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.

0 Comments

Sunscreens are a major cause of skin cancers

1/11/2019

0 Comments

Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of skin cancers in the world. But incidences are also rising in countries that are generally colder or not well known for having a lot of sunlight, such as the UK or in the Scandinavian countries.
There are several reasons for this, including the lack of the protective ozone layer in the southern hemisphere, and the increasing use of sunscreens as a result of government sun-safe campaigns.

From looking at the research into sunscreen ingredients and health, I would not recommend using commercial sunscreens as they are the main reason for causing skin cancers. When their marketing says they protect you from the sun, it isn't true. Sunscreens CAUSE skin cancer.

There are 3 ways sunscreens cause skin cancer:
1) Sunscreens block the production of vitamin D, required for absorption of calcium for healthy bones and teeth, and prevention of hundreds of illnesses and chronic diseases, from colds and flu to mental health disorders. Cancer risk is reduced by over 50% with having sufficient vitamin D levels in your body. Vitamin D is a massive immune system booster, and as your immune system destroys cancer cells when it is working well, you need to support your immune system to do this. See my other articles on sunscreens, vitamin D and cancer below.

2) Sunscreens block the UV-B radiation which protects you from the sun and prevents sunburn. But it's the UV-B light which is needed for your body to produce vitamin D! HOWEVER, sunscreens therefore allow you to stay outside in the sun longer (and not get burnt) to be exposed to more of the UV-A radiation, which is the one that causes skin cancer... Let that sink in - sunscreens give you a false sense of security to stay out in the sun longer and be exposed to MORE skin cancer causing UV-A light.

3) Many chemicals in commercial sunscreens (read the ingredients list again) include carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals and hormone-disrupting chemicals which can affect your whole body to negatively affect your health.

Even sunscreens promoted by the Cancer Council have very toxic ingredients including neurotoxins, or they affect fertility or cause DNA damage (ie cause cancer), or disrupt your normal hormones. Australia's Cancer Council's own brand sunscreen contains 5 cancer-causing chemicals, and 4 hormone-disrupting chemicals, in their ONE product! It also contains other chemicals banned in other countries and other damaging chemicals too.

Scientific research proves this:
One study published in the International Journal of Cancer in 2000 (entitled: "Sunscreen use and malignant melanoma"), it showed that people who used sunscreens did NOT have a reduced risk of malignant melanoma, that they spent more time in the sun and got melanoma even if they didn't get sunburnt, and there was an increased risk of melanoma from sunscreen use.

An expert Dermatologist, Dr Bernard Ackerman, who has published 625 research papers on skin cancer says that there is no proven link between sun exposure and melanoma. And people with melanoma have it on less exposed body areas.

Sunscreens actually CAUSE more skin cancer than they prevent.

Please check your sunscreens, and do your research on the ingredients in them. For your family's health, be sun-safe by getting some sunlight on your skin in small doses regularly (but not enough to burn) and if you need to stay out in the sun for longer, cover up with clothes and a hat, or use a natural sunscreen that does not have toxic ingredients in it, from a health food shop.

If you do not think you are getting enough sunlight to maintain your vitamin D levels (at around 5-10 minutes per day in spring or summer) you can opt for a good vitamin D3 supplement - ask me for details!

0 Comments

Stop fracking our food producing farms

1/4/2019

0 Comments

Recently I attended the Brisbane screening of a new Australian-made documentary on the environmental damage and health effects of "fracking", or "unnatural gas extraction" methods used in Australia and also around the world. The documentary, called "Pipe Dreams, Fractured Lives", was very well made by a 5th generation beef and lamb farmer from South Australia, David Smith. This is my review of this documentary.

David lives in a very productive rural farming area of SA, much like many similar food crop areas around Australia. Unfortunately, under the rich farming soils are small deposits of methane gas, trapped in rock or shale layers, which mining companies want to get and sell. One mining company constructed an exploration well searching for unconventional (shale) gas about 25km from his family farm. Later, the SA Labor government offered farmers a 10% share of the royalties they received if farmers allowed gas production on their land. Being a very diligent man, David went investigating fracking in detail, and this documentary is the result of his research and travels.

David interviewed many farmers in Australia and USA to find out the impacts or benefits of fracking on their lands and communities. He also interviewed many scientists, engineering professors, biology professors, a former petroleum boss, food and health science professors, and more. What he found and what they said absolutely shocked him.

Firstly, mining companies and their representatives were using lies and intimidation tactics to try to get farmers to sign up to having a gas well on their land. In some cases, miners were installing wells, even before a contract was signed. The intimidation, bullying, and threats of legal action against the farmers to sign up became all too much for some farmers, with at least one committing suicide as a result.

The mining companies promised thousands of dollars, and even millions in royalties to some farmers, when the miners knew that this was not possible. Unfortunately, many miners believed the promises, only to see a fraction of their promised income, due to low extraction rates, dodgy contract clauses, and that gas wells lose capacity quickly, often within 3 years.

To get to the gas trapped in rock or shale, many shafts are drilling either horizontally or vertically deep into the rock. The main problems with fracking are:

1) A lot of chemicals, chemical waste, radioactive waste, and water are pumped into the shafts to push out the gas which is collected. Approximately 50,000 to 120,000 litres of toxic waste is pumped into each well, diluted by a similar amount of water, and there can be up to 20 wells per pad. That's a LOT of chemicals contaminating the environment and destroying natural waterways and aquifers

2) A LOT of water is needed to dilute the waste being pumped into the rock, and about half of that water used comes back up as waste water, which poisons dams, the ground, and animals which drink it. Many farming communities have not been able to use their groundwater for over 10 years after having gas wells on or near their properties

3) Farmers pay for water rights from the aquifers, but when the miners come in, the farmers must reduce their allocation of water, of which most goes to the miners, who do not pay for their water rights at all

4) Methane gas (and other toxic gases) leaks out of poor quality pipes into the aquifers (an underground layer of water-bearing rock) so that water taken from the aquifer for farming or into farmers' houses can smell and taste of methane gas. This is obviously toxic to anyone or anything that uses it

5) Aquifers, when contaminated, are gone forever. There is no backup water in many farming areas. No water means no crops, no income for farmers, less food to communities, prices go up, and imports go up - not great for the economy or the environment

6) Methane gas has a much larger greenhouse gas footprint than that given off from burning coal by over 100 times. With the concerns many have over "climate change" or "global warming", why are we even looking at this fossil fuel, when there are better renewable alternatives?!

7) Many farms and properties around gas wells are worthless, and families have had to walk away from farms in these areas. One couple tried to get a loan from a bank, but this was denied when the bank found they had 4 gas wells on the property

8) State and federal governments are using old and outdated advice and information regarding the safety of fracking. When fracking was approved in Australia, there were very few research studies on the risks and damage it causes. Now there's over 1400 published studies showing the environmental damage and health effects. Farmers and communities are not being told about these

9) Mining companies are planning to build thousands of more gas wells in Qld, through more state forests and prime agricultural land, but much closer to coastal towns, which will have a larger impact on the environment and people nearby

10) Even if a farmer decides against gas wells on their property, there can be a lot of chemical and gas drift and noise from neighbouring farms which can impact their farm and their health. Environmental contamination doesn't stop at property boundaries
11) After signing up to gas wells and getting very little money from them, but getting all the environmental damage, many farmers found out that it would have been more profitable just farming their crops anyway

12) Within 100 years, all wells would have failed and broken down, releasing even more toxic chemicals into the air, water and environment.

Then the health issues were investigated in the documentary. The health impacts of gas wells can include the following symptoms:

- Blood noses
- Asthma and other respiratory conditions
- Burning eyes and mouth, and eye diseases
- Neurological symptoms of the brain and nervous system, including nerve damage and pain
- Mental health effects - depression, anxiety and psychiatric disorders
- Various cancers
- Infertility (in animal stock and humans)
- Sudden deaths of many head of stock
- Spleen and liver conditions, including enlarged organs and burst spleens
- Miscarriages, low birth weights and birth defects
- Skin rashes and lesions
- And many more symptoms.

The environmental and health damage of fracking is huge. The cost to farmers, farming land, and natural waterways is incalculable and likely permanent.

Prime agricultural land should be used for its intended purpose, and this purpose only! Allowing gas mining which brings massive environmental damage and health effects to animals and people is INSANE. If the farming land is affected by environmental damage, the cities will be affected too, with toxic food and water, no tourism, and many more problems.

Local, state and federal governments MUST listen to the people on the ground and stop hiding behind government departments or mining companies and their profits. People, food and the environment come first, before profits! No money in the world is worth more than your health.

Stand up to the miners and say "no thanks". Talk to your local, state and federal politician to let them know this damage to the environment and people must be stopped. The politicians are hiding the true damage to Australian farming areas and farming communities. Consider that some of the major political parties who have allowed this to happen, and their actions in this (and inactions) should be taken into account in the forthcoming elections.

For more information on the "Pipe Dreams, Fractured Lives" documentary, please have a look at their website here - http://www.pipedreamsfracturedlives.com.au/. Have a look for screenings of the documentary in your area, or you can request or organise a screening with David Smith.

We have to look after the health of our environment and all Australians too! We all depend on it.

0 Comments

why detoxes do not work!

18/1/2019

0 Comments

I do get asked a lot what I would recommend for a detox. If you think you overdid it with the xmas and new years celebrations, and you have made your list of new years resolutions starting with a detox, then you need to read this article further!

Many people think they are doing their bodies a great service, by having a yearly... well, service... with a detox of a few days or a week at most. It sounds like a good idea in principle!

Assuming that you want to undertake a 7-day detox with a water fast, or juicing, or detox program pack from your chemist, or some other online detox method, I have some news for you - it won't work! You can't do a weekly detox and hope that it undoes all the damage and toxic accumulation from the previous 51 weeks of the year! It's not possible!

Also, what is it exactly that you want to detox?! Not actually knowing this is also setting up for failing in your detox. Short term detoxes are useless, but targeted detoxes that are tailored against specific toxins, organs or heavy metals CAN and DO work very well! The key is to know what toxins you may have and then setup a treatment plan for that. This can be done with a number of options for testing, such as with a HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) test, Oligoscan or other tests. I can help with these! I've seen some great improvements with targeted detox treatments, including those with high amounts of lead, mercury, aluminium or other toxins or heavy metals.

Many toxic chemicals from foods or household/cleaning/work products are stored in body fat as a "safe" and out of the way place. When you detox, you are generally on a diet, which is actually a restriction of nutrients (NOT a restriction of calories as such) that your body really needs. The reduced food intake will mean that body fat will be broken down to provide energy. That's all good for reducing your weight, but when you lose a reasonable amount of body fat, those stored toxins are also released into the blood. This is not a good thing, and it WILL make you feel worse. This is why you feel terrible on a detox program - you feel like your brain is fuzzy, aching all over, headaches, gut problems and fatigued... This is why you should never detox when you are sick or not feeling well - you will feel worse. And also why you need to support your body to detox when you are losing weight!

A non-specific detox for the body is a great idea, but this needs to be a part of a regular lifestyle, not something you do once or twice per year! It needs to be done all the time! A general detox can be done properly though without feeling terrible when you do it, with a regular and holistic program that covers all aspects of health - physical, mental, emotional, environmental and more.

Detoxing starts with an analysis of what you are normally eating and drinking, and what chemicals you are being exposed to. Then you should be making some changes to reduce your toxin exposure by replacing some items with safer and less toxic ones, and supporting the body's natural elimination channels to remove stored toxins.

So perhaps please reconsider your short term "detox" plans on your new years resolutions list! Replace it instead with aiming for a "healthy lifestyle" in 2019 instead, or using testing to find out what toxins your body has first, then use a targeted detox against those. I can help you with this!

0 Comments

Bayer settles glyphosate (RoundUp) damages for $10Billion

Sunscreens are a major cause of skin cancers

Stop fracking our food producing farms

why detoxes do not work!

COPYRIGHT

Archives

Categories