Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog - Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath

The Dietitians Association of Australia change their tune!

6/10/2018

This is very interesting news!

I have been extremely critical of the Dietitians Association of Australia for a long time, and their unscientific, unhealthy, biased and corrupt practices of providing food advice to all Australians.

The DAA raise a lot of their income from "corporate sponsors", from such companies as Kellogg's, Sanitarium, Arnott's, Campbell's, Nestle and many more - it's all publicly available to see on their website and in their promotions of these companies and their products. The DAA then advise all their Dietitians of which foods are healthy or not, based on the sponsorships they have, and those dietitians then pass on that advice to the general public, who have been getting generally sicker and with much more chronic disease.

Even worse is that the DAA wrote the government's food guideline policies, supposedly to improve the health of all Australians, but in fact they were just keeping their sponsors happy in return for funding. The food guidelines are not based on solid, independent, and well-researched nutrition studies. And this is why people are constantly getting misinformation about what foods are healthy and which are not!

Recently, documents were leaked that the DAA and food industry committees were found to be running active media campaigns against prominent and independent scientists, doctors, and nutrition experts who were giving evidence-based nutrition advice, but which conflicted with the DAA's biased guidelines. The DAA's CEO and spokesperson recently resigned as a result of several leaks of such evidence.

On the 3rd October 2018, the DAA released a public statement stating that as of the end of 2018, they would be concluding their "corporate partnership" program! Their new CEO has had a huge change of heart from their previous policies, and seems to want to reduce belief that the DAA is biased from their corporate sponsors.

Whether this change of policy will actually result in a change to more current "evidence-based" nutrition advice remains to be seen, as they will have to turn around 180 degrees on much of their advice which they have been pushing for many decades. Their poor advice will take a long time to change in the minds of the general public.

The DAA and Dietitians aren't off the hook yet! The decision to remove themselves from perceived bias is a good one! We will have to wait and see whether this actually changes anything.

For the best, current, independent and evidence-based nutrition advice and for the best health results, continue to see a (non-DAA aligned) Nutritionist or Naturopath!

"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!

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

22/8/2018

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...

Why should you avoid folic acid in pregnancy or conception

20/8/2018

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!

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

13/8/2018

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.

The importance of your food choices for dental health

9/8/2018

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!

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

30/7/2018

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!

How your immune system works to keep you alive!

20/7/2018

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!

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

16/7/2018

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?

The dangerous and deadly man flu!

4/7/2018

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:

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!
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!
Hot and home-cooked food. From nutritious and healing soups, stews, roasts with lots of vegies, and plenty of salt and chilli!
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.
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.
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!

Cold and flu prevention 2018 (Part3)

2/7/2018

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!

Cold and flu prevention 2018 (Part 2)

7/6/2018

Here is part 3 of my recent "cold and flu prevention" article series... enjoy! (please see parts 1-2 in other articles below)

The key to staying healthy this coming winter is prevention and preparation!

Why do we get more colds and flu in winter? I have heard doctors/GPs saying that we get more because there are more bugs going around in winter, or they are more active. That is nonsensical and goes against the laws of physics! Viruses (which cause colds and flu) and bacteria are all around us, on us and in us all the time! We only get ill when our immune systems are not functioning well to stop them replicating out of control to cause illness.

The real answer to why we get more infections in winter is very simple, and can be answered with further questions. What is the difference between summer and winter? The temperature, caused by the sun being further away in winter and a shorter amount of daily sunlight compared to summer! What does this have to do with colds and flu? Well, in summer there is more sunlight and we spend more time outside in the sun, the opposite of winter. Your body makes vitamin D from direct sunlight exposure on your skin, and vitamin D is a MASSIVE immune system booster, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory hormone, all required for many health benefits!

In winter, you generally spend less time outside because it's colder, and with less skin exposed to sunlight (needed to make vitamin D), and so the majority of people in winter are deficient in vitamin D. The further from the equator you are, the more difficult it is to get enough from vitamin D in winter. Therefore your immune system will not be functioning optimally to prevent colds, flu, and many other infections or health conditions. Further adding to a lowered immune system function are a poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, exposure to toxins and chemicals, poor sleep, lifestyle and other factors which I mentioned in my previous article.

Much scientific research proves that a vitamin D deficiency is THE major cause of colds and flu in winter, because it results in a reduced immune system function. In winter you need to spend about 3 times as much time in the sun to get the same amount of vitamin D as in summer, which is difficult to do!

In an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study (2010), it was shown there was a 42% reduction in flu infections with vitamin D supplementation. Another study in the Virology Journal (2008) found that a vitamin D deficiency amongst a large percentage of the population is the cause of flu epidemics!

