobilises nutrients required to maintain plant health and resistance to disease. This weakening of the plants defence could explain the infestation of GM crops with the new pathogen, which has now been observed in horse, sheep, pigs, cows, chicken, multiple animal tissues including reproductive parts (semen, amniotic fluid), manure, soil, eggs, milk, as well as the common fungal pathogen that is currently infesting RR crops, Fusarium solani fsp glycines mycelium. All are coming into contact with glyphosate either through direct exposure or consumption through animal feed. It is also highly abundant in crops suffering from plant Goss’ wilt and sudden death syndrome.

The pathogen can be cultured in the lab, and has been isolated from livestock foetal tissue, replicated in the lab and re-introduced back into the animals. It appears to be very common and may well be interacting with the effects of glyphosate on both plants and animals, exacerbating disease and causing reproductive failure in livestock (see below). Although great expectations have been placed on Huber to publish his findings, he insists that before this can be done, further resources are necessary to be able to characterise the ‘entity’ and identify what type of species it is, including sequencing of its genome. This is a slow process and once complete, it is his intention to publish the work in a peer-reviewed journal.

Understanding glyphosate’s mode of action
Recognising glyphosate’s mechanism of action is the key to understanding how it may exert detrimental effects on the health of crops, animals, and the environment alike. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that interacts with a range of physiological processes in the plant and its environment. Although it is most commonly recognised to work through inhibition of the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) involved in the production of aromatic amino acids in the shikimate pathway, it was actually first patented as a strong metal-chelator that binds to metals including manganese, magnesium, iron, nickel, zinc and calcium, many of which are important micronutrients acting as co-factors for plant enzymes in different physiological processes including the plants’ defence system. Indeed, it is actually through chelation of manganese that the EPSPS enzyme is inhibited.

Rendering plants more susceptible to disease through glyphosate’s pathogenic activity is actually the way it exerts its herbicidal activity. This is done not just through immobilising nutrients in the plant but also impacting the agricultural system as a whole. Consistently, if glyphosate does not reach the root of a plant or the plant is grown in a sterile soil, the plant is not killed.

Once in the soil, glyphosate is later immobilised through the chelation of cations, and is therefore very stable and not easily degraded. However, phosphorus (including phosphorus fertilisers) can desorb the herbicide, making it active once again in the soil.

Glyphosate interferes negatively with many components of agriculture
Huber stressed that agriculture is an integrated system of many interacting components, which together determine crop health and therefore yield. This concept is undervalued, and the sooner this is recognised, the sooner we will be able to reap the full genetic potential of our crops.

The three main components of an agricultural system are 1) the biotic environment including beneficial organisms for example, nitrogen-fixing microbes and mineralizers; 2) the abiotic environment including nutrients, moisture, pH; and 3), defence against pathogens that damage crops. The genetic potential of a plant can be achieved by minimising the stress placed on these components through improving plant nutrition and physiology and prevention of diseases and pests.

We have been repeatedly told that to meet the world’s needs for food production we must resort to GM crops and chemical agriculture. However, glyphosate detrimentally interacts with all the agricultural components, so much so that an estimated 50 percent of the potential crop yields are currently being lost (see Figure 1).

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/graphics/USDA_scientist_reveals_all1.jpg

Figure 1 Interactions of glyphosate with plant and soil biology; adapted from Huber’s presentation

As shown in figure 1, glyphosate interacts with a wide range of health determinants, which intensifies stress and reduces crop yields. Not only does it accumulate in the plant tissues (shoot and root tips, reproductive structures and legume nodules), it accumulates in the roots where it then leaks into the soil and harms beneficial microorganisms in the soil including those that act as biological controls of pathogens. The obvious consequence is the increased virulence of soil-borne pathogens that lead to disease.

Glyphosate immobilises nutrients critical for plant defence system and other functions
One of Huber’s important discoveries was the close correlation of all the known conditions affecting the disease ‘take-all’ with the availability of manganese to the plant and its physiological effect on resistance to this pathogen.

