It shouldn’t be a surprise but, of course, it still needs to be reported. The kid’s cereals and other packaged marketed to children still contain alarming amounts of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in Roundup, the herbicide produced by Bayer-Monsanto. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) detected the carcinogen in all 21 oat-based cereal and snack products sampled in their latest testing.

Nearly two dozen popular children’s cereals and other snack products tested and show to contain glyphosate.

Organic oats were not exempt from glyphosate contamination either.

EWG noted that only four products “contained levels of glyphosate higher than what EWG scientists consider protective for children’s health with a sufficient margin of safety.”

The new tests were performed by independent laboratories and they confirm the findings from EWG’s testing in July and October of last year. Honey Nut Cheerios and Medley Crunch showed the two highest levels of glyphosate at between 729 and 833 parts per billion. The EWG “children’s health benchmark” is 160 ppb.

EWG-commissioned independent laboratory tests of oat-based products found glyphosate present in 95 percent of samples made with conventionally grown oats and 31 percent of samples made with organic oats. Conventional products had much higher glyphosate levels than their organic counterparts.

It is common practice for conventional oats to be sprayed with glyphosate prior to harvest, as a desiccant that kills all crops uniformly. Organic oats are not treated that way, but may become contaminated by glyphosate drifting from nearby conventional crops.

How Does EWG Set a ‘Health Benchmark’ for Glyphosate Exposure?

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

Products testing positive include:

• Honey Nut Cheerios (147 ppb)
• Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal (729 ppb)
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios (400ppb)
• Cheerios Oat Crunch Cinnamon (283 ppb)
• Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch (833 ppb)
• Multi Grain Cheerios (216 ppb)
• Nature Valley Baked Oat Bites (389 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Peanut Butter Creamy & Crunchy (198 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats n Dark Chocolate (261 ppb)
• Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate & Nut (76 ppb)
• Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars – Dark Chocolate Cherry (275 ppb)
• Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut granola bars – Cashew (158 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy granola bars – Oats and Honey (320 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy granola bars – Peanut Butter (312 ppb)
• Nature Valley Crunchy granola bars – Maple Brown Sugar (566 ppb)
• Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares – Blueberry (206
  ppb)
• Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares – Cinnamon Brown Sugar (124 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Cups – Almond Butter (529 ppb)
• Nature Valley Granola Cups – Peanut Butter Chocolate (297 ppb)
• Nature Valley Biscuits with Almond Butter (194 ppb)
• Fiber One Oatmeal Raisin soft-baked cookies (204 ppb).

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

EWG purchased products via online retail sites. Approximately 300 grams of each product were packed in our Washington, D.C., office and shipped to Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco. Glyphosate levels were analyzed by a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method described here.

In New Round of Tests, Monsanto’s Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children

“Back in my day, no one had these so-called food allergies, and we ate whatever we wanted!”

Anyone with food allergies or diet restrictions has heard a statement like the one above, and it turns out eating whatever you want might be causing the food allergies in the first place. A small study based in Italy found that children with food allergies had higher levels of advanced glycation endproducts (AGE), substances found in highly processed foodstuffs.

What They Found

This new study is by no means a definitive answer to the question of where food allergies come from. First off, it’s a small study. Researchers examined 61 children from ages six to twelve in three groups – those with food allergies, those with respiratory allergies, and a control group. The study drew a link between high levels of AGES and junk food consumption. Children with food allergies registered higher levels of AGEs. The lead researcher for this study, Roberto Berni Canani, thinks that link needs to be examined more closely.

As of yet, existing hypotheses and models of food allergy do not adequately explain the dramatic increase observed in the last years – so dietary AGEs may be the missing link. Our study certainly supports this hypothesis, we now need further research to confirm it. If this link is confirmed, it will strengthen the case for national governments to enhance public health interventions to restrict junk food consumption in children.”

Acquiring AGEs

So what are advanced glycation endproducts? Glycation is a process where a sugar molecule like glucose or fructose binds to a protein or lipid molecule without an enzyme to control the process. You’re probably a big fan of glycation already – a prominent example of this chemical reaction is the Maillard reaction, also known as the browning of food. Glycation makes food delicious, and AGEs are the end result of that process. But that deliciousness comes at a price.

Related: Allergy Free in Five Days (foods, dander, dust, seasonal, etc.)

The first issue is with the loss of enzyme activity. Applying heat to food is the easiest way to initiate glycation, but that also destroys enzymes. Glycation and AGEs have also been linked to oxidative stress and inflammation in the body and conditions like diabetes, atherosclerosis (where plaque builds up inside the arteries), and neurological disorders. Highly processed junk food is usually heat processed, and that can lead to high levels of potentially harmful AGEs.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

What Goes In

The body is able to clear AGEs in low levels, but the amount of those endproducts found in the modern diets isn’t at a low level. In addition to that, AGEs can impair the body’s function, leading to issues like diabetes or potentially food allergies. What we eat makes a big difference in our health, sometimes in ways we don’t even think about.

