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What is a low carb diet? How can a low carb diet reverse chronic health conditions?

30/7/2018

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There is a growing trend and following of "low carb" type diets for improving health! But there seems to be some confusion or misunderstandings about what "low carb" is, how it is to be implemented, and the benefits! So what does "low carb" actually mean?! Does it benefit everyone? And for which health conditions can it help? Most excellent questions, I'm glad you asked!

The macronutrients we need to eat in a balanced diet (whatever that means!) are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. While most foods contain all of these macronutrients, the definition of carbohydrates is less clear, but generally includes all vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, pulses, starches and sugars.

At first glance most of these foods would seem to be health, so why do we want to do "low carb"?!

In my clinical practice I analyse peoples' diets and I see most people eating far too many "processed carbohydrates", which includes sugary foods and drinks, breads, grains, bakery foods, cereals, pasta, and alcohol. These products are all high in carbohydrates, but very low in real nutrients! Carbohydrates are NOT an "essential" nutrient, as our bodies can make them from other foods we eat. We have "essential" proteins (amino acids), and "essential" fats (the omega-3 and omega-6 fats) which we MUST have in our diets regularly, because our bodies cannot make them! But there are no essential carbohydrates!

Diets high in these processed carbohydrates can not only reduce the overall amount of nutrients you eat, but cause high blood sugar levels and a lot of inflammation in your body. It is the high blood sugar which causes most of the inflammation response, but also other "nutrients" and "anti-nutrients" in these high carb foods, such as gluten, lectins, phytates, preservatives, additives, agricultural chemicals, moulds and toxins, and more.

High levels of inflammation (which can be confirmed with pathology testing) are what causes most chronic health conditions we see today - weight gain and obesity, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and even cancer.

I also see people not getting enough protein in their diet, and not enough healthy fats! We need proteins for growth and repair, and for many other metabolic functions every day. We also need healthy fats to make our hormones, neurotransmitters, new cells, for energy, and much more! Processed carbohydrates seems to be in excess in most people, and this causes health issues... so a lower processed carb intake, with the reduced amount of processed carbs being replaced by quality protein and healthy fats, can reduce symptoms and bring around a return to health!

There are many implementations of low carb diets, such as Paleo, keto/ketosis/ketogenic, low inflammation diet, primal, LCHF (usually meaning Low Carb High Fat, but that causes bad implementations, so I prefer Low processed-Carb Healthy Fat instead!), and others.

Not all of these nutrition plans may be beneficial for everyone, as there are a lot of interpretations of them, and some can be too extreme for my liking. The main problems are often seen in LCHF, Paleo, or ketogenic diets, which some people can have too much of a percentage of one macronutrient, at the expense of others, which can cause deficiencies and negate any benefits to your health. When these plans are done well, the benefits to your health can be incredible!

With the "good" carbohydrates of whole, fresh, and organic vegetables and fruits being packed with nutrients, I still recommend you eat plenty of these types of carbs! So a "low carb" diet really means a "low processed-carb, low inflammation, but high in nutrients" food plan!

A low carb nutrition plan can have many benefits to your health, by increasing your nutrient intake, reducing inflammation, reducing symptoms of chronic diseases, and helping you to feel much better!

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How your immune system works to keep you alive!

20/7/2018

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This article is about your immune system! You might not think much about your immune system or think that it does very much, but your immune system is on alert constantly to protect you from all known and unknown infections, injuries, damaged cells and more, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, for your entire life! Your immune system, quite literally, keeps you alive!

There are two main parts to your immune system:
1) Innate immune system - these cells protect you from all unknown infection-causing microbes, bacteria and viruses! They recognise what is "self" or safe and what isn't, and will attack and destroy any foreign invaders. This part of your immune system is how we have been able to survive for millenia without modern medicines or medical interventions! The innate immune system, when confronted by a new microbe or invader, learns from this and then trains the adaptive immune system for longer-term defence mechanisms.
2) Adaptive immune system - the adaptive immune system develops antibodies against each invader. Antibodies are then used by the immune system to more quickly respond to and stop infections in future!

Contrary to popular belief, newborn babies do have an immune system! They get this from the mother during development, then from being exposed to good bacteria during birth, and from breast milk which is high in immune system proteins and antibodies. Their immune system gets stronger each day to protect them!

Your immune system is affected by factors such as stress, a poor diet (ie, nutrient deficiencies or excesses), poor digestive system function, chemicals and toxins in foods and environment, poor sleep quality or quantity, and chronic (long-term) infections, medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs, anti-inflammatories, immunosuppressives, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, steroids, etc), and other factors. then it's not going to work as well as it should. Reduced immune system function can lead to longer and more severe infections, reduced or slow healing of wounds, inflammatory conditions, auto-immune conditions (where the immune system turns against your body to damage organs and tissues), and even cancer. Your immune system has several types of cells which find and destroy cancer cells, so when the immune system isn't working optimally, this can allow cancers to grow and spread.

