Specialist Testing · Environmental Toxin Burden
EnviroTOX Complete
Environmental Toxin Panel
Mycotoxins, glyphosate, and over 170 environmental chemicals — measured in a single urine collection. A broad environmental toxin panel, for when the question is what the body is carrying that conventional medicine isn't looking for.
What EnviroTOX Complete Is
EnviroTOX Complete is a three-panel environmental toxin assessment run from a single first-morning urine sample. It combines the MycoTOX mycotoxin profile, the ToxDetect environmental chemical panel, and a dedicated glyphosate and AMPA measurement — three investigations that address different categories of environmental chemical exposure, delivered as one integrated report.
The clinical rationale is straightforward: environmental toxin exposures rarely occur in isolation. A client living in an older property with damp issues who eats a conventional UK diet and lives near agricultural land may be exposed to mycotoxins, glyphosate and a range of industrial chemicals at the same time. Testing for one category in isolation misses part of the picture. Combined exposures matter because their effects generally add up: regulators assume dose addition by default (EFSA 2019). True synergy, where the whole is greater than the sum, is uncommon; a systematic review found it in 7% of pesticide mixtures tested, usually at high concentrations (Cedergreen 2014).
EnviroTOX Complete is the right test when the environmental picture is broad or unclear. If your question is damp or mould at home, I don’t test: start with the building (why I no longer test for mycotoxins for this). The mycotoxin part of this panel shows exposure only, mostly from food. When the picture includes agricultural chemical exposure, industrial chemical history, unexplained endocrine disruption, or a general question about total environmental burden — EnviroTOX Complete answers a broader question.
What a mycotoxin result can and can't tell you. Most people have some mycotoxins in their body, and most of it comes from food: in a Dutch biomonitoring study, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone (from cereals) were found in the urine, and ochratoxin A in the blood, of every woman tested, at levels judged of low concern (McKeon 2024). So a detectable level is expected, and on its own it doesn't show a damp building or explain symptoms. The lab's reference ranges are its own; I haven't found a published study that validates a urinary mycotoxin level as diagnostic of mould-related illness. A result is most useful alongside the history (a damp home or workplace, symptoms that ease away from it) and as a baseline to retest after the source is dealt with. Evidence for urine mycotoxins as a diagnosis: none; as a measure of exposure: reasonable.
11 toxins
11 mycotoxins, which the lab says come from about 40 mould species: aflatoxin M1, ochratoxin A, sterigmatocystin, zearalenone, enniatin B1, citrinin, roridin E and verrucarin A (Stachybotrys-type), chaetoglobosin A, gliotoxin and mycophenolic acid. Mass spectrometry detection.
170+ chemicals
Phthalates, parabens, benzene derivatives, styrene, xylene, organophosphate pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, MTBE, acrylamide, and industrial solvents.
2 markers
Glyphosate (the active herbicide in Roundup and hundreds of other products) and AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid, a breakdown product of glyphosate that also has other sources). Urine glyphosate shows recent intake, not a stored body burden: in a controlled feeding study only about 1% of an oral dose appeared in the urine, with a half-life of about 9 hours (Zoller 2020,
doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113526), and a second study found a fast phase of 6–9 hours and that AMPA partly comes from separate exposures (Faniband 2020,
doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113657). A result reflects roughly the last day or two of exposure.
The Glyphosate Question
Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and it is used on UK cereal crops. It is applied to wheat, oats, barley, and other cereal crops as a pre-harvest desiccant — meaning it is sprayed directly onto the crop shortly before harvest to accelerate drying and standardise the harvest date. This is not a trace agricultural residue from spraying during the growing season. It is deliberate, high-volume application to the food crop immediately before it enters the food supply.
Pesticide residues, glyphosate among them, are commonly detected in UK cereals and bread, but UK government monitoring rarely finds levels above the legal maximum: in 2024 none of the bread or wheat flour samples tested exceeded it, and 2.07% of all food samples did (PRiF 2024). Where the debate is real is over long-term, low-level exposure: IARC classed glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" in 2015 (Guyton 2015), while EFSA and ECHA did not classify it as carcinogenic (EFSA 2023).
