Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

Eggs are good for you! Eggs do not raise your cholesterol!

2/4/2019

A little while back, the humble egg was demonised and many people were warned off eating them because they (shock, horror!) contained cholesterol and FATS! As a result, many people still have issues or an aversion to eating eggs because they believe they are unhealthy or cause weight gain or other health issues. But is this belief actually true?! Read on...

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there were plenty of health warnings about not eating foods which contained fats or cholesterol, as it was believed that fats and cholesterol caused heart disease. This theory was quickly disproven, and shown to be the result of very poor research at the time. Many recent scientific studies proves that fats can be good for you (even saturated fats!), as they do not cause heart disease (yes, especially saturated fats and cholesterol!) or weight gain or diabetes or other chronic health conditions. It seems that old beliefs are hard to change in some people, despite all the recent scientific evidence! I have written several articles on heart disease, saturated fats and cholesterol in the past, so have a look for those below.

But back to the eggs... can they be good for you? Absolutely yes! BUT they have to be the right type of eggs, stored properly and even cooked properly for you to get the best benefits! The best quality eggs will be high in protein, and contain healthy anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, the same as those found in fish, which is why they are good for you!

The best eggs - are certified organic, fresh (they completely sink when submerged in water), and are from free-range chickens who have access to the sun and grass OUTSIDE!

What to avoid - cracked or old eggs (which float or partly float when submerged), those from chickens fed on grains (as these contain less or no omega-3 oils, but a lot of inflammatory omega-6 oils, and not to mention antibiotics and possible hormones added into their feed), or caged eggs from battery operation chickens (inside in cramped and tiny cages which stresses and weakens them).

Cooking eggs should be done carefully to not overcook them (especially the yolk!). Omega-3 oils are quite intolerant to heat for long periods, but still shouldn't be overcooked. Eggs should be poached or lightly boiled so the yolks are still runny for the best benefits! Eggs are also a great source of proteins, and many other vitamins and minerals.

So it is safe to eat eggs regularly! What are your favourite ways to eat eggs?

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"We got it wrong on cholesterol" say nutrition experts

27/8/2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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always read product labels before you buy!

21/1/2018

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In the past couple of days I have been asked about a few different food products, to advise if they are actually ok, healthy or legitimate. Sadly none of them were...

By law, packaged food products must display an ingredients list (in decreasing order of weight), nutritional panel, and products are limited in what they can claim as healh benefits of those foods.

In the past days or so I've reviewed a "diet" jelly product, only to find it contains 4 known additives (artificial sweeteners and colours) which have been proven to cause cancer and are banned in many countries, and other additives which can cause intolerances or allergies, hyperactivity in children, weight gain, diabetes, and other symptoms and conditions. Or bottled water, from China?! How on earth does this stuff actually get approved for sale?

Another product being widely marketed at the moment is a "cholesterol-lowering" breakfast cereal, claiming to reduce your cholesterol by 9%! Why? All of the quality independent research in the last 10+ years on cholesterol proves that having high cholesterol levels does NOT cause heart disease! In fact, the same research shows that the lower you cholesterol level is, the HIGHER your risk of death by heart disease. Our bodies NEED lots of cholesterol - without it you can't make your male or female hormones, you can't make vitamin D for good immune health or to reduce inflammation, and you can't make the walls of hundreds of millions of new cells every day to replace old or worn out cells. Your energy production will suffer, as will your brain function, heart function, and much more, without good cholesterol levels. A 9% drop in cholesterol isn't actually going to do much anyway, despite their hype. For example, a total cholesterol level of 5.0 will only be lowered by 0.45, or a level of 6 will be reduced to 5.46 - not really an amount to get excited about.

The marketing of the cholesterol lowering cereal is a bit dubious or misleading at best, when you read the fine print on the box or their website... which says: "2g of plant sterols daily lowers cholesterol within 4 weeks as part of a healthy diet low in saturated fat and sugar"! The key words here are "as part of a healthy diet low in sugar", as simply lowering your sugar intake on its own will lower your cholesterol! Having a healthy diet without any grain products will also lower cholesterol, but weetbix on its own (without other dietary changes) will actually increase bad cholesterol!

Dubious and toxic ingredients are not only found in your "food" products, but other products you use on a daily basis too - household cleaning products, shampoos, toothpastes, washing powders/liquids, and many, many more.

Hence it pays to read and understand the ingredients in all of your products which you might eat, use or be exposed to. For your foods, I use a free app on my phone called "Food Additives", or for chemicals in personal hygiene or cleaning products, a free app called "Think Dirty". There are other similar ones around. I highly recommend using such products and checking product labels BEFORE you buy them in the supermarket!

The more you are familiar with the chemicals which you put on and in your body, and avoid them, the better your health (and that of your family) will be! Or better yet, just buy more fresh, real, whole foods, which don't come with product labels - vegies, fruit, quality grass-fed meats and healthy fats!

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more new science shows cholesterol is not the enemy!

