S3 Ep 12: 'Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and their impact on hormones' featuring Bernie Harrison

In today’s episode of the IHCAN podcast, BioCare’s Bernie Harrison brings us the ABCs of EDCs. Bernie explains to podcast host Kirsten Chick why EDCs (Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals) are so prevalent in our environment, and their impact on hormones and health. Bernie then provides lifestyle and nutrition tips to help reduce EDCs and their impact, including some great pointers for liver and detox support. Bernie also describes the influences that brought her to study nutrition, and the people who are inspiring her work today. 

This podcast is sponsored by BioCare.  

By understanding the connections between genetics, body systems and lifestyles, BioCare creates effective food supplements, to support their customers health issues; made in the UK, without unnecessary additives. They share their knowledge with others, offering free support, advice and education for all. Because at BioCare, they care, as they always have, about shaping a healthier society. https://www.biocare.co.uk/

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The IHCAN magazine Podcast is provided for professional education and debate and is not intended to be used by non-medically qualified individuals as a substitute for, or basis of, medical treatment.

Transcript

Speaker 2 

Hi and welcome to the Icam magazine. I'm Kirsten, Chick nutritional therapist and author, and on today's episode I'm talking with Bernie Harrison, nutritional therapist at Biocare, about Edcs and their impact on hormones. Hello. Thanks for joining me today. 

Speaker 3 

Hi. It's really nice to be here. Thanks for having. 

Speaker 2 

Very welcome. So first of all, tell us a little bit about your nutrition training and what brought you to study nutrition in. First place. 

Speaker 3 

So it was back in my 20s when my dad got diagnosed with non hodgkins lymphoma and we, well, my mum was a bit of had a head of her game and she decided to work with a nutritional therapist alongside his conventional treatment. And it helps to minimize his symptoms and the side effects. And I saw back then the real benefit of using food and changing his diet and lifestyle to help him feel better, to feel more in control of his symptoms. And I used to at the time, read the Guardian, and there was. Don't know if you remember, but you're probably too. But there was a nutritionist called Doctor John Biffer, who wrote in The Guardian. And I used to cut his column out and keep it, and I've still got some of them in a plastic wallet to this day. So that's really when it started. And then I went on to study and work in an unrelated field. I moved overseas and lived in Australia for a while and that they seem to be a bit ahead of the game in terms of naturopathy and that's with the healthcare model and that's where I started taking it more seriously and I did a night, an evening school course. In an introduction to nutrition and and then we moved back to the UK. With our young children, that's when I decided to quit my day job and retrain. CNN. So yeah, that's where I am here now today. 

Speaker 2 

Fantastic. Yeah, Australia. We're we're ahead of the game for a while, weren't they? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah. And it's I think that's and having like when you over there they incorporate a lot more holistic therapy with alongside traditional healthcare. So it really worked very well and I could see how, you know you got a refer. GP to go and see. An acupuncturist or a herbalist and it it makes it made sense. Was like, why are we not doing that here? So that kind of brought it more into real terms for me when I moved back to the UK and I thought, right, yeah, this is this is for me. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah, well done. So today we're focusing in on a very specific. So we're talking about Edcs and the hormones. So the first, very obvious question, what are Edcs? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. So. Called endocrine disrupting chemicals and they're a mixture of different chemicals that interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system and influence how our hormones behave. And according to the Endocrine Society in the US, there's about 85 man made chemicals in the world. But 1800 chemicals have the capacity to disrupt at least one of our 3 endocrine pathways. That of estrogens, or androgens, and thyroid activity. And because the endocrine system is one of the most sensitive communication networks in the body, it influences all aspects of our health like reproduction and our reproductive potential cognition, our thyroid function, our metabolism, our digestion, and our home and balance. So it's really important from a human point of view, our health point of view that we are minimizing the exposure to those because they they because of their. Their spread and how how they can impact the body, it's really important to try and become more aware of it really, to make sure that we're minimizing our exposure and nowadays they they're everywhere. They're in the food chain. We inhale them in the air that we breathe from, from sprays and air fresheners. We wear them on our. They're in furniture, they're in toys, they're in carpets and household cleaning products are everywhere. So. That. Yeah, it's quite overwhelming really. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah. How come this has happened? Come. They're so prevalent. 

