Pesticide & Herbicide Residues
Glyphosate is one of the most heavily used herbicides in the world. This panel measures its residues and metabolites in urine, reflecting recent dietary and environmental exposure
Worth testing if:
- Health-conscious eaters who love oats, wholegrains and soy products
- People whose daily diet centres on raw salads, juices and vegetables eaten out
- You live within 1 km of farmland, a park or a railway line
- Chronic inflammation, digestive discomfort and unexplained fatigue
What this test is for
A urine sample simultaneously detects exposure to glyphosate itself, its metabolic product in your body (AMPA), and a second neurotoxic pathway (glufosinate). Closer to your real burden than a food residue report and more objective than guessing from your eating habits, it is the key tool for distinguishing three levels of environmental load: what is coming in now, what has already been metabolised, and neurotoxic exposure.
"I don't work on a farm — how could I have herbicide in me?" This is most people's biggest blind spot about herbicide exposure.
Non-selective herbicides can't tell crops apart; "kills everything" means exactly that. To let genetically modified crops survive spraying during the growing season, and to make wheat, oats and barley dry down evenly before harvest for mechanical collection, these herbicides are applied widely to raw ingredients that end up on the human table. Taiwan is a major importer and consumer of wheat and oats, so residue in those ingredients stopped being just a farmer's problem long ago.
Test items
3 biomarkers · 2 groups
Category
Glyphosate (GLY)
Aminomethylphosphonic Acid (AMPA)
Glufosinate (GLA)
Four steps to start your test
Order online, book a location
Choose your test and pick a blood-draw time and location that suits you as you order.
A 10-minute blood draw
When the time comes you just show up. A professional takes your sample — we handle the rest.
Accredited laboratory analysis
Samples are processed by accredited testing institutions and interpreted to standard protocols.
Digital report
Once complete, your report is uploaded to your personal account with values and reference ranges clearly marked.
Pair it with Body Decode for the full picture
This test isn't part of the core package. Build a whole-body baseline with Body Decode, then add this test on top for fuller health context
| Body Decode + this add-on | This test on its own | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of biomarkers | 68 + this test's 3 | This test's 3 only |
| Biomarkers on this page | ||
| Cross-system interpretation | ||
| Full-system integrated report | ||
| Advisor report walkthrough | ||
| Personalized action plan | ||
| 120-day check-ins |
Frequently asked questions
I don't work the fields — how could I have herbicide in me?
The single biggest use of non-selective herbicides is actually pre-harvest treatment — drying wheat, oats and beans down evenly before harvest. The wholemeal toast, oat milk and oat bars you buy at a convenience store can all be the end of that pathway. CDC national surveys show detection rates in the general public's urine as high as 80%, almost regardless of whether you farm.
Exposure comes from the dining table, not the farm.
I eat local Taiwanese produce, so it should be fine
Glyphosate is the most heavily used non-selective herbicide in Taiwan, applied widely in orchards, farms, public green spaces and home gardens. Even when you choose local ingredients, environmental drift, water sources and soil residue all create exposure. Government surveys have detected glyphosate and its metabolites at multiple points in Taiwan's rivers and sediment.
Local doesn't mean zero exposure — only that the source has changed.
I wash my vegetables, so surely it comes off
Glyphosate is systemically absorbed — once it enters a plant it distributes through the internal tissue rather than sitting on the surface. Rinsing, peeling and blanching cannot effectively remove residue inside the tissue. That's why it can still be detected in urine even when everything has been washed thoroughly.
Washing handles the surface; internal residue has to be handled at the point of purchase.
Humans don't have the shikimate pathway, so it should be harmless to us
Human cells genuinely lack the shikimate pathway — but your gut bacteria have it. Glyphosate disrupts the balance of your gut microbiome by inhibiting that pathway, and animal research links this to hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress and inflammation. Your gut bacteria aren't you, but they influence your immunity, metabolism and mood.
It doesn't attack you directly — it takes a detour through your gut bacteria.
Residues are all below the legal limit, so it's fine
Legal residue limits are designed for a single food and a single intake; what your body actually faces is many foods accumulating over a long period. In 2022 Taiwan's health ministry proposed relaxing the glyphosate limit for oats, buckwheat and barley from "not detectable" to 10 ppm, and only suspended the change after strong opposition from civil society groups. The standards themselves keep shifting.
Compliant doesn't mean suitable for you. Standards change; your accumulation is real.
Even if it shows up, there's nothing I can change
This may be the most hopeful part of the test. In a US study, four families switched to a fully organic diet and urinary glyphosate fell by 70.93% within three days, with AMPA down 76.71%. In other words, your body is clearing this for you every day — you just don't know how much it is handling. The value of testing is turning effort into a number you can verify.
Exposure accumulates, but the body responds faster than you'd think.