Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

Your immune system finds and destroys cancer cells!

1/11/2019

If you know me or have read some of my articles here, you may know that the topic of cancer comes up a lot, because it has been my main area of interest in natural health treatments for many years.I was initially drawn to natural cancer treatments because the general public believe that this is the biggest and baddest health problem, because a diagnosis of "cancer" fills people with such dread and fear, that it reminds people that we really are mortal. We shouldn't fear cancer at all, but welcome it, as it is your body giving you warnings and telling you that it is not liking what you are doing to it. It may take some time to change this perception of cancer, but we can start now.

My fears of cancer disappeared when I started reading cancer research over 12 years ago, when I found that your body's white blood cells, in particular the Cytotoxic CD4+ T-cells and NK (Natural Killer) cells, have a primary task every day in our bodies to find and destroy virus-infected AND cancer cells! Hence it is your own immune systems that CAN and DOES fight cancer every day!

I have linked a short video showing this - actual footage of your immune system cells attacking cancer cells and destroying them! Watch this video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntk8XsxVDi0

This information and this video highlights the importance of your immune system for the prevention and treatment of cancer!

Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are NOT the only options for cancer treatment! These actually don't help you much at all, because both chemotherapy and radiotherapy (ie, chemical therapy and radiation therapy, respectively) actually CAUSE more cancer by poisoning the body and destroying the immune system - the main part of your body's defence against cancer! It just doesn't make sense to do this.

I still read a lot of cancer research, and I put this knowledge into practice with my clients. There is no one cure for cancer (and probably never will be) as treatment requires a holistic (whole body) approach using a combination of correct nutrition and avoiding some specific foods, supplementation, stress relief and management, detoxification, mindset, lifestyle, exercise and other treatments.

If your immune system is not strong, or you get frequent infections or illnesses, or if there is a family history of cancer or autoimmune conditions, this is where I can help - this is what I do!

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Glandular fever and EBV can lead to ongoing health issues

25/3/2019

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I've been seeing a lot of people lately with ongoing complications of Glandular Fever, caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).

Many people don't know they have had Glandular Fever, unless their doctor tests for it, as it presents just like a flu infection, but usually with a longer period of fatigue afterwards (called the "post-viral fatigue"). Symptoms include enlarged lymph glands in the neck and throat, enlarged spleen, jaundice (yellow skin colour, as the virus can infect the liver in some people), very sore throat and heavy cough, muscle aches, headaches, no appetite, fever, and more.

Glandular fever is sometimes called "the kissing disease" as it is transmitted by saliva! You don't need to kiss to transmit it, but can be from shared food, kitchenware, cups, or saliva on hands. The infection is most common in adolescents and young adults.

Natural treatments for Glandular Fever are the same as for most viral infections - rest and sleep, supporting the immune system to fight the infection, and antiviral nutrients or herbals to kill the virus, and more. There are no current traditional medical treatments for EBV, and you are usually just told to rest and keep fluids up. Not all that helpful...

There can be serious complications of the initial EBV infection, including inflammation of the heart muscle (causing irregular or abnormal heart beats), neurological problems (meningitis, seizures, facial and muscle paralysis), blood clotting disturbances, thyroid conditions, and chronic fatigue which can last for weeks or months afterwards.

Once you have recovered from the initial infection that may not be the end of it, as EBV has a tendency to hibernate when your immune system is fighting it. But when your immune defences are down (because you might not be looking after yourself), it comes out of hibernation again and again to cause havoc around your body. EBV can infect your infection-fighting white blood cells to cause them to multiply rapidly but also reduce their function. This is how EBV is linked to several types of blood cell cancers like lymphomas, and other types of cancers too, including cancer of the breast, stomach, and EBV is also linked to causing AIDS.

EBV is also lead to immune system dysfunction and autoimmune conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes, Coeliac Disease, Lupus (SLE), autoimmune thyroid conditions (Hashimoto's and Grave's Disease) and many more. EBV reactivation has also been linked to Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Bartonella, Chlamydia, and other infections.

If you have had Glandular Fever and/or EBV confirmed in the past, the key is to look after your health so that your immune system remains strong and able to keep EBV at bay. If you aren't looking after yourself with lots of stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, poor lifestyle choices etc, then EBV can be reactivated and contributing to your health issues, including some very serious conditions as mentioned above.

If you have some of these health issues - thyroid conditions, liver and digestive problems, heart conditions, and you have had Glandular Fever or EBV confirmed, I can help with improving your immune system to fight the infection, to reduce symptoms, as well as prevent it reactivating. So you can kiss the EBV goodbye!

