JULY AND AUGUST 2020 ROUNDUP

This is Part 2 of my recap on this book. Scroll down in my feed and read Part 1 first if you missed it!

What can you do now to avoid exposure? Choose naturally flame-resistant materials like wool, use a wet mop to get rid of chemical residues, regularly open windows in your home, avoid canned foods, say no to receipts that are coated.

Diet is not simply a matter of calorie intake, composition matters and the composition of the American diet has shifted toward sugar.

There are a lot of factors that go into obesity and type 2 diabetes such as technology, sedentary lifestyles and a diet full of processed foods but there is also a link to these and early childhood exposure to pesticides, BPAs and phthalates.

One study linked higher PFOA levels to slowing resting metabolic rates.

Pesticides and other common chemicals we all come into contact with on a daily basis mess with the way the body is meant to metabolize food and maintain homeostasis.

Phthalates can cause inflammation and create and imbalance in the body called oxidative stress and they can also have a negative influence on testosterone.

One study showed the higher maternal BPA levels during pregnancy were found to be associated with higher BMI in children by age 4. BPA exposure may explain nearly 2% of all obesity in 4 year olds.

On plastics, the # 3 on the bottom indicates phthalates, 6 is styrene and 7 is “other”.

Never wash any plastic in the dishwasher or put it in the microwave. The heat degrades the plastic and release the chemicals into the food, water or other substances.

Research shows that chemicals that act as synthetic estrogens can induce hypospadias, undescended testis, testicular cancers and low sperm counts.

There is substantial irony in that chemical exposures appear to induce conditions that then require other chemical exposures (pharmaceuticals) to cure.

It’s important to emphasize the effects of EDC exposures on people lives, even when they are treatable. And treatment may have consequences of its own: chemotherapy is well known to increase risks for a secondary cancer later on.

Fertility rates in the US are at their lowest level ever recorded.
Aceteminophen is deemed safe by OBGYNS during pregnancy but the safety of this has not been fully assessed in pregnant women. (I choose not to take this personally).

The US has one of the highest rates of preterm birth worldwide.

Phthalates induce inflammation and oxidative stress, which can make the placenta not function as well as it should.

Chemical exposures have been implicated in conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis and even breast cancer. Many endocrinologists today still don’t regularly ask about these chemicals. Some health professionals simply wont ask questions that may expose knowledge gaps or lack of training.

Early puberty is a well-known risk for breast cancer.

There is no treatment that can undo chemical exposures but there is a lot we can do to improve our lives going forward.

An estimated 86,000 cases of endometriosis in the US are due to phthalates.

Hormone replacement therapy can increase breast cancer risk within 5 years.

One 30 year long study found women with the highest levels of DDT had a fivefold higher risk of breast cancer.

You don’t have to stress and think you need to live in a remote farmhouse thousands of miles away from everyone—there are steps you can take in your life now to reduce exposure.

Limit your exposure to pesticides: eat organic
Limit your exposure to phthalates: don’t re-use single use plastics and don’t heat plastics
Limit your exposure to BPA: only buy bottles or canned foods that say BPA & BPS free
Limit your exposure to Flame Retardants: research products you buy, open windows

We are exposed to these micro particles multiple times a day, so even though they are small- they are affecting our bodies.

Eating fast food is associated with much higher (20%-40%) levels of phthalates in urine.

Of the 3,941 food additives on the FDA website, reproductive toxicology data is only available for 263 of them and developmental toxicology data is only available for 2. Most people should be disturbed to discover that a chemical or product is considered “safe” because one scientist working at a company says its safe.

If you stop using products containing phthalates, you could see changes in your urine levels within 24-48 hours.

Medical doctors are trained to diagnose and treat. Prevention doesn’t the get the same attention in medical education.

A 2003 study found that fewer than ½ of pediatric residencies covered any topics other than lead exposure and environmental factors contributing to asthma.

You may face resistance, debate and disagreement when you share info about toxins but every person you discuss these with will likely have a family member or friend with a chronic disease that might be due to these.

