The 2nd Leading Cause of Death
Nowadays it seems like you hear the phrase, “That causes cancer,” or you read labels on certain products that say, “could potentially cause cancer.” Some people might just laugh and shrug it off, others might say, “What doesn’t cause cancer?” and leave it alone. Others might be more cautious and take measures into their own hands to inform themselves better.
People now are becoming more cautious than ever, and where you think that you may have heard that phrase a little too much, you never know when you or your loved ones could be affected by cancer. Both of my mother’s parents died from cancer at a fairly young age, for that reason I didn’t get to know my grandmother that well because I was so young when she died. And if you haven’t had cancer you MOST likely have seen the effects that it has had on a person and their family. I can describe it in one word, DEVASTATING!
In 2018, the National Cancer Institute has estimated 1,735,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 609,640 people will die from the disease. Now, I realize that there may be lots of different factors that affect cancer cells and how they spread and how the disease is contracted but let’s dig a little deeper now to a topic I feel is highly controversial, nonetheless, one that you should be informed about so that you can make the best possible choices for you and your families.
Glyphosate: Does it cause cancer or NOT?
You might have seen this in the news recently.
“Jurors give $289 million to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller.” Dwayne Johnson, the 46-year-old male, now suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma worked at a school district in California for years and would spray roundup weedkiller 20-30 times a year. He stated also that he had two accidents with this product in which his body was soaked in the chemical. One accident happened in 2012, and 2 years later in 2014 he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
The issues were about whether Roundup was causing cancer and why the company Monsanto warn consumers better about the products cancer risks. Luckily the jury sided with Johnson on both issues. After the trial, Monsanto clearly stated that the herbicide does not cause cancer, BUT a lot of consumers have reason to think otherwise.
What makes glyphosate so deadly and harmful to consumers, and how does it, more importantly, affect our food supply? Glyphosate is a carcinogenic herbicide used by farmers for crops, (carcinogen meaning that there are environmental factors leading to cancer by changing the cells DNA.) It is used on crops before harvesting to kill any weeds and is also sprayed right before harvest so it dries out the crops and makes them easier and faster to harvest.
That means we’re getting a double dose of pesticides on your food right before harvest and then it goes straight to consumers. So we aren’t just being affected by glyphosate environmentally, but we are actually eating it. We are ingesting it and breathing it in, where it goes straight to our lungs and into our bloodstream. These are toxic chemicals we’re talking about. Ones that should be used with way more caution than how we really use them. And then these crops are being used to make the food we eat every day and are found in popular name brand foods like Quaker Oats, Nature Valley granola bars, Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, and the list goes on and on!
“According to the U.S Geological survey, 250 million pounds of glyphosate is sprayed on American crops each year. Glyphosate is primarily used on Roundup-ready corn and soybeans that are genetically modified to withstand the herbicide.”
“The World Health Organization categorized the weed-killing chemical as “probably carcinogenic in humans.” So something that may seem to be “convenient,” to farmers and to those that don’t want to pull weeds in their gardens or lawns could actually really be harming us.
Go Organic
If we want to reduce our pesticide exposure the answer is clearly, EAT ORGANIC. Glyphosate can still get into organic foods usually by cross-contamination during processing, or if organic fields are near conventional fields, then those pesticides can drift BUT overall the levels are a lot lower, or non-existent.
Did you know that by eating organic there's more nutrition in your food than non-organic? They oftentimes have more antioxidants and omega-3s. You also won’t find synthetic hormones or antibiotics in meat and dairy products if you purchase organic foods. Animals that are raised cleaner and given an organic diet simply means that those people consuming that food will also be more healthy. I personally have noticed that by purchasing organic foods you’re not just getting a lower pesticide rate but you’ll also see benefits like clearer skin, healthier nails, your hair will grow faster, and you’ll get sick less. Mostly you will feel good about what you're feeding your family and putting into your body. After all, our families and our children are the most important people in our life, and that is worth investing in.
As for Dwayne Johnson, they said that “While it was medically impossible to prove Roundup caused Johnson's terminal illness, it’s also impossible for Monsanto to prove Roundup did not cause his cancer. In Johnson's case, they didn’t know for sure if Roundup was the main factor for his disease but they did prove that it contributed to it.”
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics
https://draxe.com/glyphosate-in-cereal/
https://draxe.com/monsanto-roundup/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/health/monsanto-johnson-trial-verdict/index.html
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm