Ross Walter Nutritionist and Naturopath health articles and blog

Bayer settles glyphosate (RoundUp) damages for $10Billion

6/7/2020

I have previously written several articles about the dangers and health effects of glyphosate, one of the active ingredients in the RoundUp herbicide. The use of RoundUp on many food crops is licensed and regulated, but how would you know whether your foods are exposed to this cancer-causing chemical? Well, you don't and won't know...

Despite the safety claims of the manufacturer, Monsanto, glyphosate or RoundUp greatly damages the environment (in the soil and waterways), affects animals and plants, and damages our health too, as shown in many published studies.

In some recent high profile court cases, Monsanto were ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for RoundUp causing cancer in several people. This brought many tens of thousands of similar lawsuits against Monsanto and its new owner, Bayer, who bought out Monsanto in 2018. The court cases showed beyond doubt that RoundUp was causing cancer, and that Monsanto had covered this up, paid for studies that faked the safety of their product to hide the truth, and used legal action against farmers who tried to speak out about the product.

One of the ways Monsanto were able to get away with selling this carcinogenic and environmentally damaging chemical for so long was that it managed to corrupt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA. Instead of the EPA protecting the environment and the health of farmers, their families and the public in general, they turned a blind eye to the toxicity and damage that RoundUp was doing. A recent court case in the US (June 2020), found that the EPA broke the law in approving RoundUp and other glyphosate chemicals. The court case found that the original approval should not have been allowed, and it is now illegal for farmers to use these herbicides, as the EPA's approval of them has been cancelled!

Following recent discussions, Bayer have agreed to pay approximately US $10 BILLION (or $15.9 BILLION in Australian dollars) to settle about 95,000 lawsuits in the USA alone, related to health effects of RoundUp! This settlement will only cover about 75% of the current lawsuits against the company.

Despite the agreement to settle the large number of lawsuits against the company, Bayer is still defending the product and does not plan to add a cancer warning label to the product! In 2019 the German government (with Bayer being a German company) approved a ban on glyphosate, but not until 2023.

The huge settlement did very little to the company's stock price, which is disappointing. But we can all help by not buying or using RoundUp or any other similar herbicide containing glyphosate, for your health and that of the environment.

Let's hope the end is near for RoundUp and glyphosate, one of the most toxic and dangerous chemicals to the environment and your health.

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soy products are not health foods

28/1/2020

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I often see clients who are consuming soy products because they believe that soy is good for their health. However, for most people who are interested in having the best of health, soy products are NOT what you should be consuming! Soy foods are not health foods! They are, in fact, highly processed foods, and should be treated like most junk foods, and restricted or even avoided in most cases!

Soy products such as the raw beans, tofu, soy milk, simulated meat products, soy ice cream, soy cheese, soybean oil, and soy baby formula and more are highly processed products that are known in research to be linked to breast cancer, thyroid disorders, intolerances, infertility, digestive complaints, and more adverse health effects.

Some might argue that Asians have been eating soy products for a long time and they have very long life spans. That may be true, but they don't eat very much soy, and when they do it's mostly fermented soy, a natural process which is needed to get rid of the anti-nutrients, oestrogen mimicking chemicals and natural toxins found in soybeans. Fermented soy products that are good to eat include tempeh, miso and natto. Also, Asian cultures have different genetics to many other cultures, and can perhaps handle soy better...

The problems with soy and soy products are many:

1) Unfermented soy products interfere with normal thyroid hormones (which controls metabolism), thus slowing down your metabolism making you put on weight as fat.

2) In most women. soy also enhances the effect of the oestrogen (ie female) hormone, causing a range of issues with the female menstrual cycle and therefore reproductive problems, infertility and an increased risk of female hormone related cancers such as breast cancer, cervical cancer and more.

3) The oestrogenic (female hormone mimicking) effects of the phyto-oestrogens in soy have a greater effect In men, to also affect fertility, increase fat production and create man-boobs, cause enlarged prostate gland, and over time, prostate cancer.

Soy may only help a very small number of people - such as those with oestrogen excess, in women and men. In this case, its phyto-oestrogens can block some of the oestrogen receptors on cell walls, to have a reducing effect of having high oestrogen levels.

Over 95% of the world's soy is genetically modified to survive being sprayed with the RoundUp/glyphosate herbicide which would otherwise kill the plant. Hence the soy products contain this toxic chemical which is a "probable" carcinogenic, according to the World Health Organisation in 2015. There have been a couple of very high profile lawsuits against the Roundup manufacturer Monsanto recently, after victims proved that the herbicide caused their terminal cancers.

In addition to the hormone-affecting issues, soy products can bind to many minerals in the meal to prevent the absorption of those minerals such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, manganese and iron! Frequent intake of soy products can lead to deficiencies in these minerals, which results in many health issues and symptoms.

As most processed or prepared foods found in the supermarket contain soy products, it's best to look at the product ingredients and also avoid those that contain soy.

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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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Why does wheat cause so many health problems?

25/6/2016

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I have just watched the "What's with wheat?" documentary (24th June 2016), and I applaud the producers, and the scientists, nutritionists, doctors, farmers and other contributors to the documentary for making this information available to the wider community! It's not just about wheat, but also about corn, the environment, food processing, farming practices, makeup and beauty products, the use of toxic herbicides and pesticides (like Roundup/glyphosate), genetics, and the effects that all of these have on your health.

Much of this information is what I have researched and understood for a few years about grains, and have been implementing myself, for my family and for my clients, with great results in improving their health!

As wheat, corn and other grain products have been a huge part of our diets and lifestyles for generations, making some changes to reduce wheat consumption can be a challenge, and I understand that. But to improve your health, reduce many symptoms and even reverse chronic disease conditions, you need to make some changes to get a different or better result to your health. There are some simple changes you can make to avoid the issues with wheat (and corn) and I'd be happy to help you with this, including advice, alternatives, or other healthier meal choices for you and your family.

If you are wondering what might be any complications from not eating wheat, well... nothing! All the good nutrients in wheat are found in all other foods, such as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and others. You won't be missing anything - other than perhaps the brain fog, neurological conditions, digestive upsets, weight gain, diabetes, mental health issues, lack of energy, high cholesterol,heart disease, autoimmune conditions, cancer, allergies, skin conditions and more adverse health effects that wheat and corn products can cause!

If you haven't registered or watched the "What's with wheat?" documentary yet, you can watch it for free from the link below for the next 7 days online (until 1st July), or consider purchasing it to watch again or to show your family and friends too. Feel free to share this to them too!

Then see me for advice to make the changes that you need.

Here's the link to register, watch or buy the documentary:
https://www.changinghabitsaffiliates.com/204-1.html

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Bayer settles glyphosate (RoundUp) damages for $10Billion

soy products are not health foods

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

Why does wheat cause so many health problems?

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