Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

"We got it wrong on cholesterol" say nutrition experts

27/8/2018

At a major nutrition conference in Switzerland in June 2018, many of the world's top nutritionists, scientists and doctors presented many historical and recent published studies, to look at the recommended food guidelines around the world, how they came to be, and what can be done to improve them based on more recent research, in the light of the current epidemics of obesity, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

The food guidelines in most large developed countries were designed with the idea to reduce the growing rate of heart disease back in the 1980s. Their advice was to reduce saturated fat in the diet, reduce cholesterol-rich foods (and blood cholesterol levels), reduce salt, but also increase plant seed oils and whole grains. This on the whole seemed to make sense on one level, but even back then the nutrition science community wasn't in agreement.

The ONE major study which caused a change in belief of nutrition and later the development of the food guidelines was a paper known as the "7 countries study" in the late 1950s by Dr Ancel Keys, an epidemiologist, and creator of the K-rations used in the armed services. His study showed that there was a link between saturated fat (and cholesterol) intake and heart disease, and based on his study, he lobbied and pressured the medical authorities to believe that cholesterol was the major cause of heart disease which was not the opinion at the time. And so it became the "low fat, low cholesterol era".

It didn't work did it? The rates of heart disease and other chronic disease shot up, to epidemic proportions all around the world which we see today.

Why? Because Dr Keys actually studied the heart disease rates and diets (only on paper, not real health results) of people from 22 countries, but he only published the data on 7 countries which actually matched his perceived opinion (i.e. reporting bias). When the data from the other "missing" 15 countries was later analysed by other scientists, they found that they did not come up with the same findings as the 7 which were reported. In fact, when all of the data was analysed together, there was NO correlation between cholesterol and heart disease at all! Sadly this misrepresentation of data in scientific studies continues to this day, which makes it difficult for you (and me!) to sort out the truth from the BS!

And this is confirmed in many more recent and quality studies, which show that high blood cholesterol levels are NOT associated with an increased risk of heart disease at all! In fact the OPPOSITE is the case - low cholesterol levels (especially seen in those taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins) actually increase the risk of heart disease. Other studies show that 50-75% of people who have had heart attacks do NOT have high cholesterol levels, but "normal" levels! So there must be something else which is causing this epidemic of heart disease!

And we know what this is! More on this in the next article.

Coming back to the recent Swiss nutrition conference... the general consensus of the nutrition experts there was that "we got it wrong on saturated fat and cholesterol with respect to heart disease". They admitted it! Which is a massive step in turning around this epidemic we have.

Now we need the government nutrition bodies to realise the truth too. No more covering their backsides or hiding the truth, so that they don't get sued. They can't hide the truth any longer. We know what's really going on, and we know why - they have made a lot of money deceiving people and making them sicker to sell more pharmaceuticals and useless medical procedures.

Let's hope that the admission by leading experts that "we got it wrong" on cholesterol and saturated fat will be the start of a major change in nutrition advice!

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Low carb diets for Diabetes - does it help?! YES!

22/8/2018

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Today (August 21, 2018) Diabetes Australia released a "position statement" to make some loose recommendations or advice to people with diabetes using a "low carb" eating plan to better improve their health.

I have gone over their position statement and this is my review...

Firstly, what is Diabetes?! Diabetes is caused by your food intake being too high in refined and processed carbohydrates, which causes high blood sugar levels. Over time, your cells start ignoring the insulin signal so your blood sugar levels remain high. More and more insulin is produced, as your body is now "insulin resistant", until your poor pancreas organ effectively wears out, and now you have diabetes. All caused by a high carbohydrate diet.

So a lower carb eating plan would seem to be the obvious solution! Many independent and evidence-based Nutritionists and Naturopaths (like me!) have been saying this for many years! Low carb for diabetes has been researched and recommended since the 1920s, but not by the diabetes organisations.

Some notes of the "position statement" are:
1) Diabetes Australia say that there is no "one size fits all" approach to "living well with diabetes". Absolutely true! So why have they been using a "one size fits all approach" for decades?! Eat less fat, less salt, follow the food guidelines, and take this insulin and medication. This doesn't fix diabetes, but only makes it worse.

2) There are many reminders that someone with diabetes should speak with their dietitian BEFORE considering going low carb. Why work with someone who hasn't actually fixed the problem in how long?

3) Dietitians are not allowed to recommend a low carb diet for any condition, as it's against their rules. The reason why is explained later... So if you have diabetes and want to try low carb, you speak to your dietitian, who will just say - "you shouldn't do that" and "eat more grains", which are high in carbs, which causes high blood sugar, which causes more insulin resistance. Pass those diabetes meds please.

4) They are still suggesting that healthy fats should be avoided because of their risk to heart disease - an issue which hasn't been proven in thousands of published studies in decades...

5) People starting a low carb diet will experience tiredness, headaches, nausea and dizziness. Really?! Not in my experience in a low carb plan - in fact, the chronic headaches and migraines disappear within days of starting low carb, and nausea and dizziness reduces too, as does your weight, blood sugar level, cholesterol level, symptoms, and many other "side effects"!

6) They claim low carb diets are popular because they are easy to follow and are heavily promoted in the media! NO! Because there is a lot of very good research showing that they work amazingly well for people with diabetes, weight issues, heart disease, cancer, and many other chronic health conditions!

7) They do say that there is "reliable evidence" (hooray!) that "lower carb" eating can be "safe and useful in lowering blood glucose levels"... Great! Then they add "in the short term (up to 6 months)" but only because they didn't include any studies in their position statement which went longer than this.

8) They didn't consider "vegetables " as being "carbs", when they are. But a "low carb" plan doesn't mean eating less or no veg! Low carb means low refined carbs like sugar, grains, grain products and alcohol, as all of which greatly raise blood sugars and insulin response.

9) They included 3, yep, just 3 pathetic studies to show that low carb wasn't proven to be of benefit in type 1 diabetes, and the most number of people tested in the 3 tests was 45 people. Another 3 studies used for type 2 diabetes. Hardly good examples, when I can find more and better quality studies showing much better benefits for diabetes.
10) AND their definition of "low carb " is diets with no more than 130gm of carbs per day. That's NOT a low carb diet! That's a MODERATE to high carb diet! We don't consider a diet to be low carb unless it's less than 30-50gm of carbs per day. No wonder they didn't get the really good results of reduced blood glucose and HbA1c (a diabetes blood sugar marker test) than I've seen in practice!

In summary, at best, Diabetes Australia are saying, you MAY be able to do a "moderate carb" diet (because it sure isn't low carb!) for up to 6 months maximum, only if you aren't pregnant, a child, breastfeeding, those who are malnourished (including those with cancer, infections, heart disease, and osteoporosis), with liver or kidney failure, eating disorders, on diabetes medications, or if you are a dietitian or diabetes consultant!

ALL of these conditions are ideal for a low-fat and highly nutritious eating plan! All of these health conditions will greatly improve from eating less sugar, grains and starchy foods.

Despite the position statement and its attempt at trying to stop the public criticism against their outdated advice for diabetics, the Diabetes Australia website still has the same old poor advice. The same with the Dietitians Association of Australia. "People with diabetes should follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines", whose high-carb advice caused the diabetes in the first place, because the guidelines were written by the Dietitians Association of Australia, who in turn are sponsored by many food industry groups, and processed food maufacturers like Campbells, Arnotts, Nestle, the Australian Breakfast Cereal Manufacturers Forum (ABCMF), and more! It says so on their website!

Now do you see why we have this epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases? Nothing is going to really change until the DAA is either replaced, or they start giving factual nutrition advice based on real science, and not on corporate "sponsorships".

Nothing new to see here, move along now...

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Why should you avoid folic acid in pregnancy or conception

20/8/2018

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Are you, or someone you know trying to get pregnant, or thinking of having children soon? Or have you been trying to get pregnant for a while and it's not being successful? Or have you had one or more miscarriages?

There are many possible factors which cause difficulties with getting pregnant or holding onto a pregnancy such as stress, nutrient deficiencies, toxins and chemical exposure, genetics, smoking and alcohol, inflammation and more.

