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A Low-Tox Approach to Living

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Hormonal birth control and women’s bodies are po

Hormonal birth control and women’s bodies are politicized, and this is as unfortunate as it is sickening and infuriating.

“The pill” revolutionized women’s reproductive freedom while also advancing the women’s movement

AND

it affects women’s bodies and hormones in ways that are harming them, and most us don’t even know it…

Because our doctors aren’t telling us — they aren’t giving us the opportunity for informed consent, and far too many pill users are gambling with their health for reasons that have nothing to do with preventing pregnancy.

“The pill” is a simple and quick fix inside your doctors office. It’s touted as the end-all-be-all for “solving” women’s problems, but hormonal birth control solves nothing — except not getting pregnant…

Because you don’t ovulate. Not ovulating is linked with a lowered risk for ovarian cancer, a good thing, but taking hormonal birth control is also linked to:

❌ increased breast, cervical, and liver cancers
❌increased risk of blood clots
❌lowers cortisol, testosterone and DHEA and bone density
❌inflammation of the bowel and bowel disease like Crohn’s
❌increased thyroid hormone binding globulin so you feel less energized, struggle to maintain a healthy weight, lose hair
❌lowers sexual desire by inhibiting testosterone
❌lowered ability to orgasm

We cannot move forward with women’s health and autonomy without being willing to confront the facts about the pill.

Conservatives know, based on research presented in 2012, that fertile partnered women tend to lean conservative on the political spectrum which could be why they are so interested in convincing women to get married and stay pregnant.

The pill shouldn’t be political but pretending that it isn’t serves no one.

(statistics from slide 7 sourced from a 2011 study by Guttmacher https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2011/many-american-women-use-birth-control-pills-noncontraceptive-reasons )
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#lowtoxliving #wellnessconsultant
#hormoneimbalances #ttcnaturally #ttcover30
#preconceptionhealth #preconceptionjourney #birthcontrolproblems #birthcontrolsideeffects #politicizingthepill #wellnesstorightwingpipeline

I know it seems strange to think that what you eat

I know it seems strange to think that what you eat for breakfast will impact your hormones, but stay with me.

2 years ago I was waking up, toasting a delicious organic bagel, slathering on organic cream cheese, proud of myself for prioritizing breakfast…

and then around 10 am crashing hard: feeling jittery, sweaty, like I might pass out, anxious and snapping at my toddler.

I was confused by what was happening. I was eating, not skipping breakfast. Why was I feeling like shit?

Turns out all those carbs, with no protein was spiking my glucose and insulin response, raising my cortisol levels and imbalancing all of my other hormones.

Protein, at least 25-30 grams, for breakfast, with some carbs, fiber and healthy fat (BEFORE coffee) will ensure that your blood sugar stays balanced.

This has downstream effects on your other hormones, even estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

Prioritizing protein in morning 30-60 minutes after waking up, before you drink your coffee, before you workout, and before you stare at your phone screen is the first, best thing you can do for your hormone health.

Crazy, but it’s true.

And doable.

Eat the bagel, but only if there are a several slices of smoked salmon or ham on top too.

What do you eat for breakfast? Do you even eat breakfast? Tell me in the comments.

#lowtoxliving #wellnessconsultant
#bloodsugarcontrol #hormoneimbalances#ttcnaturally #ttcover30
#proteinforbreakfast #preconceptionhealth #preconceptionjourney

They also increase the time it takes for you to ge

They also increase the time it takes for you to get pregnant!

The majority of women don’t know that there are chemicals that disrupt their hormones, negatively impact their partner’s sperm, and have an adverse impact on their ability to get pregnant and stay pregnant.

Why?

Well, industry.

Industries like Big Beauty and Big Oil (and Big AG) benefit from using cheap, man-made chemicals in the products they sell us.

And unfortunately in the US, unlike the EU, regulations and protecting consumers takes a back-seat to the amount of money these industries generate for their shareholders.

The EU (European Union) isn’t perfect, by any means, but they definitely take the research we have on these highly toxic chemicals to enact regulations that safeguard their consumers far better than the US does.

So what 5 classes of chemicals are making it harder for you and other women to get pregnant and stay pregnant?

