The stories became far too frequent to ignore. Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy.
Confused parents wondering why wheat consumption sometimes triggered autoimmune reactions in their children but not at other times.
In my own home, I’ve long pondered why my husband can eat the wheat I prepare at home, but he experiences negative digestive effects eating even a single roll in a restaurant.
There is clearly something going on with wheat that is not well known by the general public. It goes far and beyond organic versus nonorganic, gluten or hybridization because even conventional wheat triggers no symptoms for some who eat wheat in other parts of the world.
What indeed is going on with wheat?
For quite some time, I secretly harbored the notion that wheat in the United States must, in fact, be genetically modified. GMO wheat secretly invading the North American food supply seemed the only thing that made sense and could account for the varied experiences I was hearing about.
I reasoned that it couldn’t be the gluten or wheat hybridization. Gluten and wheat hybrids have been consumed for thousands of years. It just didn’t make sense that this could be the reason for so many people suddenly having problems with wheat and gluten in general in the past 5-10 years.
Finally, the answer came over dinner a couple of months ago with a friend who was well versed in the wheat production process. I started researching the issue for myself, and was, quite frankly, horrified at what I discovered.
The good news is that the reason wheat has become so toxic in the United States is not that it is secretly GMO as I had feared (thank goodness!).
The bad news is that the problem lies with the manner in which wheat is grown and harvested by conventional wheat farmers.
You’re going to want to sit down for this one. I’ve had some folks burst into tears in horror when I passed along this information before.
Common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as the practice allows for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest.
Pre-harvest application of the herbicide Roundup or other herbicides containing the deadly active ingredient glyphosate to wheat and barley as a desiccant was suggested as early as 1980. It has since become routine over the past 15 years and is used as a drying agent 7-10 days before harvest within the conventional farming community.
According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT who has studied the issue in-depth and who I recently saw present on the subject at a nutritional conference in Indianapolis, desiccating non-organic wheat crops with glyphosate just before harvest came into vogue late in the 1990s with the result that most of the non-organic wheat in the United States is now contaminated with it. Seneff explains that when you expose wheat to a toxic chemical like glyphosate, it actually releases more seeds resulting in a slightly greater yield: “It ‘goes to seed’ as it dies. At its last gasp, it releases the seed” says Dr. Seneff.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat have been treated with herbicides. This is an increase from 88% for durum wheat, 91% for spring wheat and 47% for winter wheat since 1998. Note that bulgur is commonly made from durum.
Here’s what wheat farmer Keith Lewis has to say about the practice:
I have been a wheat farmer for 50 yrs and one wheat production practice that is very common is applying the herbicide Roundup (glyposate) just prior to harvest. Roundup is licensed for preharvest weed control. Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup claims that application to plants at over 30% kernel moisture result in roundup uptake by the plant into the kernels. Farmers like this practice because Roundup kills the wheat plant allowing an earlier harvest.
A wheat field often ripens unevenly, thus applying Roundup preharvest evens up the greener parts of the field with the more mature. The result is on the less mature areas Roundup is translocated into the kernels and eventually harvested as such.
This practice is not licensed. Farmers mistakenly call it “desiccation.” Consumers eating products made from wheat flour are undoubtedly consuming minute amounts of Roundup. An interesting aside, malt barley which is made into beer is not acceptable in the marketplace if it has been sprayed with preharvest Roundup. Lentils and peas are not accepted in the market place if it was sprayed with preharvest roundup….. but wheat is ok.. This farming practice greatly concerns me and it should further concern consumers of wheat products.
Here’s what wheat farmer Seth Woodland of Woodland and Wheat in Idaho had to say about the practice of using herbicides for wheat dry down:
That practice is bad . I have fellow farmers around me that do it and it is sad. Lucky for you not all of us farm that way. Being the farmer and also the president of a business, we are proud to say that we do not use round up on our wheat ever!
This practice is not just widespread in the United States either. The Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom reports that the use of Roundup as a wheat desiccant results in glyphosate residues regularly showing up in bread samples. Other European countries are waking up to the danger, however. In the Netherlands, the use of Roundup is completely banned with France likely soon to follow.
Using Roundup on wheat crops throughout the entire growing season and even as a desiccant just prior to harvest may save the farmer money and increase profits, but it is devastating to the health of the consumer who ultimately consumes the glyphosate residue laden wheat kernels.
