Say No to Pesticides for Your Brain’s Sake

For healthy brains we need to be eating healthy foods that are not contaminated with pesticides. This is even more critical for children’s developing brains. We can be exposed to pesticides through ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption. Choosing organic, spray free and non-GMO foods will reduce the body’s burden of metabolising these destructive chemicals.

Exposure to pesticides is linked to a higher risk of neurodevelopmental (e.g., ADHD, autism) and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimers, Parkinson). These harmful chemicals are associated with brain dysfunction by causing oxidative stress, inflammation in the brain and epigenetic changes.

More and more experts and researchers are warning about the deleterious effects of pesticides, predominantly glyphosate, on the brain and body. Glyphosate (also known as RoundUp), which is one of the most common herbicides in use, is a hormone disruptor, carcinogen and antibiotic. It devastates the body’s delicate microbiome. It inhibits detoxifying enzymes in the body (cytochrome P450), which leaves the body more susceptible to environmental toxins. Glyphosate also disrupts the metabolism and transport of sulfur, which plays a vital role in immune system and detoxification in the body. And there’s more: glyphosate causes inflammation within the body and leads to nutritional deficiencies.

All of which to say, it causes havoc in our bodies and brains! It is just not worth it to consume these chemicals along with our food.

For further reading:

Bijlsma, N. (2014). Health hazards in the built environment and their relationship to childhood neurobehavioral disorders (Part 1). Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, 33(3).

Bouchard, ME et al (2011). Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and IQ in 7 year old children. Environ Health Perspect, 119:1189-1195.

Engel, SM et al. (2011). Prenatal exposure to organophosphates, paraoxonase 1, and cognitive development in childhood. Environ Health Perspect, 119:1182-1188.

Hertz-Picciotto, I, Schmidt, RJ, & Krakowiak, P. Understanding environmental contributions to autism: Causal concepts and the state of science. Autism Research 2018; 11(4): 554-586. DOI: 10.1002/aur.1938

Mostafalou, S & Abdollahi, M. The link of organophosphorus pesticides with neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases based on evidence and mechanisms. Toxicology 2018; 409: 44-52. DOI: 10/1016/j.tox.2018.07.014

Mercola (2011, September). Could THIS Be the Hidden Factor Behind Obesity, Heart Disease, and Chronic Fatigue? Retrieved from https://articles.mercola.com/…/stephanie-seneff-on-sulfur.a…

Pesticides and our immune system. (2018, November). Farmers Footprint. Retrieved from farmersfootprint.us/pesticides-and-our-immune-system/

Rauh, V. et al. (2011). 7-year neurodevelopmental scores and prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos, a common agricultural pesticide. Environ Health Perspect, 119: 1196-1201.

Samsel, A. & Seneff, S. (2013). Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Entropy, 15(4), 1416-1463, DOI: 10.3390/e15041416
  
Shelton, JE et al. (2014). Neurodevelopmental disorders and prenatal residential proximity to agricultural pesticides: the CHARGE Study. Environ Health Perspect, 122(10).

Swanson, N. (2013, April). Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States. Retrieved from https://sustainablepulse.com/wp-co…/uploads/GMO-health-1.pdf

Thomas, P, & Jennifer Margutis, J. (2016). The Vaccination Friendly Plan. Ballantine Books (an imprint of Random House LLC), New York.

Wells, K. (2018). Everything you need to know about GMOs, glyphosate, and gut health with Dr. Zach Bush [Wellness Mama]. Available at: wellnessmama.com/podcast/zach-bush/ [Accessed 28 January 2019].