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. 2021 Sep 28:8:708069.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.708069. eCollection 2021.

Excretion of Heavy Metals and Glyphosate in Urine and Hair Before and After Long-Term Fasting in Humans

Franziska Grundler  1   2 , Gilles-Eric Séralini  3 , Robin Mesnage  4 , Vincent Peynet  5 , Françoise Wilhelmi de Toledo  1
Affiliations

Excretion of Heavy Metals and Glyphosate in Urine and Hair Before and After Long-Term Fasting in Humans

Franziska Grundler et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Dietary exposure to environmental pollutants in humans is an important public health concern. While long-term fasting interrupts the dietary exposure to these substances, fat mobilization as an energy source may also release bioaccumulated substances. This was, to our knowledge, only investigated in obese people decades ago. This study explored the effects of 10-days fasting on the excretion of heavy metals and glyphosate. Methods: Urinary levels of arsenic, chromium, cobalt, lead, nickel, mercury and glyphosate were measured before and after 10 fasting days in 109 healthy subjects. Additionally, hair analysis was done before and ten weeks after fasting in 22 subjects. Results: Fasting caused a decrease in body weight, and in urinary arsenic (by 72%) and nickel (by 15%) concentrations. A decrease in lead hair concentrations (by 30%) was documented. Urinary mercury levels were unchanged for chromium, cobalt and glyphosate, which were undetectable in most of the subjects. Additionally, fatigue, sleep disorders, headache and hunger were reduced. Body discomfort symptoms diminished four weeks after food reintroduction. Conclusions: The results of this study provide the first insights into the changes in heavy metal excretion caused by long-term fasting. Further studies focusing on the kinetics of efflux between different compartments of the body are needed. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00016657, identifier: DRKS00016657.

Keywords: Buchinger Wilhelmi fasting; arsenic; biomonitoring; glyphosate; lead; nickel; weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

FWT and FG are employees at Buchinger Wilhelmi GmbH. RM is consultant of Amplius GmbH and receive financial compensation for this role. RM has served as a consultant on glyphosate risk assessment issues as part of litigation in the US over glyphosate health effects. This study received funding from Amplius GmbH, Überlingen. The funder had the following involvement with the study: it coordinates the management of the studies for Buchinger Wilhelmi. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart presenting the selected study population for measuring the changes in heavy metals and glyphosate excretion during long-term fasting.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heatmap displaying the individual excretion of heavy metals and glyphosate before and after 10-days fasting. The color scale shows the urinary levels (μg/l) of heavy metals and glyphosate. Data below detectable levels are indicated in white. Patient ID: individual identification numbers (in total 109).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Symptoms of body discomfort before and after 10-days fasting. The individual changes (women in red and men in blue) as well as box plots indicating median and quartiles are presented for fatigue (A), sleep disorder (B), headache (C), hunger (D), back pain (E), and nausea (F).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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