The chart below of skyrocketing applications of glyphosate to US wheat crops since 1990 and the incidence of celiac disease is from a December 2013 study published in the Journal Interdisciplinary Toxicology examining glyphosate pathways to autoimmune disease. Remember that wheat is not currently GMO or “Roundup Ready” meaning it is not resistant to its withering effects like GMO corn or GMO soy, so the application of glyphosate to wheat would actually kill it.
While the herbicide industry maintains that glyphosate is minimally toxic to humans, research published in the Journal Entropy strongly argues otherwise by shedding light on exactly how glyphosate disrupts mammalian physiology.
Authored by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff of MIT, the paper investigates glyphosate’s inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, an overlooked component of lethal toxicity to mammals.
The currently accepted view is that ghyphosate is not harmful to humans or any mammals. This flawed view is so pervasive in the conventional farming community that Roundup salesmen have been known to foolishly drink it during presentations!
However, just because Roundup doesn’t kill you immediately doesn’t make it nontoxic. In fact, the active ingredient in Roundup lethally disrupts the all important shikimate pathway found in beneficial gut microbes which is responsible for the synthesis of critical amino acids.
Friendly gut bacteria, also called probiotics, play a critical role in human health. Gut bacteria aid digestion, prevent permeability of the gastrointestinal tract (which discourages the development of autoimmune disease), synthesize vitamins and provide the foundation for robust immunity. In essence:
Roundup significantly disrupts the functioning of beneficial bacteria in the gut and contributes to permeability of the intestinal wall and consequent expression of autoimmune disease symptoms.
In synergy with disruption of the biosynthesis of important amino acids via the shikimate pathway, glyphosate inhibits the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes produced by the gut microbiome. CYP enzymes are critical to human biology because they detoxify the multitude of foreign chemical compounds, xenobiotics, that we are exposed to in our modern environment today.
As a result, humans exposed to glyphosate through the use of Roundup in their community or through the ingestion of its residues on industrialized food products become even more vulnerable to the damaging effects of other chemicals and environmental toxins they encounter!
What’s worse is that the negative impact of glyphosate exposure is slow and insidious over months and years as inflammation gradually gains a foothold in the cellular systems of the body.
The consequences of this systemic inflammation are most of the diseases and conditions associated with the Western lifestyle:
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Depression
- Autism
- Infertility
- Cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Alzheimer’s disease
- And the list goes on and on and on …
In a nutshell, Dr. Seneff’s study of Roundup’s ghastly glyphosate, which much of the wheat crop in the United States is doused with annually, uncovers the manner in which this lethal toxin harms the human body by decimating beneficial gut microbes with the tragic end result of disease, degeneration, and widespread suffering.
Got the picture yet?
Even if you think you have no trouble digesting wheat, it is still very wise to avoid conventional wheat as much as possible in your diet!
You Must Avoid Toxic Wheat No Matter What
The bottom line is that avoidance of conventional wheat in the United States is absolutely imperative even if you don’t currently have a gluten allergy or wheat sensitivity. This includes bypassing food products made with it such as the popular meat substitute seitan also called vital wheat gluten. The increase in the amount of glyphosate applied to wheat closely correlates with the rise of celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Dr. Seneff points out that the increases in these diseases are not just genetic in nature, but also have an environmental cause as not all patient symptoms are alleviated by eliminating gluten from the diet.
The effects of deadly glyphosate on your biology are so insidious that lack of symptoms today means literally nothing.
If you don’t have problems with wheat now, you will in the future if you keep eating conventionally produced, toxic wheat!
How to Eat Wheat Safely
Obviously, if you’ve already developed a sensitivity or allergy to wheat, you must avoid it. Period.
But, if you aren’t celiac or gluten sensitive and would like to consume this ancestral food safely, you can do what we do in our home. We source organic, naturally low in gluten, unhybridized Einkorn wheat for breadmaking, pancakes, cookies, etc. Please note that einkorn is not to be confused with the more general term farro, which includes emmer and spelt, which are both hybridized. You can learn more about the scientific research on the “good” gluten in einkorn in this article.
When we eat out or are purchasing food from the store, conventional wheat products are rejected without exception. This despite the fact that we have no gluten allergies whatsoever in our home – yet.
I am firmly convinced that if we did nothing, our entire family at some point would develop sensitivity to wheat or autoimmune disease in some form due to the toxic manner in which it is processed and the glyphosate residues that are contained in conventional wheat products.
What Are You Going to Do About Toxic Wheat?