Micronutrients are the activators or inhibitors of many critical physiological functions. Thus, a deficiency or change in availability of these regulatory elements can greatly affect plant growth and resistance to diseases and pests. Those metabolic pathways producing secondary anti-microbial compounds, pathogen-inhibiting amino acids and peptides, hormones involved in cicatrisation (walling off pathogens), callusing, and disease escape mechanisms can all be compromised by glyphosate.

Micronutrients are also necessary for other processes in a plant. Manganese for example is not only involved in co-activating the EPSPS enzyme, with up to 25 other enzymes known to be affected by manganese chelation. Such enzymes are necessary for photosynthesis, in assimilating carbon dioxide in the electron transport chain, along with zinc. It also helps in the synthesis of chlorophyll and in nitrate assimilation. Numerous enzymes requiring other mineral co-factors are also affected, among them enzymes of the shikimate pathway, to which EPSPS belongs, are responsible for plant responses to stress and the synthesis of defence molecules against pathogens, such as amino acids, lignins, hormones, phytoalexins, flavenoids and phenols.

Consistent with what is known about the role of micronutrients and glyphosate, the levels of key minerals have been measured in transgenic RR soybeans and found to be lower than those in isogenic non-transgenic varieties. Manganese was reduced by as much as 45 %, while iron was reduced by 49 % [5]. Similar deficiencies in mineral content have been found in non-GM varieties, suggesting that the glyphosate, and not the RR transgene, is responsible for reducing mineral availability [6]. Glyphosate reduces photosynthesis, water uptake, amino acid production as well as lignin, a molecule conferring mechanical strength of the plant and crucial for conducting water through plant stems [7, 8].

As Huber stated, the consequences of these nutrient deficiencies is that “crops don‘t look as good, are not as productive or rigorous, and are slower growing“ (see Figure 2). He noted yield drags of 26 % for RR soybeans. Furthermore, with current concerns for global warming, plants that are up to 50 % less water-efficient, such as RR crops, are counter-productive and can only exacerbate problems.

Huber stressed that there is nothing in the glyphosate tolerant crops that operates on the glyphosate applied to them. Consequently, although they have enough resistance to prevent them from dying (conferred by the EPSPS transgene), their overall physiological function is compromised by glyphosate. It therefore affects GM as well as non-GM crops through residual levels of glyphosate in the ground.

In addition to chelating nutrients in the plants, glyphosate can lower mineral content through damaging beneficial soil organisms, including microbes producing indole-acetic acid (a growth-promoting auxin), earthworms, mycorrhizae associations, phosphorus & zinc uptake, microbes such as Pseudomonads, Bacillus that convert insoluble soil oxides to plant-available forms of manganese and iron, nitrogen-fixing bacteria Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, and organisms involved in the biological control of soil-borne diseases that reduce root uptake of nutrients.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/graphics/USDA_scientist_reveals_all2.jpg

Figure 2 Effects of long-term glyphosate on crop health; adapted from Huber’s presentation

Glyphosate increases incidence and virulence of soil-borne pathogens
Thirty-four diseases have been reported in the scientific literature to increase in incidence as a result of glyphosate weed-eradication programmes. They affect a wide variety of crops from cereals to bananas, tomatoes, soybean, cotton, canola, melon and grapes [9]. Some of these diseases are considered ‘emerging’ or ‘re-emerging’ as they had not caused serious economic losses in the past. This has worrying implications for the agricultural sector with the US now in its fourth year of epidemics of Goss’ wilt and sudden death syndrome and eighteenth year of epidemic of Fusarium fungal colonisation resulting in root rot and Fusarium wilt. Not only does glyphosate affect disease susceptibility, there is also evidence of increased disease severity. Examples include ‘take-all’; Corynespora root rot in soybean; Fusarium spp diseases, including those caused by Fusarium species that are ordinarily non-pathogenic. Head-scab caused by Fusarium spp of cereals increases following glyphosate application, which is also now prevalent in cooler climates when previously it was limited to warmer climates.