I am a huge fan of podcasts! Throughout my whole journey I have read books, articles and other print documents to learn SO much but I also love to listen to podcasts. I love them because you can literally be doing anything and be listening. There are a lot of good ones out there and I’m going to list the ones I listen to regularly that have helped educate me on so many topics! If you have any favorite non-toxic/health/wellness post them below so everyone can see!

I do also love other podcast genres but I’m just focusing on ones here that have helped me with non-toxic living. I’ll tag these people so you can do follow their pages as well!

Colorful Eats with Justine Campbell and Caroline Potter. This was the first one I started listening to years ago. They don’t have new episodes but you can go back and listen to old ones. I knew NOTHING about non-toxic living or clean ingredient foods before listening to this. When my journey began back in 2017 I was back and forth between Houston & Fort Worth a lot so I binge listened to tons of these and it made my 4-hour drive so short. @caroline__potter @justinecampbell.co

Wellness Mama: If you don’t already follow Katie then you should! She has 6 kids and is a super human! I love her podcast. Bonus- she always includes a transcript of her episodes so I can refer back to it which I LOVE. @wellnessmama

The Dr. Axe Show: Another person to follow- Dr. Josh Axe. I love his podcast! It’s a newer one to me so I’ve been enjoying going back and listening to older episodes. @drjoshaxe

Be Well by Kelly: I don’t know where I first heard of Kelly but it was on another podcast years ago. She’s known for her “Fab 4” smoothies and works with lots of celebrities. @bewellbykelly

The Skinny Confidential: This is kind of a random one but Michael and Lauryn are hilarious. They are husband and wife and interview people on ALL sorts of topics. Not all of their episodes are on healthy things but you can scroll through their episodes to find certain guests/topics that I love. @theskinnyconfidential


Informed Pregnancy: I listened to SO many birth stories while pregnant. They make me cry every time. Dr. Berlin is a chiropractor and he works with lots of celebrities and interviews them as they tell their birth stories. He also interviews other professionals though on all things birth so women can be informed about their choices during pregnancy and after. Highly recommend for all women pregnant or who will be pregnant in the future. @doctorberlin

Gutsy Health: This is another new one for me- only listened to a few episodes so far but I already like it. Another husband/wife duo. @gutsy_mom

Those are just a few! Every now and then I’ll hear random one-off episodes as well but these are my go-to’s.

I heard Dr. Trasande on a podcast once and it prompted me to want to read his book. I read a lot of books and I will say this one is definitely more “sciency” compared to some others. He also goes into a lot more detail on the economic impacts of toxins, which hasn’t really been anything I’ve focused on but I did find it interesting. As always- going to type out some highlights- all info from book, not my own research! This is Part 1—I’ll do a Part 2 later because there’s lots of info.

Substances invisible to the naked eye are not only disrupting the most important hormones in our body and brain but also laying down multiple paths of disease that will impact our children and their children decades into the future.

The increase in ADHD, autism, obesity, diabetes, fertility issues in both men and women, sperm count drop in men, amongst other things can be directly tied to chemicals in our food supply, environment, and household and personal care products.

Studies have shown that environmental exposures can modify the expression of genes, leading to diseases and disfunctions.

The chemicals with the strongest evidence of health effects are pesticides, flame-retardants, plasticizer chemicals and bisphenols. These chemicals leave lasting effects on your body and can even be passed on to the next generation. Some effects include: lower IQs, obesity, type 2 diabetes, birth defects, infertility, endometriosis, ADHD, fibroids, low sperm count, testicular cancer, heart disease, autism and breast cancer.

In 2012, the WHO & UN Environmental Program issued a report calling endocrine disrupting chemicals “a major and emerging global public health threat”. In 2015 the IFGO published its own recommendation calling for timely action to prevent harm. Later in 2015, the Endocrine Society documented 1,331 scientific references and concern for these chemicals on human health. In 2018, the AAP raised the alarm about synthetic chemicals intentionally added to or inadvertently contaminating foods.

Federal regulators in the US have long been aware of the connections between endocrine-related diseases and the thousands of chemicals that are still not regulated.

EDC’s are quite common in Americans. A 2013-2014 survey showed 95% of adults had detectable levels of BPA and nearly all had detectable exposure to phthalates. The EU has begun the process of regulating many of these dangerous chemicals but not so much in the US.

