Health & Nutrition

CHOOSE

A glass bottle over a plastic one. Plastic bottles can leach toxic chemicals, including Bisphenol-A, into the bottle's contents. Plastic bottles get scratched more easily, making them harder to clean and allowing bacteria to build up inside;

A silicone nipple over a latex or PVC nipple. Latex can cause allergies.  PVC can leach toxic phthalates.

USE

Powdered formula over liquid, which may be contaminated with Bisphenol-A;

Filtered tap or tank water over unfiltered water. It is important to use fluoride-free water when making up your baby's formula, otherwise you will give them approximately 250 times more fluoride than nature ever intended. Breast milk is particularly low in fluoride as a means of protecting vulnerable infants from overdosing on this toxic chemical.  Only a Reverse Osmosis water filter system will remove most of the fluoridation chemicals added to water;

Saucepan full of hot water rather than a microwave to heat baby's formula as microwaves provide uneven heating and you may inadvertently scald your baby during feeding.

NEVER

Feed your baby soy formula - phytoestrogens in soy are potent endocrine disruptors linked to delayed physical maturation in boys and extremely precocious puberty in girls. Toxic and carcinogenic byproducts are formed and added to soy during the processing of soy to produce formula;

Put juice in your baby's bottle - highly concentrated fructose will rot your baby's teeth as fast as coke;

Put your baby to bed with a bottle - they may choke, get reflux, risk ear infections and tooth decay.

“If I contracted cancer, I would never go to a standard cancer treatment centre. Cancer victims who live far from such centres have a chance.”

Professor Charles Mathe, French cancer specialist

“Cancer is a $200 billion-a-year industry. There are more people today making a living out of cancer than are dying from it.”

Phillip Day, Health researcher and writer

Most of these things are what we should all be doing every day to keep our bodies as healthy as possible in the battle against the environmental toxins and pollutants which trigger, aggravate and support cancer:

1. Drink plenty of clean, filtered water – 2 to 3 litres per day. If you’re drinking treated tap water, you’re also drinking the chemicals used to treat it. If you’re drinking tank water, you could be exposing yourself to bacteria, heavy metals and other environmental pollutants. You must filter your water – read about the different types of water filters here...

2. Improve your diet – Use Himalayan salt, not highly processed table salt. Try to eat mostly raw foods, organic or chemical free where possible. Cut out the sugar. Cancer cells utilise glucose for anaerobic fermentation - they thrive on sugar. Stop cooking with vegetable oils and olive oil – they are unstable and become rancid easily when exposed to heat and light. Use coconut oil for cooking and olive oil and pumpkin seed oil as salad dressings.

3. Take good quality (practitioner strength) supplements to keep your immune system strong and help destroy toxins and cancer cells. In particular, use Vitamin C complex,Vitamin D3, Vitamin B17 (apricot kernels). People having chemotherapy are told not to take Vitamin C because it reduces the effectiveness of the toxic chemicals being used – that’s how powerful it is.

4. Try to find a doctor who is trained in nutrition – this isn’t easy.

5. Stop using toxic products on your body and in your home. Never again use pesticides, herbicides, bleach, conventional glass cleaner, air freshener, perfume, hairspray, nail polish, house paint, floor treatments, .....that’s just a start.

6. Reduce your exposure to EMR – electro magnetic radiation. Don’t use cordless phones, mobile phones. Don’t sleep near appliances such as digital clock/radios, tvs, baby monitors, mobile phone chargers. Find out where your fuse box is and make sure it’s not attached to your bedroom wall. Be concerned if you live or work near a mobile phone tower, transformer, substation, high voltage power lines etc.

7. Exercise daily to oxygenate your blood.

8. Accept responsibility for your own health every day. Don’t expect the medical system to cure you. There is no magic bullet but given the right fuel and support, the body is pretty amazing.

Glass

Glass is the ideal choice but who wants to lug a milk bottle around in their bag? It breaks too easily and would be pretty dangerous in a school environment. However, for babies who need a bottle for expressed milk, formula or water, you shouldn’t be using anything else.

The safest glass baby bottle on the market is the Safe-t-Baby bottle, made from the same type of glass used in laboratory test t ubes. TuxanTM glass is a form of borosilicate glass used in laboratory situations because of its anti-bacterial nature and ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures.

Plastic 

Never use a BPA-containing polycarbonate (recycling #7) bottle to feed your baby. BPA(Bisphenol A) is a chemical that mimics the female hormone, oestrogen. Developing babies are most at risk from the effects of BPA and must be protected at all costs. They are also exposed to it through canned formula and canned foods, which contain BPA in the epoxy resin lining of the cans.