Food and Feed Safety Concerns
Nutrient-deficient, transgenic plants suffering from disease that also harbour herbicide residues, presents an array of possible safety hazards to animals and humans. According to Huber, possible harm include direct toxicity of glyphosate itself, which has been shown to cause endocrine disruption, DNA damage, reproductive and developmental toxicities, neurotoxicity, cancer, and birth defects (see [10]Glyphosate Toxic and Roundup Worse,SiS26; [11]Death by Multiple Poisoning, Glyphosate and Roundup,SiS42; [12]Ban Glyphosate HerbicideNow.SiS43; [13]Lab Study Establishes Glyphosate Link to Birth Defects,SiS48). Furthermore, allergies are on the rise, and animals are showing allergy responses, including inflamed irritated stomachs (Figure 3), discoloration of stomach lining, leakage of intestines as well as behavioural symptoms of irritability and anti-social behaviour in cows (abnormal for herd animals). Inflammatory bowel disease in humans has risen 40 percent since 1992, which may be related to consumption of GM foods, although this has not yet been proven.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/graphics/USDA_scientist_reveals_all3.jpg

Figure 3 Stomach shows allergic response of discolouration and inflammation in GMO fed pig (right) compared with control (left)

The increase in infestation of crops with fungal pathogens that produce toxins is an added concern. Mycotoxins, including fusarium toxins as well as aflatoxins released by Aspergillus fungi are carcinogenic and have forced imports of wheat into the US due to unsafe levels found in domestic harvests.

Triple whammy of reproductive toxicity caused by glyphosate
In 2002, the Cattlemen’s Association gave a statement to US Congress on the serious and puzzling rises in reproductive problems. It said: “high numbers of foetuses are aborting for no apparent reason. Other farmers successfully raise what look to be normal young cattle, only to learn when the animals are butchered that their carcasses appear old and, therefore, less valuable...The sporadic problem is so bad both in the United States and abroad that in some herds around 40-50 percent of pregnancies are being lost.. [and] the viability of this important industry is threatened.”

Glyphosate appears to be able to induce reproductive failures through three separate mechanisms. The first, mentioned above is the endocrine dysfunction caused by direct toxicity of glyphosate.

The second is the reduced nutrient content having consequential effects on the nutritional status of animals. Manganese in animals, as in plants, is an essential nutrient, and deficiencies have been associated with a variety of diseases as well as reproductive failures, which are becoming increasingly common in livestock. One study performed in Australia following two seasons of high levels of stillbirths in cattle found that all dead calves were manganese deficient [14]. Furthermore, 63 percent of babies with birth defects were also deficient. Manganese is known to be important for mobilising calcium into bones, correlating with abnormal bone formation in these calves.

Third, the unknown pathogenic ‘entity’ may be associated with inducing pseudo-pregnancies. As far back as 1998, a suspect agent was found in reproductive tissue of livestock. It has now been isolated in high concentrations from semen, amniotic fluid as well as placental tissue. It has also been found in aborted foetal tissue. Some farms are reporting up to 50 percent fewer conceptions in animals due to increased miscarriages and pseudo-pregnancies. Although evidence of the widespread presence of this new pathogen is clear, Don Huber suggested the need for further research to understand not only what kind of pathogen it is, but importantly, the effects it is having on the health of plants as well as animals.

To conclude
Over 100 peer reviewed papers have been published by Huber and other scientists on the detrimental effects of glyphosate. Glyphosate increases disease in plants (as well as animals), prompting Huber to write to the Secretary of Agriculture. It may be linked to many health problems in animals and humans, which are an added cost to all the failed promises of a new agricultural technology that would feed the world. As Huber concluded, the “public trust has been betrayed.”