Since 2003 Europe has banned 1,300 chemicals from cosmetics, in comparison, the FDA has banned or restricted only 11.

When lead was phased out of gasoline in the 1970’s, lead levels dropped about 12 micrograms per deciliter which corresponded to a 2.2 to 4.7 increased in the IQ’s of children born in the 2000’s compared to children born in the 1970’s.

DES exposure is associated with breast cancer, infertility, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

Damages to a parent’s body show up in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

One of the main chemicals linked to measurable decreases in IQ, tremors and the loss of cognitive function is chlorpyrifos, a chemical the EPA has deemed safe.

Women with autoimmune conditions can have underactive thyroid glands and exposure to EDCs has also been shown to disrupt thyroid function. Inadequate iodine remains the most common cause of thyroid insufficiency.

Measures of birth weight and length are strong predictors of later brain development.

Each IQ point lost translates to a 2% drop in lifetime earning potential.

PBDEs are derived in part from bromine. They can be found in plastics used for furniture, electronics, wire insulation, foam and carpets. These, & other flame-retardants are also added to children’s toys, clothing and other children’s products.

It’s hard to decipher all the factors that go into ADHA however there has been a consensus on a # of solid links. In particlar- flame retardants and pesticides have both been investigated.

Under the current regulatory environment, chemicals are produced and used with very little data about their safety.

The ECHO is pulling together data from 50,000 children across the US to understand the effects of EDCs and other environmental exposures to kids.

When I told friends I was planning on giving birth outside of a hospital and without medication I got a lot of 🥴. People either had no clue what a birth center was or they immediately told me the worst case scenario and what could go wrong or that it was going to be so incredibly painful and I was crazy for not wanting medication.

I’m here to tell you what can go right!! I could go on and on about birth and what I’ve learned and how it’s done in America and interventions and everything but I’ll try to keep this post as short as possible with all I have to share. If you want to discuss further shoot me a message because I’m happy to share what I’ve learned!

I saw this quote and it really resonated with me while pregnant and shaped my perspective- “Birth is natural event that sometimes needs medical help. Not a medical event that sometimes happens naturally.”

Since sharing some about my pregnancy/birth experience I’ve received a few messages asking how I prepared so I’m going to share what I did here.

If giving birth unmedicated is something you’re interested in - go for it! Not everyone wants this and that’s 100% ok too! There are also situations where medical intervention is necessary and I am so thankful I live in a time where things can be done quickly to save mom or baby so I don’t want to discount that. Even though I chose not to give birth in a hospital I chose a birth center less than a mile away from one so I could get there quickly if needed. I’ve also learned through my research that if labor is induced synthetically then contractions can be way worse because they aren’t natural contractions so epidurals might be necessary in those instances.

However if you want to go this route but are just afraid of the pain or something don’t let that stop you. Mamas are so strong and our bodies are capable of so much and I truly mean this when I say that yes it hurt- I won’t sugar coat this but I promise it was not as bad as I thought and it’s not unbearable and it’s only temporary. It’s so cliche but you truly do forget all the pain you were just in as soon as that baby is placed in your arms. I’m already ready to do it again!

If you’ve been following me for a few months you’ll know I recently got an Instant Pot after my beloved Crockpot died on me. I’m a Crockpot girl through and through but I have used the IP a handful of times and it’s growing on me. I’ve pretty much just used it to cook chicken so far.

My aunt sent me a recipe for orange chicken and I made it in the IP and it was SO good so I wanted to share!

I used almond flour to make it GF and I omitted the brown sugar. I served it over organic basmati rice that’s lower in arsenic compared to other rice varieties.

If you didn’t know that you can cook with Young Living vitality oils- now you do! I love orange essential oil 🍊and it made this chicken so flavorful and yummy! (I don’t recommend using any other oils internally besides Young Living.)

& also these green beans were to die for— HEB organic green beans slathered in grass fed butter.😋😋😋

I just made a list of gluten free items for someone so I figured I’d share here as well! I eat mostly GF due to MTHFR. The two don’t exactly relate but it’s easier to avoid folic acid if you avoid most traditional wheat/flour products so that’s kinda how I got started. GF doesn’t always mean folic acid free but most of the time it does. Unfortunately most GF products are full of other undesirable ingredients like inflammatory oils and other unknown ingredients so you have to really read labels.