How did you react to the news that US wheat farmers are using Roundup, not just to kill weeds, but to dry out the wheat plants to allow for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest and that such a practice causes absorption of toxic glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides, right into the wheat kernels themselves?
Did you feel outraged and violated as I did? How will you implement a conventional wheat-avoidance strategy going forward even if you haven’t yet developed a problem with gluten or wheat sensitivity?
What about other crops where Roundup is used as a pre-harvest desiccant such as barley, sugar cane, rice, seeds, dried beans and peas, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and sugar beets? Will you only be buying these crops in organic form from now on to avoid this modern, man-made scourge?
UPDATE: The Soil Association in July 2015 called for an immediate ban on the use of glyphosate for wheat ripening and desiccation purposes. The nonprofit reports that glyphosate residues are widely found in nonorganic wheat samples and the use of the herbicide on wheat crops has increased 400% in the past two decades.
Dr. Robin Mesnage of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Kings College in London, revealed new data analysis showing Roundup, the most common brand of Glyphosate based herbicides, is 1,000 times more toxic than genotoxic glyphosate alone due to the inclusion of other toxic chemicals in its mix.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director said; “If Glyphosate ends up in bread it’s impossible for people to avoid it unless they are eating organic. On the other hand, farmers could easily choose not to use Glyphosate as a spray on wheat crops – just before they are harvested. This is why the Soil Association is calling for the immediate ending of the use of Glyphosate sprays on wheat destined for use in bread.”
References
Glyphosate now commonly found in human urine
Study: Glyphosate, Celiac and Gluten Intolerance
The Glyphosate, Celiac Disease Connection
Pre-harvest Application of Glyphosate to Wheat
Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases
Yield and quality of wheat seeds as a function of desiccation stages and herbicides
Wheat farmer weighs in on the use of Roundup as a wheat desiccant
More Information
Roundup: Quick Death for Weeds, Slow and Painful Death for You
Hybrid Wheat is Not the Same as GMO Wheat
The Dutch Ban Roundup, France and Brazil to Follow
How to Mix and Use Gluten Free Flour
Can Celiacs Eat Sourdough Bread?
The Dirty Little Secret About Gluten-Free
A good bread is rice flour, 1/4 tapioca flour, 1/4 buckwheat flour, yeast, sea salt, warm water .. quite easy
I cannot possibly read the entire discussion, but hope someone mentioned that it has been reported that the original patent on Glyphosate was as an antibiotic, which would explain how it kills everything in the gut/mirrors brain receptors and directly connected. Coinciding with a recent research article that hard liquors did gut damage, whilst beer, a ferment, not a distillation, did not (re: Alzheimer research, but so many obvious other implications!)
Original use for glyphosate was to descale pipes.
The Entropy paper that you reference has been widely critiscised. I agree that not enough is known about the microbiome and that it is possible for chemicals that are non-toxic to mammalian cells to have unforeseen effects on bacterial cells but better studies would be needed before saying that Roundup is definitely causing dysbiosis.
It’s hard to say if auto-immune disease incidenece is really increasing as we are more aware of these in recent years but if they are then I would say that there’s another correlation and that this is the more and more widespread use of antibiotics, both directly on patients and in animal feed. This is known to have an effect on the microbiome. Added to that more children are being born by cesarian and do not have exposure to the mother’s gut bacteria at birth.
Wouldn’t the application of Round-up before the wheat is ripe, result in shrunken, tough kernels? Was a wheat farmer for many years, never sprayed anything on it to hasten the ripening. Nobody in the family has a problem with wheat 9 or any grains for that matter). Love wheat straight out of the combine!
examiner.com/article/bogus-paper-on-roundup-saturates-the-internet
Well, the WHO just declared glyphosate a probable human carcinogen. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/business/energy-environment/decades-after-monsantos-roundup-gets-an-all-clear-a-cancer-agency-raises-concerns.html?_r=0
http://prn.fm/who-declares-that-glyphosate-herbicides-probably-cause-cancer/
Until recently, I thought I was gluten intolerant. Now I’ve discovered (by accident) I can tolerate organic wheat with out ANY symptoms. Commercial wheat has become toxic.
WARNING!!! Stay away from WHEAT!
It definitely IS the Gluten. About 40% of all humans have Gluten intolerance and even if you don’t Gluten are poisonous.
I have been diagnosed with Coeliac disease and even a small amount of Gluten leads to burning acid in my stomach and a lot of other serious symptoms.