18/6/2016

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I have written about cholesterol and heart health before (see other articles below), and how the media, government sources and medical profession are still telling you that cholesterol is bad for you and that it increases your risk of heart disease. But the scientific research on cholesterol over the past 20+ years shows the opposite!

Let's get some background info... cholesterol is allegedly bad because it is found in the walls of blood vessels, which over time can lead to blockages, clots and heart attacks. Then there's the allegedly "good" HDL cholesterol, and the "bad" LDL cholesterol.

In reality however, cholesterol is cholesterol - there are no good and bad types! Cholesterol is a protein for transporting fats around in the blood. Cholesterol is needed in the body to make new cells, help digest our food, make all of our sex hormones, and other essential hormones without which we would die. A reduced cholesterol intake (cholesterol is only found in animal foods) causes your body will make all the cholesterol it needs every day anyway. However if you eat a diet high in cholesterol-rich foods, your body will need to make less for what it needs. Cholesterol is also needed for healthy cell walls and a better response to body hormones. The smaller "good" HDL actually pick up accumulated fat molecules out of atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels to take it to the liver or other organs for reuse. The larger "bad" LDL carry fat molecules to the cells for use in energy production, making of hormones, making new cells and more uses. LDL is therefore not bad at all - it's all good!

All of this information was backed up again today (16th June 2016) with a new published paper in one of the most prestigious medical journals - the British Medical Journal - reviewing many other studies done on high LDL cholesterol levels (the "bad" one) in relation to it increasing the risk of death in older people (over 60 years). This paper reviewed 19 other studies done on over 68,000 people and found that high LDL cholesterol was NOT associated with an increased risk of death from any cause or heart disease. In fact 92% of the participants showed a REDUCED risk of death with a higher cholesterol level! These conclusions confirm many other research articles I've read on the subject recently.

The analogy of cholesterol is of a fireman at the scene of a fire. While the fireman is found at the fire, it isn't the cause of the fire! Cholesterol is found in narrowed or blocked blood vessels (ie, atherosclerosis) but it is not the cause of the problem. Chronic (long-term) inflammation causes damage to the lining of blood vessels, and cholesterol is deposited on the damaged walls to protect the blood vessels. Continued inflammation, from a poor nutrient intake of too much sugar and processed carbohydrates including whole grains, high intake of oxidised fats, not enough antioxidant foods, high blood sugar, toxins and other factors are just some of the causes of inflammation of blood vessels, and therefore the cause of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease and heart disease.

Only by looking at the causes of inflammation and heart disease and resolving the causes can the risk of heart disease be reduced or eliminated. Statin medications (prescribed to reduce cholesterol) don't fix the cause (they just hide the symptoms) and actually make your health worse. Another study done in 2013, also in the BMJ, it was found that simply adopting a Mediterranean diet is 3 times more powerful at reducing your risk of death from heart disease than taking a statin!

My family has a history of heart disease and dying too young. I don't want the same for you and your family because of the misinformation or dangerous advice about low fat diets and cholesterol. That's why I'd like to help you and your family to reduce your risk of heart disease with advice that is based on recent and independent scientifically proven research.

If you think your blood pressure or cholesterol levels are high or if you have a family history of heart disease, there is a lot that can be done for prevention or treatment with a Naturopathic consultation to find the cause and treat the cause, not the effects.

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the cholesterol and heart disease myth

28/2/2016

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I see too many clients in my clinic who are worried about their cholesterol levels, particularly as they get older. There is much confusion and misinformation about this topic, so here are some facts based on recent research:

1) Cholesterol is a compound found in animal products - eggs, meats, and dairy. Our bodies naturally make cholesterol - so even being a vegetarian or vegan, you will make more cholesterol than a meat-eater because your body needs it for many purposes!
2) Cholesterol is NOT linked to a diet high in saturated fats as was once believed! Nor is a diet high in cholesterol responsible for your high blood cholesterol! This is because the body makes enough cholesterol for what it needs. If you eat less cholesterol, your body makes more & vice versa.
3) The reason why cholesterol is perceived as unhealthy is because it is found in plaques in blood vessels, which restrict the blood flow and over time can block the flow, causing pain, cell death, stroke or heart attacks. In truth, the analogy of cholesterol is that it is like a fireman at the scene of a fire. Yes cholesterol is found in arterial plaques, but it is NOT the cause of them! (read what does cause them below...)
4) There is no such thing as "good" cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol. Cholesterol is cholesterol and it's all good! Also, over 50% of people who have had heart attacks or heart disease do not have high cholesterol levels! So there is something else other than cholesterol that causes heart disease in most people.
5) Heart disease risk has been shown in research to not be increased by saturated fat intake! Saturated fat, despite popular belief, actually protects the heart! Reducing fat in the diet in research studies did not reduce the risk of heart disease.
6) The US Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services changed the US dietary guidelines on the intake of cholesterol in foods in 2015, stating that "cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern", based on recent research.
7) Cholesterol is an essential substance without which we would not be alive! We actually need cholesterol in our bodies for making our hormones, making the walls of hundreds of millions of new cells each day, carrying fat-soluble nutrients around in the blood to all cells, making bile which helps us digest fats in the diet. With low cholesterol, many health problems occur.
8) If that's not enough evidence against cholesterol being a baddy, a 2011 study on over 52,000 people with a followup period of 10 years, found that the higher your cholesterol was, the longer you lived! What?!