Here are some of my favorites!

Siete- all things Mexican food- chips, salsas, sauces, tortillas, taco shells. This is one of my favorite brands in general.

Simple Mills- crackers, breakfast bars, baking mixes, pancake mix, cookies...

Coconut flour pancakes- my mom actually just made these for me. ☺️I need to get the recipe but they were GOOD. Coconut flour is a good sub for regular flour and so is almond flour.

Tolerant brand pasta- one ingredient- chickpea flour

One Degree oats- sprouted & organic

Lundberg organic basmati rice

Tessemae’s and Primal Kitchen brand marinades and dressings. They’re all really yummy.

Base Culture paleo bread- I find at Whole Foods

Those are just a few of the items I buy regularly! If you also eat GF add your favorites below for people to try!

I hope this post encourages those of you still waiting on your rainbow.

Today is National Rainbow Baby Day. 🌈 Two years ago Corey & I were in Hawaii. I was pregnant for the first time and we bought this onesie for our little babe at a cute shop on the North Shore. Exactly two years ago today (& I just realized this when I saw the 8/22/2018 timestamp on these pictures) we woke up early & drove to Lanikai and took these photos, intending to use them as our announcement photos. We lost our little one that next week so we never got to use them and I put the onesie in what should’ve been the nursery.

God is so incredibly good. I finally got to dig this onesie out that once made me so sad to look at and put it on our precious rainbow baby. He needs to grow into it a bit but he sure does look cute. ☺️ I will never forget what we went through before having him. Payson was prayed for by so many people. He is truly a little miracle and a very special rainbow baby. We sure do love him very much (even though he’s giving us many sleepless nights currently. 🤪)

It took me a minute but I finally got Payson’s birth story written out. I chose to do things a little differently & decided to give birth at a birth center rather than in a hospital. I had the most amazing experience and it’s a day I will never forget. 💗 It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever endured physically but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

I’m keeping most of the photos private as some of them are pretty intense (Birth is hard work! 😬) but Stephanie captured everything so beautifully so I wanted to share just a few to go along with the story.

Short version: What they say about first time moms and long labors isn’t necessarily true. You might find yourself escalating very quickly so you have to be rushed to the birth center and fear you might give birth on the highway without your husband there. 😳 For those that care to read the full story I’ve added a link in my profile. 💙

For years I bought vitamin C from the store in a chewable form that had added sugar. There’s no need for there to be sugar in my vitamin C. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m taking vitamin C to help with my immune system and sugar does the opposite of that so it seems like an oxymoron to have it with sugar. I try to get most of my vitamin C from real food (as we should with everything) but extra supplements can also help give us a little more when our diets are lacking or during times of sickness.

I’ve talked about Vani Hari on here before and I occasionally share her Instagram posts. She wrote the book “Feeding You Lies” I have reviewed here before. She created a line of supplements and when I saw she had vitamin C I knew I wanted to try it. These are USDA organic, vegan, non-GMO, Gluten Free, Soy Free and Dairy Free.

The vitamin C is sourced from real food- the Amla berry. A lot of other vitamin C brands are from Ascorbic Acid. Synthetic Ascorbic Acid is often derived from GMO cornstarch or corn syrup processed with volatile acids. If you already take vitamin C and want to try a new one after looking at the ingredients on yours I definitely recommend this one!

Since I’ve shared our story pretty openly I’ve received some messages in the past asking what I think made the difference in maintaining a successful pregnancy this time compared to my prior two. Honestly, only God knows why we lost our last two babies. Due to the nature of our losses we weren’t able to get testing doneso really I just won’t ever know until I get to Heaven. Because of that, I can say what I did differently and honestly I truly think these things were the difference but I just can’t say with 100% certainty because I’m not God. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also, this is based on my own health and body so I’m not saying that doing or not doing any of this would work for anyone else. This is just what I personally did. Scroll over to read!