These are two of the most common, but little known, causes of infertility:
1) Hormone imbalance in men and women, and
2) Genetic mutations in men and women.

These are the biggest causes of infertility I see in my clinic, but both are fairly easy to treat to get a successful result! Sadly, the medical approaches to infertility are very expensive, and they don't address the root causes of infertility. One very common and recommended medical "treatment" actually causes more heartache, distress, infertility and miscarriages. This is the advice that the woman trying to conceive should take a pregnancy multivitamin supplement which contains "folic acid".

Folic acid is not found in nature. It's not real. It's an artificially synthesized form of folate, or a fake and dangerous form of vitamin B9, which is found in plant foods. Folate comes from the word "foliage", hence leaves or leafy green vegetables, but also found in any plant-based food.

"Folic acid" is added to cheap retail brand supplements and pregnancy products, as well as to breads, and other refined grain products, cereals, processed foods, and packaged foods. It doesn't have the same effect in your body as the real folate!

But what is worse is that up to 40% of people may have a particular genetic mutation called MTHFR, which I have written about before here:
http://www.rosswalter.com.au/articles/folic-acid-vs-folate-are-they-the-same

When men and women with the MTHFR genetic mutation take supplements with folic acid in them, or eat lots of processed foods high in folic acid, they can develop toxicity from UMFA (un-metabolized folic acid) syndrome. Taking folic acid in supplements or foods when you have the MTHFR mutation causes ongoing infertility, and very sadly, recurrent miscarriages. But women trying to conceive and pregnant women are told to take supplements with folic acid! As per usual with many government or medical directives, this simply makes things worse.

A recent study (Servy et al., Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 2018) tested couples who had infertility issues for at least 4 years, where one or both partners had the MTHFR genetic mutation. Most had previously tried folic acid supplements, but they had a lot of poor results, including multiple miscarriages. The study instead supplemented the couples with a natural form of folate instead, for only 4 months.

No adverse effects were seen from this form of folate. But the results were amazing! 39% of the females conceived naturally, with most needed some additional treatment to achieve pregnancy, but only 6% didn't succeed. That's a 94% success rate after avoiding folic acid, but taking a natural folate supplement instead!

The study concluded that the natural folate supplement should be used for when one or both partners have the MTHFR mutation, and that the artificial folic acid must be avoided to prevent folic acid toxicity, immune dysfunction, and other adverse health effects such as cancer.

I highly recommend getting tested for MTHFR with a simple blood or saliva test, and taking a pregnancy supplement which does NOT have folic acid in it, but a natural form of folate instead. I can help with both the test and the natural folate supplement, along with investigating other possible causes of infertility.

If you are trying to conceive, or know someone who is, please share this article to them so they are informed and can have a successful outcome!

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Roundup (Glyphosate) is in foods and known to cause cancer

13/8/2018

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Being a Clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath isn't just about helping people with what to eat, but is also about education on what to eat, when, and how, and in even more detail!

One extra little detail is what your food was exposed to in terms of chemicals, toxins, or manipulation during or after production (such as irradiation or genetic modification, and how foods are cooked) which can make all the difference between a food that is healthy and a similar food that is damaging to your health.

One such suggestion I like to make is to avoid your food being exposed to toxic chemicals, such as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides etc. One of the most prominent and dangerous herbicides used on food crops is Roundup (also known as glyphosate, and found in many other brands of herbicides). Even though Roundup is promoted as safe (by its manufacturer, Monsanto), it can cause severe adverse health effects as found in recent research, including birth defects, spontaneous abortions, infertility, hormone disruptions, autoimmune conditions, neuro-degenerative diseases and even cancer (especially Non-Hodgkins lymphoma). It also gets into the environment, animals and the water supply, causing more issues.

Many food crops are genetically modified to be "Roundup Ready", meaning that the crop can be sprayed with Roundup when it's still young to kill the weeds around them, but the young plants can survive being sprayed. Such Roundup Ready crops include wheat, corn, canola, soy, and even cotton.

