Study: Glyphosate in human urine increases 500% over 10 years

A study published in JAMA tracked people over the age of 50 in Southern California from 1993-1996 to 2014-2016. Urine samples were collected over the time period to measure levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA). They found that the percentage of people who tested positive for glyphosate increased over 500% in that time period. Glyphosate usage also increased by 1208% during this time period, making it very unlikely that this was just a coincidence. (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2658306)

Crops sprayed with glyphosate may surprise you: almonds, avocados, cherries, corn, grapes, grapefruit, peanuts, pecans, rice, soy beans, spinach, sugar beets, walnuts, wheat. (https://www.cornucopia.org/2016/05/widespread-use-glyphosate-food-supply/)

There are no known safe levels of glyphosate a person can eat.

This link also shows what percent of crops are sprayed with glyphosate: https://livelovefruit.com/what-crops-are-sprayed-with-glyphosate/. There are 70 crops here sprayed with glyphosate. Organic crops can also be tainted by overspray from a neighboring field, or from water used by the organic farm that is downstream from a non-organic farm that uses glyphosate.

Here are the results of studies listing which percent of people tested positive for glyphosate in their bodies. (https://www.moyoway.com/europes-top-5-glyphosate-herbicide-toxic-countries.html) Malta (90%), Germany (70%), Great Britain (70%) and Poland (70%) had the most percent of people with glyphosate in their bodies. They don't have to grow crops that are sprayed with glyphosate, crops that are tainted can be imported from other countries.

Animal tests show that up to 30% of glyphosate is absorbed into the body. A week later, there is still about 1% remaining.

Look back: German study finds glyphosate in urine of all people tested.

Today we do a "look back" at important news: German study finds glyphosate (Roundup) in all urine samples tested. (Link has been fixed.)

93% of people have glyphosate in their urine

Monsanto claims all glyphosate that enters the body is metabolized by the liver, so why did 93% of people tested have unmetabolized glyposate in their urine?

The study was run by the Detox Project with the help of a laboratory at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). There is a link to a Powerpoint file here.

Research on Parabens

1. A survey of 215 cosmetic products in 1995 found parabens in 99% of the leave-on cosmetic products and 77% of the rinse-off products (Rastogi et al., 1995). 
2. Parabens are absorbed into the human body (Darbre et al., 2004; Ye et al., 2006). 
3. Intact parabens that escaped from metabolism by esterases from the intestine and skin were detected in human urine samples, with methylparaben and propylparaben being the most abundant followed by butylparaben.
4. Parabens do show some estrogenic/antiandrogenic activity. They are likely Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.
5. Medications that contain parabens resulted in higher paraben concentrations in urine. 
6. Parabens rapidly get into the bloodstream once they are applied to skin.  (Wang, 2015)
7. If you have parabens in your urine, you've been exposed to the toxic chemials. (Braun, 2013) 
8. Some parabens are linked to reproductive toxicity. (Meeker, 2011)

If you want to reduce your exposure to toxins, don't use products with parabens. This includes cosmetics, shampoo, lotion, and anything you might put on or in your body.

Sources
Hu, 2012.
Dodge, 2015.
Wang, 2015. 
Braun, 2013.
Meeker, 2011.

BPA studies linked to neurodevelopment, depression, inattention, etc.

More studies linking exposure to BPA as a fetus, and as a child, correlating to anxiety, depression, inattention, and hyperactivity.

Below, the study will be listed first, followed by a summary of the results. Authors are in alphabetical order.


- Braithwaite EC, Kundakovic M, Ramchandani PG, Murphy SE, Champagne FA. Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms predict infant NR3C1 1F and BDNF IV DNA methylation. Epigenetics. 2015;10(5):408-17. doi: 10.1080/15592294.2015.1039221. PMID: 25875334. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Human
Results: 57 pregnant women were recruited and they self-reported depressive symptoms. Saliva cortisol (a stress hormone) was collected. When the infants were 2 months old, cell swabs were collected and the mothers were evaluated for postnatal depressive symptoms. "Prenatal depressive symptoms significantly predicted increased NR3C1 1F DNA methylation in male infants (β = 2.147, P = 0.044). Prenatal depressive symptoms also significantly predicted decreased BDNF IV DNA methylation in both male and female infants."


