Toxin Free Mom To Be Podcast Karma Shleef

It's no secret that chronic illness is on the rise. 
Robert Kennedy Jr. himself even stated
"The greatest crisis that America faces today is the chronic disease epidemic in our children" - RFK Jr.
If you search pubmed (or any other publicly available scientific databse), you'll find hundreds of research studies done and scholarly articles written about the dangers of exposure to certain chemicals, delayed risks associated with C-section, adverse effects after antibiotic use in early childhood, chronic exposure to EMFs, too little exercise, too much screen time, and the list goes on..
Unfortunately, basically every study out there only looks at risks associated with a single variable (whether it be a single chemical or any other variable, such as the ones listed above).
But in the real world, most of us are exposed to hundreds of these stressors before even leaving our house. And what does that synergistic effect lead too? *spolier alert* : no one knows. 
Beth Lambert, the founder of Epidemic Answers, is spearheading a study that aims to answer this question.
The hypothesis posed is such that: the amount of environmental exposures a child is exposed to and during key points in development affect their propensity toward chronic conditions. They also hypothesize that exposures during the 1st year of life, in-utero, and prenatally are more impactful than exposures later in childhood (~6-10 years old).
The more people that participate in this landmark study, the more concrete and statistically significant answers we can get.
If you feel called to participate, please head over to documentinghope.com/chirp-study/
Topics discussed include: What is a toxin load and how it might be affecting us and our loved ones How some stressors are relatively unknown - such as health risks with CFL lightbulbs What happens when an extremely toxic chemical comes into contact with many other toxic chemicals i.e. synergistic effect How the health of the whole family seems to improve when reducing the toxin load within the home Moving from stories to science. At what point do these anecdotal stories become data? The CHIRP study is aiming to do just that. In the U.S. over 50% of children are diagnosed with a chronic condition. The CHIRP study can help give us tangible answers so we can combat these statistics. Head to documentinghope.com/chirp-study to participate.  Other Resources: https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns/detailed-findings - EWG study showing a minimum of 101 chemicals found in newborn babies' umbilical cord blood Follow study updates on Instagram @documentinghope Find the host on Instagram @toxinfree.momtobe documentinghope.com childrenshealthdefense.org

This week I was joined by Selene to talk about conscious parenting - and boy did we have a powerful conversation!
This topic is very near to her heart as she herself used the tools discussed in this episode to go from feeling that parenting has to be stressful and overwhelming to absolutely loving it.
Selene currently leads an 8 week online course titled Conscious Motherhood, where she teaches the ins and outs of conscious parenting so other moms can have a similar transformation as hers.
TOPICS DISCUSSED DURING THE EPISODE:
Common beliefs about parenting and where they stem from How to break the cycle of repeating parenting patterns of how you were raised as a child Why it's important to have a vision of what you want your parenting life to look like. The power of perspective How the home environment can be made more inclusive for toddlers/young children The three things needed for a great parenting experience Perks of non-tox living while raising a family Tips for helping children move through emotions rather than encouraging them to suppress them Selene certainly opened my eyes to so much of the societal programming around parenting! If you'd like to learn more about her course or new membership site, head to awakening.family for more info.
Additional Resources:
Heart Math Institute  Selene's Instagram: sunshel Find the host on Instagram at: @chemistkarma

Ashley was such an awesome guest that she's the first to appear on the Toxin Free Mom To Be podcast for a second time!
Last week, Ashley taught us all about how to introduce first foods. But, since she also has additional training in pediatric feeding and picky eating, she was also the perfect gal to tell us which foods are good to start feeding with.
The Importance of Iron One fact brought up by Ashley that really stuck out to me, was the importance of iron - especially during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childhood. In fact, iron is one of the top nutrient deficiencies in children (source).
She also pointed out how one role of iron is to aid in absorbing nutrients. So you could theoretically be consuming enough nutrients  but not actually absorbing them if you don't have enough iron. And since children go through so much growth, they are especially vulnerable to negative effects of not having enough micronutrients.
Interestingly, liver (yes, like the actual organ from a cow or chicken!) is not only a potent source of bio-available vitamin A, but also heme-iron. 
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and the idea of eating organs isn't the most appealing (trust me, I get it!) I have linked my favorite freeze-dried and encapsulated liver supplement below in the 'Resource' section. 
Other topics discussed during this episode: Top nutrient dense first foods recommended by a pediatric feeding specialist Why it is especially important for children of this age to eat calorically dense foods (especially ones high in fat). Foods to stay away from as first foods or how to serve them so they do not pose a choking hazard Why it may actually be better to serve first foods as stick shapes vs. cubes or purees Reasons to ditch the rice cereal How to approach picky eating and to realize it is a normal phase children go through Top tips from a feeding specialist on how to create positive food experiences for little ones What a "no thank bowl" is and why it can be so helpful Resources: Ashley's website: helpinghandsOT.com Book for extreme picky eaters: Just Take a Bite Instagram: @helpinghandsOT ; @chemistkarma (host) Ancestral Supplements - Also supported by the Weston A Price foundation, this is my favorite high quality beef liver. The product is freeze dried and encapsulated (so you get all the benefits, without having to actually eat it!) This company even gets 3rd party testing done to ensure it is pesticide free and they never add fillers of any sort. Treat Yourself Inc. - My favorite non-toxic toothpaste and deodorant. Code TOXINFREE saves you 10% storewide!