Article first published 09/01/12

References
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology Meeting, Huber DM “The effects of glyphosate (Roundup®) on soils, crops and consumers: new diseases in GM corn and soy and animals fed with it”, 20 November 2011, Houses of Parliament, UK. http://agroecologygroup.org.uk/index.php/events/previous-meetings/2011-11-01/
Ho MW. Emergency! Pathogen new to science found in Roundup Ready GM crops? Science and Society 50, 10-11, 2011.
Ho MW. Glyphosate Tolerant Crops Bring Death and Disease. Science in Society 47, 2010, 12-15
Ho MW. Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil. Science in Society 47, 2010, 12-15
Zobiole LHS, Oliveira RS Jr, Huber DM, Constantina J, Castro C, Oliveira FA, Oliveira A. Jr. Glyphosate reduces shoot concentrations of mineral nutrients in glyphosate-resistant soybeans. Plant Soil 2010, 328:57-69
Cakmak, I, Yazici, A, Tutus, Y, and Ozturk L. Glyphosate reduced seed and leaf concentrations of calcium, magnesium, manganese, and iron in non-glyphosate resistant soybean. European Journal of Agronomy 2009, 31, 114-119.
Zobiole LHS, Silvério de Oliveira RS Jr, Kremerb RB, Constantina J, Bonatoc CM, Muniz AS. Water use efficiency and photosynthesis of glyphosate-resistant soybean as affected by glyphosate. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 2010, 97, 182-193
Zobiole LHS, Bonini EA, Oliveira RS Jr, Kremer RJ, and Ferrarese-Filho O. Glyphosate affects lignin content and amino acid production in glyphosate-resistant soybean. Acta Physiologiae Plantarium 2010, 32, 831-837
Johal GS & Huber DM. Glyphosate Effects on Disease and Plants. European Journal of Agronomy 2009, 31, 144-152
Ho MW and Cummins J. Glyphosate toxic and Roundup worseScience in Society 26 2005, 12.
Ho MW and Cherry B. Death by multiple poisoning, glyphosate and Roundup.Science in Society 422009, 14
Ho MW. Ban glyphosate herbicides now.Science in Society 43 2009, 34-35
Ho MW. Lab study establishes glyphosate link to birth defects.Science in Society 48 2010, 32-33
McLaren PJ, Cave JG, Parker EM, Slocombe RF. Chondrodysplastic calves in Northeast Victoria. Veterinary Pathology 2007, 44, 342-54
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Published on Jun 14, 2016
Dr. Don Huber, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Idaho, a Ph-D from Michigan State University, and is a graduate of the US Army Command & General Staff College and Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was Cereal Pathologist at the University of Idaho for 8 years before joining the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology at Purdue University in 1971. His agricultural research the past 55 years has focused on the epidemiology and control of soilborne plant pathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, nutrient-disease interactions, pesticide-disease interactions and techniques for rapid microbial identification. On today’s episode of Bulletproof Radio, Dave and Dr. Huber talk about glyphosates, GMOs, natural mycotoxins, fertility, concerns for the global population, biological system and more. Enjoy the show!


CsGwSnG7ds4

[Delight]

How do we Heal from GMOS and Roundup? by Jeffrey M. Smith
Published on Jun 5, 2019
Studies show how a NON-GMO Organic Diet helped 3250 people recover from 28 disorders.

The biotech industry's claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe is shattered in this groundbreaking lecture. Safety assessments on GM crops are not competent to identify the health problems, and industry research is rigged to avoid finding problems.

This lecture is for anyone wanting to understand GM technology, to learn how to protect themselves, or to share their concerns with others. It is presented in the clear, accessible style that made Jeffrey Smith's Seeds of Deception the world's best-selling book on genetically engineered foods.

The leading consumer advocate promoting healthier non-GMO choices, Jeffrey Smith’s meticulous research documents how biotech companies continue to mislead legislators and safety officials to put the health of society at risk and the environment in peril. His work expertly summarizes why the safety assessments conducted by the FDA and regulators worldwide teeter on a foundation of outdated science and false assumptions, and why genetically engineered foods must urgently become our nation’s top food safety priority.

Mr. Smith’s feature-length documentary Genetic Roulette-The Gamble of Our Lives was awarded the 2012 Movie of the Year (Solari Report) and the Transformational Film of the Year (AwareGuide). Described as a “life-changer” and seen by millions worldwide, the film links genetically engineered food to toxic and allergic reactions, infertility, digestive disorders, and numerous problems that have been on the rise in the US population since genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were introduced.

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[Delight]

If you see this Onawah, I will miss your presence in this information sharing. May we all be healed. The chemical industry was directly connected with war and genocide from its inception.