- Chen F, Zhou L, Bai Y, Zhou R, Chen L. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity accounts for anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in rats perinatally exposed to bisphenol A. J Biomed Res. 2015 May;29(3):250-8. doi: 10.7555/JBR.29.20140058. Epub 2014 Nov 12. PMID: 26060449. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Rats
Results: Rats exposed to BPA in utero showed symptoms of depression and anxiety. "Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the most consistent biological findings in anxiety- and depression-related disorders. The HPA axis is reported to be susceptible to developmental reprogramming. The present study focused on HPA reactivity in postnatal day (PND) 80 male rats exposed perinatally to environmental-dose BPA. When female breeders were orally administered 2 μg/(kg.day) BPA from gestation day 10 to lactation day 7, their offspring (PND 80 BPA-exposed rats) showed obvious anxiety/depression-like behaviors. Notably, significant increase in serum corticosterone and adrenocorticotropin, and corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA were detected in BPA-exposed rats before or after the mild stressor."


- Ejaredar M, Lee Y, Roberts DJ, Sauve R, Dewey D. Bisphenol A exposure and children's behavior: A systematic review. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2016 Mar 9. doi: 10.1038/jes.2016.8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26956939. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Articles
Results: After sifting through 2811 citations, 11 articles met their inclusion criteria. "Descriptive analyses indicated that prenatal exposure to maternal BPA concentrations were related to higher levels of anxiety, depression, aggression, and hyperactivity in children. BPA exposure in childhood was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, inattention, and conduct problems."


- Fujimoto T, Kubo K, Nishikawa Y, Aou S. Prenatal low-dose bisphenol A enhances behavioral responses induced by a predator odor. J Toxicol Sci. 2015; 40(5):569-75. doi: 10.2131/jts.40.569.
PMID:  26354373. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Rats
Results: Rat were more sensitive to predator odor was when they were exposed to BPA as a fetus.(Could indicate increased anxiety.)

- Harley KG, Gunier RB, Kogut K, Johnson C, Bradman A, Calafat AM, Eskenazi B. Prenatal and early childhood bisphenol A concentrations and behavior in school-aged children. Environ Res. 2013 Oct; 126:43-50. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2013.06.004. Epub 2013 Jul 17. PubMed PMID: 23870093; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3805756. Link to NIH abstract. Link to full study.

Subjects: Human, urine
Results: Prenatal urine concentrations of BPA were correlated with increased anxiety and depression in boys at age 7. No correlation of urine BPA levels were seen with girls at age 7.  Childhood urine BPA levels were correlated with conduct problems with girls at age 7, and with boys at age 7, correlated with inattention and hyperactivity.

- Mustieles V, Pérez-Lobato R, Olea N, Fernández MF. Bisphenol A: Human exposure and neurobehavior. Neurotoxicology. 2015 Jul; 49:174-84. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2015.06.002. Epub 2015 Jun 27. Review. PMID: 26121921. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Articles
Results: eight out of the twelve available articles that were reviewed, linked BPA to neuro problems, including aggressive behavior, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, depression and anxiety impairments, and this occurred mostly in children exposed in utero, indicating disruption of the brain during this critical window of development. Women who plan on getting pregnant should be informed how they can limit their exposure to BPA.


- Ribeiro-Varandas E, Pereira HS, Viegas W, Delgado M. Bisphenol A alters transcript levels of biomarker genes for Major Depressive Disorder in vascular endothelial cells and colon cancer cells. Chemosphere. 2016 Mar 21; 153:75-77. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.085. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27010169. Link to NIH abstract.

Results: BPA linked to Major Depressive Disorder. "Here, quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) results show that BPA at low concentrations (10 ng/mL and 1 μg/mL) induces differential transcript levels of four biomarker genes for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in HT29 human colon adenocarcinona cell line and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC)."


- Wolstenholme JT, Goldsby JA, Rissman EF. Transgenerational effects of prenatal bisphenol A on social recognition. Horm Behav. 2013 Nov; 64(5):833-9. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.09.007. Epub 2013 Oct 5. PMID: 24100195. Link to NIH abstract. Link to full study.

Subjects: Mice
Results: BPA exposure has long-lasting effects that go on for several generations.