To prevent colds and flu this winter, you need to be prepared and do all you can to increase your immune system function by addressing all causes, and also preventing or replacing your deficiency in vitamin D with a nutritional supplement in a capsule, spray or oral drops form.

To prevent the incidence of colds and flu this Winter, OR to recover quicker remember this: "Vitamin D is the key!".

The flu vaccine is NOT a safe or effective preventative of flu infections. See my previous 2 articles on this. You must address all the causes of a reduced functioning of your immune system to prevent a flu infection. We don't get flu from a deficiency in flu vaccines! In fact, most people get the flu very shortly after the flu vaccine, as it actually weakens your immune system!

For the best vitamin D supplement for you, or other immune system boosting and preventative advice, please see me!

Please like and share this information to others so they can stay healthy this winter too!

Cold and flu prevention 2018 (part 1)

4/6/2018

This is the second of my series of articles on cold and flu prevention.

It's only just into winter here and already the constant reminders to get the flu vaccine are really bugging me! The frequent playing of TV adverts (even on the rare times I turn it on), radio and sign advertising around town... It's like there's a global pandemic and we are all going to die if we don't get one! While many people will fall for the marketing, I won't be. Because there are better and safer alternatives!

Firstly, you have an immune system! Your immune system has developed over millions of years to protect you from any and all known and unknown infections and injuries, and it does this 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, forever. Your immune system learns and remembers infections from bacteria, viruses, parasites, mould, and other microbes and acts on them very quickly to enable you to have a permanent immunity from subsequent infections - usually without you showing any symptoms.

You don't catch a cold or flu just because "it's going around"! You get a cold and flu because your immune system is not working, or not able to protect you as it normally does. When your immune system is down or low, then those viruses (usually unnoticed by you) can start spreading out of control faster than your immune system can deal with them. At this time of year it will be the opportunistic cold and flu viruses which are more likely to make you unwell.

Instead of relying on a potentially risky flu vaccine which can be only about 16-26% effective for some age groups (see my previous article on my website), I recommend supporting your immune system naturally to improve its effectiveness to prevent cold and flu.

It is important to note that just because you may have been exposed to a microbe, say a flu virus, it doesn't mean that you will get it! In fact the transmission rate for flu, even in highly populated environments is quite low, with only around 20% of people getting flu even when deliberately exposed to the virus. The other 80% were automatically protected by their stronger immune systems!

What causes your immune system to not function as effectively?

There are many things which can deplete your immune system and therefore increase your risk of getting a cold or flu, here are just some:

A poor nutrient intake, ie nutrient deficiencies or excesses
Stress, emotional issues, traumas etc
Poor quality or quantity of sleep
Lifestyle factors - smoking, alcohol, drugs, lack of exercise
Poor hygiene - not washing your hands after touching objects that others may have infected, or poor hygiene by others coughing and spreading the germs to you
Low vitamin D levels in your body - vitamin D is a massive immune system booster!
Digestive system function - you can eat the best nutrients, but if your gut function is poor, then you might not get all the nutrients you need for a healthy immune system defence
Imbalance of your gut bacteria, which actually make most of your immune system proteins
Exposure to toxins and chemicals in your food and environment
Some medications - immunosuppressives, anti-inflammatories, corticosteroids, antibiotics and many more.

These main causes of immune system dysfunction give major clues as to how you can improve your immune system function to protect you against cold and flu viruses this winter!

In this series, I won't be going over all of these immune-boosting and preventative strategies, but I will focus on the main ones to help you improve your immune system function, so you can stay healthy this winter! Look out for the next article soon!

You want to get the flu vaccine? Have you checked it's safe?

28/5/2018

Apologies for this longer than usual and controversial article, but it is for your benefit...

I try not to write articles on any issues of vaccines, because it is such an emotive and controversial topic. But if we can't have some freedom of speech, without the typical abusive and threatening replies which typically occur when someone speaks out against vaccines, then there's something seriously wrong with the issue. But some recent events have made me change my mind about writing on this contraversial topic.

Many qualified and well-researched health professionals, as I am, steer clear of talking about vaccines because of the backlash which comes from those who strongly disagree with anyone who posts anything negative on this topic. I know some who read this article will disagree, and that's fine. However I have added published references to back up what I have summarised here, and hence why this isn't just my personal opinion - it is backed up by peer-reviewed, published scientific evidence! If you disagree with all of the evidence, take it up with the well-credentialled authors and not me!

This is an article ONLY about the 2018 flu vaccines. Not on vaccines in general. I am writing this because of the huge media scare campaign this year to get the flu vaccine, and things which you simply aren't being told about it.