Our rainbow babe. 🌈 Mamas in waiting- don’t give up. 💙 The struggles of trying to become a parent are all worth it in the end. 

We took these 48 hours after birth & he’s already grown so much since then.

I’ve done a post before on what I used on my belly during pregnancy but I wanted to give a little update- I actually wrote this while still pregnant but didn’t share in time!

This is what I have used for the last few months and I am OBSESSED. It’s the same body butter I was previously using but instead of Vanilla Mint, it’s Coconut Lime. The Vanilla Mint was a seasonal scent so when I ran out of that I ordered this and I absolutely love it. It’s the same moisturizing body butter but it smells like straight sunshine!

It is very hydrating and contains coconut oil and citrus oils so it smells heavenly. 😍 This isn’t just for growing bellies though. This is the perfect body butter for all over your body- especially now that we get into warmer months where our skin might get burned or irritated. I put it on every night and it has helped me not have any itchy belly or anything.

I’m actually still using this now on my now shrinking belly instead of growing belly. 🤪

Primal Kitchen is one of my favorite brands. I talk about them all the time! Barbecue sauce is something I haven’t been able to find locally so I added this to my Thrive Market box a few months ago and I’m so glad I did.

Most barbecue sauces are filled with tons of added sugar, artificial colors and flavors, canola oils, undesirable preservatives, corn syrup and more. Even sauces I’ve found labeled “organic” have these ingredients.

This sauce is made with clean ingredients with no added sugar! It is USDA organic, Whole 30 approved and Keto and Paleo certified.
 
I love making BBQ chicken and one bottle of this is perfect for that. I also ate this on brisket over the weekend. 😋

I’ve written before about what a birth center is and I’ve said I’m with a midwife but I’ve never really explained why I made the choice to go this route instead of a traditional OBGYN/hospital. I actually wrote this post before last week and didn’t know I’d have Payson here already! I can now confidently say this was the absolute best choice for my birth. Once I get all the photos back from the photographer I’ll be sharing his full birth story.

Birth center birth was the best decision for me but that does not mean my decision is for everyone or that it’s somehow better. I have friends who did elective c-sections and wanted to be in a hospital because that is what made them comfortable so I think everyone’s story is their own and amazing and birth is amazing no matter what or how it happens.

For my first two pregnancies I was with an obgyn and intended to deliver at a hospital and just knew I’d have an epidural. I didn’t even question it. Well after our losses and as I started researching more, that all changed.

I started really researching birth and when I got pregnant again I knew I wanted a different type of care and birth experience. I found a birth center on Instagram and I truly think it was a God thing because I don’t even know how on earth I found them because I didn’t know anyone who had used them before. I visited them at 5 weeks pregnant and knew it was the choice for me.

There was nothing wrong with my obgyn. I don’t have anything bad to say about him. He was super friendly and he took care of me after my first two losses and did both of my D&C’s. That kinda does play into part of my decision though. After going to the same office twice and having both be losses, I mentally/emotionally didn’t want to step foot in there again. Not because it was anything they did of course, but because I just didn’t want to go there a third time and go through another loss in the same place. I’m just a little scarred from being in those specific ultrasound rooms. I also started seeing on some local groups I’m in that one of the doctors at the practice is nicknamed “Dr. C-Section” and I wanted none of that! 

My doctor wasn’t guaranteed to be on call and I feared this other guy based on what I had heard about him and a C-section is something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

That’s not to say that I don’t think C-sections are ever necessary, of course they are! They can be amazing and literally life saving in certain instances and I know people who have had elective C-sections as well, but for me personally that is something I absolutely did not want unless it was a true medical necessity and I didn’t want to risk being with a doctor who was known for pushing them on women unnecessarily.

I also didn’t want to be in a hospital because again, the last two times I was in a hospital I was walking in pregnant and being wheeled out not pregnant anymore after my D&C’s. I’m just a little haunted and knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable there and when you’re not comfortable during labor, that doesn’t make for a smooth labor. If you have any emotional setbacks during labor it truly can disrupt the process and I knew I’d just be thinking about my previous two times there if I was to go there again. 