Roundup is also sprayed on cereal crops (ie wheat and corn), to kill the plants once their grains/seeds have set, to make it easier to harvest them. Unfortunately this leads to the chemical being present in your foods - breakfast cereals, breads, bakery products, soy foods and canola oil. This is one reason why I do not recommend people to eat wheat, corn, soy, or any processed foods with canola oil - unless it has been tested and certified as "organic".

A judge and jury in the USA have just awarded a 46-year old man about $289 MILLION in damages after successfully proving that Roundup caused his cancer. He was a gardener/groundsman and used Roundup regularly, but he isn't expected to live much longer because of his cancer. There are many hundreds more people suing Monsanto for health issues caused by Roundup.

Avoid using Roundup in your gardens or around food crops, as it can be absorbed through your skin to have the same effect. Have a look online for safe, natural herbicides or pesticides that you can cheaply and easily make at home, or just pull your weeds out by hand!

Local councils around Australia are notorious for using Roundup around the streets and parks, but some are heeding the warnings of Roundup and are trialling using steam as a more environmentally friendly and safer alternative to killing weeds! And of course it will be much safer for their employees and the general public too.

For your health and that of your family, please avoid using Roundup in your garden, and avoid Roundup Ready GMO foods.

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The importance of your food choices for dental health

9/8/2018

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At the recent "Low Carb Nutrition Revolution" conference in Gladstone, which I attended as a presenter on the topic of "Low carb for mental health", I was reminded of one of the main reasons I decided to follow this career path, initially as a Nutritionist.

About 12 years ago (approx 2006) I was dragged along to a day-long seminar about Dr Weston A. Price and his work. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, as I was still in my previous career at that time! Dr Price had passed away several decades earlier, but the spokesperson for the Weston A Price Foundation was the main speaker.

Dr Weston Price (1870-1948) was an American Dentist, Nutritionist and Scientist. In the late 1890s and early 1900s he spent over 10 years travelling all over the world to search for the secret of health. He visited and lived with indigenous populations on most continents to research their diets and the quality of their teeth. He found almost perfect dental arches, next to no dental decay, in an era of no water fluoridation, and very little toothbrushing or toothpaste!

When Dr. Price analyzed the foods used by isolated indigenous peoples he found that they provided at least four times the calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish and organ meats.

Dr Price was researching these remote populations at the most perfect time in history, when modern foods were only just reaching these areas - white flour, white sugar, refined vegetable/seed oils, and canned foods.

He then noticed the children of parents who had abandoned their traditional diets in favour of the modern diets had extremely bad and decayed teeth, and also a narrowed face, crowded teeth, and a much reduced immunity to disease. All of this occurred in a few years after modern high carb foods were introduced.

The discoveries and conclusion of Dr. Price are presented in his book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration", of which reprints are still available today. The book contains striking photographs of handsome, healthy natives who eat traditional diets, and compares them with the physical degeneration that occurs when their fellow natives abandon nourishing traditional diets in favour of modern convenience foods. See some attached photos for a comparison.

While Dr Price's research was done in the early 1900s, his conclusions are still very relevant today, perhaps even more so, in this era of high carb convenience foods, epidemics of chronic disease and poor dental health. The research in his book could only have been written at that time in history! We are very lucky that he conducted these studies at the time.

What can we learn from this?

That people of various cultures should stick to their traditional diets of whole, fresh foods as much as possible, while also avoiding the high carb or highly processed foods such as sugar, flours and bakery products. This is why I recommend to clients of different ethnicities to stick to their original traditional diets and not adopt the modern convenience foods, and ignore the ridiculous government food guidelines which assume that we are all the same when we are not!

I believe that Dr Weston A. Price is a hero for his nutrition and dental research! He also noted big health problems with mercury amalgam fillings and root canal teeth...

Do you think your diet is right for you? Or do you get various aches and pains, or digestive symptoms when you eat something but can't pinpoint what is causing it? Or do you get lots of dental decay issues but can't work out why? I can help!

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"We got it wrong on cholesterol" say nutrition experts

Low carb diets for Diabetes - does it help?! YES!

Why should you avoid folic acid in pregnancy or conception

Roundup (Glyphosate) is in foods and known to cause cancer

The importance of your food choices for dental health

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