Drink bottles made from polycarbonate are usually rigid and transparent. Cloudy coloured plastic does not contain BPAs. The safest water bottles are made from polypropylene (PP or recycling #5). Polypropylene bottles such as Safe-t-Bottles are very durable but inflexible, so don’t freeze liquids in them. High-density polyethylene (#2 HDPE) is also safe.

Stainless Steel

18/8 or 304 stainless steel is regarded as hospital grade. It’s a steel alloy containing chromium to help protect the steel from corroding.  The higher the ration of chromium to nickel, the higher the grade of stainless steel. 18/8 refers to 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Unless you’re sensitive to nickel, stainless steel makes an excellent water bottle.

There are so many stainless steel bottles on the market, with pretty colours and designs, but are they all the same? They’re all made in China, often out of the same factories. The majority contain no epoxy lining but many do have aluminium thread in the neck. With constant screwing and unscrewing of lids, the aluminium is eventually exposed and comes into contact with your mouth. It’s difficult to know if your bottle has aluminium in its neck. Watch for wear and tear on the neck of your drink bottle and look for signs of oxidation (whitening) of the metal.

To get rid of the metallic taste from a new bottle, soak it in vinegar and water overnight.

Aluminium

All aluminium containers must be lined with epoxy resin. This goes for canned foods as well. Epoxy resins are known to release hormone-disrupting BPAs. Sigg (the cool-looking expensive aluminium bottles from a Swiss company) have recently admitted to the fact that their water bottles do contain BPA, after denying it for years. They’ve announced that they are now using a safer, BPA-free liner they call “Eco-care”.

They’re not the only company to be caught telling untruths. Gaiam, the brand sold in fitness stores, has been found to have even more BPAs in their epoxy linings than Sigg bottles. BPAs are released when the lining is scratched, comes into contact with detergent, when the bottles are subjected to heat or when acidic liquid (sports drinks) is carried in them. If you buy canned tomatoes, you might want to think about buying bottled next time.

In a blender, put: 

• 1/2 bunch Spinach
• 1 large green Apple (peeled)
• 1 large or 2 small Bananas
• 1/2 bunch Mint
• 1/2 bunch Parsley
• 1/2 Lemon (juice)
• 2 cups Water (filtered)

Turn on the blender.

By Gwarehouse Naturopath, Melanie L Robinson

Poor old Pertussis has copped some flack in the media recently. After the sad death of a North Coast baby and the spread of infection in increasing numbers of babies in the past 12 months it begs a few questions on the efficacy and application of immunisations.

I am a mother of a young healthy toddler. It was my choice not to immunise. That is not to say the choice was easy for me. As a first time mother and naturopath, it was a difficult task wading through the presenting scientific (and anecdotal) arguments for and against immunisation. Being a first time mother certainly pulled at the fear strings in my heart. Perhaps it was my training and core beliefs that nature, when doing okay, should be left alone.

As I watched my young baby growing I felt overwhelmed by his perfection; I had great difficulty accepting that I was to inject him with chemicals and potential neurotoxins to better his immunity. A baby’s immune system and nervous system, including the brain, is at its most fragile after birth. Essentially they are still developing, and the months (and most certainly years) after birth are crucial to the child’s future health and wellbeing.

I am aware of the ‘bigger picture’ of immunisation, across the board it has made an impact in the spread of contagious and life threatening diseases, but try to talk about the ‘bigger picture’ to the parents of children who have suffered many complications post-vaccination. The bigger picture just as aptly applies to the severe anaphylaxis, auto-immune disorders, increased allergies, and even some cancers in young children.

For me, I didn’t feel I was putting my child at risk by not immunising, but indeed at risk of longer term complications if I did. If you are facing the same questions, or would like to discuss how to support your child’s wellbeing pre or post immunisation, it can be done. It does not have to be a yes or no equation.

If immunisation is your informed choice, you can use natural and effective supplements and advice to support y our baby or child’s system in response to the vaccine. If your informed choice is not to immunise, there are also many ways to nurture your child’s health.   

Contact Gwarehouse for an appointment with Melanie to discuss immunisation or any other health issues, on 6581 2411

Do you believe these myths?

Food Myth 1: Salt is bad for you.

Fact:  There is evidence that the government's advice to lower salt intake has resulted in an epidemic of iodine deficiency in Australia. There is also evidence that iodine deficiencies contribute to atherosclerosis and heart disease.  Natural, unrefined salt is a great source of minerals and is essential for life.  Natural salt enables the movement of fluid in and out of your cells, carries nutrients to your cells and helps regulate your blood pressure. 

Food Myth 2: Eggs are bad for you.

Fact: Eggs from free range chickens receiving a chemical-free diet are a perfect food, providing protein, nutrients and important fatty acids that contribute to the health of the brain and nervous system. Eating eggs has actually been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Food Myth 3: Butter is full of saturated fat that will clog your arteries, margarine is healthier.