Ashley, a pediatric OT known as @helpinghandsOT on Instagram (*hint - you should totes follow her there) spoke with me this week about all things first foods related. 


Ashley was the perfect person to educate us on this as not only has she been a practicing pediatric occupational therapist for over a decade, but she's holistically minded and also has additional specialities in pediatric feeding and picky eating. Needless to say, I learned a whole bunch during our convo!


During the interview we discussed:


Signs + cues to look for that your baby is ready to try out some foods The age range that typically happens at Downsides to feeding too early How the mouthing of items is an actual developmental stage for babies + parents should not be overly protective during this time (obviously not saying to be neglectful either!) Tips for when first introducing the solids Why it's important for the infant to join the family during meal time Why purees may not actually be the best food for babies

Resources:


Highly recommend reading this blog post by Ashley about the Top 10 first foods  You can find her website as a whole here: https://helpinghandsot.com/ I had a past podcast episode (Ep. #7) with speech language pathologist, Shandy titled How to De-escalate Mealtime & Get Your Child to Try New Foods that I think you'll enjoy if you found this one relevant. If you're looking for non-toxic toothpaste and deodorant check out Treat Yourself Inc. and save 10% with code 'toxinfree'

Transitioning to healthier lifestyle can be tough. And doing it as a family can add even more kinks in the road. Luckily, Janelle of Know Mommy broke everything down for us into bite-sized chunks of wisdom.


During our conversation, Janelle shared her story of how she went from anxious and overwhelmed to healthy and thriving (and how YOU can do the same!)


I love how this episode took a lot of info from my past ones and brought everything together into actionable steps.


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"Healthy eating is a small piece of the puzzle to being a healthy person" - Janelle


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During the episode we discussed:

What IS health, really?

The best place to start when first transitioning to a healthy lifestyle (Hint: ask yourself what is the end goal then ask what you are willing to do to get there)

Easy ways to reduce you and your families toxic load. Benefits of eating seasonally Tips on feeding balanced meals to your family Different ways to approach meal planning so you can find a way that works best for your lifestyle (pro-tip: always shop your own kitchen first to see what needs to be used up and save $$$) Ways that stress and lack of sleep can affect the body The importance of a gratitude practice Simple re-alignment techniques for times when you feel the inner fire brewing up

Resources:

Find Janelle's website at Knowmommy.com Connect with Janelle on Instagram @knowmommy Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Dirty dozen list Skin Deep database to find safety rating of skincare products or shop www.theorganicbunny.com Produce on Wheels - AZ only. Shop 70 pounds of produce for $12 Shop treatyourselfinc.com and use code 'toxinfree' to save 10% storewide Use this link to save $10 off your first purchase at Branch Basics

My goal with this episode was not only to highlight some dangers associated with ultrasounds, but I also aimed to teach how to read a study.


Throughout this episode, I will be reading through a study titled: "Effect of transvaginal ultrasound on human chorionic villus cell apoptosis during pregnancy" . I highly recommend having it pulled up as I read along.


About the Study

One of the most telling parts of the study was that they found a programmed cell death rate of 76.89% in the placenta after being exposed to a 30 minute ultrasound. On the other hand, the control group (no ultrasound) had a placental cell death rate of 16.79%.


This particular study only included 60 women, so it doesn't definitely prove anything. However, more and more science is starting to point toward the fact that these routine procedures may not be as safe as they are portrayed.


While I'm not saying women should have zero ultrasounds during a pregnancy, after reading this study, I don't think they should be done willy nilly every month just to see a picture of the baby.


In any case, this is a decision I believe every women is capable of making herself. This is why I also aimed to teach how to read scientific studies in general so each mother can come to her own informed decision.


DURING THE EPISODE I DISCUSSED:


Dangers associated with ultrasounds

What is generally in each section of a scientific study What a p value is What to look for in a study to determine if it is valid Safer alternatives to a transvaginal ultrasound

RESOURCES:


Find the host on Instagram @chemistkarma Referenced study: "Effect of transvaginal ultrasound on human chorionic villus cell apoptosis during pregnancy" Save 10% at Treat Yourself Inc. with code: toxinfree Use this link to save $10 off your order at Branch Basics