What is the microbiome? Joshua Lederberg coined the term and he describes as “the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms that literally share our body space.” The human body contains over 10 times more microbial cells than human cells.
Dr. John Bergman has stated that, “The human organism cannot survive without the symbiosis between our host physiology and the microbes that live within our body. We need them (bacteria), and they need us (Host). Our microbial ecosystem exists to help us digest our food, regulate our immune system, protect us from harmful pathogens and manufacture essential vitamins.
Humans consume in general a variety of complex carbohydrates our digestive system alone cannot break down, but rely on the gut to do the job. Starch from wheat, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, rice, potatoes and legumes and fiber from whole-grain bread, brown rice, legumes, vegetables and fruits are common. Polysaccharides and Glycans that provide nourishment (development, growth, functioning, and even survival) to our microbial friends. The metabolism of many of these are beyond the ability of the host to digest so both host and microbes have to complete the task.
A well-nourished gut flora contains around 150 microbial species that has over 9,000 glycoside hydrolase enzymes and 2,000 polysaccharide lyases thus providing an estimated 60,000 carbohydrate degrading enzymes.The importance of a healthy microbiome cannot be overstated!
There is now a world epidemic of diseases. Look at the information below as described by Zach Bush, M.D.:
- Autism: 1:36
- Attention Deficit: 1:8 (70% medicated)
- Asthma: 1:10
- Allergy: 1:4
- Diabetes: 1:4
- Obesity: 1:3
- Major Depression: 1:2
- Cancer: 1:2
- Dementia: 1:1
In 1975 the incidence of autism was one in 5000! Today it is 1 in 36! It is predicted that in the year 2035 it will be 1 in 2 unless some dramatic changes are made!
What has changed? Our genes are the same!
The environment has changed! What has changed in the environment?
The Soil!
No compositing or rotating crops, pesticides. Top soil has been destroyed!
What else has changed as a result of the soil?
The microbiome as a result of glyphosate and antibiotics!
Remember the statement of Dr. John Bergman, “The human organism cannot survive without the symbiosis between our host physiology and the microbes that live within our body.”
The human organism cannot survive without the symbiosis between our host physiology and the microbes that live within our body.What destroys our microbiome besides antibiotics? Glyphosate (Roundup)! It is unavoidable! It is in the air, the rain, clothes, and our food. What do you need to know about glyphosate?
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. It is a broad-spectrum herbicide (it is an antibiotic), considered to be nearly nontoxic to humans (1)(Williams et al., 2000). However, a recent paper (Samsel & Seneff, 2013)(2), argued that glyphosate may be a key contributor to the obesity epidemic and the autism epidemic in the United States, as well as to several other diseases and conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, infertility, depression, and cancer.
Glyphosate inhibits a critical bacterial metabolic pathway in the gut (microbiome) that produces essential amino acids that humans are unable to produce, such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, histidine, L-DOPA, and 5-HTP. Phenylalanine and tyrosine are essential for thyroid hormone production and the synthesis of dopamine, tryptophan and 5-HTP are required for the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin. Histidine is involved in the synthesis of proteins.
A host of diseases and symptoms may result of a deficiency of these amino acids as a result of glyphosate exposure! Lack of phenylalanine and tyrosine: hypothyroidism and all of its associated symptoms; thyroid cancer; Parkinson’s disease, muscle cramps, spasms, or tremors. aches and pains.
Deficiency of tryptophan or 5-HTP: anxiety, depression, insomnia and an urge to eat.
Histidine: Histidine is also a forerunner of histamine which is compound produced by cells in the immune system in an allergic reaction. It is necessary for growth as well as tissue repair and further conservation of the myelin sheaths which performs as a nerve cells protector. It is also a requisite for both red and white blood cells synthesis (anemia) and helps out on defending the body from impairment caused by radiation rays as well as taking out serious metals in the body. Histidine is also useful in manufacturing gastric juices in the stomach. Histidine is essential for orgasms and ejaculations.
If I stopped here, you should be appalled that the government has not banned the use of glyphosate (Roundup) in the United States! Maybe the recent trial where a gentleman was awarded $289 million dollars when a jury came to the conclusion that his cancer was the result of his exposure to Roundup (glyphosate) will get the government’s attention! But there is much more to discuss!
I have celiac disease. Look at the article below.
The title of article is Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance
Published in: Interdiscip Toxicol. 2013; Vol. 6(4): 159–184.(3) This was published in 2013!
The Conclusion was: A four-fold increase in celiac disease and death due to celiac disease (mostly cancer) in the past 50 years as a result of increasing use of glyphosate.
Look at the diagram below.
These are DEATH RATES! The more glyphosate is used, more people DIE!
And people question why the United States is 48th in health care in the world!Why didn’t this make the news on every major network? I can show you similar graphs for various cancers, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, renal failure, cancer deaths, hypertension, heart disease, etc!
Why do 46% of children in the United States have at least one chronic disease? Why do 25% of 12 year old girls have antibodies against their thyroid gland? Our genes haven’t changed. Again, what has changed is our environment and the greatest change has been in the soil!