Suppressing your symptoms and your immune system with medications (as listed above) may reduce your symptoms, but will increase the risk of further or more severe infections or other chronic conditions such as cancer.
 
Having a good immune system is incredibly important, not just to prevent those nasty head colds or flus in winter, but for your long-term health and survival! Your immune system can be affected and reduced by so many factors. If you suffer from frequent infections such as colds, flu, tonsillitis, sinusitis, UTIs, allergies or intolerances, any autoimmune conditions, cancer, or any chronic infection, then your immune system needs help!

This is where I can help! By investigating all possible causes of a poorly functioning immune system and treating the causes, you CAN have your health back!


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You can opt-out of the new e-health record system

16/7/2018

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Some people may be aware of the Australian government's announcement in 2017 of an expansion to the "My Health Record" system, for having all of your health information stored electronically and accessible and shared across many areas of the health industry, to doctors, pharmacists, specialists, allied health practitioners, and all their IT and reception and call centre staff, and perhaps by anyone else who wishes to access it, legally or otherwise...

As per usual with many government initiatives, on face value they seem like a good idea. But governments don't exactly have a good track record in transparency or honesty, or even security in what they do.

Your personal information, which includes your health information, should be kept private and only shared with the least amount of people you agree to share it with. And the less it's shared the better! Also, the least the government knows about you, the better!

On one hand there are policies which dictate the privacy and security of your personal and health information, but on the other hand, those involved in gathering and storing your information (ie, the government or health officials) have already been discussing how to share your information to third parties for marketing and profits!

Going completely against all other government policies where you have to opt-in to be a part of it, the My Health Record is an AUTOMATIC opt-in! And you can opt-out of the e-health system ONLY within a 3-month period which starts from TODAY (16th July 2018). From 16th July 2018 until 15th October 2018 is the only time you can opt out of the e-health record system. How ridiculous is that?!

If you register to opt-out, no e-health record will be created for you. But is this enough? No! You may still have to remind staff at every healthcare facility you visit to let them know that you do not have a My Health Record, so that they don't create one and add your health details to it.

If you have an e-health record automatically created because you didn't opt-out, then all is not lost! You CAN register to have your e-health records cancelled "at any time". BUT, this does not mean your records are actually deleted! Copies are actually still visible and kept by all healthcare providers for a period of 30-130 years AFTER your death. Your details will still be "accessed by us (the government) for the purposes of maintenance, audit and other purposes required or authorised by law".

IT specialists have said that it's impossible to completely safeguard your information in this system. We've seen this with many very public hacks, leaks or illegal sharing of personal information, and even credit card information stolen from allegedly "secure" systems. Just last week, scammers cloned the government's hub website - MyGov! In fact the My Health Records have already been breached many times, according to a report by the Australian Information Commissioner!

Even the organisation overseeing the project, the Australian Digital Health Agency, has had information leaked about the "secondary use" of the collected information. That the health information in the My Health Record may be used and disclosed "for any purpose", such as for research purposes, or perhaps other questionable uses such as marketing. Various disease awareness organisations have said publically that they are "excited" about the possibilities of using the data! At least the Law Council of Australia have said they do not support the automatic opt-in model or the secondary uses of the health information.

To find out more about the My Health Record program, please go here: https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/

To opt out of the My Health Record, please go to the My Health Record website here: https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/   or by calling 1800 723 471 for phone based assistance.

Please like and share this post so others are aware of what is coming, and to take action to opt-out of the process, if so desired.

How do you feel about a large number of people being able to access your personal information and your health history, or about the government knowing even more about you? Or what are your concerns about this?

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The dangerous and deadly man flu!

4/7/2018

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In this article I will talk about a specific strain of flu which can affect a large percentage of the population. This group of people are particularly susceptible to flu, and for them which can be very dangerous. I will also give advice about prevention and treatment in this article.

I'm going to talk about the dreaded "man flu"!

This particular strain only affects the males of the human species to cause a much more severe form of flu, which can be extremely debilitating, dangerous and even life threatening!
 
I see a disproportionate number of female clients to male clients, as women seem to be more concerned with not only their health, but that of their children. It's an obvious stereotypical mothering and caring trait. But men want to appear tough, strong and manly to provide for their family, that they tend to not look after themselves as much, or notice when they are dying... until it's too late!

Just because there are only a few published studies on "man flu" doesn't mean it doesn't exist!

So ladies, when your man says he feels like he is dying from flu, can't get up to make your tea, can't get to work, can't do those chores around the house, and hasn't the energy to move much more than his thumb on the remote control for Netflix,  he needs URGENT help! Even if he doesn't really look so unwell, his man flu symptoms can be deceiving, so please take this warning and advice seriously!

