Lesson 3: Eliminating Baby Blockers

This week we want to focus on clearing and eliminating toxins so that your body is safe, open and ready to hold a pregnancy.

 
 

KEY POINTS:

  • Just like opting out of ‘no list’ foods helps starve pathogens, avoiding, and choosing food and product options also takes away another of their food sources which accelerates your healing progress

  • When the body is dealing with too many toxins, it shoves them anywhere it can to keep you safe. Your blood chemistry is of very high importance so in order to prioritize fertility, toxin levels have to be reduced first!

  • Good news: it happens very quickly. with the way your food plan is set up you are in a daily cleansing mode and things will clear day after day

FOOD:

  • Beyond the ‘no list’ you want to consider the chemicals/toxins/pesticides/herbicides use on or in the growing process of our foods

  • Conventional foods are treated with pesticides and herbicides mostly to help them grow faster/better but that doesn’t mean those things are meant to be in our bodies.

  • The most widely used herbicide in the world is ROUNDUP which contains active ingredient glyphosate. June 18 2022 the a US Federal Court over ruled the former findings by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that glyphosate was safe. This is huge!! Read more here

  • The USDA Organic label is the safest label you can find in the market. This means from seed, to the start of the growing process, the food itself, the dirt/land/soil, processing and transportation of the food to the shelf where you select it is to the best of everyone’s ability, not treated with chemicals.

  • Genetically Modified Foods are are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

    Most GMOs have been engineered to withstand the direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. However, new technologies are now being used to artificially develop other traits in plants, such as a resistance to browning in apples, and to create new organisms using synthetic biology. Despite biotech industry promises, there is no evidence that any of the GMOs currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit.

  • High Risk GMO Crops: Alfalfa, Canola, Corn, Cotton, Papaya, Soy, Sugar beet, Yellow summer squash / zucchini, Animal products, Microbes and enzymes, Potato

    • This means that you definitely want to buy organic for yellow squash/zucchini, potatoes and again watch your sourcing/labeling if you buy animal products. Continue to avoid corn, sugar, soy, canola, pork, eggs and farmed fish

    • Papaya you typically don’t find organic. The large Maradol papaya variety contains the most nutrition and healing properties and are NOT GMO.

  • Monitored Risk GMO Crops: Flax, Mustard, Rice, Wheat, Apple, Mushroom, Orange, Pineapple, Camelina (false flax), Sugarcane, Tomato

    • If buying flax, choose raw, organic and milled. Avoid wheat. Chose organic apples, oranges, pineapples, mushrooms and tomatoes.

  • From these main GMO crops, many other products are made. Check that you avoid these items as well:

    • Amino acids, alcohol, aspartame, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, citric acid, sodium citrate, ethanol, flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), high-fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactic acid, maltodextrins, molasses, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sucrose, textured vegetable protein (TVP), xanthan gum, vitamins, vinegar, yeast products

    • NOTES: these show up in ‘healthy’ products like Nutritional Yeast (often used in vegan recipes to simulate a cheese flavor); vinegars (salad dressings/apple cider vinegar which is not healthy), watch especially for natural flavors even in sparkling waters like La Croix and citric acid in so many items.

  • Next best label: GMO Project Verified label. This means the ingredients/food has NOT been genetically modified, however it is not organic, therefore is potentially exposed to herbicides/pesticides.

  • See the image below for the differences between Organic and Non-GMO and the labels to look for.

Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen 2022: Food

The dirty dozen list is created each year by the Environemental Working Group to help guide you in the best and safest produce choices. The dirty dozen list are the ones with highest chemical and pesticide levels and the ones you want to buy organic. The clean fifteen has the lowest chemical numbers so if you want to choose conventional, these are your safest bets!

NOTES:

  • I still want you to avoid corn in all ways and use the info on papaya above to avoid GMOs!

Beauty & Product Basics:

 
 

Just like there is a dirty dozen list for conventional produce, there is one for beauty products too.

  • The top twelve Dirty Dozen ingredients to avoid in your personal care products, all of which have all been found to have some function as either: endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, mutagens (causing genetic mutations), estrogen mimickers, and /or allergens, as well as being harmful to the environment and aquatic life. 

    1. BHA & BHT (Butylated Hydroxyanisole & Butylated Hydroxytoluen): preservatives found in lipsticks, moisturizes, and some food items.

    1. Coal Tar Dyes: used as a colorant in hair dye and often labeled as P-phenylenediamine or CI followed by a 5-digit number.

    1. DEA (Diethanolamine): used to make products sudsy and may be found in cleansers, soaps, shampoos.

    1. DBP (Dibutyl Phthalate): a plasticizer found in nail polish.

    1. Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives: These may also be labeled as DMDM Hydantoin, Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methenamine, Quaternium-15, and Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate.

    1. Parabens: found in 75-90% of cosmetics as a preservative. These are easily absorbed through the skin and may potentiate breast cancer.

    1. Parfum: often listed as Fragrance. Can be classified as a trade secret so specific ingredients do not need to be disclosed on packaging.[10]

    1. PEG Compounds: used as thickeners in cream-based cosmetics.

    1. Petrolatum: also called mineral oil jelly, is used to “lock in” moisture on the skin.

    1. Siloxanes: can be found in cosmetics, deodorants, moisturizers, and facial treatments.

    1. SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate): makes products sudsy and foamy. It can be found in cleansers, shampoos, and shower gels.