- Xu X, Hong X, Xie L, Li T, Yang Y, Zhang Q, Zhang G, Liu X. Gestational and lactational exposure to bisphenol-A affects anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in mice. Horm Behav. 2012 Sep; 62(4):480-90. PubMed PMID: 23240141. Link to NIH abstract.

Subjects: Mice
Results: Mice exposed to BPA while they were fetuses, or while they fed on their mother's milk, showed increased anxiety and depression-like behavior.

Other links
NIH search.

Glyphosate found in urine

Glyphosate found in urine of all samples. Link to English. Dutch and French versions also available.

The urine of city workers, journalists and lawyers, who had no direct contact with glyphosate, was examined for glyphosate contamination by a research team at the University of Leipzig. The study found glyphosate in all urine samples at values ranging from 0.5 to 2 ng glyphosate per ml urine (drinking water limit: 0.1 ng / ml). None of the examinees had direct contact with agriculture.

Even more dangerous now is the increasing use of herbicides in the EU over the past several years for the desiccation of entire stocks of harvestable crop. “Spraying crops to death”, as desiccation should be more aptly called, means that herbicides are being sprayed directly on the crops shortly before they are to be harvested to facilitate the harvest by uniformly killing off all living plants (including the crops) on the field. 

In 2009, a Seralini study shows glyphosphate kills cell cultures.

Another study shows unhealthy people have extremely high levels of glyphosate in their urine.

A study showing glyphosate in breast milk. Monsanto claims glyphosate is excreted out of the body. This article debunks the study. You decide if the debunking shows science or politics is more important.

Glyphosate found in the blood in 2013 (pdf) of people from 18 different countries, 182 samples. Another study of how glyphosate affects blood cells. Website of study abstract here.

Hillary supports GMOs which use glyphosate.

2004 Study: Monitoring farms and their families for glyphosate. Some points:

1. We evaluated 24-hr composite urine samples for each family member the day before, the day of, and for 3 days after a glyphosate application. 
2. Sixty percent of farmers had detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine on the day of application. The geometric mean (GM) concentration was 3 ppb, the maximum value was 233 ppb, and the highest estimated systemic dose was 0.004 mg/kg. 
3. Farmers who did not use rubber gloves had higher GM urinary concentrations than did other farmers (10 ppb vs. 2.0 ppb).

2013 News: EPA raises residue limits of glyphosate on food. Not good. Here's the actual document though comments are closed.

The EPA page on glyphosate. This EPA page has links to tolerance limits (from EPA), studies, and more. EPA limits on drinking water contaminants. For glyphosphate, scroll down to Organic Chemicals.

Monsanto charged with crimes against humanity

Although this is from Dec 2015, it should not be forgotten:

Earlier this year, dozens of food, farming, and environmental justice groups announced they will put Monsanto on trial for “crimes against nature and humanity” on October 16, 2016 (World Food Day), in The Hague, Netherlands.

The steering committee¹ for the Monsanto Tribunal includes Vandana Shiva, Corinne Lepage (former environment minister of France), Gilles-Éric Séralini (toxicologist researching toxicities of GMOs and glyphosate), and Olivier De Schutter (former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food), among others. See Monsanto-Tribunal.org.

CBS This Morning recently interviewed Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant about the lack of transparency when it comes to foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, and why the company spent $10 million to defeat GMO labeling in Colorado and Oregon alone. (GMO food labeling will allow people to make a choice. Monsanto is against choice.)

Monsanto is fine with science, as long as it doesn't decrease profits. So when IARC, the gold standard for studies, tried to interrupt Monsanto money, this happened:

On the list of “horrible” things Monsanto does on a regular basis: paying scientists to develop support for its toxins. When the IARC concluded that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen, Monsanto was quick to demand a retraction, charging the internationally recognized experts with conducting “junk science.” This time the charge didn’t stick, however — probably because the IARC is considered the global gold standard for carcinogenicity studies. 

Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/12/22/monsanto-charged-with-crimes-against-humanity.aspx

Monsanto has their own blog and responds to tribunal.

A German study from 2008 found glyphosate in the urine of ALL people. (German, English, French, and printable versions available for free.)

UPDATE 2/23/2016:

A summary of the IARC study was published in The Lancet Oncology. And here it is at Lancet Oncology, free full article. Alternate site.