Sources:

• Researchers warn: junk food could be responsible for the food allergy epidemic – Eureka Alert
• Junk food may be fueling rise in food allergies, say experts – Guardian
• What Are Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs)? – Healthline
• Advanced Glycation End Products in Foods and a Practical Guide to Their Reduction in the Diet – NCBI

A recent observational study published in the journal General Psychiatry found that regulating the gut microbiome had positive effects on people with anxiety. In a review of 21 different studies that included controlled anxiety tests, 11 studies showed that regulating the intestinal microbiome produced positive results. The researchers conclude:

We find that more than half of the studies included showed it was positive to treat anxiety symptoms by regulation of intestinal microbiota. There are two kinds of interventions (probiotic and non-probiotic interventions) to regulate intestinal microbiota, and it should be highlighted that the non-probiotic interventions were more effective than the probiotic interventions. More studies are needed to clarify this conclusion since we still cannot run meta-analysis so far.”

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Managing the Gut

After looking at 21 studies and the 1,503 people those studies consisted of, researchers found that regulating intestinal flora was a beneficial action 52 percent of the time. But what did their interventions look like and can that be applied in real life?

The interventions in the study were mostly divided into two different categories, probiotic and non-probiotic. The non-probiotic options consisted of regulating diet, like choosing a low FODMAP diet or using prebiotics like fructooligosaccharides or trans-galactooligosaccharides. Of the 11 studies that showed the positive effects of microbiome regulation on anxiety, 5 used probiotics and 6 relied on non-probiotic options, including diet.

Related: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Mood and the Gut

Diet has a powerful effect on our microbiome, and that microbiome in turn greatly affects mood. Many of the hormones responsible for regulating our attitudes are produced in the intestinal tract, like serotonin. There is direct communication between our gut and our brain chemicals, and an unbalanced, unhealthy gut will correlate with mood shifts and fluctuations.

Non-probiotic interventions were the most effective method of anxiety treatment which includes the use of prebiotics. Prebiotics stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and bifidobacteria. These bacteria can be found in probiotics, but prebiotics work because they feed the bacteria and create an atmosphere where it can thrive. Because they are a type of fiber, prebiotics are also easy and inexpensive to obtain. Many foods are an excellent source of them, from raw vegetables and fruits (especially dandelion greens, onions, garlic, bananas, apples, and asparagus) to pulses like chickpeas, lentils, and kidney beans.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

A Holistic View

The gut has been called the “second brain” by many scientists and using that connections to treat mental disorders like anxiety is (pardon me…) a no-brainer. One of the benefits of the increased availability and advancements of research in the way we work is how it allows us to see how truly holistic our body is. Everything is connected, and that process starts in the gut. A healthy, thriving gut goes a long way in improving the health of the other systems in our body.

Sources:

• Anxiety Might Be Alleviated By Regulating Gut Bacteria – BMJ
• Effects of regulating intestinal microbiota on anxiety symptoms: A systematic review – BMJ General Psychiatry
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Think Twice: How the Gut’s “Second Brain” Influences Mood and Well-Being – Scientific American
• Probiotics and Prebiotics: What’s the Difference? – Healthline

The world is finally realizing the dangers of glyphosate in our food system. Costco is planning to ban glyphosate from their stores, and Bayer is facing a plethora of lawsuits for the cancer-causing herbicide.

The world is also beginning to understand the problems with our food system and we’re starting to seriously look for alternatives to factory farmed meat.

We love the idea of meat-alternatives in an effort to adopt a more ecologically friendly and human approach to feeding the population. We have to find alternatives to factory farming. And the meat-alternative that’s all the rage today is the Impossible Burger. Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper nationwide this year. White Castle, Hard Rock Cafe, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, and hundreds of other restaurants already have the Impossible Burger on their menu.

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

Unfortunately, the Impossible burger is not a healthy or environmentally conscious alternative to beef. Mom’s Across America reports that the Health Research Institute Laboratories found levels of glyphosate in the Impossible burger to be alarmingly high.

The total result (glyphosate and its break down AMPA) was 11.3 ppb. Moms Across America also tested the Beyond Meat Burger and the results were 1 ppb. These are levels eleven times higher than levels within the Beyond Meat Burger.