However sometimes I’m able to eat white bread with NO (Or very little) PROBLEM.
This is caused by the way the separate the starch from the fibers, if water is used, Gluten do not mix with water so also most Gluten are removed from the starch.
This is why I can sometimes eat a complete white bread no problem, but the next time get very ill from just one sandwich.
GLUTEN SHOULD BE ILLEGAL, THEY CAUSE CANCER (FACT) AND THEY ARE POISONOUS TO EVERYBODY ALLERGIC OR NOT.
40% IS Allergic but don’t know it they use snake oil potion in the form of all kinds of anti-acids.
Fact is GLUTEN SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!
But since eating gluten makes you VERY tired, it is a nice way to subdue the population. In my country they put them in almost everything….. So I’m DOOMED!
They also make sugars from starch so anything could be a poison to me I will soon die, since I’m very allergic and you always make mistakes it can’t be avoided on a low budget and all products infested with gluten. And no good diet products available…. I have just a few years left I think.
UncleX(NL)
If this is true, why did traditional cultures who consumed gluten not get cancer or suffer from gluten related illness? History simply does not support your theory. While some folks do indeed have a problem with gluten, gluten itself is not the bad guy. The problems were triggered elsewhere and a gluten sensitivity is simply the manifestation of that.
I agree with you because prior generations in America especially those who are farmers, did not experience this medical problem. I lived in Amish country where most things are naturally grown, I also work in the medical industry, and can say accurately that I have not seen any Amish patients with Celiaic or Gluten sensitivity. So the question should be what are they doing to wheat now that wasn’t done in generations of old..
And to add to that, gluten, like casein in dairy, are proteins and protein needs stomach acid to properly digest. many Americans are dangerously low in stomach acid, which causes acid reflux and GERD, at least in most people. Caveats are actual injury to the esophageal sphincter and hiatus hernia. If the proteins leave the stomach undigested, this can cause many issues, including a sensitivity. many people who claim to be gluten sensitive or even celiac’s typically have a sensitivity to casein as well and many will have sensitivities with other types of grains. This all boils down to stomach acid, liver/gall bladder health, enzymatic action and the gut micro biome. It is not all all far-fetched or impossible to believe that even a little glyphosate in our food will cause these GI problems we are seeing today…….and it is not at all to do with better diagnostics. These dis-eases are definitely on the rise.
Dear uncle,
In response to your post that end in saying you may have only a few years to live, that could be very true. According to dr. Tom, the gluten expert’s, talk on underground wellness on BlogTalkRadio, celiacs who do not follow a 100% gluten free diet live only half the ordinary person’s life span. On the other hand celiac patients who follow a 100% gluten free diet often have even healthier diets than your average consumer and live longer life spans than an ordinary person who is not celiac. There is so much information backed up by solid studies in an hour long or so broadcast that you can easily search by looking up underground wellness Dr Tom. I hope you look into it, I truly think the info you will find will add years to your life.
Blessings and love to you,
Jules
Sarah, have you looked into POEA being a primary bad-guy in Roundup? Apparently it’s an “inert” additive that isn’t actually inert.
scientificamerican.com/article/weed-whacking-herbicide-p/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethoxylated_tallow_amine
For everyone reading this article, I can confirm that ROUNDUP IS THE CULPRIT and not the gluten.
I have had severe gastroenteritis in the past ten years which has perpetuated terrible acid reflux and inflammation of my esophagus which has created a Schotzky’s ring in my throat. This meant that when I ate and swallowed dense food, most of the time I could not get it to go down and even at times, found myself constricting my windpipe and having to go to the ER.
Last Summer I went to a new gastroenterologist who told me that I was allergic to something and she had me wait 6 months to get to one of the best in Toronto. When I finally got my visit in the Fall, he put me on an empirical diet of NO WHEAT. From November to beginning of May, I had no wheat and my symptoms subsided — and I could finally swallow everything (even dense peanut butter) since the swelling went down. I was convinced that it was simply the wheat and nothing more. Then I saw this article before leaving on my three-week vacation to Italy (where they don’t use pesticides) and I thought to myself, let’s try this out. Now mind you, I have had slip ups where I thought I wasn’t eating wheat while here in North America. I went to a friends party in last February and they handed out Lindt chocolates as we were leaving. I usually look at labels on all foods to make sure there’s no wheat… but I didn’t suspect chocolate. After eating two, I had the worst cramps in my lower stomach and intestines for two days. And any time I accidently got a smidge of American wheat in my system, I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach.
