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sunglasses can cause sleep problems, depression, and more!

6/12/2018

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Sunglasses have become very popular over the past few decades, more as a fashion statement than anything beneficial for you!

Like many things which initially appear logical, like the sun allegedly causing skin cancer, or eating fat makes you fat,  when you really dive into the physiology of the body and how it works, and read scientific studies on the topic, you find that what may be the popular belief in the media or government health advice, is completely wrong!

We are told in the media and so-called health organisations like the Cancer Council, who are advising everyone to protect their eyes from the sun with sunglasses as the sun is so dangerous! The Cancer Council have added "slide on sunglasses" to their "slip slop slap" sun safe programs, and their lack of knowledge on the effects of this new advice is appalling.

I had previously researched sunglasses and their effects on health years ago, before I attended a Cancer Council seminar on cancer prevention in 2017. When they introduced their new advice about everyone wearing sunglasses, I publicly asked them were they aware of the health effects of sunglasses, and I was told that there were none! Ok, so I informed them that:

1) Sunglasses cause sleep problems, as your eyes must be exposed to bright sunlight during the day in order to make melatonin, the sleep hormone! So blocking that bright sunlight with sunglasses when outside will reduce melatonin production and secretion, to cause difficulties with getting to sleep or staying asleep. When you don't sleep well, your immune system suffers, which in turn also increases your risks of all cancers. They hadn't heard of this!

2) Sunglasses cause depression. Your eyes have special receptor cells which sends signals to your brain to make serotonin, one of your happy feel-good hormones! A deficiency in serotonin is typical in those with depression. This is the reason why low sunlight exposure during winter in locations further away from the equator causes "seasonal affective disorder" or the "winter blues" or depression. They didn't know this either!

3) Sunglasses cause you to sunburn quicker and more severely, and INCREASES your risks of skin cancer. Your eyes sense the increasing level of sunlight when you are outside and sends hormones to the melanocytes in your skin to produce more melanin, which is your tanning pigment that protects you against sunburn! Wearing sunglasses stops this protective function of the body, so you sunburn more quickly... And they didn't know this either!

And this is all in published research, which I actually provided to the Cancer Council at that seminar in 2017. Nothing seems to have changed in their appalling advice, so I'm making this information public again.

I'm not suggesting that you should never wear sunglasses again, but increasing your "sunglass-free" time when you are outside can help your sleep and moods very quickly! Initially your eyes can be sensitive to sunlight if you have worn sunglasses all the time, but a gradual reduction of wearing sunglasses will reduce your sensitivity.

I have helped so many clients to improve their sleep or their moods or health with very small changes like this! There are many other factors which can cause sleep issues or depression, and each person's causes can be different. It is so important to find and treat the root causes of health issues for a long-term fix!
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Diabetes linked to low sun exposure and poor sleep

20/11/2018

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In this article I will be looking at the relationship between low sunlight exposure, sleep and weight gain and diabetes. You might not think that these topics are related, but they are!

For good quality sleep, you need to make enough melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone. This is dependent on multiple factors, such as sufficient nutrient intake, good digestion and absorption, sufficient sunlight exposure during the day, and other factors.
Melatonin is also an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant hormone, and can reduce blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, reduce anxiety, reduce pain, and interestingly, reduce blood sugar levels! Many studies show there's a link between poor melatonin levels and poor sleep quality and altered insulin secretion and diabetes! This is likely the result of melatonin receptors on the surface of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, meaning that the cells which produce insulin actually respond to melatonin!

Melatonin actually reduces the secretion of insulin! Melatonin is only secreted at night when your eyes sense the levels of sunlight diminishing, and this causes you to secrete less insulin which would otherwise reduce your blood sugar levels. Insulin is a "fat storage" hormone, as it tells the cells in the body to take up the glucose in the blood and use it for energy, but it also tells the liver to convert the excess blood glucose into fat so it can be stored. Hence why high carbohydrate diets lead to increased fat storage and increased weight.

The other part of this picture is that high production and levels of insulin are found during the day, when melatonin isn't secreted (due to bright sun exposure). High levels of blood sugars are very damaging to the body, which over time leads to inflammation and diabetes, and all their complications of hormone imbalance, loss of feeling in extremities from nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), and kidney and eye damage, and heart disease. If you have diabetes, melatonin secretion in the evening will reduce insulin production, so your blood sugars will remain high all night to cause inflammation and damage. You don't want this!

Melatonin doesn't just help you sleep, but it balances your blood sugars and can help to prevent and reverse diabetes! Insulin production also appears to have more of a priority over melatonin production, so a high carbohydrate diet causes more insulin production and less melatonin, causing sleep disturbances!