We are shocked to find that the Impossible Burger can have up to 11X higher levels of glyphosate residues than the Beyond Meat Burger according to these samples tested. This new product is being marketed as a solution for “healthy” eating, when in fact 11 ppb of glyphosate herbicide consumption can be highly dangerous. Only 0.1 ppb of glyphosate has been shown to alter the gene function of over 4000 genes in the livers, kidneys and cause severe organ damage in rats.**** I am gravely concerned that consumers are being misled to believe the Impossible Burger is healthy.”

Zen Honeycutt, Executive Director of Moms Across America

Related: How to Avoid GMOs – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

Soy and wheat crops that are often heavily sprayed with glyphosate. The CEO of Impossible Foods recently announced that the soy patties will be made using GMO soy. Previously the Impossible Burger was being made with a textured wheat protein, but in order to meet demand, they switched to a non-GM soy protein concentrate, and are now switching to genetically engineered soy. The CEO & Founder of Impossible Foods, Pat Brown, said that GM soy is “the safest and most environmentally responsible option that would allow us to scale our production and meet demand.”

One the switch is made to GM soy the glyphosate levels in the Impossible Burger are likely to rise. Genetically-modified soy is a “Roundup Ready” product.

Common Drea,s broke down the CEOs clams in an excellent article titled, 6 Reasons Impossible Burger’s CEO Is Wrong About GMO Soy.

As most already know, in what may go down as the worst acquisition in the history of business, Bayer bought Monsanto last year for $63 billion. While Monsanto has become Bayer’s biggest mistake, you’ve got to hand it to Monsanto for knowing when to sell. Since the buyout, Bayer has been embroiled in litigation, with plaintiffs winning lawsuits showing that glyphosate likely caused their cancer.

Mom’s Across America reported that on January 18:

Elizabeth Desiree of Washington state posted on Facebook that she just got a call from an employee at Costco and he told her that Costco would no longer be selling Roundup. She had written him a letter and he was calling her back. I was excited but reserved my excitement. There is so much fake news these days. I called the headquarters, and after two days of messages and calls, I did finally confirm with three people that Costco was not ordering Roundup or any glyphosate-based herbicides for the incoming spring shipments. They would not be selling it in any stores, all across America. This is HUGE! How fantastic! One employee mentioned that they had looked into organic alternatives first and were happy with the results. More than one employee mentioned the lawsuit (Johnson V Monsanto) for part of the reasoning. They said they just felt like it was the right thing to do.

Mom’s Across America

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

Costco has not released a statement. But the company has been a progressive leader in many respects. They have been known for taking better care of their employees and their environmental initiatives. In 2014 Huffington Post article, Costco was ranked second to Google on employee satisfaction. And they are one of the largest sellers in the country of organic foods, and they support farmers that are transitioning to organic growing practices.

Considering the amount of food Costco sells, this should amount to a considerable loss in revenue for the makers of RoundUp, not to mention other stores that will likely follow suit.

Two weeks ago a California jury awards two plaintiffs $2.055 billion dollars in damages. The jury awarded $2 billion in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages. This is Bayer’s third loss in court from lawsuits over glyphosate. The first judgment was reported in August of 2018, where judges awarded $289 million in damages (later reduced to $78 million). The second happened in March of this year, where a San Francisco jury found in favor of plaintiff Edwin Hardeman to the tune of $80 million in damages.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

The damages award will probably be reduced thanks to U.S. Supreme Court rulings that limit the punitive to compensatory damages ratio at 9:1.

Bayer is now looking forward to more than 13,400 pending U.S. lawsuits seeking damages from glyphosate use, and that number is likely to keep rising for some time.

In a new study, volunteers had their food consumption monitored for a month. When they ate “ultra-processed food,” they consumed 500 more calories a day compared to when they ate unprocessed foods.

Ultra-processed foods have become the staple of our modern diet in the U.S. These foods make up 57.9% of food consumed in the United States. Ultra-processed foods are made with cheap industrial ingredients. They’re high in fat (typically trans fats), refined sugars, and refined salt. They are typically made with wheat, genetically modified corn, and genetically modified soy, and the foods almost test high in glyphosates. Organic foods can also be ultra-processed. The US National Institutes of Health believes ultra-processed foods affect hunger hormones in the body, leading people to eat more than they otherwise would.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

The study was conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. It’s said to be the first randomized, controlled study to show eating ultra-processed foods causes people to eat more and gain weight.