I will be mentioning three groups of people who are particularly vulnerable to the flu vaccine - pregnant women, young children and those over 65 years. I am also going to comment on the flu vaccine by pointing out how unnecessary it is for you, and how you can protect yourself and your family from flu much better, and more safely too!

The 2018 flu vaccine will contain 4-5 strains of flu, as guessed by the World Health Organisation to be the 4 out of thousands of flu viruses which *may* be the most common ones this season. Yes, "guessed" is about as good as it gets...

With the 2017 flu season being one of the worst for infections and deaths on record, there is currently a massive marketing campaign to get MORE people to get the flu vaccine this year. Ironically, 2017 had one of the highest uptakes of the flu vaccine, yet also one of the highest incidences and mortality too. There are a lot of lies being told about the flu vaccine, and I would like to share the published evidence, and expose the truth.

The 2017 flu vaccine DIDN'T work!

So here are the FACTS about the flu vaccine, direct from the vaccine manufacturers' own information and other peer-reviewed published research, which contradicts the many lies being told by various health departments and doctors, and tells a completely different story to the lies you are being told about the flu vaccine.

Fact #1 - Here's the greatest lie which I am very angry about - No vaccines are ever tested for safety or effectiveness by the vaccine manufacturers in pregnant women. None. See the attached photos for proof, taken from all the Australian 2018 vaccine product information inserts from their respective manufacturers. (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).
My comment - when your doctor, politician or health department says vaccines are safe for you when pregnant, they are lying! There's a scientific protocol banning pregnant women from being used in medical, pharmaceutical or vaccine trials, because of the obvious risk to the foetus.

Fact #2 - The flu vaccine is not very effective in preventing you getting the flu. The flu vaccine only contains 4 strains of flu virus, out of hundreds or more strains which can cause flu in you. And the efficacy rate of actually enabling antibodies ranges can be as low as 16-26% effective for some age groups (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #3 - You CAN get the flu as a result of getting the flu vaccine! ALL of the 2018 flu vaccines have side effects which includes fatigue, malaise, fever, cough, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pains - all are symptoms of flu! The Afluria Quad vaccine even states that a side effect is an "influenza-like illness"! Other studies show that the flu vaccine initially weakens your body's immune system as it deals with the simulated infection of the flu vaccine, which leads you to be susceptible to other infections you are exposed to (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #4 - None of the vaccine manufacturers used good testing practices, such as a randomised controlled trial against a placebo. They simply compared the results of their new vaccine against their old one, which doesn't give an accurate or honest picture of the vaccine's effectiveness or safety (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #5 - 6 out of the 7 2018 flu vaccines contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen even in the smallest amounts. Other toxic and dangerous flu vaccine ingredients include polysorbate 80 (an emulsifier which can enable vaccine ingredients to cross the blood brain barrier). (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #6 - 6 out of the 7 2018 flu vaccines can cause false positive tests for HIV, Hepatitis C and other viruses if you have these tests a after flu vaccination. Imagine getting a HIV diagnosis, unknowingly from getting a flu shot? (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #7 - All of the 2018 flu vaccine information inserts say that the vaccines should be postponed if someone currently has an acute (ie, short-term) infection or fever, or both. Yet I know Doctors will either not ask about this, or routinely vaccinate someone who is currently not well or immunocompromised. This is very dangerous practice as it causes worse side effects (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #8 - There are many severe side effects from the flu vaccine, including Guillain-Barre Syndrome (or paralysis), convulsions, eye disorders, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and spinal cord (encephalomyelitis), transverse myelitis (inflammation and loss of the nerve sheath, and a sign of multiple sclerosis), and more issues (Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2018).

Fact #9 - The 2018 Fluad vaccine (for over 65 year olds) reported in their product information insert that their own tests showed "Hospitalisation was required in over 5% of people receiving Fluad vaccine, and deaths occurred in almost 1%" of those tested. 1% of people getting this vaccine died! (Therapeutic Goods Administration, Fluad Product Information,2018).

Fact #10 - The 2018 Fluzone High-Dose vaccine test results in their product information insert showed that "6.1-8.3% experienced a "serious adverse event", including 23 deaths (about 1% of those tested) in one clinical trial, and 167 deaths (over 1% tested) in another trial. Those who died had various chronic illnesses". To repeat, about 1% of those over 65 years tested with this vaccine DIED! Yet this particular vaccine is specifically marketed to those over 65 years WITH chronic diseases! (Therapeutic Goods Administration, Fluzone High-Dose Product Information, 2018).