Fact:  People who eat margarine have twice the rate of heart disease as those who eat butter. The process of making margarine involves several toxic chemicals. Scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that saturated fats cause atherosclerosis or heart disease.

Food Myth 4: Heart disease is caused by cholesterol and the consumption of saturated fats from products like butter and fatty meats, coconut oil and palm oils.

Fact: No scientifically valid study has ever shown a link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease. The increase in heart disease has paralleled an increase in the consumption of hydrogenated vegetable oils (transfats), refined vegetable oils and sugar. The hype about saturated, monounsaturated and polysaturated fats is confusing, misleading and plain wrong.

Food Myth 5: Children eating a low fat diet will have less health problems later in life.

Fact:  Fats are vital nutrients. We need them for proper digestion and nutrient absorption. Fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) and calcium require fat for proper absorption. Children fed low fat diets end up with serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Human breast milk is approximately 60% fat. However, eating the wrong fats (transfats and refined vegetable oils) can make us sick.

Food Myth 6: Avoid foods containing cholesterol if you want to lower your cholesterol levels.

Fact:  Your body makes more cholesterol on a daily basis than you could ever eat. To lower your cholesterol you have to eat less carbohydrates as the body makes cholesterol from sugar.

Food Myth 7: Soy products are healthy and nutritious.

Fact:  Most modern soy foods are unhealthy foods for humans. Modern soy products are not cooked or fermented properly to neutralize the natural toxins in soybeans, they are processed in a way that damages the proteins and increases the levels of carcinogens.

Food Myth 8: The low fat, low cholesterol diet recommended by the Australian Heart Foundation is the healthiest way to eat.

Fact:  While the AHF continues to recommend using margarine instead of butter, cooking with olive oil instead of coconut oil and consuming low fat dairy and soy products, and the rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer continue to skyrocket, how can anyone take this group seriously. The only ones benefiting from this type of diet are the pharmaceutical industry, the medical profession and the big food manufacturers. 

Food Myth 9: My doctor is the best source of information about nutrition and health.

Fact:  Medical schools do not teach nutrition to doctors (unless you think the Food Pyramid counts) but they do teach doctors how to treat symptoms with drugs. 

Food Myth 10:  The Food Pyramid provides the best guide to what to eat for good health.

Fact: The modern Food Pyramid is based on principles that have never been proven in any scientific study, and it is heavily influenced by the food manufacturing and agricult ural industry. The food pyramid incorrectly advises us to eat more grains (breads, cereals, rice & pasta, including white grains) than fruit and vege. Unfairly, fats and oils are lumped in with sugar at the top of the pyramid, recommending that we make these foods the smallest part of our diet.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a very common

We’ve all been told that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection is to wash our hands. Doctors in the 19th century learned this the hard way, going from autopsies to delivering babies without washing. Women who had their babies in hospitals were more likely to die and so it wasn’t a popular option at the time.

More recently, in a year-long study in hospital intensive care units in the UK, it was found that,

“Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors did more to prevent the spread of the MRSA superbug than isolating infected patients.”

MRSA (Multiresistant Staph Aureus) is a nasty bacterial infection which is resistant to antibiotic treatment, common in many hospitals and a result of overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial cleaning products.

So, if you want to be less susceptible to colds, flu, tummy bugs and MRSA, wash your hands regularly.

WHEN? Always wash your hands:

• After using the toilet or changing a baby’s nappy
• After handling animals or their waste
• Before and after preparing food, especially raw meat, poultry or fish • Before eating • After blowing your nose
• After coughing or sneezing into your hands
• Before and after touching a sick or injured person
• After emptying the rubbish
• Before handling a newborn baby

WHAT WITH?

Washing with soap and water doesn’t actually kill germs, it just makes the skin slippery so that t he germs slide off. Washing with water will remove some germs but soap and water together will remove more. Washing with antibacterial products does kill bacteria, the good ones as well as the harmful ones, but within 90 minutes, they’re back again.

The problem is that the harmful bugs develop resistance, especially in hospitals, where there are more of them around, more surfaces treated with antibacterial products and more people taking antibiotics. In 2000 the American Medical Association admitted that using antibacterial soaps was no more effective than using regular soap – not that this stopped people using them.

Chemical “Hand Cleansers” are not only completely unnecessary but they are often highly perfumed, artificially coloured and unfriendly to our waterways and environment. So please don’t use them.

Liquid Soap or Hard Soap?

Last year, Australian scientists tested the effects of personal cleaning products, including shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, liquid soaps and hard soap on greywater and soil. They found that hard soaps were high in sodium and produced grey water with a high pH, which could damage plants and soil over time. Liquid cleansers and bodywashes were more likely to have low sodium levels and would be less damaging to plants and soils.