Support Health Clinic

17/04/2024

Health problems generally originate from specific nutrient deficiencies as well as possible toxicities, which may be parasitic, chemical or metallic. Metallic poisons means toxic minerals or 'heavy metals', although light metals such as aluminium are included.

We usually suspect metal toxicity due to known exposure or because illness symptoms match those of a toxic metal. We are all at risk.

The body tries to keep us safe by sequestering toxic metals away into body compartments such as fat cells, organs or bone. Mercury and aluminium go to fatty tissue in the brain, fluoride to bone, and so on. Accurate assessment of toxic metal levels by blood or urine is only possible in acute toxicity. Long-term chronic poisoning is difficult to assess by any method, although a good case history is often the best tool.

The common approach to detoxification is to use a chelating agent, that is, a substance which combines chemically with the toxic metal to create a compound the body can transport and eliminate. This is a first line medical therapy for acute metal poisoning using agents such as EDTA or DMSA, however the danger is that many useful minerals are removed which may create such chronic depletion that it can take years to recover. This is true for chelation therapy with simpler, gentler agents as well, although they are needed to some degree.

A beneficial approach is to nourish with useful minerals which compete with and displace the toxic metals. Iodine antagonises Fluorine and Bromine, Zinc for Cadmium, Selenium for Mercury and Lead, and so on.

This procedure must be in parallel with support for the organs of elimination especially the liver, nutrients (such as glutathione) to support safe transport to the liver, nutrients to support both phases of liver detoxification, a healthy bile flow, and binding agents (such as zeolite, activated charcoal, modified citrus pectin) to capture the toxins in the gut so they are not reabsorbed before elimination.

I like to assess the situation properly with Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. I avoid frequency scanning systems and specifically use Interclinical Laboratories, an Australian agent for the Trace Elements laboratory in the USA, the assessment is of a hair sample by advanced chromatography and the report is exceptionally informative. The therapy is then nourishing and restorative. It integrates a rebalancing of the autonomic nervous system which is key to telling the body it's safe to heal.

13/03/2024

Raw Milk or Pasteurised - which is better?

Raw milk is available from some healthfood stores in South East Queensland. It's a farm to consumer product sold in standard 2 litre disposable bottles and labelled as "Bath Milk, not for human consumption". It's a rich milk from Jersey or Guernsey cows and has a high cream content.
Milk is valued by its butterfat content, which is the key nutrient.
Raw milk producers must maintain scrupulous hygiene in the dairy with high health standards for their milking herd. One pleasing fact about this unpasteurised milk is its shelf life. It generally stays usable for a good 5 days longer than normal pasteurised milk.
Why is that?
I once lived in Belgium and ran the mix in an icecream factory in the industrial northern suburbs of Brussells. My employer and mentor Charles was a good Frenchman with a degree in milk chemistry from a university in Switzerland.
Charles explained to me that raw milk had a "bacteriostatic factor". If a bowl of fresh raw milk is put on the kitchen bench it will not begin to "turn" until 24 hours have passed (the way milk 'turns' is the basis of cheese making).
If chilled when fresh the milk retains this bacteriostatic factor, which is denatured by the heat of pasteurisation.
Until the early 1990's there were many raw milk dairies in Australia, for example micro dairies providing fresh goat milk, however they were forced to close when legislation required that all milk for human consumption be pasteurised, an industrial level process beyond the resources of small producers.
Raw milk sales are banned in most of the developed world, all milk must pasteurised, a heat treatment to kill microbes. The pasteuriser is a continuous flow heat exchanger with hot water on one side and milk on the other, the milk must be heated quickly to the required temperature of around 71 deg C for a limited time (about 15 seconds) then rapidly cooled by chilling. An important factor deciding these temperatures and times is the microbial count of each batch of milk.
Pasteurisation allows dairies to supply milk to factories with a higher microbe count. I know for a fact that a dairy factory in Victoria used to deal with batches of souring milk by adding sufficient caustic soda to normalise the acidity then run the batch through the pasteuriser. One excellent small dairy in the Sunshine Coast hinterland will reject a batch of milk if the microbial count is excessive rather than increase the pasteurisation temperature to suit the batch. I've noticed that this dairy's milk tends to stay fresher for longer.
Our immune system should recognize microbes but it isn't good at recognizing the intestinal contents of killed microbes, a factor in allergic reactions to milk.
Homogenisation breaks up the fat in milk by sudden pressure which smashes the droplets making them small enough to stay in suspension. Because this prevents the fat from rising it's impossible to know how much cream the milk really has - the cream may be separated out to go into other butterfat products and the milk thickened with milk powder to restore the flavour. Another problem with these microfined fats is that they may elude proper digestion and when absorbed cause immune disturbances, or even lodge in crevices such as behind heart valves to attract microbial or inflammatory problems. Fortunately, non-homogenised milk is readily available.
Traditionally, when nomadic peoples began to acquire herds, the milk was a valuable nutritional supplement and preserved by culturing to make curds and cheeses. Eating butter, yogurts and cheeses is preferable to drinking milk. Homemade kefir from milk kefir grains is a remarkably nourishing food and probiotic.
Milk and milk products are embedded in our dietary culture such that persons who avoid dairy have created a market for milk substitutes. These substitutes are not foods and to be enjoyed in very limited amounts.
Support local dairies as much as possible. Enjoy the great range of quality products available to us, they are a sign and source of food richness in our country.
Until next time, keep safe and be well,
Hugh Wallace Naturopath

25/02/2024

Puberty Blockers - what and why.

Gender transition is another of the agendas taking over since Covid. It's astonishing how quickly these concepts become embedded in consciousness and culture. An agenda is given a benign face, then an ocean of supportive resources is embedded in every possible media platform to capture the mind of anyone taking interest.

In children, three quarters of the gender issues are females wanting to be male. Girl's online lives are physically safer yet they are mentally vulnerable, one in five may show the symptoms of a major depressive episode.

Before 2012 the incidence of 'gender dysphoria' (identifying as transgender) in girls was 0.1%, so rare there was no scientific literature on the subject. Australia has seen an explosion of cases - in 2003 the Melbourne Royal children's hospital had only a single case, they now have 200.

So troubled souls are referred to "gender affirming care" and offered "puberty blocking drugs".
"We'll just put puberty 'on hold' until your child is sure of their choice".

But these puberty blocking drugs are not new, they're the old chemical castration drugs repurposed. We're talking about Lupron and Medroxyprogesterone Acetate. The effects are disturbing - suppression of normal bone density, infertility, loss of sexual function, interference with brain development and IQ, thyroid cancer.

These are intended to be followed up with cross-sex drugs. There are no long term studies showing safety, yet the risks escalated dramatically with time, infertility is almost guaranteed, and sexual development and potential for or**sm may be permanently foreclosed.

Surgical changes (mastectomy, phalloplasty for girls) are offered next.

Data shows that with no interventions 70% of children will outgrow gender dysphoria on their own.

14/02/2024

A B Vitamin to be aware of ..

Folate (vitamin B9) is a vital nutrient needed to run the folate cycle which facilitates the important function of "methylation". This supports DNA turnover, vital to prevent foetal neural tube defects. It also manages homocysteine, high levels of which are implicated in cardiovascular risks, neurop...

27/03/2023

Our stall at Pomona Country Market.
All are welcome to visit and discuss health concerns and share knowledge. Consultations are free.