☣️BPA and its substitutes (BPS and BPF, etc)
☣️Flame Retardants
☣️Pesticides
☣️Dioxins (by-products of petroleum-based manufacturing)
☣️Phthalates

You can avoid these classes of chemicals, or at least significantly reduce your exposure to them when you know where, and in what products, they hide.

I’ve talked about those hiding places in earlier posts, and educate about how to avoid them in my 3 Month, 1:1 Preconception Health program, Prepare.

Your preconception phase is the right time to lower your toxic burden, improve your egg (and partner’s sperm) health, and prepare your body for the marathon of TTC and being pregnant.

I waited until I was pregnant to avoid the chemicals I knew could be harmful, I also waited until I was pregnant to clean up my health, and that was a mistake.

My pregnancy was hard, and my daughter was born with a toxic burden she didn’t deserve.

Don’t wait until you’re pregnant to prepare for pregnancy. Begin 3-12 months before you start trying, in your PRECONCEPTION phase

You can comment or DM me the word FREE for a free guide, or PREPARE for my 3 Month preconception program application — I’ll send you the link you need.

Is your first thought: ❌ “What did she (I) d

Is your first thought:

❌ “What did she (I) do wrong?”

Let’s just be really clear that infertility isn’t her (or your) fault.

Let’s also be really clear that infertility isn’t God/Universe/Spirit, telling you you aren’t worthy or ready — this is something that has always bothered me, and it’s absolute nonsense.

Miscarriage rates increased 1 percent every year between 1990 and 2011, a trend that is not showing signs of slowing down.

Infertility has only increased globally, and among men and their sperm, the research findings are down-right scary.

Sperm concentrations have declined globally by over 50 percent in 50 years and we’re tracking to reach zero in less than another 50.

Sperm quality and quantity impact the risk of miscarriage. They also impact whether you get pregnant at all.

It’s pretty common for women to assume all the blame on their infertility journey — something that has always been an unfair practice since it takes both an egg and a sperm to make an embryo.

Furthermore sperm quality is overlooked far too often, considering it accounts for 50% of the baby-making process.

*And just because your partner can perform in the bedroom doesn’t mean his sperm are qualified for the job at hand.

The science is clear that Environmental Toxins are responsible in large part for declining sperm rates, quality, morphology and motility.

Some environmental toxin exposures happened before your partner was even born (while his mother was carrying him), while many are toxic lifestyle choices.

This is why I advocate so strongly for preconception health:

Lowering your toxic burden, changing your lifestyle habits, and getting your partner on board to do the same, and even getting his sperm checked BEFORE you start trying will make a huge difference.

My 3 month 1:1 program, PREPARE, will give you all the tools necessary to create the best foundation for pregnancy.

There is SO MUCH YOU CAN CONTROL when it comes to your fertility, so why not give yourself your best shot at conception by preparing properly now?

Comment or DM me the word PREPARE, and I’ll send you the link to the application for my 1:1 preconception health program.

The number one thing you need to consider before T

The number one thing you need to consider before TTC and getting pregnant?

☣️Your toxic burden.

Your toxic burden impacts the health of your eggs (your partner’s sperm are effected by their toxic burden too).

The DNA inside your eggs (and your partner’s sperm) also determine your chances of miscarriage — compromised and damaged DNA will result in your body rejecting a pregnancy or conception not happening at all.

Your toxic burden is passed on to your baby.

It is impacted by chemicals in your everyday life.

The products you use everyday.

The pollution and pesticides you’re exposed to in your food and water.

Before you start trying, when you’re in your preconception phase is the best time to reduce, and learn to eliminate, many of your exposures to hormone disrupting chemicals.

Increasing your chances of getting pregnant, staying pregnant and giving birth to a healthy baby who, when the time comes, will be able to have healthy babies of their own one day.

It might sound dramatic, but it’s true that our children and their children are tracking to inherit a reality where reproducing will be an extremely difficult undertaking.

More on this in subsequent posts…

Learning what chemicals to avoid, and ways to to avoid them so you can conceive the healthy baby you want without a total disruption to your life is what I teach here.

I have free resources, paid resources, and a 1:1 program to help you master your preconception phase.

Comment or DM me: FREE (for a free resource) DATABASE (for a link to my comprehensive database for low-tox products) or PREPARE (for the link to my application to work with me exclusively for 3 months) and I’ll respond with the LINK you need.