That bacterial pathway that I mentioned earlier that depletes our essential amino acids also inhibits beneficial foods that are normally produced by the bacteria in our bowel (microbiome). These are group of chemicals called alkaloids.
Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacologic benefits including:
- Anti-parasitic (e.g. quinine)
- Anti-asthma (e.g. ephedrine)
- Anti-cancer (e.g. homoharringtontonine)
- Cholinomimetic (e.g. galantamine)
- Vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine)
- Anti-arrhythmic (e.g.) quinidine
- Analgesic (e.g. morphine)
- Anti-hyperglycemic (e.g. piperine)
(–Zach Bush. M.D.)
We lose the medicinal quality of our food that has been present for thousands and thousands of years.
And people question why the United States is 48th in health care in the world!
The initial injury from glyphosates occurs at the lining of the small intestines. The cells that line the small intestines are only one cell layer thick and they are half the height of a hair! Behind that layer is 70-80% of your immune function. So that thin layer of cells protect from the content of the small bowel and the outside world. The cells are adhered to one another like Velcro and that Velcro is called the tight junction. The cells communicate with each through 1000’s of tiny tubules called the gap junction. Look at the diagram below.
On the left you will see the normal tight junctions. On the right, the tight junctions have been broken by glyphosate, the content of the small bowel can enter your system and activate your immune system leading to various autoimmune diseases and result in chronic inflammation. The chemical released from the tight junctions (zonulin) can travel throughout your body resulting in leaky brain, leaky lungs, leaky blood vessels, and leaky kidneys. According to Zach Bush, M.D. and his research team, this reaction can occur within 16 minutes after exposure to glyphosate! Glyphosate sensitized the cells to gluten through the gluten receptor (CXCR3). The problem is not gluten, unless they are sensitized by glyphosate! It was very rare for me to see a case of gluten sensitivity or celiac disease in the early or mid -nineties. Now, I see a marked increase in celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases. I didn’t diagnosis myself with celiac disease and its associated ataxia until 2015.
Glyphosate also destroys the gap junctions. Look at the diagram below.
It is imperative that the cells communicate with each other so they can work as a unit to benefit the host (you). This communication may be molecules, nutrients or electrical energy!
How much glyphosate is considered safe to consume? That will depend on which article you read. Most articles will say, 10 to 120 parts per billion.
It became common practice in 1992 to use glyphosate as a desiccant (drying agent) and/or ripening agent just prior to harvest in order to get to market faster. So now all the wheat, oats, barley, rye, canola, cotton, potatoes, grapes, raspberries, apples, sunflower, sugar cane, etc are all sprayed with Roundup before they go to market. Also, they are sprayed during the growth cycle. Cows eat the grass that has been sprayed with Roundup and we drink the milk and eat the cheese. Look at recent Environmental Working Groups Children Health Initiative.
EWG’S Children Health Initiative
Look at a recent (August 18, 2018) by Alexis Temkin, Ph.D., Toxicologist
How often do parents give their babies Cheerios as a finger food?
Look at the dramatic increase in the use of glyphosate from 1992 t0 2014.
Why is the incidence of all diseases increasing? DA!
The green line is the pre-1990 trend for senile dementia.
The red line is the current trend, the more glyphosate is used the greater the incidence of senile dementia. Do you realize that it takes two full-time care givers to care for one patient with dementia?
This is not just dementia, it is virtually all major diseases!
You must avoid exposure to glyphosate at all cost. Contact your representative in government and encourage them to ban Roundup and similar products.
Zach Bush, M.D. and his research team have studied the soil for several years. They have determined that “healthy soil, similar to a healthy ecosystem, contains a vast library of nutrients, mineral, amino acids, and other complex metabolites that are released through the digestive processes of bacteria and fungi.” (4)
These complex chemicals protect us from and repair the damage from glyphosate. They have found that if they go deep in the soil, these complex array of chemicals are still present. They have developed a method to extract this diversity of complex chemicals and put them in a liquid dietary supplement called Restore. I encourage everyone to watch some of the YouTube videos by Dr. Bush to learn more about this incredible product. It can change the quality and length of your life.
Urine tests are available at Medical Detective to determine your level of glyphosate. Please pick one up ASAP so you can determine your risk. The product (Restore) is available at Medical Detective, 352-804-0505.
References:
- Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2009;5(6):607–620
- Can J Bot. 1977;56:2196–2202.
- Interdiscip Toxicol. 2013; Vol. 6(4): 159–184.(3)
- J. Nutr Food Sci 2016, 6:5
About the Author
Douglas C. Hall, M.D.
Dr. Douglas Hall, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on Jan. 30, 1941. He received his BS and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Florida, training in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Hall has been in private practice since 1974 and currently has a large practice in Ocala, specializing in OB/GYN and Functional Medicine.
Dr. Hall is always on the cutting edge of the latest research. This article was educational and the statistics alarming. Knowledge is power and Dr. Hall has informed us about this issue and he is ready to guide us to the best health possible. Thank you for all that you do for others.
Thank you very much! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!
-Dr. Hall