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How your immune system works to keep you alive!

20/7/2018

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

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

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

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

Suppressing your symptoms and your immune system with medications (as listed above) may reduce your symptoms, but will increase the risk of further or more severe infections or other chronic conditions such as cancer.

Having a good immune system is incredibly important, not just to prevent those nasty head colds or flus in winter, but for your long-term health and survival! Your immune system can be affected and reduced by so many factors. If you suffer from frequent infections such as colds, flu, tonsillitis, sinusitis, UTIs, allergies or intolerances, any autoimmune conditions, cancer, or any chronic infection, then your immune system needs help!

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

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AUOIMMUNE CONDITIONS - CAN NATUROPATHY HELP?

30/11/2016

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There are over 80 health conditions which are classified as autoimmune conditions, but what does this mean, and how can naturopathy help?

Autoimmune conditions are health issues where your immune system attacks your normal cells instead of bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells, which is what they should be protecting you against. Autoimmune conditions are normally called a different name, depending on which organs are being attacked. Such conditions cause a lot of inflammation in your body, which can cause many other symptoms other than just in the organ being affected.

Examples of a few more common autoimmune conditions and the organs or regions which are affected can include type 1 diabetes (pancreas), Coeliac and Crohn's disease (digestive tract), Multiple Sclerosis (nervous system), Grave's and Hashimoto's disease (thyroid), Rheumatoid arthritis (joints), psoriasis (skin), lupus (connective tissue all over the body), and many others.

The typical medical approach to autoimmune conditions is to suppress the immune system with anti-inflammatory medications, immunosuppressives, corticosteroids, chemotherapy and other medications to try and slow down the damage. But this is a bandaid approach in that it covers up the symptoms and lessens them, but doesn't do anything for the cause or any real treatment. Suppressing the immune system is never a good idea as it can lead to a greater risk of other infections and even cancer.

The cause of autoimmune conditions is from lifestyle and dietary factors. Stress and nutrition always influences every disease, especially autoimmune conditions. There are other factors involved too, with some triggers being allergies and food/chemical intolerances, microbes and parasites, and toxic chemicals. Another major factor influencing autoimmune conditions is how well your digestive system is functioning, or the integrity of the intestinal wall.

Naturopaths are the best practitioners to help with autoimmune conditions as we do look at the bigger holistic (whole body) picture of your food intake, lifestyle, digestive system, food intolerances and all the other factors involved! With a treatment plan which treats all factors, autoimmune conditions can be slowed, prevented and even reversed!

If you have an autoimmune condition and your treatment isn't helping you get better, I'd love to help!

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Does "leaky gut" cause autoimmune Conditions?

31/7/2016

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More and more of the health conditions I see in practice are what are known as "autoimmune" conditions. This means that your immune system is mistakenly attacking your own cells or organs as if they were a foreign bacteria or virus. With there being more than 80 known autoimmune conditions, is there anything that can be done for them? Yes!

Many autoimmune conditions can affect one specific organ, such as the pancreas (in type 1 diabetes), the bowel (in Coeliac disease, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease), the joints (in rheumatoid arthritis) and many more. Some autoimmune conditions can affect multiple organs or the whole body such as SLE or "lupus".

The typical medical approach is to suppress the immune system function with medications (such as corticosteroids, anti-inflammatories or even chemotherapy) so it isn't attacking the body or organs as much. This creates some major problems as 1) this doesn't fix the cause of the problem, 2) these medications will cause side effects often worse than the condition itself, and 3) you NEED your immune system functioning properly to prevent infections, or else you will get frequent illnesses, symptoms of a worse condition or even cancer.

So how then can Naturopathy help? I work differently by finding the cause(s) of your autoimmune condition, of which there are several, including environmental triggers, poor digestive and immune system function, dietary choices, toxic chemical exposure, stress, hormones and infections. I can also look at getting a genetic test to see what genetic issues you may have which can be possible causes or hindering normal treatment. I develop a personalised treatment plan and work with you to resolve your specific causes, which is further helped by having the results of the genetic test. By clearing the causes, your symptoms will reduce and your health with greatly improve!

If you have any form of autoimmune condition, I would love to help you!

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Your immune system finds and destroys cancer cells!

Glandular fever and EBV can lead to ongoing health issues

How your immune system works to keep you alive!

AUOIMMUNE CONDITIONS - CAN NATUROPATHY HELP?

Does "leaky gut" cause autoimmune Conditions?

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