Why You Should Care About Atrazine
Filtered Water vs Tap Water.
It’s the great debate. When I was younger, I was solidly on the tap water side of the fence. I drank straight from the faucet or the hose.
Over time I came to prefer the taste of filtered water more, but either way, it wasn’t very important to me.
Then I learned about an herbicide called atrazine, and my perspective changed.
An estrogenic is something that binds to our estrogen receptors and artificially mimics the effects of estrogen on our bodies. Atrazine is an estrogenic compound commonly found in our water and food.
Here’s why I’m now on team filtered water and organic food.
Introducing Atrazine
The herbicide atrazine is the second most commonly used pesticide in the United States, behind glyphosphate. US farmers spray over 80 million lbs of atrazine on our food every year, primarily on corn, sorghum, and sugarcane.
Some crops are even genetically modified to resist the effects of atrazine and other pesticides.
Atrazine has a half-life measured in years, so once it is introduced to the environment, it does not break down easily. As a result, rain can wash atrazine more than 1000 km away from its initial application.
Atrazine has been proven to contaminate our rivers, lakes, wetlands, and our drinking water. Half a million lbs even precipitate down as rainfall in the US every year! This environmental contamination has been demonstrated to affect fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including humans.
Large corporate agricultural and chemical companies make billions of dollars a year off atrazine and spend millions lobbying politicians in Washington.
The government does have some regulations on atrazine: the maximum allowable limit for atrazine in U.S. drinking water is 3000 ng/L, a level which you will see is absurdly high.
The Effects of 200 ng/L of Atrazine
“They’re putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin’ frogs gay” -Alex Jones
Alex Jones has said some crazy things over the years, but he may not have a more famous and more widely-mocked quote than this one. It sounds ludicrous to the point of not even being worth considering.
However… where did Jones get his information?
In 2013, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America published a paper titled “Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs.” (Study was republished by the National Institute of Health, which is where it is linked).
In the study, the male frogs were exposed to levels of atrazine at 200 ng/L in the water. The following is an excerpt summarizing the findings:
“Atrazine is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of ground, surface, and drinking water. Atrazine is also a potent endocrine disruptor that is active at low, ecologically relevant concentrations. Previous studies showed that atrazine adversely affects amphibian larval development. The present study demonstrates the reproductive consequences of atrazine exposure in adult amphibians. Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults. Ten percent of the exposed genetic males developed into functional females that copulated with unexposed males and produced viable eggs. Atrazine-exposed males suffered from depressed testosterone, decreased breeding gland size, demasculinized/feminized laryngeal development, suppressed mating behavior, reduced spermatogenesis, and decreased fertility.”
So, are the chemicals in the water turning the frogs gay? Kind of. The chemicals castrate and feminize the frogs, destroy their testosterone levels, and destroy their ability to reproduce naturally as males.
Atrazine Impacts Human Testosterone Levels
Humans are not frogs, but could estrogenics like atrazine be affecting humans in a similar way? If this was the case, then there would surely be some evidence.
There has recently been a precipitous (and “unexplainable”) decline in testosterone levels in American men. This has been accompanied by a tremendous increase in men with “low t” seeking testosterone supplements from their doctor.
Less testosterone in men is tied to lower sex drive, less muscle, irritability, erectile dysfunction, depression, and chronic diseases such as cancer.
This may seem like a “man” problem, and as you might expect, there have not been as many studies on female testosterone level trends. However, testosterone is important to women as well.
Several symptoms of low testosterone levels in women are a diminished sense of well-being, persistent fatigue, and diminished sexual desire. This condition can be caused (and exacerbated by) the use of oral contraceptives.
The bottom line about testosterone is that something environmental is physiologically causing American testosterone levels to drop. This is causing tremendous health issues for both men and women.
Atrazine Makes You Fat
Can water make you fat? The answer is yes if it’s contaminated with an estrogenic like atrazine.
In a 2009 study on atrazine, scientists split 48 rats into two groups: one drank water with a low concentration of atrazine, and the other drank clean water.
After 5 months, the scientists found that the mitochondrial (powerhouse of the cell) function of the atrazine group was impaired and that this group was heavier than the other.
The scientists found evidence that atrazine increased insulin resistance in the rat cells, which lead to the rats developing various stages of diabetes along with weight gain.
As it relates to humans, the study above found a correlation between areas where atrazine is heavily used and obesity-prevalence maps of people with a BMI over 30. So while this topic has never been directly tested on humans, the correlation between atrazine and weight gain is established.
Organic Food
Later this week, you’re probably going to find yourself in a grocery store, and you may find yourself in the fruits/vegetable section looking for russet potatoes. Here are the options you might see:
5 lb bag of russet potatoes for $4.99
5 lb bag of organic russet potatoes for $6.99
What’s in the $2 difference, and why should you care about organic vs normal food?
The difference is primarily in the pesticides and synthetic fertilizers used to grow the produce you are looking at.
In the short run, the difference may not have a large effect on your health, but in the long run, conventional food will wreak havoc on your gut microbiome and expose you to some of the risks detailed above.
Russet potatoes for $4.99 seem more economical, but if they make you more susceptible to a chronic disease such as diabetes, then are they truly the best bang for your buck?
Remember: you can pay the doctor, or you can pay the farmer. While high-quality food from the farmer might cost more upfront, you’ll have tastier food, live better, and likely even save money long-term by avoiding chronic medical conditions.
How to Avoid Getting Poisoned by Pesticides Like Atrazine
You can take three major steps to minimize your exposure to atrazine.
Drink filtered water (preferably from glass or stainless steel containers)
Not all filters filter toxins, such as pesticides, out effectively. Many popular filters on the market will only get rid of 5-10 of the hundreds of contaminants in water.
In addition to pesticides, other contaminants in water include hormones from birth control pills, bacteria, heavy metals, fluoride, and industrial waste chemicals. This is the water filter I use.
You should also avoid plastic bottles, as toxic plastic chemicals such as BPA and BPS are also estrogenic endocrine disrupters.
Filter shower water as well. A hot shower opens your pores, and your skin is very good at absorbing chemicals in the water. This is the shower filter I use.
Buy organic food. Organic crops are raised without pesticides, and therefore you avoid the chronic dose of pesticides. Organic strawberries may be pricier than the others, but they’re cheaper than medical bills from chronic conditions like diabetes!
A Broader Picture of Estrogenics
In 2004, the European Union banned the use of atrazine on crops. However, the United States has no limits to its usage, and as a result, it is present in much of our drinking water, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
As seen earlier, 200 ng/L is a high enough atrazine concentration in water to castrate a frog. However, 3000 ng/L is considered “safe” by the EPA. Isn’t that crazy?
Atrazine is one example of an estrogenic. Estrogenics are toxic chemicals found in our everyday lives and are often hidden, barely studied, and unregulated.
Estrogenics essentially act as artificial estrogen, which can wreak havoc on us by sending rogue hormonal signals to receptors all over our bodies.
This week’s post was part one of two on this topic. My next post will explain a little more background on this topic: how our endocrine system works, where you can find these toxic compounds in your everyday lives, how these chemicals disrupt our endocrine system, and good practices to avoid or minimize them.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for some light reading and want to learn more about this subject, I recommend checking out Estrogeneration by Dr. Anthony Jay.
We are all products of our environment. If your environment is poisoned, then you will be as well. Warning: this book will red-pill you.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day!
Cooper