So if it's not dietary sources of cholesterol which causes high blood cholesterol and plaques, then what does?! This might shock you...

High cholesterol and arterial plaques are more caused by a combination of factors:
1) A diet high in sugar, fruit juice, whole grains and bakery products (because they are highly processed carbohydrates)
2) A diet high in trans fat, from processed foods, margarine and fried foods
3) A diet high in oxidised vegetable oils (when vegetable oils are heated)
4) A diet low in vegetables, fibre and antioxidants
5) And having a sedentary lifestyle (ie, not much exercise or movement).

Eating a "low fat" diet because you are worried about saturated fats and cholesterol is unfounded and is not based on quality or recent scientific research. It doesn't help to improve your health because "low fat" diets or foods cause insulin resistance, or effectively, diabetes, and unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, which is what you are wanting to avoid.

Unfortunately if your total cholesterol over about 7 then your GP will probably recommend or prescribe a statin medication to stop or prevent your body from making cholesterol. Because we actually make cholesterol naturally every day for many purposes, having less cholesterol results in a LOT of unhealthy side-effects, including low energy, poor memory and concentration, muscle and joint pains, headaches, nausea, liver damage, increased blood sugar (ie diabetes).

In a recent study in the prestigious British Medical Journal, it was found that simply adopting a Mediterranean diet is 3 times more powerful at reducing your risk of death from heart disease than taking a statin! Imagine just changing your diet to improve your health, and it being more effective than a prescription medication! The Mediterranean diet includes a moderate amount of animal products, healthy fats (olive oil, non-lean meats), and this was found to be 30% better in reducing cardiovascular issues than a low-fat diet, as well as preventing plaques and high blood pressure!
I am not suggesting that you should stop taking your statin medication, but by working with your GP, and myself to improve your diet and lifestyle, you may find that you need to take less medications and have a greater quality of life!

The best medicine for heart health as well as for your whole body is to prevent or reduce the causes of cardiovascular issues, with a holistic (whole body) treatment plan - which is what I do!

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How times have changed on fat and cholesterol research

18/1/2016

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I have written previously about how low fat diets actually cause more negative health issues than they are supposed to prevent (see other articles below) and even more recent scientific research backs this up.

Unfortunately the old paradigm of low fat and low cholesterol foods are healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease was based on shonky observational studies (by reviewing peoples' diet diaries) done in the 1950s to come up with their conclusions, and not by any clinical studies done in the laboratory to prove that dietary fat actually causes the issues in peoples' bodies. Hence we have had 50 or more years of misinformation and conflicting advice by those who want to stick to the old low fat paradigm (Doctors, Dietitians and many personal trainers), and those (like me) who look at more current clinical research studies which shows that low fat and low cholesterol diets are not recommended because of the health risks they cause.

So what does actually cause heart disease, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of arterial walls that lead to blockages, clots and strokes)?

According to recent research, it's trans-fat (from processed and fried foods and margarine), SUGAR and WHOLE GRAINS which are the main culprits in heart disease and arterial damage, and not healthy fats, especially not saturated fats, which appeared to have a protective effect on the heart! Saturated fats (such as in butter and coconut oil) increase your "good" HDL cholesterol, but trans-fat, sugars and grains do the reverse - they increase your bad "LDL" cholesterol and lower your "good" HDL cholesterol.

In addition, fructose (the sugar found in fruit) has also been implicated in obesity and heart disease - in the concentrated and processed forms of fructose such as sugary foods, soft drinks, and fruit juices. However fresh whole fruit is fine as it doesn't have the same effect.

A diet high in sugars and grains leads to obesity, which causes insulin resistance and diabetes, which in turn causes high blood pressure, and in turn this causes heart disease, kidney problems, eye diseases and lowered eyesight, poor circulation and further heart damage in a vicious cycle - and leading to death.

There are many other negative issues with sugars and grains too, such as causing cancer, gastrointestinal issues, depression and mood swings, liver issues and causing or exacerbating many other health conditions.

So if you are wanting to improve your health, please come and see me for a personalised nutrition plan and treatment plan to reverse any health conditions you may have, and to improve your health and make you feel a lot better!

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Eggs are good for you! Eggs do not raise your cholesterol!

"We got it wrong on cholesterol" say nutrition experts

always read product labels before you buy!

more new science shows cholesterol is not the enemy!

the cholesterol and heart disease myth

How times have changed on fat and cholesterol research

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