Speaker 3 

Well before in the 1950s, that's when plastic really came on the scene. Lot more so if you think back. To prior to the 1950s, we used to buy more locally. Weren't any supermarkets? We buy from local butchers and local green grocers probably bring a shopping trolley or and wrap things in paper a lot more. And then the explosion in plastic manufacturing took place, and chemicals like BPA and phthalates have become much more. Widely used now because they make products a lot more durable. And they're used just so much more now than they were then. So they're used in, like, medical devices in implants in, in toys and in our school uniforms, whereas back then they just wouldn't have been. It just wouldn't have been the case. Now agriculture. A lot more heavily on the use of pesticides and herbicides to get those real high yields that we've come to expect in. So they're just, they're just a lot more mainstream now than they were back then. 

Speaker 2 

And things like paints and furniture and carpets, you know, and our immediate surroundings as. So it's there's been a recent awareness, isn't there that we think about opening our windows to let the the fresh air in. Actually. But then it's like, but it's polluted outside. Is that a good? But actually yes, it still. Because the internal environment in our homes can sometimes be worse than that polluted air outside. It's just got to ridiculous state, hasn't it? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, it is. It's it's quite. It's quite terrifying the more you think about it and look into it, but I think going out into nature and making sure you're offsetting that with a lot of natural natural environments. So in woods and in in, like you say, walking through the countryside after it's been SPR. By, you know, a farmer that's done his regular spraying it that that can be just as toxic as sitting in a room with, you know, a newly painted room, for example, or something like that. It's it's really learning just to be more aware of it really. And where they're coming. Where your exposures coming from and to try and offset that as much as you. But yeah, they're very they're frightening, really. In terms of how much they're in our lives nowadays. 

Speaker 2 

And you mentioned that there were 85 man made, but lots more naturally occurring and decline disrupting chemicals. 

Speaker 3 

There's about 85,000 man made chemicals. 

Speaker 2 

85000 Sorry, I was gonna say that. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. And yeah, I mean 1800 chemicals of those have the capacity to disrupt our hormones, so. 

Speaker 2 

OK. 

Speaker 3 

They they the problem with them is that they can. The natural hormones in our body, the they, they, they can disrupt the the normal function of hormones so. This BPA is. Really common one for phenol PA and. They can actually increase androgen production by the ovaries or the adrenal glands and they can disrupt the feedback mechanisms that that are hormones normally follow. So BPA combined to estrogen receptor alpha and estrogen receptor. And even though it's in a much weaker form than the natural form of eastern and estradiol, but that weak binding is still enough to have a biological effect. And it can disrupt the development of follicles in the ovaries. It can also help an egg matures and grows in females and disrupt the implantation. Of the egg. So this so the timing of. Is very important as well. As if women are trying to conceive or they're having IVF, or around the time of ovulation and conception. It's really crucial because. These this exposure can have downstream effects later on. And they have been associated with conditions like polycystic ovaries and endometriosis. So it, yeah, they they come their their effects are quite quite prevalent really. Phthalates as. They're another one that they've been shown up in the urine metabolites of pregnant women. And they've had downstream effects on the size of the baby's genitals. That exposure during those critical developmental windows are really important. 

Speaker 2 

So it's affecting the fertility of the person trying to get pregnant, and if they're successful, it's potentially affecting the fertility of the baby that they're giving birth to. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, correct. Yeah. So phthalates can interfere with testosterone and androgens by blocking the androgen receptor. They can affect reproduction in males. They. They one of the things that they do is inhibit the transcription of aromatase and that's one of the enzymes that we need for sexual development so they can affect sperm quality. So they it's not. Both men. Women that are affected and in the womb exposure to pallets was found to alter the brain development in in the child later on in life with an association towards problem behaviours like aggression or lower concentration. And like the ADHD and all those that those kind of conditions that were seen so much more of these days. And they are particularly dangerous because they can cross the blood brain barrier. So that's how they disrupt signalling pathways in the brain as well, so. 

