Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

Cancer scare in hand sanitisers

7/6/2022

Are you still using hand sanitiser? Perhaps you shouldn't, as an independent investigation in the US found toxic amounts of cancer-causing benzene chemicals in many hand sanitiser products. Benzene is known to cause Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.

An independent laboratory (Valisure) that tests drug products for safety tested 260 hand sanitiser products and found elevated levels of benzene in 21 of them (CBS New York, 2022). Benzene was still found in most of them, but within alleged "safe" limits, which might also be questionable. Some products did have no detectable benzene in them (Valisure, 2022).

The US regulator of such products, the FDA, apparently relaxed their standards on benzene in products, which allowed companies to get away with adding more into hand sanitiser and not be investigated.

So this is another warning message to always check the ingredients list of products you buy, whether it be food or washing or cleaning products, make-up, or anything that can come in contact with your skin.

Check your hand sanitiser product ingredients and if there is any benzene in it, throw it out. Just using soap and water is enough to keep your hands clean.

Be healthy!

References:

CBS New York. (2022). Hand Sanitizer Study Finds Elevated Levels Of Cancer Causing Chemical In 21 Out Of 260 Hand Sanitizers. Retrieved 4th May 2022 from https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/hand-sanitizer-benzene/

Valisure. (2022). Valisure detects benzene in hand sanitizers. Retrieved 4th May 2022 from www.valisure.com/valisure-newsroom/valisure-detects-benzene-in-hand-sanitizers

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The importance of organic foods and to reduce cancer risks

7/6/2022

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A recent investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on the US Department of Agriculture data found that nearly 60% of kale samples tested were contaminated with a likely carcinogenic (cancer-causing) pesticide (EWG, 2022).

The toxic pesticide, known as DCPA or Dacthal, was classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a possible carcinogen in 1995, but only recalled by its manufacturer 10 years later in 2005 (but only on some crops), banned in the European Union in 2009, is STILL being used in the US on crops such as kale, broccoli, sweet potatoes, eggplant and turnips. Other leafy greens in the US were also found to be contaminated with the same chemical. And this was not the only chemical used on these plant crops.

Kale production has increased by 56% in recent years due to more interest in their nutritional value.

Dacthal is also being used in Australia for brassica vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, spinach etc), legumes, alliums (onions, garlic, etc), potatoes, carrots and many other crop types (NuFarm, 2022).

This information stresses the importance of knowing what you are eating, and what your foods are exposed to, such as pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. Just because someone is natural, green, or plant-based, doesn't mean it's going to be good for you. This is why certified organic foods or home grown vegetables can be healthier and safer for you to eat.

Be healthy.

References:

Environmental Working Group (EWG). (2022). More than half of kale samples tainted by possibly cancer-causing pesticide. Retrieved 5th June 2022 from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/kale.php

NuFarm. (2022). Dactal 900WG. Retrieved 5th June 2022 from https://nufarm.com/au/product/dacthal-900wg/

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Are cancer-causing chemicals in your sunscreens?

26/11/2018

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

13/8/2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Is the paleo diet all it's cracked up to be?

24/12/2015

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The Paleo diet seems to be all the rage these days, if you watch or hear the media. So is it really that good?! Or is it unhealthy, as some health and media commentators suggest?

Firstly, paleo is a really bad name for this "lifestyle". It is NOT a diet! It is a way of life, a lifestyle. Diets are too hard to stick to, restrictive in nutrients, very unhealthy, and the body will adapt and change to the lack of nutrients and actually start putting ON weight! But that's another topic...

Critics of the paleo lifestyle get carried away with the name, saying that our paleolithic ancestors were lucky if they lived for 30 years, and this shows that paleo is useless and just another dangerous fad diet.

So what really is paleo all about? The main ideas behind this lifestyle are:
1) Eat organic foods (uncontaminated by toxic pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers etc)
2) Buy or get foods locally, fresh from your own garden, or farmers markets - so you know they have not been in storage for 2 years or lacking in nutrients, and don't have a high "carbon footprint" by needing to be transported long distances
3) Eat seasonal foods - they are cheaper and fresher, again not likely to have been in storage
4) your money goes direct to farmers, not a pitiful percentage that the supermarkets pay them
5) sustainable production of foods.

That all sounds good right?! Yes!

What is confusing is that there's no one paleo diet either! There are many variations on this theme. The is also a misconception that paleo is high in protein (ie, meat), or low in carbs - which is also incorrect. Generally, however, what is true is that the foods allowed in this lifestyle include:
1) grass-fed meats
2) organic and fresh vegetables and fruits
3) eggs
4) nuts and seeds (except peanuts which are actually a legume!)
5) healthy fats and oils.

This is a "whole food" lifestyle!

Foods that are not recommended include the following:

1) grain-fed meats
2) whole grains and any grain products (breakfast cereals, breads, bakery products, pasta etc)
3) legumes (beans, lentils, soy, peanuts)
4) dairy products
5) sugar
6) potatoes
7) processed foods (and packaged foods)
8) refined vegetable oils (canola, margarine, and other nut/seed-based oils).

There are no set rules about this lifestyle, as it is flexible, and you can occasionally have other foods without feeling guilty about it! Critics of the paleo lifestyle (ie dietitians in particular) jump up and down that you can't remove a whole food group (such as grains) from their unhealthy, corrupt and industry-funded food pyramid model! With paleo, you don't miss out on any nutrients, as the lifestyle allows for substitution of common foods with healthier alternatives, such as nut milks instead of dairy, and healthier nuts and seeds instead of grains. There's nothing in grains that you can't get from other foods or food groups! Actually I don't necessarily recommend cutting all grains as some are better than others. It's mainly wheat and corn that I recommend avoiding.

There are very good reasons why paleo is a good nutrition lifestyle to follow, but it does depend on which variation you look at. Paleo can improve your health, help you to lose weight and reduce various symptoms that you may be experiencing.

The reasons for the exclusion of certain foods will take too long to explain but some are found in my blogs or articles here. More information on the paleo lifestyle will be coming in early 2016 as I am putting together a paleo seminar and workshop where you can find out more! Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about the paleo lifestyle in my upcoming seminar or workshop!

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be aware of what you eat and chemicals used on your food

22/10/2015

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Being a Holistic Nutritionist isn't just about helping people with what to eat, but is also about education on what to eat, when, & how, and in even more detail than that.

One extra little detail is what your food was exposed to in terms of chemicals, toxins, or manipulation (such as irradiation or genetic modification) 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 being exposed to toxic chemicals, especially in regard to your food. 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, it can have severe adverse health effects as found in recent research, including birth defects, spontaneous abortions, infertility, hormone disruptions, neuro-degenerative diseases and cancer (especially Non-Hodgkins lymphoma). It also gets into the environment, animals and the water supply, causing more issues.

Roundup is also sprayed on cereal (ie wheat and corn), soya and canola crops to kill the plants to make it easier to harvest them. Unfortunately this leads to the chemical being present in your foods - breakfast cereals, breads, bakery products 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 approved as "organic".

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

References:
Research into Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma linked to glyphosate use by farmers:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025008/
Greenpeace report on Roundup/glyphosate:
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/Food/resources/reports/Why-Australia-should-be-Ready-to-Round-Up-glyphosate/
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/Global/australia/GM_Fact_Sheets/363%20-%20GlyphoReportDEF-LR.pdf

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Cancer scare in hand sanitisers

The importance of organic foods and to reduce cancer risks

Are cancer-causing chemicals in your sunscreens?

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

Is the paleo diet all it's cracked up to be?

be aware of what you eat and chemicals used on your food

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