What glyphosate does in laboratory and animal studies
Possible mechanisms, not demonstrated in people at dietary levels
Shikimate pathway disruption
Glyphosate inhibits the shikimate pathway, which plants and many bacteria have and humans don't. In rats given glyphosate for 90 days, the pathway was inhibited in gut bacteria, but the changed gut metabolites did not show up in the blood (
Mesnage 2021). In 65 pairs of UK twins, higher urinary glyphosate went with greater gut bacterial diversity, not less (
Mesnage 2022). Human harm to the microbiome at dietary levels has not been shown.
Aromatic amino acid depletion
The shikimate pathway in bacteria makes aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine). Whether glyphosate at dietary levels reduces the supply of these precursors in people is untested; most of our tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine comes from protein in food.
Mineral chelation
Glyphosate binds metals such as manganese, zinc and iron. That is shown in soil and plant chemistry. No study has shown it lowers mineral status in people.
Cytochrome P450 inhibition
The claim that glyphosate inhibits liver cytochrome P450 enzymes traces to a 1983 rat study (
Hietanen 1983) and a later hypothesis paper. It has not been shown in people.
Intestinal permeability
Effects on the gut lining come from cell and animal studies. In human gut cells, a co-formulant in commercial products (POEA) was toxic but glyphosate alone was not (
Mesnage 2022). No human study has shown glyphosate increases gut permeability.
Endocrine disruption
Some cell studies report hormone effects, such as partial aromatase inhibition (
Zhang 2020). EFSA's 2023 review concluded glyphosate does not meet the criteria for an endocrine disruptor (
EFSA 2023). Grade: laboratory signal, not shown in people.
The folic acid fortification connection
It has been suggested that glyphosate could reduce bacterial folate and tryptophan production in the gut. That has not been tested in people, and dietary folate and folic acid remain the main sources. A glyphosate result shows exposure; it does not explain a client's folate status.
The ToxDetect Panel — Environmental Chemicals
The ToxDetect panel screens for over 170 environmental chemicals across multiple classes — compounds people are exposed to every day through to food packaging, personal care products, household chemicals, polluted air, and industrial environments. These are not exotic toxins requiring unusual exposure — they are ubiquitous in the modern environment and detectable in the urine of most people tested. Many are cleared within hours to days, so a urine result mostly reflects recent exposure, not a stored total.
| Chemical class |
Key compounds measured |
Primary exposure routes |
Documented hazards (at high exposure) |
| Phthalates |
DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP metabolites |
Plastic food packaging, PVC flooring, personal care products, medical devices |
Endocrine disruptor
Anti-androgenic
Developmental
|
| Parabens |
Methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben |
Cosmetics, skin care, shampoo, food preservatives |
Oestrogenic
Allergenic
|
| Benzene derivatives |
Benzene, toluene, styrene, xylene (BTSX) |
Petrol, paint, adhesives, cleaning products, urban air pollution, off-gassing from furnishings |
Neurotoxic
Immunotoxic
Carcinogenic (benzene)
|
| Organophosphate pesticides |
Chlorpyrifos metabolites, malathion metabolites, DEET metabolites |
Agricultural food residues, domestic pest control, some personal insect repellents |
Neurotoxic
Endocrine disruptor
Metabolic disruption
|
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons |
Naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene metabolites |
Grilled and smoked foods, urban air, tobacco smoke, vehicle exhaust |
Carcinogenic
Endocrine disruptor
Immunotoxic
|
| Acrylamide |
Acrylamide, glycidamide |
High-temperature processed starchy foods (chips, crisps, toast, biscuits, coffee) |
Neurotoxic
Probable carcinogen (Group 2A)
|
| MTBE / Fuel additives |
MTBE, ETBE |
Petrol contamination of groundwater, urban air, petrol station exposure |
Neurotoxic
Possible carcinogen
|
| Phthalate alternatives |
DINCH, DEHA metabolites |
Food packaging, medical plastics (increasingly replacing traditional phthalates) |
Emerging data — endocrine concern
|
A note on cumulative exposure
Each of the chemical classes above has a regulatory exposure limit set individually — an acceptable daily intake calculated in isolation. Safety limits are mostly set one chemical at a time, while real exposure is combined: a person eating conventionally produced food, using standard personal care products, living in an urban environment, and working in an office with synthetic furnishings is simultaneously exposed to phthalates, parabens, benzene derivatives, PAHs, glyphosate, mycotoxins, and acrylamide every single day. EnviroTOX measures what is in the urine at the time of collection. For fast-cleared chemicals such as glyphosate, that reflects recent exposure rather than a stored total. Individual exposures may be below individual limits — but that is not the same as saying the total load is safe or clinically insignificant.