Speaker 2 

So that's an. So we've got this kind of more obvious link between. Endocrine disrupting hormones and reproductive. But then they're getting into the brain and affecting. Or how do we know any of the mechanisms around that? 

Speaker 3 

Well, they can, they can affect. They can cross the blood brain barrier because they and they can impact with brain development. They they interfere with hormone receptors and the problem is, is that they are. They are lipophilic so it means that they need fats to help them dissolve. And although we do have the blood, brain barrier is very protective and it's designed to protect the neurons and protect that very, very sacred, almost brain. But the IT has been shown that they they get they can. Penetrate that barrier and they can affect, they can cause inflammation in their high growth allowance and they can interrupt the reproduction of the gonads as well. The Gonadotropic axis which is. Is frightening, really. That in post mortem studies they found. And decline disruptors in in, in brain tissue and in in our in lots of different parts of the body. So it yeah, it's quite it's very extensive. 

Speaker 2 

And I suppose this is one of the things, although we're not talking about menopause because there has been, there have been so many conversations about menopause over the last couple of years. And one thing that we're, you know, everyone's getting their heads around a bit more is. Do get these. Oestrogen receptors and progesterone receptors and testosterone receptors everywhere in the body, not just. In the areas that are directly related to. So if you're you're getting chemicals that are going to disrupt those or bind, as you say to the estrogen now from beta receptors, that's not just going to be in those reproductive areas is it's going to be everywhere. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, that's. Yeah, they, they. They have been found everywhere and. They they they can cross all the these barriers, these these. This. Yeah. Like the blood follicular. 

Speaker 2 

The potential barriers that. 

Speaker 3 

There's a blood testicular barrier, so although we do have these systems and these barriers in place, they can still get across and some of the plastics are so small. Nano Plastics are in such. Tiny, tiny. Tiny. 

Speaker 

Area. 

Speaker 3 

Size that they are so they can just get in. So we're finding as our technology is improving and we can, you know, the microscopes are getting so much more sophisticated that we can test. Such depth now. That we can see that their their extents really. 

Speaker 2 

And we do. Have. Some pretty scary headlines haven't we? Over the last few years, we'll actually over the last few. But the you're right, the more that we can detect these nanoparticles, there have been some, some really concerning headlines. In recent years about how much plastic is is inside of us. 

Speaker 3 

Absolutely, yeah. And it's good in in. There's a lot of movement going on now and there have been a lot of changes. So a lot of the dangerous pesticides have been banned. Europe, like DDT and the in France they have banned since I think it was last year or the year before, they banned single use plastic packaging, so they don't wrap the cucumbers up in that clock cellophane anymore. And all unprocessed fruits and veg in Germany have always had a very strong recycling culture. They are pushing for consumers to take their own reusable containers to the takeaways, for example. To use their own. Their own more and more to avoid from a waste point of view. But just as much as this exposure to the chemicals. So it is. It's a growing awareness, but they but it has been classified as a much more dangerous threat now than ever before. Know the exposure to an ADC. So yeah, it's it's frightening, really. Yeah. 

Speaker 2 

But we don't want people to leave this podcast feeling absolutely terrified and helpless. 

Speaker 3 

Oh, absolutely. And is. 

Speaker 2 

There are, you know, we can't. Can't completely avoid. EDC, as we've established, they are everywhere. Can we avoid some of them? 1st. First of all. Which ones can we avoid? Reduce in our lives. 