The Real Truth About Health
Published on Jun 7, 2019
What the Science Says About GMO'S, Seeds, Soil, Pesticides and the Best Way to Grow Healthy Food with Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., Caitlin Shetterly, Jeffrey Smith, Carey Gillam

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[william r sanford72]

I will miss you also Onawah..and thank you Delight for this very important thread and info it contains.

William.

[Delight]

"Dr. Jill uses functional medicine to help you find answers to the cause of your illness and addresses the biochemical imbalances that may be making you feel ill. She'll help you search for underlying triggers contributing to your illness through cutting edge lab testing and tailor the intervention to your specific needs as an individual. She may use diet, supplements, lifestyle changes or medication to treat your illness but will seek the most gentle way to help your body restore balance along with the least invasive treatment possible."


Glyphosate is Being Inserted Into Your Proteins — By Mistake (https://www.jillcarnahan.com/2019/07/22/glyphosate-is-being-inserted-into-your-proteins-by-mistake/)

By Jill Carnahan, MD
July 22, 2019

Author: Jill Carnahan, MD
http://www.jillcarnahan.com

Nothing incites anger and fear in us quite like the thought that we are being slowly poisoned by toxins in our food and water. From endocrine disrupting chemicals in everyday household products to lead in drinking water, it seems that we are increasingly at risk of developing diseases by things that we often have no control over.

And glyphosate is no exception.

The reports of harmful effects of glyphosate are exploding — within the medical and scientific community as well as the general public. At a time when bee populations are already declining, a recent study reported that glyphosate perturbs gut bacteria of bees, making them susceptible to infection.1

But how exactly does this highly controversial chemical affect humans? Glyphosate toxicity is a topic I’ve written about numerous times. This time we’ll talk specifically about the various ways glyphosate exposure could lead to devastating health consequences, one of which includes pretending to be glycine, an amino acid that is crucial for protein synthesis.



Glyphosate’s Pathways to Pathology
Glyphosate acts by disrupting the shikimate pathway (also known as the shikimic acid pathway), a seven-step metabolic pathway used by plants to synthesize the aromatic amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine.2

In plants, these amino acids are used as precursors for numerous natural products, such as pigments, alkaloids, hormones, and parts of the cell wall. Glyphosate inhibits the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), a key component of the shikimate pathway, causing plants to die.

The shikimate pathway is absent in animals, including humans. In fact, humans don’t make tryptophan, phenylalanine, or tyrosine at all, which means we need to get them from our food. This led to the acceptance of a dogma that glyphosate cannot harm humans.

But the shikimate pathway is present in microorganisms, including your gut microbiota.

For this reason, scientists Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff believe that glyphosate can disturb the gut microbiome, preventing them from being able to produce essential nutrients for our bodies. Glyphosate also accumulates in your tissues over time, contributing to the development of diseases and disorders.

Samsel and Seneff published five commentaries on the potential pathways by which glyphosate could lead to pathology. In their research, Samsel and Seneff report that the main toxic effects of glyphosate are as follows:

Interference with function of cytochrome (CYP) P450 family of enzymes
Chelation of important minerals (iron, cobalt, manganese, etc.)
Interference with synthesis of methionine (which supplies sulfur), leading to shortages of critical neurotransmitters and folate
Disruption of sulfate synthesis and sulfate transport
Substitution of glycine for glyphosate during protein synthesis
Let’s take a brief look at a few of these hypotheses.



Inhibition of CYP450 Enzymes
In their first commentary on the health impacts of glyphosate, Drs. Samsel and Seneff linked glyphosate ingestion to disruption of gut bacteria, impairment of sulfate transport, and suppression of the activity of cytochrome (CYP) P450 family of enzymes.3

But why is CYP450 so important?

The CYP450 family of enzymes is involved in the synthesis and metabolism of various molecules and chemicals, including those that are potentially toxic.4 Using evidence from multiple studies, Samsel and Seneff hypothesized that glyphosate could disrupt many of the CYP enzymes that are active in the liver, which could affect:

Cholesterol synthesis and metabolism
Vitamin D3 synthesis and metabolism
Detoxification of xenobiotics
Regulation of retinoic acid
They also expected that glyphosate would travel throughout the bloodstream, disrupting any CYP enzymes it comes into contact with.



