New study findings suggest that women who are trying to conceive should eat organic food, writes Myrto Ashe, MD

Sign up for regular updates from GMOScience's group of scientists and physicians at GMOScience.org.
---

Pesticides in foods can harm human fertility

GMOScience, June 30, 2018
https://www.gmoscience.org/pesticides-in-foods-can-harm-human-fertility/

* New study findings suggest that women who are trying to conceive should eat organic food, writes Myrto Ashe, M.D.

At-a-glance

A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that pesticide residues in food may account for a large proportion of the roughly 100,000 unsuccessful pregnancy attempts in fertility clinics across North America.

The women in the study were grouped according to the amount of pesticides they ingested, as indicated by US Department of Agriculture data on average pesticide residue levels found in common foods.

The study found that the women in the highest quartile (the 25% of women who consumed the most pesticides) had a 26% reduced chance of having a live birth than women in the lowest quartile, who consumed the least amount of pesticides.

Women consuming the least pesticide had a 7% chance of miscarriage, while women consuming the most pesticide had a 34% chance of miscarriage.

The stunning implication of the study is that most infertile couples doing IVF would succeed in conceiving if they ate organic – or even “less poisonous”. This is proof that the food that we eat is not properly regulated.

Genetically modified (GM) herbicide-tolerant crops are grown with large amounts of herbicides, a class of pesticide. For this reason, GM foods should be avoided by women who want to conceive.

Read the full article:
https://www.gmoscience.org/pesticides-in-foods-can-harm-human-fertility/