Speaker 3 

So the. So I would say the first things you can do is think about avoiding tins with the with. So when you use a tin of tomatoes, when you empty them out and you see that it's got that white lining on the inside. Right, that's made with from BPA and and it's the same with soups. If the people who eat canned soup have high levels of BPA in their urine than those that eat fresh soup. Now, the lining helps to keep the soup and the tomatoes fresher. And it stops the. From becoming eroded. But it does lead to much higher exposure to BPA. So you can avoid using. Tinned tomatoes and tins in general. They're the ones with linings, and the same goes for your coffee coffee cups when you buy. Take away coffee cup because they have that lining as well. Made from recycled. Paper that's got BPA in it. So and when plastic is heated, that can allow the plastics to leach into the food. So I would say if you ever. Do use plastic. Then ensure that you never heat them up. Full stop. If you do use a microwave to reheat your food if you're out on the go. That always take it out, put it into a glass dish or a ceramic dish and then use it in the microwave or then use it to reheat it. And the same goes to the, you know, bring your own, keep cook to the coffee shop and reuse it and use a glass. Use glass or stainless steel. I would also say you can. So the same goes for your. So it's hard nowadays to go to the shops and buy like if you go to certain supermarkets it's very hard not to have plastics, your food wrapped in plastic because in some supermarkets that's all it is. I would try and. Choose fruit and vegetables that aren't wrapped up in plastic, and I know it's there are more. Becoming more and more common now. Just to minimise your exposure, you can buy organic food and get a veggie vegetable box delivered if you can. If that's an option to you. The clean 15 and The Dirty. Are a good option for. Reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. 

Speaker 2 

Yes, I guess the clean 15 are usually ones like fruits and vegetables that have got really thick skin, haven't they? The pesticides don't penetrate as deeply. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And so avoiding The Dirty dozen. But, and I think that for that for that time, I think they change. Every year as well. 

Speaker 2 

It's slightly different. It's it. 

Speaker 3 

Like. Yeah. 

Speaker 1 

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Speaker 

Simply at. The. 

Speaker 3 

And then eating an antioxidant rich diets? Really. So loads of fruits and vegetables as we always hop on about as nutritional therapists. The reason being fruits and veget. Ables and flavonoids like vitamin C and vitamin E. So they're very good at helping you to detoxify, to berries, citrus fruits and the cruciferous vegetables, of course, because they contain sulfurophane. Which is very supportively your detoxification pathways. Water is another. Another really big one as well, because there's lots of synthetic estrogens in our water supply now because of HRT and the contraceptives. And so again, you can if you have to buy plastic water. Plastic water. But I mean using a water filter at home is great because they're very they're very. There's a lot of. Lot of choices around now and. Bringing your own keep you know your own water bottle with you. If you're out and about. And if you do have to use plastic. Bottles. I mean there. Think about plastic bottles and the journey of a water bottle. So in the summertime, we often drink more water and plastic bottles often come in big pallets that might be sitting in a warehouse or out on a out in a in a warehouse delivery. Know they might be exposed. Online and again that's that's been heated and that exposure you know might be altering the chemical structure of the water. That could be increasing. Exposure. 

Speaker 2 

We'll just get have. Bottle of water in the car, won't they? And it seems like a really good thing to do. Yeah. If it's in plastic and it's a hot day. 

Speaker 3 

Exactly. Yeah, it's just not. 

Speaker 

Food. 

Speaker 3 

Just not worth it. Took it away. And then the same with. You know your pet, your coffee cups. The at the coffee shop. Also using non stick pans so not using non stick pans, so cookware that's not made from Teflon or from PFAS or disruptors cast iron is a good option of stainless steel. 

Speaker 2 

What is your take on some of the? Non-toxic. Say they're described as non-toxic. Non stick surfaces that you can get on pans these days because I'm forever being asked about these. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, I guess it depends on the individual pan. What? So if it's not non if it's still non stick, how how does it? What's it made of? I think it's. Questioning a little bit more about what the ingredients are and and really going into that. A lot of plastic. So baby bottles and sippy cups for babies were BPA was banned. So they weren't allowed to use BPA in babies, babies, bottles, milk bottles or their tippy cups. So. Which is. So a lot of them came out saying BPA free and the same with plastic food containers. But instead of using BPA, they use BPSBBFA or BFS, which are similar in chemicals in in what they do, but they're just not called BPA or. Not they, so they say it's really. About what things are made of. If they do have the label of, you know, BPA free or valet, valet free. What? What? What chemicals are they using to make that plastic or make it non stick? Or make it non non ironable like the school uniform for example. I would. Say have a have a little look and look, look at what you know. Get in touch with the manufacturers and ask them about, you know, question. 