Who This Test Is For
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Dietary Glyphosate Exposure Concern
Glyphosate residues are found in some conventional (non-organic) cereals, oats and grain products, usually below legal limits. EnviroTOX measures recent glyphosate exposure for clients who want to know it. A result shows exposure; it doesn't show an effect on the gut, methylation or hormones.
🏭
Industrial or Occupational Exposure History
Clients with occupational exposure to solvents, pesticides, petrochemicals, or industrial environments — or who live near industrial sites, agricultural land, busy roads, or airports. The ToxDetect panel identifies which specific chemical classes are elevated, which points source reduction at specific products and places rather than generic advice.
⚖️
Unexplained Endocrine Disruption
When the DUTCH Plus reveals oestrogen dominance, HPG axis disruption, or androgen imbalance that doesn't have a clear endogenous explanation — exposure to oestrogen-like chemicals is a possible contributor that is rarely measured. Phthalates, parabens and zearalenone (a mycotoxin) have oestrogenic activity in laboratory studies. EnviroTOX shows whether these exposures are present.
🧠
Neurological Symptoms Without Clear Cause
Cognitive decline, mood disruption, peripheral neuropathy, or neurological symptoms that haven't responded to standard nutritional intervention. Some solvents, organophosphate pesticides and mycotoxins are neurotoxic at high exposures, such as occupational poisoning or contaminated-food outbreaks. Whether the low levels usually found in urine cause neurological symptoms has not been shown. EnviroTOX shows which exposures are present; a result is a lead to follow, not an explanation for the symptoms.
🔄
Gut Protocols That Keep Failing
Clients who have done multiple rounds of gut treatment — antimicrobials, probiotics, dietary intervention — with limited lasting effect. Measuring environmental exposures is one way to look for a factor that hasn't been considered. Whether lowering glyphosate exposure improves gut outcomes has not been tested in trials.
🌿
Wanting a Complete Environmental Baseline
For people without specific symptoms who want a baseline of their current exposures. Because many of these chemicals clear quickly, it is a snapshot of recent exposure rather than a lifetime total. A repeat test after changing products, food or home shows whether the levels fall.
How EnviroTOX Fits the TDG Investigation
EnviroTOX Complete sits at the intersection of several areas of the TDG framework — its findings are clinically relevant to the gut investigation, the hormone investigation, the neurological picture, and the nutritional status picture simultaneously. This is what makes it both a powerful standalone test and a high-value addition when existing test results raise environmental questions.
EnviroTOX connections across the TDG test suite
GI-MAP Stool Test
Environmental exposure is context for a GI-MAP, not an explanation of it. Human evidence that glyphosate causes persistent dysbiosis is lacking.
DUTCH Plus Hormone Test
Phthalates, parabens and zearalenone have oestrogenic or anti-androgenic activity in laboratory studies. When the DUTCH shows an unexplained hormone pattern, EnviroTOX shows whether these exposures are present. It cannot show that they caused the pattern.
