Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

Are cancer-causing chemicals in your sunscreens?

26/11/2018

I frequently write articles about improving your health by improving what you put into your bodies in the form of food! But what you put on your body, in particular on your skin is equally as important, as your skin absorbs liquids, chemicals, and other substances too.

Now that it's warmer and sunnier again here (in Brisbane, Australia), we need to be a bit more careful about looking after our skin health, and the careful balance between getting enough sun exposure on our skin to have good vitamin D levels (for its anti-inflammatory and other health benefits) and getting sun damage from severe sunburns.

I don't believe in avoiding the sun completely, as the sun offers so many health benefits. I don't believe that we should also be wearing sunscreens at all times either, as proposed by certain cancer organisations. It's about having a healthy balance!

Last year I did an expose of the Cancer Council's sunscreen, and their other policies which are not safe for your health. I reviewed their own sunscreen and found 4 hormone-disrupting chemicals, and 5 cancer-causing chemicals, and many other toxic ingredients in their own branded sunscreens, some of which are banned in other countries. The hormone disrupting chemicals either affect your thyroid or your male/female hormones to cause an imbalance to affect your health, such as weight gain, cycle symptoms, infertility, and other effects. See the info in the meme picture for the details.

I was shocked by this information I found, and I raised this with the Cancer Council last year in a seminar they were hosting on cancer prevention. They denied that their sunscreen was unsafe and that it was tested as safe by the TGA. I know that isn't true, as the TGA don't actually test for safety of the ingredients, but only the SPF rating! The independent scientific sources I used showed that the ingredients in their (and other sunscreens) have a lot of adverse health effects.

Just as with the foods and drinks your consume, you should always check the ingredients to find out what they are and what possible effects they have on your health. Sunscreens and cosmetics, moisturisers, shampoos, and other cleaning products etc, are no different. Always check the ingredients!

There are always better natural products for your skin, especially with sunscreens. For the health of your skin and that of your children and family, please avoid toxic chemicals in sunscreens and use safer options this summer.

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Are fish oil and vitamin D supplements good for you?!

22/11/2018

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This article is another example of how good quality scientific methods in research studies can be deliberately misused or manipulated to return a biased result, which then causes confusion amongst the public, in the media and in scientific circles.

A Harvard trial (called the VITAL study) studied almost 26,000 men and women taking supplements of vitamin D3 or omega-3 fish oil or both, to investigate any benefits in reducing the risks of cancer, heart disease or stroke. Despite overwhelming other evidence that both these nutritional supplements have shown anti-inflammatory benefits against these and other chronic diseases, this study concluded that neither supplements had any "significant" benefits against these chronic conditions.

The key word here is "significant". They arrived at this conclusion despite their calculated and stated 17-25% reduction in cancer risk from taking the vitamin D3 supplement! Their data said it DID have a benefit, yet their conclusion said it didn't! Great science there.

At least they did say that vitamin D3 was well tolerated, and people had few, if any, side effects. You can't say that about any pharmaceutical drug...

As for the omega-3 supplement, they noted an 8% reduction in risk for heart disease, which they again said was "not significant". But interestingly a subgroup DID see a very significant reduction in heart disease risk, being African Americans, who had a 19% reduced incidence of heart events or up to 77% reduction in heart attacks. Not significant?! Sure, nothing to see here, move along now...

How was the science manipulated to give their results as offering "no benefit", despite their data to the contrary? They simply did not use therapeutic doses of the vitamin D or omega-3 supplements! Simply by testing people on small or sub-optimal doses of the supplements, they produced results which didn't show a large benefit, or at least, not large enough for them to be "significant"!

Do I recommend vitamin D3 and omega-3 supplements? Yes, absolutely! But there are several things to keep in mind about this:

1) the quality of the product and ingredients. Not all vitamin D or fish oils are the same. There's a huge difference in quality and ingredients (and therefore, a difference in results) between cheap retail products and practitioner branded products
2) the dosing of the products. The dosing on retail products is simply a deficiency-preventing dose, similar to what was used in this study. For treatments of chronic health conditions, a therapeutic dose is needed for best results!

There are many good quality scientific studies on vitamin D and fish oils for their anti-inflammatory benefits for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, but their results are often negated by poor quality, poorly designed, and often biased studies paid for or "sponsored" by a group or company with a vested interest in the result. Even the editors of leading scientific journals have said in the media that up to 75% of studies are fake, manipulated or poorly designed.

On top of this all is the media's ability to misinterpret and sensationalise any result, both good or bad, to sell their news, which simply confuses people even more.
It's a shame that science can be bought, manipulated, or abused in this way.

I will keep taking fish oils and vitamin D supplements myself, and recommending them, because good quality scientific studies do show benefits, and I see this in myself and my clients too!

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Diabetes linked to low sun exposure and poor sleep

20/11/2018

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In this article I will be looking at the relationship between low sunlight exposure, sleep and weight gain and diabetes. You might not think that these topics are related, but they are!