Speaker 2 

Another substance is it takes a long time, doesn't it for them. Be able to. It's kind of like innocent until proven guilty with these toxic chemicals, isn't? So sometimes it can take many years for a specific chemical to be proven to be a problem, and then. And then a similar substance gets used instead, as you've just. 

Speaker 

Yes. 

Speaker 2 

And it may have the same issues, but it's another lengthy years long process before that can be proven. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. Yeah, and. And and manufacturing has have a lot of sway in terms of government policy. So it's probably quite hard for. So, for example, with certain pesticides and herbicides. We we know that the evidence is there, that they are very disrupting and they are very toxic but. Very hard for them to be banned because they're so important to industry and to economies in terms of growth and financial value, for example. It's hard the the length of time for that those processes to go through. Is is quite long and there are many other variables at stake. It's not just about the health implications, is it? 

Speaker 2 

So it seems to get to be true. Probably. Stick with the the kind of cookware that we've used for generations rather than the newer, more convenient options. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, yeah, definitely yes, try to. 

Speaker 2 

What about things like personal? Because it's it's shocking sometimes, isn't it? When you read the ingredients labels on hair products and skin products and makeups and things like that, what what's in? Are they as problematic? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, I think if you if you look at the back of of like we say, look at the back of you know your food ingredients list, it's the same with cosmetics, with deodorants and fragrances and creams. Just look at the back and see how many names are on there that you don't understand, or lots of different letters because. The chances are that they are. Chemicals made of chemicals to make them smell lovely or whatever it is, or to and or or does it come down to the fact that it's making the. More soft. So phthalates make are added are added to plastics to make them become more flexible. BPA makes. Makes things plastics more tough and more. But pallets make things more flexible. And yeah, I think it's just coming down to looking at the back of the ingredients and there are certain brands out there that. Do do you know less? Toxic, but you'll say that they're paraben free or they're phthalate. They're becoming more and more common now, so it's good, but and you can you can, you can do your research and find them out there. 

Speaker 2 

So it's getting easier. We can reduce our our exposure to a certain extent and if we can't reduce them you you mentioned earlier about supporting your liver a little bit more things that we can do to help our liver. Clear these kinds of. So can you tell us a? Bit more about that please. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. So there's there are certain nutrients that you can use to support your liver detoxification. Glutathione is a really good antioxidant to help neutralize toxins, especially oestrogen detoxification. Because it supports the phase two pathway called glutathione. So that's where it takes dangerous toxic substances and makes them more water soluble so they can be excluded by the body. So it's it's like your Ed Cs, your heavy metals, your pesticides. And. Broccoli is another one that we touched on before. A. Source of salt water of a an industrial carbonyl which helps promote oestrogen detoxification through the safe. The non-toxic pathway and it supports Phase 2. Detox as well. You need good strong methylation to help support phase two detoxification in the liver, because methylation helps break down the excess hormones. And help to eliminate the hormone mimicking. Chemicals and you need for good optimum relation. You need B vitamins like methyl, B12, methyl folate. Green tea is another. Really good positive. 

Speaker 2 

Effect. 

Speaker 3 

Has a good positive effect on estrogen metabolism because that can help reduce the risk of estrogen dominant cancers. And vitamin C&E can help reduce oxidative stress as well. Calcium D glucurate is a really good antioxidant. The calcium salts of D gluceric acid. It's found in lots of groups and vegetables in the diet, like oranges and grapefruits and cruciferous vegetables and. It can again goes. It can help inactivate and conjugate oestrogens and androgens and help reduce their their signaling. I think around the body and sorry. 