Inhibition of Methionine Synthesis
In addition to reduced levels of the aromatic amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine, glyphosate can also lower levels of serine, glycine, and methionine in glyphosate-sensitive cells. The reduction of methionine, in particular, can have serious consequences. Methionine is one of four common sulfur-containing amino acids and is the initiating amino acid in virtually all eukaryotic protein synthesis.5

When methionine synthesis is impaired, DNA methylation is also hindered. DNA methylation is the process by which a methyl (CH3) group is added to the DNA. It can alter the activity of the DNA, turning necessary biological switches on for optimal functioning. Optimal methylation can have a significant positive impact on:6

DNA production
Detoxification
Eye health
Liver health
Cellular energy
Fat metabolism
Estrogen metabolism
Because many neuronal diseases are associated with DNA methylation impairment, Samsel and Seneff believe that the reduction of methionine contribute to this defect.



Metal Chelation
In their third commentary, Samsel and Seneff introduce the link between glyphosate and manganese dysbiosis.7 Manganese is one of the 14 essential trace elements and place a role in various important processes, including:

Antioxidant protection
Glutamine synthesis
Bone development
Sperm motility
Manganese is also a transition metal and an EPSPS catalyst, a substance that helps speed up chemical reactions. It is reasonable then, Seneff and Samsel argue, to expect that glyphosate, a metal chelator, could deplete the body of manganese. In fact, this is exactly how glyphosate kills plants.

But what about in the human body? Samsel and Seneff propose that certain species of gut bacteria utilize manganese in various ways for protection from oxidative damage. The chelation of manganese by glyphosate would result in reduced numbers of essential gut bacteria.

Samsel and Seneff also link chelation of manganese by glyphosate to the development of several neurological disorders and diseases. In particular, they point out that manganese chelation could cause the misfolding of prion proteins. Although the normal functions of prions are not fully understood, their misfolding has been shown to be involved in several prion diseases and other protein misfolding diseases, including:8

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome
Fatal familial insomnia
Kuru
Alzheimer’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Huntington’s disease
Type 2 diabetes
Spinocerebellar ataxias
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Prion proteins bind to the element copper in the body. However, Seneff and Samsel propose that they can also bind to manganese instead of copper, which causes the prion proteins to misfold.910 Manganese binding also prevents the degradation of proteins, a characteristic feature of prion diseases, and promotes prion protein aggregation.11



Substitution of Glycine for Glyphosate During Protein Synthesis
In their fifth commentary, Samsel and Seneff present a hypothesis linking glyphosate toxicity to mistakes made in protein synthesis.12 At the core of this proposal is the fact that glyphosate is very similar in structure to another amino acid that plays crucial roles in protein synthesis and human physiology, glycine.

In fact, the chemical name of glyphosate is N-phosphomethyl-glycine, which indicates that it is a derivative of glycine.

Still, how does glyphosate fool our cells’ proofreading mechanisms? Samsel and Seneff present a direct quote from another study to suggest that these mechanisms aren’t foolproof: “Certain structural analogues of the protein amino acids can escape detection by the cellular machinery for protein synthesis and become misincorporated into the growing polypeptide chain of proteins to generate non-native proteins.”13

Samsel and Seneff cite another study to bolster their hypothesis that the substitution of glyphosate for glycine is possible. In a 2010 report, Godballe et al. used N-substituted glycines to construct mimics of antibacterial peptides called peptoids.14 The modification of the reactive side chain in glycine was moved to the backbone nitrogen, resulting in greater metabolic stability.

The higher stability of peptoid chains can be beneficial in many ways because it allows antimicrobial agents to stay in the body for longer before being broken down. However, the resistance to proteolysis can have adverse effects when it comes to glyphosate, which can also be considered a peptoid unit. If glyphosate is mistaken for glycine and misincorporated into a peptide, Seneff and Samsel believe that it could interfere with the disassembly of the defective peptide. This could result in protein misfolding and the slow accumulation of undegraded and damaged peptide chains, possibly leading to disease.