    1. Triclosan: an anti-bacterial agent. In 2016, the FDA banned triclosan from use in antibacterial soaps and hand washes, among other products.

  • Phthalates can hide in personal care products, food, packaging, detergents, adhesives, PVC, fragrance, paints, toys, flooring & more. What to do:

    • Swap to glass: I use glass spray bottles, glass water bottles (BKR bottles are my favorite), mason jars for smoothies and small glass bottles for juices.

    • Even if a product says “bpa free” it could use another type of chemical, just not that specific one, so switching to glass is your best bet

Beauty Products:

  • Go through your daily routine and make a list of things you use repeatedly

  • Swap out the top 3 most used first and then make additional changes from there

  • Huge changes happen within DAYS of swapping out products. Kim Harley, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist did a study with teenage girls having them omit their former beauty products for clean versions and the results showed:

    • 44 percent down in levels of methyl and propyl paraben. Parabens are preservatives widely used in cosmetics, shampoos and skin lotions.

    • 5 percent down in triclosan, an antibacterial chemical common in liquid antibacterial hand soap, dishwashing detergent, toothpaste, face wash and deodorant. Triclosan has been linked to the disruption of thyroid and reproductive hormones.

    • 27 percent down in mono-ethyl phthalates. Phthalates, common industrial plasticizers, show up in some nail polish and fragrances.

All of this matters immensely. Know that every edit counts, and you don’t have to be perfect. Just keep moving the needle, making health easier and easier for your body each day.

My Product Faves

Skin care:

Makeup:

  • Bare Minerals powder

  • Beautycounter (I use their bronzer, eye shadows, cream blush, eye liner, tinted moisturizer)

  • Thrive cosmetics (brows and totally want to try their mascara!)

  • I don’t wear a lot of makeup so I only have a few products!

Eyelashes:

Hair:

  • I still get my hair highlighted!! I will not quit and I did when I was pregnant too :)

  • I love Vegamour products. I use the hair regrowth serum and just started the shampoo/conditioner

Skin/Face Products:

Deodorant:

  • I don’t use this much, I don’t know I just don’t sweat unless I”m running or in the sauna! But I use Native brand from Whole Foods

Nails:

  • Olive & June: I have their at home pedicure and manicure kits and several of their polish colors! I also sometimes use their press on nails or other brands from Walgreens that you literally just stick on like stickers. They work!

Lymphatic System:

  • Since the lymphatic system backs up the liver and often has the job of ‘holding’ excess toxins, I love to help it directly cleanse since it doesn’t have a pump and needs our help to move the lymph

  • Fascia Blasters: I have been using these for over 6 years and am so obsessed. They totally work to break up fascia and absolutely support moving and draining the lymphatic system. This is my affiliate link for Ashley Black’s products. I have the main blaster, the mini, the face blaster and the OMG face blaster kit and the mini paddle.

  • I use them after I heat up in my sauna. An infrared sauna is an investment but it helps to reach deep into the cellular level and cleanse toxins and heavy metals. I have been an affiliate for Sunlighten ever since I got mine before Dalton was born! Here’s my affiliate link We have the two person Believe model, but they are all amazing.

  • Additional ways to support lymphatic cleansing: walking daily, laying on your back with your legs up on a wall or bed, rebounding/trampoline, drinking lemon water



Household

The biggest thing you can do/swap/eliminate in your household/car/working environment are candles and air fresheners.

  • The chemically scented, vaporized poisons hurt the lungs—their waxy, oily residue builds up in the lung sacs

  • The oily film also ends up in the liver when it enters the bloodstream from the lungs. Plus we swallow air freshener when we breathe it in through our mouth, and that brings it to the intestinal tract, from which it enters the bloodstream and heads to the liver, where it can reduce liver function.

  • When the chemicals from these products enter your bloodstream your immune system has to fight. Natural killer cells, lymphocytes and other immune cells absorb them, and are weakened or die off from the interaction. Just being in the room with these toxins can lower your entire immune function for 3-4 days.

SWAPS: essential oils, see below!

Norwex Cleaning Products

I use Norwex for almost everything. I have the cleaning cloths, cleaning paste, laundry products, odor eliminator, mattress spray, heavy duter degreaser, the mop and mop pads so I literally just use water and the cloths and/or the cleaning paste. We also use the carpet cleaner since having kids, especially boys :)



Essential Oils!

Huge fan of essential oils. I buy them from Young Living. I recommend this brand or Doterra for quality. I have several diffusers throughout the house and in the kids bathroom and rooms and keep many oils on hand for cleaning, diffusing, and health related conditions.

I use Thieves a lot for disinfecting and cleaning. I have the liquid cleaner that I add water to and use these glass spray bottles from Amazon. Sometimes I add a drop or two of lemon or lavender essential oils to my Norwex mop when i’m cleaning just to make it smell nicely.

Others: the lavender spray I like to spray on our sheets/bedding/the kids snugglies; I bought the diffuser that goes in the usb port in my car and put lavendar in there as well!

These two companies alone give me nearly everything I want/need to keep the house clean and safe.

The only other thing I use right now is Seventh generation liquid dishsoap and dish washing detergent. I know this one isn’t the best.