Speaker 2 

Oh no, I was just going to say that because that's we can produce that in the gut as well, can't we? I've got microbes. Can produce enzymes that help to rebalance our oestrogens and their calcium. Their calcium dig can can be part of that process of regulating how much. Estrogen gets put back into the body and how much we get rid of so that they work really well together there, don't they? 

Speaker 

Yeah, that's right. 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. Yeah, it's it's, it's. It's it helps to inhibit beta gluceronidase, which is an enzyme produced by some gut bacterias, and. That it can help conjugate you students, and androgens. So inactivate them and reduce their their. Toxic effects further in the body. It can also act as an antioxidant by reducing the platelet activation. Of our achatonic peroxidation as well. 

Speaker 2 

Wow, there's a lot. There's a lot of biochemistry that it's getting involved with there. So yeah, so it's, you know, it's me and all of this is just coming from eating well, Christopher's vegetables and. Some more kind of like oranges and grapefruits and things like that. Seasonal at this time of. We're speaking in December at the moment and I think this is going out in January. This is a very seasonable seasonable time to be talking about these things. And it's I like that one. We can get really into the the biochemistry of what's going on and then step back and going and to do that, you can eat more broccoli or more. 

Speaker 3 

I know. 

Speaker 2 

Are there any other like top tips feeds that you can think of that like? Are easy wins. Things that we should just be having regularly in our diets? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah. So I mean eating a. I know it sounds so cliche, but eating a rainbow of different vegetables, so different colours. Vegetables and plants, herbs and spices as well. That really does help to grow. Well, you're just getting so many more antioxidants and polyphenols. From from vegetables in general, so trying to get as many as you can in each day is is is so helpful to not just help from a fibre point of view because they help you know they help increase and regulate your motility. Having a good a bowel movement every day, you're. Out the the fibre helps to clear out toxins as well. Pomegranates really good as. Pomegranate juice has more antioxidant potential than red wine and green tea, so it's because it's got really good tannins in it and that's very good to help. Mop up the free radical damage caused by Edcs and other toxins. Yeah, so arrive very. I mean, we'd say this a lot of nutritional therapists, don't we? We say. Exposure to lots of different fruits and. As many as you can with protein and healthy fats. That's. Yeah, that's good. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah. And it's nice to have this consistent message that keeps coming through whatever we're talking about as well. Very lovely and yeah. 

Speaker 

Yeah. 

Speaker 2 

I'm going to get some more pomegranates in my shopping list this week. 

Speaker 

Replay. 

Speaker 2 

And supplement, should we be supplementing as well or is that a helpful thing to do? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, I mean, we have a couple of supplements at biocare that can help with detoxification of hormones. Female balances is is really good for helping to help helping. This generally it's got red Clover and broccoli and green tea and calcium D glucurate as we've been talking about. They can. They support the the phase two liver detox pathways. Also, we've got 16 complex, which is a really nice blend of enosetyal, cysteine alpha, lipoic acid, broccoli as well, and it's got some pomegranate in it, so that's used a lot to support. Detoxification. So those key pathways, or patient glucuronidation glutathione. So it helps with a lot of women and men who've got. BPH or PMS issues for endometriosis. Fibroids or or. If people are struggling with those high toxic exposure so you know a lot of people nowadays are sensitive to air pollution and smells and this can help. With just to support that the detoxification. 

Speaker 2 

Brilliant. Yeah, it's it's nice that we know. But there are things that we can. We know so much more about how the level works now, don't. And the nutrients that it does need and the substances that it does make in order to carry out its detoxification processes. It's something that we can support nutritionally. 

Speaker 1 

OK. 

Speaker 3 

Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah. And I think because we're overloaded and we we're surrounded. So you know, a lot of toxins nowadays we can do like exercise and sweating is really that's something that everybody can do. Just and you can, you know, sweat. Go. Go out for a run in a hoodie or even or go and have a sauna if you if you can. Even sitting in a very hot Epsom salt bath is a really good way of detoxifying. And skin brushing, you know, stimulating your lymphatic system. 