Fact #11 - A 2014 study showed that people who get the annual flu vaccine had a reduced immune system response (ie, reduced antibodies) after each annual flu vaccine. So the more flu vaccines you get, the less effective they are. Contrast that with the more natural flu illnesses you get, the stronger your immune system gets (McLean et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal, 2014).

Fact #12 - A 2018 study on 999 children and adults showed those who had the flu vaccine had a higher rate of respiratory infections in the weeks after the vaccine than those who didn't have the flu vaccine! And when the post-vaccine infection was analysed and confirmed as being flu, the rate of infection of those vaccinated was the same as for those not vaccinated, meaning that the flu vaccine did NOT offer any protection against flu infections, and actually caused MORE infections compared to those who did not get the flu vaccine (Rikin et al., Vaccine journal, 2018). Other similar studies reported similar results.

Fact #13 - If you do get the flu, suppressing symptoms with medications (pain relievers, anti-inflammatories, cough suppressants, antibiotics, anti-pyretics etc) will make the infection duration longer, more severe, and more likely to turn into pneumonia which can be very serious. A 2004 study (and others) show using antibiotics and other medications doesn't prevent pneumonia, but can actually increase the risk, and increase mortality (Diaz et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2004).

Fact #14 - A 2013 study found that there was a 4,000% increase in risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth from the flu vaccine given to pregnant women in the 2009/10 season, compared to pregnant women in the previous year who did not get the flu vaccine (Goldman, Human and Experimental Toxicology, 2013).

Fact #15 - Annual flu vaccines do not undergo the typical multi-year safety and efficacy studies which are required for other pharmaceutical medications or vaccines. There's obviously no time to do this for each year, which is why the safety and efficacy data for flu vaccines is lacking, and why they are potentially dangerous.

Fact #16 - Influenza isn't as infectious as you have been lead to believe! Only about 20% of people at most will become infected with flu even when deliberately exposed to the virus in published studies! Hence the other 80% who were exposed were protected by their own immune system! (Cannel et al., Virology Journal, 2008).

Fact #17 - There are safer, more effective and better ways to prevent flu in the colder months, and to get over them quicker than the flu vaccine.

We already have an immune system which works and protects us from any and all viral and bacterial infections all the time! We are not and should not be dependent on any external method. But your immune system can be compromised by many factors, which can lead to an opportunistic infection like flu to take hold.

Hence the best way (and really, the ONLY safe way) to protect yourself from flu, is to maintain a strong and healthy immune system! There are many things which reduce your immune system, such as poor dietary choices (especially sugary foods and drinks), poor quality or quantity sleep, stress, poor digestive system function, lifestyle factors, nutrient deficiencies, medications, vitamin D deficiency, and others. The most important factors here are 1) your food choices, 2) stress and 3) nutrient deficiencies (especially with vitamin D). Many studies show that the reason we have more flu in winter than other seasons is due to people not getting enough sun exposure (our bodies make vitamin D from direct sunlight on our skin) during the year, and more so in winter. I will post more on this in a follow-up article soon!

These factors are what you really need to improve to work on to prevent flu. These are what I can help you with!

The lies being told to vulnerable people (especially children, pregnant women and those over 65 years) about the flu vaccine and spread across all media networks from those who should be protecting us - doctors, health departments, and government officials - is an abhorrent and deceitful act. If these officials are blatantly lying about the safety of flu vaccines in pregnant women, when there are NO safety studies done ever, then you simply cannot trust them. Please do your own research (from real research studies, not from opinion piece articles) or ask other independent health practitioners before you place your life and that of your family at risk.

There are better and safer ways to stay healthy in winter! I will post more articles on this topic very shortly.

Best of health to you.

You can read and download this article in the PDF file below!

2018_flu_vaccine-article_and_references.pdf
File Size:	1583 kb
File Type:	pdf

Reflux, Indigestion, GORD/GERD & Heartburn can be reversed!

14/5/2018

Do you suffer from heartburn, reflux, indigestion, GORD/GERD symptoms after you eat something? What causes this, and how can you get rid of these symptoms without medications (and their dangerous side effects)?

Acid reflux conditions occur for many reasons such as stress, your food choices, infections, nutrient deficiencies, reduced gut health, low water intake, and more. While the popular belief is that reflux symptoms occur from high stomach acid production, many studies show the opposite - that reflux mostly results from LOW STOMACH ACID production!
Reflux conditions are treated medically by using antacid products to neutralise stomach acid, or Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) medications. If at all, they should only be taken when needed for very short term use, but I've seen people taking these medications continually for years. These medications can have serious side effects, especially if being used long term.

