Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

PMS or menstrual symptoms indicate a hormone imbalance

30/4/2018

Why are females so complicated?! I don't mean in a relationship sense, but hormonally! Male hormones (mainly testosterone) by comparison are generally stable (females may say that men are emotionally "flatlined"!), but there are many more dynamic hormones in a female (FSH, LH, several oestrogens, progesterone, testosterone and more!) which can change from day to day through their cycles.

Female hormones must be finely tuned and balanced for menstrual cycles, fertility, pregnancy and other processes. Unfortunately many things can upset the delicate hormone balance, such as stress, nutrient deficiencies (and excesses), alcohol, digestive system function, exposure to toxins and chemicals, exposure to plastics, and other potential factors.

If you are female and have any regular symptoms just before and/or during your period such as headaches or migraines, cramps (especially if severe), bloating, pains, acne, clots, being very emotional, sore breasts, difficulty getting pregnant, miscarriages, or if your period is irregular in frequency and duration, then you have a hormone imbalance. A "normal" period really should be symptom-free, except for the bleed! Unfortunately, other period symptoms have become normalised by doctors, when they really are signs of hormone imbalance.

In addition, if you (or any other female you know) has PMDD, PCOS, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, fibroids, or cancers of the breast, ovaries, cervix or uterus, these are more chronic and severe symptoms of hormone imbalance. Hormone imbalances can result in these very serious conditions. This is why hormone imbalances should not be ignored or hidden each month with painkillers and anti-inflammatories or contraceptive medications. The root causes of the hormone imbalance needs to be investigated and resolved. This is what I do!

In my detailed questioning, I will seek to identify all root causes of hormone imbalances. I may also recommend specific pathology testing, including a saliva test of female hormones (which I have noted that not a lot of doctors or even specialists even look at), before recommending a personalised treatment plan.

How good would it be to not have any PMS symptoms or other chronic female conditions (PCOS, Endo, fibroids, etc)?! You can! And I would like to help you have a "normal" period again, or resolve other female hormone related health issues.

1 Comment

Are cravings sabotaging your health improvements?

16/4/2018

1 Comment

Have you have tried to make some improvements to your food intake to improve your health, but found it too hard because when you try, you get huge cravings for your "normal" (ie, bad) food choices? It may not be your fault!

Research over the past few years has shown how your gut bacteria actually communicates with your brain to cause food cravings for more of the foods that they want to feed on!

When your food intake is high in sugar or refined or processed carbs (breads, cakes, pasta, alcohol etc), the sugar-loving or carb-hungry gut bacteria and yeasts like Candida increase in numbers. They can displace other good bacteria to cause an imbalance, and they secrete chemicals to the cells of your digestive system, which in turn sends signals via the enteric nervous system and vagus nerve (which controls your digestive system) to your brain. This is the gut-brain connection!

When gut microbes are feeling hungry, such as when you change your diet, they effectively tell your brain to cause cravings so that you eat more of what they want to eat! Clever little buggers!

Not all cravings are bad though, as when your body really needs some specific nutrients, your brain will trigger cravings for those nutrients, such as in pregnancy! When eating a balanced nutrition intake, your gut bacteria will also be in balance. But excesses of any foods, good or bad, will also cause a corresponding excess in bacteria which favours those foods.

As a Clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath, I always ask clients whether they are craving any particular foods, as this can give clues as to possible nutrient deficiencies or excesses, and whether their digestive bacteria are in balance or not.

What foods do you crave, or what might you have craved in the past or in pregnancy?!

1 Comment

Does coffee really cause cancer?

2/4/2018

3 Comments

A Judge in the US (30th March 2018) has recommended that Starbucks and other coffee companies must put a warning label on coffee products sold in California, because of a cancer-causing chemical produced in the roasting process!

The chemical in particular is called acrylamide, which is formed when sugars in foods are exposed to high temperatures when baked, roasted or fried. The amount of acrylamide formed is also dependent on the species of the plant, how long it has been stored or cooked, or other factors.

Typical foods which can produce acrylamide are vegetables such as potato (fried chips, crisps, hash browns etc), bakery products (toast, breads, biscuits, cakes etc), breakfast cereals, and other high-carb starchy foods.
But does coffee cause cancer?

Generally it does not! BUT acrylamide in foods such as coffee can increase the risk of SOME types of cancers in animal and human studies. This is despite the assurances from the Australian Food Standards organisation which suggests that there are no human studies showing this.

But cancer is a very complex condition for which there are multiple causative factors in each person, and there is no one single cause of cancer in anyone. This also means that acrylamide on its own is unlikely to cause cancer, and certainly not from one cup of coffee! Perhaps acrylamide exposure over a long period of time on its own can increase cancer risk, but the other nutrients such as antioxidants and others in coffee can potentially negate that risk.

There are many studies also showing the benefits of coffee in some types of cancers too!

Every week we see a study suggesting something like coffee, red wine, chocolate etc being bashed in the media as causing cancer, then the next week another study comes out saying how good it is for you! Nutrition science is so confusing if you just follow the sensationalist media, and not look at the details of the published studies. The summary graph attached shows multiple studies showing both benefits and risks of coffee, wine, tea and other common foods and drinks!

The issue with scientific research in nutrition is how well designed the study was. For example, whether a study was just looking at the increased risk of acrylamide alone on cancer and inferring that as coffee contains acrylamide, it causes cancer. Or whether whole coffee beans were tested for acrylamide content and then showing an increased risk in coffee drinkers versus non-drinkers. Or what temperature the coffee beans were roasted at, or the water temperature in the coffee, or whether a coffee drinker had good nutrition intake and lifestyle, or an increased genetic risk for cancer, or a thousand other possible factors!

Have your coffee! Drink it and enjoy it! I generally recommend 1-2 cups of brewed coffee per day at most, and preferably none after midday, as it can affect sleep! If you feel the need to have a coffee for an energy pickup after lunch, then there are reasons for this which can be explained and can be resolved without the need for coffee at that time of the day! You will need to see me for this!

3 Comments

PMS or menstrual symptoms indicate a hormone imbalance

Are cravings sabotaging your health improvements?

Does coffee really cause cancer?

COPYRIGHT

Archives

Categories