I have noticed this with my clients, and I have had great success in reducing diabetes symptoms of high blood sugars and insulin levels mainly by improving their diet at dinner time! Reducing carbohydrates in the evening meal reduces blood sugar levels, which in turn reduces the need to produce more insulin, which results in more melatonin being secreted to improve sleep! In addition, the decreased need for insulin reduces the strain on the cells of the pancreas to make insulin, reduces insulin resistance, and lessens the risk of non-insulin dependent type 2 diabetes turning into insulin-dependent diabetes (ie needing insulin injections).

If you want to prevent diabetes or to reduce diabetes, you must reduce your refined and processed carbohydrate intake at dinner! Remember the "no white (foods) at night" rule! That's no wheat (ie bread, pizza etc), pasta, potato, rice, sugar (ie desserts, ice cream), or alcohol! Harsh I know... but you'll feel better for it and you will sleep better too!
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do you know what is in your sunscreen?

11/11/2017

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Apologies about the longer than usual article this time! But it's important.

Because I have been running a series of “Cancer Prevention” presentations around Brisbane for the past couple of months, as so happens in Facebook, you get adverts targeted to you! I got one from the Cancer Council for their “Cancer prevention for educators” talk in Brisbane, so being very sceptical and curious, I booked in!
I attended their talk recently. The first thing I noticed was a display of various unhealthy drinks at the front, and which they explained later, was to show the amount of sugar in each, as sugar contributes to weight gain they said. They ignored the main issue of sugar, that it directly causes and feeds cancer, or that it causes inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, and many other chronic health issues! None of that was mentioned.
And the ironic thing they missed was regarding the refreshments table at the back of the room – sugar-laden snacks of muffins and cakes… They just don’t get it do they?!
I expected the “same old” information, and yes that’s what I got. They said at the beginning that it would be evidence-based information. I thought otherwise, as you will see when you read some more of this article…
Their “prevention“ advice was pretty light, and a lot was missing. More troubling was that much of their advice was actually going to cause more cancer in many people.
On the topic of sun health, they want everyone to slather on sunscreens every 2 hours, wear sun protective clothing, wear tight-fitting and wrap-around sunglasses when outside ALL the time, and stay out of the sun ALL year around in Qld, because the UV light levels are allegedly too high and dangerous even in Winter!
They obviously didn’t read or know about my last article on the dangers of wearing sunglasses for prolonged periods – research shows that they block up to 98% of sunlight entering your eyes, but you need this to make your sleep hormone (melatonin), your feeling happy hormone (serotonin) which prevents depression and other mental health issues, and your protective skin pigment melanin, which prevents you burning more severely.
I asked the presenter if they were aware of the health implications of wearing sunglasses, which I summarised, and they said they were not!
I asked a question about the issue of getting enough vitamin D, due to the importance of maintaining good levels to improve health and prevent chronic disease. They said everyone should have enough vitamin D from just walking from their house to their car each day… really?! That’s nowhere near enough from the research I’ve read, and I’ve only seen 2 clients with healthy vitamin D levels in the past couple of years.
The topic of eating well came up, and of course they said to follow the government food guidelines, which we all know is a pile of brown smelly stuff, and is the reason why we are seeing so many chronic health conditions these days. They showed an example of a “good” kids lunch box, which was anything but. It also included a small plastic bottle of water. I commented that they should be informing people of the dangers of using plastic bottles, especially for children, and especially in summer – as the hotter the temperature is, the more hormone-disrupting and cancer-causing chemicals will leach from the plastic into the water. A cancer council representative said it was a good point, but they are just focusing on getting kids to just drink more water at the moment. Even if it’s toxic and cancer-causing?
There was a lot more which was not that exciting, and other bits which were shocking, but I will write about those in another article.
Lastly, I spared their embarrassment somewhat when I spoke to the speaker and her boss afterwards, to ask about what testing is done on sunscreens. They said they are tested by the TGA which uses the highest quality testing. Ok, I said, so how do you explain the 4 hormone-disrupting chemicals, 5 cancer-causing chemicals, and many other toxic ingredients in your own brand sunscreens? (See the info in the meme picture)
They looked a little surprised, but said they have faith in the TGA and their scientists who made it. I asked if they can look further into this, because the resources I used to check their ingredients is highly regarded.
I gave them a copy of the meme picture, and 2 pages of recent published research which contradicted their “advice” on sunscreens, skin cancer, sunglasses, and vitamin D.
I hope they look further into this, as they are supposed to provide “evidence-based” information to the public for preventing cancer. But on what I saw and heard in this presentation, they do neither.

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sunglasses are not good or healthy for you!

29/10/2017

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Sunglasses are a modern fashion item, but as is the case with many things in our modern lives, they aren't actually good or healthy for you!

In many published research articles, sunglasses have been shown to affect your sleep, cause depression and other mental health conditions (and maintain them), cause more severe sunburn (compared to not wearing them for the same duration in the sun), and contribute to many other health issues.