The prevention of man flu is similar to what I have recommended in my previous flu articles, but the treatment is very specific and different to that of women and children.

The treatment of man flu MUST include the following:
  1. Full and exclusive access to the couch in the lounge room. NOT the bedroom, as this won't help him recover at all! If he has a man-cave, then that's an even better healing location!
  2. Full and exclusive access to satellite, cable or pay TV, AND the remote control! Especially sports channels, police car chase shows, or DIY handyman shows. If he is too weak to operate the remote control, then he needs some of his mates around for support. Phone them to help in his healing and recovery!
  3. Hot and home-cooked food. From nutritious and healing soups, stews, roasts with lots of vegies, and plenty of salt and chilli!
  4. Massages. It is well known that massages can move the often toxic lymphatic fluid so that the body can heal. Frequent head, foot or full body massages show that you want him to recover quickly, and that you care.
  5. Rest. On the couch in the lounge room is fine! Getting plenty of sleep, without having to worry about providing for your family, can help to strengthen his immune system to overcome the infection.
  6. See a Naturopath! Guys, it's not a pretty sight to see you suffering from man flu, so when you are feeling down from this, please see a Naturopath for a quicker recovery!
I won't be writing a similar article on "woman flu" as it has not been proven to exist! If women feel like they have the flu, it's unlikely! It's probably just women feeling a little more "emotional" than usual. Carry on as normal, you will feel better tomorrow!

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Cold and flu prevention 2018 (Part3)

2/7/2018

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As mentioned in a recent article of mine, according to scientific studies looking at the infection rate of the flu virus, only about 20% of people get the flu even when deliberately exposed to the virus or from being in very close proximity to those infected with it.

So what protects you from flu - your immune system! This is why 80% of people won't get flu even when in very close contact with those who are infectious.
You may only get symptoms of an infection when your immune defences are down and the infection gets on top of your immune system.


Your immune system has 2 main parts - the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. The innate immune system is mostly found in your respiratory and digestive tracts, but also reproductive and urinary tracts too. The white blood cells of your innate immune system find and destroy foreign microbes which are recognised as not being "self". These immune system cells are non-specific, meaning that they find and fight any foreign invaders, and especially those which haven't been encountered before.

The adaptive immune system develops from the innate immune system, so that the adaptive immune cells can "learn" about the newly encountered microbes, and develop antibodies to them for longer-term protection and a quicker immune response when the microbes are found in the future.
 
Another problem with the flu vaccine is that this bypasses the innate immune system, as the simulated "infection" starts in the muscle where the injection occurs, and not in the respiratory tract where the innate immune system would normally start the healing process. Because of this, the innate immune system doesn't trigger the normal "learning" about the flu virus to produce permanent or even long-term memory against the infection. As a result, the flu vaccine's attempt at "immunisation" or developing an immunity only lasts a few months at most. In a real flu (or other microbial) infection, the innate immune system triggers the adaptive immune system to develop antibodies and learn for a PERMANENT immune response against the infection. In this instance, the adaptive immune system will never forget how to respond to a particular natural infection, unlike what happens with a flu vaccine.

When many other published studies show little or no benefit to the flu vaccine in terms of duration or severity of flu symptoms compared to people who don't get the flu vaccine, you have to wonder why there's such a push for everyone to get this shot...

The Cochrane review studies, which are the highest form of published research, show that the flu vaccine only reduces the flu infection rate by 1%, or in other words, only one person in 100 actually benefits from the vaccine. Another Cochrane study found that the flu vaccine only had a modest effect on time off work (1 day difference) and had no effect on hospital admissions or complication rates compared to those who did not get the flu vaccine. This study also reported that "reliable evidence on influenza vaccines is thin but there is evidence of widespread manipulation of conclusions and spurious notoriety of the studies", and "Studies funded from public (ie, independent) sources were significantly less likely to report conclusions favourable to the vaccines". Meaning that there is a lot of bias in pharmaceutical industry studies reporting "benefits" to the flu vaccines.

Other studies I referenced in a previous article suggests that the flu vaccine actually causes more respiratory infections (viral as well as bacterial), which can spread and infect more people.

You are much better off preventing flu by:
1) Improving your nutrition intake and lifestyle factors, which can boost your immune system
2) Improving hygiene during winter - washing hands more, and not touching your eyes, mouth or nose
3) Improving your vitamin D levels with more safe sun exposure, or vitamin D3 supplements during winter. Remember, "Vitamin D is the key" to prevention and treatment of flu!

Stay healthy this winter!


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    COPYRIGHT

    All articles here are Copyright (c) to Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath (2015-2020). You are welcome to share these articles in your personal or business marketing, in full and referencing this website.
    If you wish to have specific health articles written for your business, please ask via email to ross@rosswalter.com.au  

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