Attention All Scientists!
We need more research about GMOs!
Introduction
What if I told you that you are consuming GMOs (genetically modified organisms) everyday of your life? That might not mean much to you right now, but let me tell you one fact: all developed countries in Europe have banned these modified foods with an unpredictable aftermath. I've done more research in order to convince scientists to conduct more experiments so we can know more about what we are putting in our mouths everyday.
Food Allergies
Scientists have found that food allergies and increased toxicity could be two health aspects that could be greatly influenced by sneaking in GMOs in our food. First, let's look at allergies. Allergies occur when a usually harmless protein enters the body and stimulates an immune response. There might be proteins that can be found in allergies in GMOs. If that is the case, the risk to get a specific allergy from a GMOs increases greatly.
GMO Testing
Many scientists and researchers have proved that GMOs affect food allergies, antibiotic resistance, increase toxicity, and decrease nutritional value.
Molecular Structure
One of the main reasons GMOs are bad for our health? Modified molecular structure that messes with our metabolic pathways, for example.
Gluten-Related Disorders
Recent study by the Institute of Responsible Technology (IRT) shows that GM foods trigger gluten-related disorders. Some of the conditions that created this were: imbalanced gut bacteria, damage to the intestinal wall, and impaired digestion.
Increased Toxicity
Another health aspect that is influenced by GMOs: increased toxicity. The concern for scientists is that inserting an exotic gene into a plant (what we are doing with GMOs), could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to our health. It would be dangerous to us because that would mess with the metabolic pathway, causing the plant to produce these harmful genes. These effects have not been observed in GM products quite yet, but many experiments have shown that different vegetables (let's take potatoes as an example), that have been conventionally bred, have had higher levels of this harmful gene than other normal potatoes.
Decreased Nutritional Value
To conclude, there has been lots of information about genetically modified organisms have a huge effect on food's nutritional value, impacting our overall health. Some nutrients that are found in natural and organic plants might not be there in GM products. Let's look at one example: phytate, one compound that is commonly found in seeds and grains binds minerals together and makes them unavailable to humans (in other words, not harmful to our health). But inserted genes (GMOs) could cause a plant to have higher levels of phytate, decreasing the mineral value of the plant. One experiment showed that strains of genetically modified soybeans produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, causing heart disease and cancer.