So I went to Italy for three weeks this May to June and let me be perfectly clear: I ATE BREAD, PASTRY AND PASTA AND HAD NO CRAMPS AND NO HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH THEIR WHEAT FLOUR OR SEMOLINA. NONE.
The moment I headed home from Frankfurt on a North American carrier, when they served us treats manufactured in the UK and North America, THE CRAMPS CAME BACK.
OUR NORTH AMERICAN WHEAT IS TOXIC. I AM CONVINCED OF THIS NOW.
And since we’ve been home, we have been buying imported Italian flour and semolina and I’ve had NO PROBLEMS.
Wake up people. Corporate North America is poisoning us.
It could also be the fact that in Italy, you were eating “farro” grains, aka emmer, spelt and einkorn. They are more of an ancient grain, less hybridization.
I can attest to what he is saying as I over time developed reactions when I eat anything with wheat – rash on my face, can’t stay awake and also within 15 minutes I am in the bathroom due to intestinal issues. I went to Japan last year – ate bread, pastries all the goodies and NOTHING- came back and it all started all over again. When I went to Brazil the previous year same thing no issues. I believe it it the spraying and other junk they add to the food.
I agree, I realised I was sensitive to wheat so I avoid it but I have had gluten overseas and was fine. Definitely the Round-up
I would agree with pretty much everything you said, however, there are many small independent farmers across north america and Canada who grow a broad range of varieties of wheat to organic standards. These growers know that the key to the health of any crop they grow is the health of the soil they grow it in. That should go without saying but it is not the norm.
The Organic Growers Research and Information Network (OGRIN), is an excellent source for these growers but there are many others out there. Same is true of bakers. Look for small scale artisan bakers who use natural leavens and source local grains. It’s a growing movement. Our customers are diabetics and gluten sensitive or wheat allergic, etc.
Best,
Doug
John -what website or brands of the Italian flour are you purchasing ? I’m concerned that even the organic wheat here in the US might have pesticides in it. Thank you.
Cheryl
Hi, Cheryl –
Sorry I took so long to see your post. I thought this website would give me a notification when people reply. For those interested, I have really educated myself since my return from Italy this June (2015).
I first started out buying flour from Italy (Molisana Farina or DiVella Farina) from Italian Import Stores and then, I went to talk with our local Whole Foods manager who told me that their Organic Wheat flour is guranteed to be pesticide free.
I can safely say that I have used both organic Whole Foods 365 Flour, Anita’s Mill Organic flour and the Italian imports and I have not experience cramps or any allergic reactions.
If you don’t have a Whole Foods or Italian store near you and you have an organic store, talk to their management and verify where they get their organic flour from. A LOT of people are switching, and not just because they’ve been getting sick. But apparently we have been finding that “00” or organic flour doesn’t put on the pounds like GMO flour and you don’t crave it as much. Bizarre but this is what Monsanto is doing to our food supply. Making the food more desirable, less nutritious and more fattening.
Hope this helps.
John, your story sounds exactly like mine, although I did not progress to that level of debilitation before I figured it out. For almost 8 months I was experiencing awful gut cramps, gastrointestinal problems, etc. It was horrible & not to mention scary. My doctor couldn’t figure it out. I eliminated things one by one until finally, WHEAT! I felt better in one day, and gradually I healed completely. If ever I accidentally ingested wheat, the symptoms would come back. Because I LOVE pasta, I decided to try what I had read worked for others, European wheat. I went to the Italian section of town (Federal Hill, Providence, RI) & purchased good Italian pasta, took it home, cooked it, ate it, and experienced NO symptoms at all!
I ate it the next day, no problems. Now I know I can have the foods I love, I just need to pay a little more for them & source them out carefully. If anyone wishes to try this, do not buy “cheap” Italian pasta, such as what they sell in job lot. That is most likely made with US wheat, as the US exports 40 % of it’s wheat, so you need to be careful about that.
Every read the book “Wheat Belly”? It explains a lot. I have been buying mostly organic wheat, but even that does not prevent the issues of USA wheat. Will be purchasing only the “old time” wheat that has not been hybridized.
After reading quite a few of all of your posts, I realize more and more what Spencer W. Kimball said in the 1970s is true:
“The day will come when the only [real or healthy] food you will eat is the food you grow [yourself].”