There are debates about what should define an “ultra-processed food” but lead researcher Dr Kevin Hall said is quoted as saying [it’s like] “…pornography – it’s hard to define but you know it when you see it”. BBC listed what they consider to be ultra-processed foods:

• Mass-produced packaged breads and buns
• Sweet or savoury packaged snacks including crisps
• Chocolate bars and sweets
• Sodas and sweetened drinks
• Meatballs, poultry and fish nuggets
• Instant noodles and soups
• Frozen or shelf-life ready meals
• Foods made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats

Related: Stop Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

The study had twenty people live in a laboratory for a month. For two weeks half of the team consumed ultra-processed meals and the other half were given unprocessed meals. The diets were switched for last two weeks of the study. The participants ate as much food as they wanted. Researchers monitored what they ate.

Participants on the ultra-processed diet averaged 508 calories more per day and gained an average of 2 pounds over the two-week period. People on the unprocessed diet lost about 2 pounds on average throughout the two-week period.

In February of 2018 French researchers suggested a link between highly processed foods and cancer. A research team at the Universite Sorbonne Paris Cite took food surveys to find out what foods people were consuming. The participants were followed for an average of five years.

The results showed that for a 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption cancer diagnosis increased by 12%.

Researchers report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology that more than half of gluten-free pizza and pasta dishes in restaurants that were tested contained gluten.

Most who suffer from a gluten-related autoimmune disease know that just a tiny amount of gluten can cause an autoimmune reaction. It doesn’t take much.

The long-suspected problem of gluten contamination in restaurant foods that has been reported by patients likely has some truth behind it. We don’t know how common it is. But our findings suggest that pizza and pasta and foods served during dinner time are more likely to have this problem.”

Senior study author Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, director of clinical research at the Celiac Disease Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Lebwohl learned the company that makes the portable Nima Gluten Sensor held the data submitted by restaurant patrons who used the device to test their foods for gluten contamination.

Related: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

Lebwohl asked the company if he could use the data for a study and the company gave him the data on 5,624 food tests performed by 804 app users during an 18-month period.

Researchers analyzed the data and discovered gluten-free pasta samples were positive for the protein in 50.8 percent of tests, while gluten-free pizza turned out to contain gluten in 53.2 percent of tests. Gluten was detected in 27.2 percent of breakfasts, 29 percent of lunches and 34 percent of dinners.

Lebwohl says there are limitations to the dataset.

The people tested what they wanted to test. And the users chose which results to upload to the company. They may have uploaded the results that surprised them the most. So, our findings don’t mean that 32 percent of foods are unsafe.”

Lebwohl also pointed out that the Nima sensor is extremely sensitive. In the United States food that’s labeled gluten-free must contain less than 20 parts per million. The Nima sensor will detect levels down to 5 parts per million, which Lebwohl says isn’t enough for most to consider clinically significant.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

Lebwohl says that gluten-free foods may be inadvertently contaminated.

If a gluten-free pizza is put in an oven with a gluten-containing pizza, aerosolized particles could come in contact with the gluten-free pizza. And it’s possible that cooking gluten-free pasta in a pot of water that had just been used for pasta that contained gluten might result in contamination.”

Lebwhol says that the solution may be to educate the restaurant workers who prepare food.

My Personal Experience In The Restaurant Industry

I worked in a the restaurant industry as a server during this magazine’s initial years. The restaurant was a well-known 24-hour restaurant in Atlanta with a menu that had lots of healthier items to choose from, like the “Raw Food Dinner #2” and the gluten free pasta.

My mom has celiac disease. I knew how little gluten it took to set her autoimmune system off. We regularly got customers in the restaurant who requested the gluten free pasta. I would ask them, “How important is it that gluten come no where near your food?” Most would say it’s not that big of a deal, but many would let me know that they believed that even a tiny amount would cause them severe pain for days. In those cases, I had to time it just right to be there in the kitchen as the dish was in it’s the final stage of being prepared. Every time the kitchen made pasta it was habitual to put garlic bread in the bowl, on top of the pasta. It was reflexive. When the ticket said gluten-free they usually realized it after the fact and would consequently yank the bread off, but that bread had already touched the dish, and usually the pasta as well. The first time it happened I told the manager the dish needed to be remade, he refused, and we got into an argument about it. He relented, but he and the kitchen were pissed, which meant I had to stay in the kitchen the whole time to make sure they didn’t do something nasty to the food.

I also taught the kitchen to wash their hands or change their gloves (not all of them worse gloves) when they got a gluten free order. This irritated them, but I had some pull thanks to this website.

After the first gluten-free gluten incident, I paid attention and noticed the habit of putting the bread on the dish and then quickly pulling it off. They would even scan the area with a guilty look on their face to see if I saw them do it. From that point on, when I had a customer order the gluten-free pasta who said they could not tolerate any gluten I would be right there in the kitchen ready to yell at just the right time, “No bread!”

By the way, I’ve worked in about a dozen restaurants. These attitudes towards the customers are commonplace. If you eat out, don’t piss off the kitchen!