CD is a chronic disease characterized by small bowel villous atrophy, which impairs nutrient absorption. The intestinal wall is lined by microscopic finger-like tentacles that provide a huge surface for nutrient absorption. In villous atrophy, these villi erode away, leaving a virtually flat surface. Symptoms of CD include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and nutritional deficiencies, particularly of iron, folate, calcium, and vitamin D.
1 Proteases and Gut Dysbiosis
Dietary proteins are assembled as long sequences of amino acids joined together, as dictated by the DNA code. In order to use them as a nutritional source, they must be disassembled into tripeptides, dipeptides, and individual amino acids. This task is accomplished by gastrointestinal proteases, such as trypsin, pepsin, and chymotrypsin, and thus, these proteases are the primary defense mechanism against potential toxicity of dietary proteins.
In 2017, Anthony Samsel obtained laboratory samples of trypsin, pepsin, and lipase (an enzyme that digests fats) sourced from pigs, and tested them for glyphosate contamination. He found 290 and 430 parts per billion (ppb) of glyphosate in two different samples of pepsin, 62 ppb in trypsin, and 24 ppb in lipase [4]. Glyphosate bound to these digestive enzymes may be disrupting their catalytic activity.
Figure 1: Hospital discharge diagnosis (any) of celiac disease ICD-9, code 579, and glyphosate applications to wheat (R=0.9759, p1.9e-6). Sources: USDA:NASS; CDC.