Metabolomix+ OAT
No amino acid pattern on the Metabolomix+ is validated as a glyphosate marker. No OAT pattern is validated as a mycotoxin marker either, and OAT oxidative-stress markers have many causes. EnviroTOX measures exposure directly, which the OAT can't; it doesn't explain an OAT result.
Blood Chemistry (Regenerus)
Raised liver enzymes (ALT, GGT, ALP) with no clear cause are a reason to look wider, and exposure testing is one option alongside the usual medical work-up. Glyphosate has not been shown to lower mineral levels in people, so low minerals on blood chemistry are not a glyphosate sign.
HealthBeings IgG food panel (286 foods)
No study links glyphosate to IgG food reactions, or shows that reducing glyphosate lowers them. IgG food results mostly reflect which foods are eaten often; flagged foods are handled by trial removal and reintroduction.
MycoTOX Profile
EnviroTOX Complete includes the MycoTOX panel, which shows mycotoxin exposure only, mostly from food, and doesn’t diagnose mould illness. I no longer offer MycoTOX on its own for mould at home (
why). EnviroTOX is for a specific chemical or workplace exposure question, not for mould at home.
The Process
1
Consultation — environmental history and clinical context
We discuss your symptom history, dietary patterns, living and working environment, occupational history, and any previous test results. This determines whether EnviroTOX Complete is worth doing at all, and provides the context needed to interpret results meaningfully when they return.
2
Test kit and preparation
The EnviroTOX Complete kit is sent to your home. Follow the lab's own instructions in the kit. Mosaic asks you to stop glutathione, binders such as bentonite clay and charcoal for at least three days before collection, and to collect first-morning urine (
MycoTOX fact sheet). There is no evidence that creatine or other "loading" improves results. The ToxDetect and glyphosate elements do not require specific preparation beyond the standard fasting requirements.
3
First-morning urine collection
Single collection, prepaid return envelope to the Mosaic laboratory. All three panels — MycoTOX, ToxDetect, and glyphosate — are run from the same sample. Turnaround is typically 10–14 days from receipt at the laboratory.
4
Integrated three-panel results interpretation
The report is reviewed across all three panels together — because the clinical significance of individual findings often depends on what else is elevated. High glyphosate alongside mycotoxins and phthalates represents a different clinical picture from isolated glyphosate elevation alone. The interpretation consultation addresses each elevated category, the likely sources, and the priority sequencing for intervention.
5
Protocol — source reduction first
Source reduction comes first and is the step with the clearest logic: find where the exposure is coming from (food, water, products, a damp building, work) and reduce it, then retest to see whether the level falls. Supporting the liver and kidneys with sleep, food, fluids and fibre is sensible general care. "Drainage" protocols, binders and glutathione to "mobilise" toxins are widely used in functional practice but haven't been tested in trials, so they are used cautiously, if at all, and only with a clear reason.
Pricing
EnviroTOX Complete — Mosaic Diagnostics via Nordic Laboratories
EnviroTOX Complete (MycoTOX + ToxDetect + Glyphosate)
£819
Results interpretation consultation
£145
The complexity of an EnviroTOX Complete interpretation — three panels across 170+ markers — typically warrants a longer consultation than a single-panel result. This will be discussed at booking. Prices correct at July 2026 — confirm current pricing when ordering.
Reducing exposure — practical starting points
Regardless of test results, the main dietary way to lower glyphosate intake is switching wheat, oats, and other cereal products to certified organic. UK organic certification prohibits glyphosate pre-harvest desiccation — the primary route of high-level cereal contamination. For broader environmental chemical reduction: glass or stainless steel food storage instead of plastic, fragrance-free personal care products, and increased dietary diversity with emphasis on organic produce are the three changes with the most evidence for measurable reduction in urinary chemical metabolites within 4–6 weeks.
What is your environmental toxin burden?
Book an initial consultation to discuss your dietary history, environmental exposures, and current clinical picture. We'll work out whether EnviroTOX Complete, a different investigation, or no test at all is the right starting point — and what the results mean for your specific health goals.
Book a Consultation
Damp or mould at home? Start here