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Writer's pictureCynthia A. Barrington, BCHHP, CNHP

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)

The more we learn about nutrition, the more we realize we need the very best we can get. In America, it is too easy to eat poorly. The grocery store shelves are filled with processed foods made of chemicals, preservatives, artificial flavors and colors. How can our body effectively deal with this bombardment of foreign material?


GMO, genetically modified organism, are organisms that have been genetically altered using genetic engineering methods. While genetic modification may be helpful in some areas, such as making cotton and other non-food crops able to withstand harsh weather conditions, it is not good for the crops we eat.



Unfortunately, tracking records have not been set in place to see how people are affected by ingesting genetically modified food. However, the deteriorating health of Americans since GMOs were introduced in 1996 does raise important questions. Within nine years, the number of people with three or more chronic diseases nearly doubled—from 7 percent to 13 percent. Visits to the emergency room due to allergies more than doubled from 1997 to 2002. And overall food-related illnesses doubled from 1994 to 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control.


Research shows a high correlation in GMO production (or Roundup herbicide use) to the incidence of numerous disorders in the United States. These disorders include thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, acute kidney injury, diabetes, end stage renal disease, reproductive disorders, autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, senile dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, peritonitis, chronic constipation, irritable bowel, intestinal infection, and rheumatoid arthritis.



How is our health impacted by GMO products?

  • GMO foods contain higher levels of allergens

  • Bt-toxin found in GMO foods damages cell walls

  • Because the plant's DNA is altered, it can turn a protein into a potentially deadly allergen

  • A vast majority of GMO crops are herbicide tolerant which has led to an increased use of herbicides and significantly higher levels of toxic residue on the food produced. Numerous studies in the past several years have implicated Roundup, or its active ingredient glyphosate, in cancer, birth defects, endocrine disorders, Parkinson’s, and damage to gut bacteria. The author of a 2013 paper in the journal Entropy links it to “most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.”


Worst finding of all — GMOs remain inside of us

The only published human feeding study revealed what may be the most dangerous problem from GM foods. The gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function.


This means that long after we stop eating GMOs, we may still have potentially harmful GM proteins produced continuously inside of us. Put more plainly, eating a corn chip produced from Bt corn might transform our intestinal bacteria into living pesticide factories, possibly for the rest of our lives.


When evidence of gene transfer is reported at medical conferences around the US, doctors often respond by citing the huge increase of gastrointestinal problems among their patients over the last decade. GM foods might be colonizing the gut flora of North Americans.


Is it any wonder our digestion is messed up? Our bodies are not equipped to digest foreign bodies. Poor digestion equals poor overall health.


#JERF Just Eat Real Food


Resources

Powell, C. (2015, August 9). How to Make a GMO. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/how-to-make-a-gmo/


Smith, J. (2013, October 23). Genetically Engineered Foods May be Far More Harmful than We Thought. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/modern-foods/genetically-engineered-foods-may-be-far-more-harmful-than-we-thought/



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