By this mechanism, Seneff and Samsel propose a link between glyphosate exposure and a large spectrum of diseases and disorders, some of which include:

Diabetes
Obesity
Asthma
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Pulmonary edema
Adrenal insufficiency
Hypothyroidism
Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Hypertension
Glaucoma
Infertility


The Debate on Glyphosate Toxicity
The commentaries by Samsel and Seneff aren’t without controversy. In a review titled “Facts and Fallacies in the Debate on Glyphosate Toxicity” published in 2017, Robin Mesnage and Michael N. Antoniou wrote that the commentaries are a “misrepresentation of glyphosate’s toxicity [that] misleads the public, the scientific community, and regulators. Although evidence exists that glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic below a regulatory set safety limits, the arguments of Samsel and Seneff largely serve to distract rather than to give a rational direction…”

Regarding the first commentary, Mesnage and Antoniou argued that although CYP450 is inhibited by high levels (agricultural use concentrations) of glyphosate, typical environmental exposure levels do not show the same results.15 Additionally, they mention that Seneff and Samsel do not acknowledge animal studies in which environmentally-relevant levels of glyphosate show an increase in CYP450 activity, not suppression.16

Furthermore, the reduction in CYP450 cannot be solely attributed to glyphosate toxicity. Samsel and Seneff point to a study in which rats exposed to Roundup at levels allowed for human consumption showed a reduction in CYP450 levels. However, glyphosate is not the only ingredient in Roundup. It also contains co-formulant adjuvants, which are highly toxic in their own right. Studies have established that co-formulants often make commercial pesticides more toxic than the active ingredient alone.1718 This means that the exact cause for CYP450 suppression is unclear.

It’s also unclear whether glyphosate has any affect on the gut microbiome, especially at environmental exposure levels. While some studies demonstrate an adverse effect,19 others have reported no effects.20

Mesnage and Antoniou also point out multiple logical fallacies in the commentaries. Samsel and Seneff propose that the chelation of manganese could cause it to out-compete copper in binding to prion protein. The misfolding that results is thought to contribute to prion diseases. However, the evidence of such effects is lacking.

The authors also indicate that if glyphosate acts by sequestering manganese, that means it would make the micronutrient unavailable for participation in interactions with proteins. It would actually be unable to out-compete copper for binding to prion proteins. If this is true, then the chelation of manganese by glyphosate would have a protective effect against prion disease, not a causative one.

The hypothesis regarding the substitution of glyphosate for glycine has also received criticism. Samsel and Seneff argue that glyphosate can replace glycine in peptoids, and therefore, it can also replace glycine in regular polypeptides. However, Mesnage and Antonious write, peptoids do not exist naturally in living organisms. Therefore, it is not valid to extrapolate the observations from the laboratory-manufactured peptoids to naturally-occurring polypeptides as they are structurally distinct.

Perhaps the most striking argument against Samsel and Seneff’s fifth commentary is that direct experimentation has shown that glyphosate does not get incorporated into proteins.21 Studies involving E. coli cultured in the presence of high concentrations (1 g/L) of glyphosate showed that there were no shifts in molecular weight of proteins or incorporation of glyphosate in polypeptides. Had glyphosate been incorporated into the proteins of E. coli, protein molecular weight would have changed and glyphosate would have been detectable by the analytical methods used in the studies.



7 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Glyphosate
Despite the controversy, we know glyphosate use is widespread, and it’s getting more difficult to avoid. But there are ways to reduce your risk and possibly reverse some of its toxic effects. Here are a few ways you can safeguard yourself and your family against glyphosate.

1) Extracts from Dandelions, Barberry, and Burdock
Glyphosate is toxic to liver and embryonic cells at doses far below those used in agriculture. A few studies have suggested that a specific combination of plant medicinal herbs may have protective effects against glyphosate. In one study using rats, extracts from dandelion, barberry, and burdock reversed many of the adverse effects provoked by glyphosate when taken prior to and during the 8 days of exposure. Most of the biochemical disturbances caused by glyphosate were also reversed by the combination of plant extracts.22

2) Charcoal and Humic Acids
Animals like cows are frequently exposed to glyphosate through their feeds. A 2014 study reported that a treatment regimen with activated charcoal, sauerkraut juice, humic acids, and their combinations significantly reduced glyphosate in the cows’ urine. This enhanced the animals’ immune systems, which induced appropriate immune responses to Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria responsible for producing the neurotoxin botulinum.23

Dr. Seneff believes that these treatments could also be effective in humans when trying to detox glyphosate.

3) Important Nutrients
Raising your sulfate levels isn’t easy because it can be hard to transport. Dr. Seneff recognizes several important nutrients that act as sulfur suppliers:

Curcumin
Garlic
Vitamin C
Probiotics
Methyl tetrahydrofolate
Cobalamin
Glutathione
Taurine
Epsom salt baths
4) Get Grounded
Grounding is the direct physical contact between the body and the surface of the earth. Emerging research has shown that grounding (also called earthing) generates “a kind of electric nutrition.”24

How does this occur?

The hypothesis about grounding/earthing is based on the fact that the earth is satiated with free electrons. When two objects make contact, either directly or indirectly, there is an instantaneous migration of “mobile” electrons so that the electrical potentials of the two objects equalize. Some studies have suggested that these free electrons can have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects by neutralizing reactive oxygen species.25

Simply put, the earth is a giant negatively-charged battery. By making direct contact with the ground, the electrons flow right into your body, helping you to regenerate the negative charge.

5) Go Organic
Although it may be difficult to completely avoid being exposed to glyphosate, eating an organic diet will reduce your exposure to the herbicide. Furthermore, it’ll increase the demand for foods that don’t use glyphosate. It’s also important to be careful with meat and dairy products, which can be sources of glyphosate exposure. Check with your local farms to find the healthiest meat and dairy products for you and your family.

6) Eat Foods Containing Manganese
Since glyphosate can chelate manganese, Dr. Seneff recommends eating foods high in manganese to replenish your body of the mineral. Examples of such foods include26:

Organic bread
Organic tofu
Almonds
Pecans
Peanuts
Spinach
Tea (green/black)
Pineapple
Brown rice
Beans (lima, pinto, navy)
Sweet potato
7) Eat Foods Containing Sulfur
In addition to eating foods high in manganese, eating an organic diet rich in sulfur can help protect from glyphosate poisoning. Examples of foods with high sulfur content include the following:

Seafood
Eggs
Onion and garlic
Cruciferous vegetables (ex: broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
Organ meat such as liver
Cheddar and parmesan cheese
Veal, beef, chicken, and pork
Nuts
Cow’s milk
Peaches and apricots


Does Glyphosate Cause DNA Damage?
So what does all of this mean? It means that the science isn’t settled yet. The effects of glyphosate on DNA and need to be investigated under controlled laboratory conditions.

Still, there is enough evidence to be concerned about the potential devastating effects of glyphosate on your health. What’s even more concerning is that the current safety standards for glyphosate-based herbicides are simply not good enough. Many animal studies have reported that prolonged exposure to the “safe” level of glyphosate can still have adverse effects. While we wait for further research, I would highly recommend that everyone take the steps I outlined above to reduce your exposure to glyphosate.

Now it’s time to hear from you. What steps have you taken to reduce your exposure to glyphosate? What are your thoughts on the widespread use of glyphosate in the environment? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Interested in a glyphosate test kit from HRI Labs? Get 10% off when you use code ‘DrJill’ at checkout. This makes the price $89.



References:

https://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10305
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15012217
https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416/htm
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genefamily/cytochromep450
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16702333
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3521964/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392553/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3330701/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15488650
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15908137
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15766554
http://renewablefarming.com/images/2016Images/2016PDF/Samsel-glyphosate-5.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18329946
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0285.2010.01067.x
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027869151530034X
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20979644
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955666/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23000283
https://mbio.asm.org/content/6/2/e00009-15
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27230806
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2146161
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4957837/#CR1
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access-pdfs/oral-application-of-charcoal-and-humic-acids-influence-selected-gastrointestinal-microbiota-2161-0525.1000256.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28987038
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18047442/
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/manganese