Speaker 

Too. 

Speaker 3 

To help support your detoxification, there are simple ways. You can. Can. You can do and just incorporate them into your lifestyle. 

Speaker 2 

Brilliant, these lovely old naturopathic techniques that have been around for so long and they're. Bare and cheap as well. Just really acceptable, yeah. 

Speaker 

Yes. Yeah. 

Speaker 2 

Combining that nutrition and lifestyle and all of these things. Presumably stress plays a role somewhere along the line. 

Speaker 3 

Well, dress is responsible for so many. Health problems, I think. And yeah, I mean, often going out walking in in nature is it's it's so it's so easy, so accessible and can have such a great effect on on your mental health and and. Physically, you know, breathing, breathing in from the wards. That's, you know, away from main roads or away from heavy industry, or simple ways of helping to calm the nervous system down. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah. And the more UN nervous systems calm down, the better. Everything's going to work. It oh definitely. 

Speaker 3 

No. Yeah. 

Speaker 2 

Brilliant. So fantastic. Thank. There's loads of really good information there, loads of really good tips. I want to come back to you now, so. He in the world of nutrition is inspiring you right now as a nutrition. 

Speaker 3 

Oh, there's a few. I mean, I'm really enjoying watching the work of Doctor Nasha Winters and her. She's a so knowledgeable and such an expert in the field of integrative oncology. I I really like her awareness and her enthusiasm about pushing. People's well pushing integrative oncology higher up the agenda and giving people a lot more empowerment. They're not so paralysed by. Cancer diagnosis and I I think she's doing great things. And I also really like Zach Bush. He is. He's he kind of just gives me that reminder of we need to pause and reflect where we are on our journey and. He incorporates nature and kind of makes makes me often think you know, what are we in the universe? Only a tiny little minute, I and you know on Earth when it's surrounded by so many planets and. Yeah. So I think they those two at the moment seem to be giving me lots to think about and learn from. 

Speaker 2 

Brilliant. Thank you. And yeah, I. She's a force of nature, isn't she? 

Speaker 

Yeah. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah, it could bite sunshiny force of. It's good to have some, but really wonderful people around. I really. The nutrition at the moment, it feels like there's some exciting progression and openings and movement in in the world in of nutrition right now, doesn't that? 

Speaker 3 

Yeah, yeah, there's a. There's there's like when I compare it to 25 years ago when my dad was going through his journey, it's there's so much more out there now and so much support. And you know, you can you can do a lot more. An individual. And it's not, you know, it's not. Just I've got this diagnosis or I've got this condition or I've got this and this is what I've got to do is kind of. OK, that's that. I might be doing that, but I can also. All of this in the background and this is going to. Help support me and get me through and kind of peeling back the onion, the layers of the onion to find out right what's going on deep. And then. Do you really need help with? Where are the issues coming from? So it's yeah, there's a lot. A lot out there. 

Speaker 2 

Yeah. Fantastic. And what do you enjoy most about your work that you do? 

Speaker 3 

I think it's the variety of people that I come. So working at Biocare and you know we get so many different calls from practitioners who need help with their clients or who need, you know, advice about products. And I really like the variety of. What? What? You don't know what's coming next. It might be reassuring a new practitioner with what they're what they think they need to do with a new client, or it might be the an elderly person that's been buying supplements for 30 years. You know, it's that that subtle relationship you're in the background with them and it it's kind of like I feel that I help make a difference to them. Health. So it's just kind of giving that reassurance and being a little bit like. A string in their bow to help them live healthily, more healthy and helping them in their journeys. 

Speaker 2 

Wonderful. Oh, it's been so lovely to chat with you today. Thank you. 

Speaker 

Thank you. 

Speaker 3 

So thanks for having me on. It's been great. 

Speaker 2 

So that was Bernie Harrison, nutritional therapist at Biocare, chatting with me Kirsten. Thank you for listening and I hope you've been inspired today by the insights and tips that Bernie shared with us.