Then as I started learning more, I realized that birth is such a natural event and it doesn’t need to have all these medical interventions under normal circumstances. Birth is painted as this horrific event in movies and on tv shows and it makes it seem like this is a horrible and dire situation that you must have a doctor for and all this medicine and yada yada and that’s just not the case. I read Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (which I recommend now for all women pregnant or planning to be in the future!) and it made me feel so empowered to give birth naturally. I started watching other women’s birth videos, a lot of them being home births, and I was just in awe watching them. They brought me to tears and I wanted that experience for myself! This was crazy because like I said, I had always intended on a hospital birth with epidural.

I learned about the cascade of interventions which goes like this—you get induced with pitocin to stimulate labor which is unnatural and synthetic so of course it’s not going to make your body act like it would if it went into labor naturally. Contractions on pitocin are much more intense which then usually leads to an epidural even if you weren’t planning on getting one. Well once you have an epidural you’re stuck in bed. Labor is usually helped by moving around- walking, squatting, rocking back and forth, etc… and you can’t do that lying in a bed. Since contractions on pitocin are also much more intense they can make it harder on baby by restricting their oxygen flow which then causes unnecessary stress over their heart rate and such which can then become an emergency c-section because they say oh no baby isn’t okay we need to get them out now and then bam you have a c-section and they say “ oh aren’t you glad we have the ability to do a c-section because if not your baby would have died or something” when really the whole time if you hadn’t started out on a synthetic drug and just let your body do it’s thing, it likely would have all been okay! Of course this doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when induction is necessary for the health of the baby or mom but a lot of times induction is pushed for other reasons like people’s schedules.

This can also be the case without induction, even if you go into labor naturally, for some women, epidurals can still do the same thing and then you can risk a stalled labor. Hospitals and doctors don’t like you waiting around to labor forever. So then if an epidural slows your body down, which it can do, then you might be put at risk of “failure to progress” which is not okay. There shouldn’t be a time limit on labor when there is no risks to baby and mom. This can ultimately lead to more interventions and so forth. You get the idea! This is not to say that this is always the case of course. I know plenty of women who have been induced and/or had epidurals and they are able to give birth vaginally just fine, but I’m just telling you what I’ve learned and why this led me to my decision.

There are also risks with epidurals and other drugs so that needs to be taken into account as well. I knew I wanted a no-drug birth. A lot of obgyns will start talking induction even before you get to 40 weeks as well! You legally can’t go past 42 weeks here and my midwives wait to induce until they literally have to the night of 41 weeks + 6 days so that made me feel more comfortable as well. I wanted to wait until the last minute possible. I didn’t want to be pressured into induction earlier. 

I also didn’t want to have to worry about an episiotomy. I don’t think they are as routine as they used to be but they generally occur less at a birth center. I wanted to tear naturally if I was going to tear (which now I can say I did) .

There’s also things that are done routinely at the hospital that I wasn’t so sure about such as immediate cord clamping (this is becoming less often I believe which is good!), vitamin K shot, Hep B shot, antibiotic eye ointment, circumcision, bath, etc..… These are all things that I researched beforehand and I knew my midwife was on the same page as me. I didn’t want to have to worry about giving birth and then immediately trying to worry about some random nurses I had never met before doing something or not asking me my consent before certain procedures and so forth.

I think the most important factor for me was just knowing that I felt comfortable and supported at the birth center I chose. I love all of the midwives there and they have been nothing but great my whole pregnancy. I knew I was in safe hands. I also knew that I was close to a hospital if it did come down to that so I felt comfortable. I spent my whole pregnancy just envisioning my birth there. I wanted to have praise music on in the background and just let my body do it’s thing and work with baby boy for him to come out (which is funny bc that’s not how it went down 😂. By the time I got there it was time to push so everything else went out the window).

This is just my own thoughts and experience. 

I highly recommend the documentary The Business of Being Born as well!

Our rainbow is here. 💙🌈 After not thinking I’d have this guy anytime at all before 40 weeks he surprised us all and decided to arrive on Wednesday.

Birth was the hardest thing and it basically was the opposite of how I imagined it happening but it turned out even better than I could have hoped. Will share the story soon but for now we’re just soaking up all the newborn snuggles.