For good quality sleep, you need to make enough melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone. This is dependent on multiple factors, such as sufficient nutrient intake, good digestion and absorption, sufficient sunlight exposure during the day, and other factors.
Melatonin is also an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant hormone, and can reduce blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, reduce anxiety, reduce pain, and interestingly, reduce blood sugar levels! Many studies show there's a link between poor melatonin levels and poor sleep quality and altered insulin secretion and diabetes! This is likely the result of melatonin receptors on the surface of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, meaning that the cells which produce insulin actually respond to melatonin!

Melatonin actually reduces the secretion of insulin! Melatonin is only secreted at night when your eyes sense the levels of sunlight diminishing, and this causes you to secrete less insulin which would otherwise reduce your blood sugar levels. Insulin is a "fat storage" hormone, as it tells the cells in the body to take up the glucose in the blood and use it for energy, but it also tells the liver to convert the excess blood glucose into fat so it can be stored. Hence why high carbohydrate diets lead to increased fat storage and increased weight.

The other part of this picture is that high production and levels of insulin are found during the day, when melatonin isn't secreted (due to bright sun exposure). High levels of blood sugars are very damaging to the body, which over time leads to inflammation and diabetes, and all their complications of hormone imbalance, loss of feeling in extremities from nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), and kidney and eye damage, and heart disease. If you have diabetes, melatonin secretion in the evening will reduce insulin production, so your blood sugars will remain high all night to cause inflammation and damage. You don't want this!

Melatonin doesn't just help you sleep, but it balances your blood sugars and can help to prevent and reverse diabetes! Insulin production also appears to have more of a priority over melatonin production, so a high carbohydrate diet causes more insulin production and less melatonin, causing sleep disturbances!

I have noticed this with my clients, and I have had great success in reducing diabetes symptoms of high blood sugars and insulin levels mainly by improving their diet at dinner time! Reducing carbohydrates in the evening meal reduces blood sugar levels, which in turn reduces the need to produce more insulin, which results in more melatonin being secreted to improve sleep! In addition, the decreased need for insulin reduces the strain on the cells of the pancreas to make insulin, reduces insulin resistance, and lessens the risk of non-insulin dependent type 2 diabetes turning into insulin-dependent diabetes (ie needing insulin injections).

If you want to prevent diabetes or to reduce diabetes, you must reduce your refined and processed carbohydrate intake at dinner! Remember the "no white (foods) at night" rule! That's no wheat (ie bread, pizza etc), pasta, potato, rice, sugar (ie desserts, ice cream), or alcohol! Harsh I know... but you'll feel better for it and you will sleep better too!

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Zinc deficiency linked to autism

11/11/2018

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Autism is a a very prevalent and complex disorder of which the incidences are growing at a very disturbing rate - in just 9 years the official incidences of diagnosed autism has TRIPLED to one in 36 children, and one in 14 children with developmental delays. This huge increase cannot be explained just because of genetics. The more likely causative factors are environmental - how we interact with our environment, such as from nutrient deficiencies, chemical and toxin and radiation exposure, stress, and lifestyle factors.

In a 2015 study, it found that a high percentage of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders were deficient in zinc, a mineral that is needed for many metabolic and neurological processes, including the development and health of the nervous system and production of hormones and neurotransmitters for good mental health. Hence a deficiency of zinc can cause hormone and neurotransmitter imbalances and dysfunction seen in autism. The study also reported that the zinc deficiency was often accompanied by a copper overload or copper toxicity, which can result in impaired social behaviour, and impaired language and communication issues, common in autism disorders.

Zinc is also needed for good immune system function, for good functioning of the senses, for good digestive system function, and many more uses. Digestive issues are very common in those with autism disorders. And with gut issues being linked to brain conditions, this can explain part of the common digestive issues seen in autism, or in zinc deficiency. Such conditions include chronic constipation or diarrhoea, indigestion, reflux, heartburn, pains, bloating and gas, as well as digestive issues like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, leaky gut and irritable bowel disease.

The same study found that incidences of autism can increase from pregnant women who are deficient in zinc, and women who are pregnant and breastfeeding need a higher intake of zinc-rich food or supplements, or this can result in deficiencies in the mother and baby to cause neurological and digestive conditions in both.

Zinc isn't the only answer to explaining or treating autism disorders, but it is one of many factors which can greatly help in a holistic treatment plan for sufferers. Zinc deficiency is also an issue in many other mental health issues such as depression and anxiety and others. Zinc deficiency is an issue I see a lot in my clinical practice, mainly from a poor intake of zinc-rich foods, and the increasing popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets which are generally low in zinc. Stress also depletes zinc, so a high-stress environment can lead to a deficiency even if your intake is good.

Your zinc and copper levels can be tested, as can other nutritional minerals and toxic metals, which are also common in autism disorders. If you have other mental health symptoms or digestive symptoms (mentioned above), I can help with nutritional advice and supplementation if needed, to help reduce your symptoms and improve your health! The right form of zinc is crucial, as some are much better than others.

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Are cancer-causing chemicals in your sunscreens?

Are fish oil and vitamin D supplements good for you?!

Diabetes linked to low sun exposure and poor sleep

Zinc deficiency linked to autism

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