PPI medications (like Nexium, Somac and many others) reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces. Unfortunately this mostly makes symptoms worse, causing osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones), autoimmune conditions, reduced digestion and absorption of nutrients, nutrient deficiencies, overgrowth of pathogens in the digestive tract (ie, IBS, SIBO, Helicobacter pylori and peptic ulcers), food allergies and intolerances, anaemia, a rebound effect of hypersecretion of stomach acid, and can even increase your risk of cancers.
Reflux conditions and symptoms can often easily and quickly be reversed! I have helped many clients clear their reflux symptoms by focusing on finding the specific causes in each person. Mostly it is a result of eating certain types of foods, or nutrient deficiencies. I investigate many aspects of your health to find the causes and then treating your whole body, and the symptoms will often quickly disappear.
If you or someone you knows has reflux issues, or has been on antacid or PPI medications for a long time, I would like to help reduce the symptoms and reduce the side effects of these medications.

What is Pyrrole Disorder?

3/5/2018

What is Pyrrole Disorder? It is a little known condition which can be initiated from severe or chronic stress or emotional trauma, which then triggers a genetic predisposition for excess production of a compound called HPL, which causes nutrient deficiencies. Because food nutrients are needed for a lot of functions and processes in your body, a deficiency in more than one nutrient will cause many seemingly separate symptoms. Specific nutrient deficiencies cause symptoms which result in Pyrrole Disorder (PD).

Many GPs and doctors don't know about or recognise PD, as it just looks like you have a bunch of fairly common symptoms, including:

headaches and migraines
digestive complaints - constipation, reflux, bloating
poor tolerance to stress
depression and/or anxiety
sleep issues (can't get to sleep, or interrupted sleep)
poor immune system and lots of infections
allergies and intolerances to foods or environmental substances
sensitivity to light, sounds, tastes
and many more symptoms (as shown in the above picture).

You don't need to have all these symptoms, but having more increases the likelihood. When I see some or all of these symptoms together as I do in many clients, I look for the root causes for them all. I also use a screening questionnaire, analysis of pathology results, and specific pyrrole tests.

Pyrroles is nothing to be worried about! If anything it is great to have this diagnosis, as it is very easily treatable mainly with nutritional medicine! I've seen the condition in children as well as adults over 60 years of age, and it's always a relief to finally have an answer to their health issues!

Pyrroles causes nutritional deficiencies mainly in zinc and vitamin B6, but also of lesser deficiencies in other B-vitamins, magnesium, omega-6 fats and others. Multiple deficiencies lead to all of the symptoms above, and more.

Pyrroles is very frequently seen running in families across multiple generations. It is VERY common in those with Irish and Celtic family history, and the reasons for this are unknown.

Some research shows that PD itself is very commonly linked to, and probably even a cause of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, some autism disorders and other neurological and behavioural conditions.

If you recognise many of the above symptoms (in the picture) in yourself, your children, or other people you know, it would be a good idea to see if Pyrroles may be the cause! I have seen substantial reductions of symptoms with the nutritional medicine treatment for this condition! And those who have improved feel like they have their life (and health) back again!

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.

Are cravings sabotaging your health improvements?

16/4/2018

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?!

Does coffee really cause cancer?

2/4/2018

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!

A Big Mac is a chemical nightmare!

29/3/2018

The answer to the previous article's guessing game to work out what "food" contains a huge list of ingredients, including additives, colourings, preservatives and other questionable ingredients is: a McDonald's Big Mac!

Some of you got the answer, and some were very close!

There are many suspicious, potentially harmful or questionable ingredients listed in the 34 additives in this product. Then there's the GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) it contains: wheat, corn, soy, and in multiple forms. These GMO grains are often laced with the Roundup/Glyphosate herbicide, which causes further health effects. Many other ingredients are known to cause inflammation in many people, and its inflammation which is a causative factor for many of our modern disease epidemics of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

The Big Mac also has the following nutritional info:
Calories: 540 (over ¼ of your daily suggested amount of 2000 calories)
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 46g
Protein: 25g

As I've said before, know what you are eating! Use a free food additives app for your smartphone which you can look up the additives to find out what they are and what health effects they may cause.

The huge number of additives and chemicals should be a deterrent to eating this very highly processed product, as I can't really call it a "food". It's ironic that all of the added preservatives and chemicals will give the products a longer life, but have the opposite effect on your health! Or looking at it a different way - if fast food is meant to be produced and eaten within a short space of time, why are all the preservatives needed?!

There are many better foods which CAN help to give you a longer life: whole, fresh real foods, not this processed junk!