Sometimes something so minor and trivial as a nutrient deficiency, or just wearing sunglasses for a prolonged period, can have profound implications on your health and wellbeing! I personally had health issues from wearing sunglasses every day for years. It took me 6 months to figure out the cause of the issue - my new sunglasses. Within 3 days of not wearing sunglasses, my health issues disappeared and I've not had the problem since (as I've not worn sunglasses again)! I have helped many others with this same advice.


I'm not suggesting that you should go "cold turkey" as I did, as your eyes can be very sensitive to bright sunlight after years of frequent use of sunglasses. Gradually increase your "sunglass-free" time so your eyes get used to the brightness again and your sensitivity will decrease.

If you experience sleep issues or have mental health concerns, there's usually more than one cause of these issues, and while sunglasses can be a factor, other causes also need to be investigated and addressed - which is what I can help you with!


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How's your sleep? 

24/8/2016

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How's your sleep?! Are you waking up refreshed in the morning with plenty of energy throughout the day? If not, your sleep issues can be causing a lot of health problems (which is not really a laughing matter like the picture), and I see a lot of this in clients.

Sleep issues can lead to fatigue, irritability, poor memory and concentration, depression, weight gain and many chronic health conditions including cancer. To avoid these, you need to get good quality and quantity sleep regularly!

Investigating and resolving sleep issues is a major interest of mine, after having personal difficulties with this in the past, and being able to resolve them with simple but non-standard methods! I tried many of the usual techniques, which didn't work for me because they didn't address the causes.

There are 3 main issues people have regarding sleep:
  1. Sleep onset - having difficulty initially getting to sleep
  2. Sleep maintenance - difficulty staying asleep, or waking at similar times in the night and not easily being able to get back to sleep again
  3. Interrupted sleep - this can be related to sleep maintenance too, but can be caused from other issues such as bladder problems and the need to visit the bathroom during the night, and having young children that need to be breastfed or looked after when sick or needing attention.

Some of the most common causes to sleep problems are from stress, weight issues, lifestyle factors (alcohol, caffeine, lack of exercise or sun exposure and more), and eating the wrong types of foods during the day and especially at dinner, or many other possible causes.

If you are having any of these issues, I'd love to be able to help to sleep better and to improve your health. I investigate all the possible causes of poor sleep in you, then I make some recommendations which can include some dietary changes, lifestyle improvements, environmental changes, supplements or many other techniques to resolve the causes.

Getting a good quality sleep can then make a huge improvement on your health!

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sleeping difficulties are no laughing matter

11/2/2016

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Getting a good nights sleep is not just something you need to recharge your batteries at the end of the day! Sleep is needed for:

1) Growth, particularly in children
2) Maintenance and repair of the body
3) Memory consolidation and learning
4) Detoxification and waste processing
and other purposes too!

Sleep difficulties are no laughing matter for people who can't sleep well. Symptoms of poor sleep include:

1) Difficulty getting to sleep
2) Waking during the night
3) Waking up tired
4) Poor concentration and memory
5) Poor immune system function and frequent infections
6) Depression
7) Weight gain.

There can be many reasons or causes for you not sleeping well, and can include dietary, environmental, lifestyle, stress and other factors. I have a range of options to help you sleep better, as it is something that I had difficulty with for a while too. Improving your sleep can make a huge difference to your health, your life and how you feel!

If sleep difficulties are a problem for you (or someone you know), please contact me!

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SLEEP!

21/2/2015

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SLEEP! It is much more than something we do when we are tired. Did you know that scientists either don't know or agree on why we need sleep!

What is certain though is that we do need adequate good quality sleep every night, as otherwise our health can begin to suffer and cause daily problems, leading to longer-term chronic conditions.

A list of some things that can affect your sleep include the following:
- stress, worries, anger etc,

- eating dinner to close to bedtime,
- increasing age,

- having kids! (or pregnancy, breastfeeding etc),
- alcohol intake,

- coffee/caffeine intake,
- too much water before bedtime, causing interrupted sleep and the need to urinate,

- drugs and medications,
- shift work,

- a less than ideal diet,
- your bedroom environment,

- use of electronic devices before bedtime or in the bedroom,
- other lifestyle factors.


The risks of not getting enough sleep or poor quality sleep include the following:
- mood swings and irritability,

- fatigue,
- poor concentration and memory function,

- snacking and subsequent weight gain (and even weight gain on its own),
- depression,

- post-natal depression,
- reduced immune system function leading to illnesses and infections (colds and flu etc),

- and more...


If your sleep quality isn't ideal or if you recognise any of the symptoms of poor sleep above, please contact Ross Walter Nutritionist to see how he can help you to sleeping better and improving your health!

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