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#lowtoxlifestyle #ttcnaturally #ttcover30 #preconceptionhealth #preconceptionplanning #endocrinedisruptingchemicals #hormoneimbalances #lowtoxconsultant #lowtoxicliving

Ready for my 8th, and arguably BEST, breakfast ide

Ready for my 8th, and arguably BEST, breakfast idea?

Last night’s 🧆Leftovers🍛!

Seriously, what’s easier? And if we started thinking about breakfast the way we think about dinner (protein, fiber[veg], carbs, fat) we’d be setting our day up for success.

Protein in the morning means cortisol can remain steady (it’s already high in the morning — or it should be).

Carbs and caffeine before protein spikes cortisol because insulin has to respond in higher amounts.

This is another reason fiber is so important; it binds to carbs to slow the release of glucose (and insulin in response) in our blood which would normally spike our blood sugar.

Balancing our blood sugar is our first line of defense towards harmonizing our hormones.

Dysregulated blood sugar means too much cortisol, which means leptin (a hormone that tells our brain how much energy we have from our food intake) doesn’t get to do its job correctly.

Leptin dysregulation leads to leptin resistance, a precursor to insulin resistance which leads to unwanted weight gain and eventually diabetes.

You can be leptin resistant long before you’re insulin resistant and long before you’re even pre-diabetic.

If you’re TTC or in your preconception phase you need to prioritize keeping cortisol in check — too much cortisol means not enough progesterone — and that dynamic means getting pregnant will be harder, if not impossible.

So, my point is, how fkn easy is it to just balance your blood sugar so you can balance your hormones, and avoid chronic diseases?!

Not hard, right.

Tell me, which one of these 8 breakfast ideas are you going to make this week?

Save this post, take these lists to the grocery store, and get everything you need so next week you can start each day with a protein-rich, balanced breakfast.
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#bloodsugarcontrol #dinnerforbreakfast #hormoneimbalances #lowtoxlifestyle #ttcnaturally #preconceptionhealth #ttcover30 #proteinrecipes #lowtoxconsultant

Figuring out that protein has to be part of every

Figuring out that protein has to be part of every meal, especially breakfast, has helped me to heal 40 years of constant blood sugar crashes.

I was born in the 80’s, raised in the 90’s when a bowl of sugary cereal, oatmeal, pop tarts and toaster strudels were what was for breakfast. Every day.

IYKYK.

I was not taught about the importance of protein, but I did know that I felt better when I ate it at breakfast.

I’ve struggle with blood-sugar crashes my whole life. And every time I’d get jittery, sweaty, disoriented, irritable, anxious, and crash I learned that the only thing to help would be protein…

So, why did I struggle to make the connection that I should just start each day with adequate protein?!

Sometimes we just don’t know what we don’t know.

So, here is your sign to heal your hormones, avoid belly fat, put an end to mid-morning crashes, and balance your blood-sugar with protein.

Recipe for mini egg muffins:
12 eggs (for a dozen muffins)
Diced veggies (anything you like/seasonal is best)
Diced or shredded cheese of choice
Garlic
Onion or green onion
1/4 tsp each Spices of choice (I add salt/pepper/turmeric to everything)
Fresh herbs 🌿 if you have them
⚡️Optional: 1 tsp Nooch (vegan pre and probiotic powder from @livewholier

Preheat oven to 375.
Whisk eggs and salt/pepper/spices together.
Dice up your veggies, cheese, meat (if you choose) into 1/2 inch chunks
Butter muffin tin, poor egg mixture 1/3 into the bottoms of each cup.
Fill with veggies/cheese/meat
Poor egg mixture over each cup 3/4 full
Top with herbs
Put in oven for 25 mins
Cool for 5
Add muffins to a storage container and pull 2 out each morning — just heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or warm in the oven/toaster oven.

2 eggs is about 12g of protein, add a beef stick or 3 chicken sausages and you’re well over 20grams of protein for breakfast.

Tomorrow, I will give you several complete breakfast ideas — meals you can make quickly, with everything you need: protein, fiber, carbs and fat, so come back for that one.

Do you struggle to get protein in the morning? What about blood sugar crashes?

*unless you’re also willing to wake up at 3am, e

*unless you’re also willing to wake up at 3am, eat a balanced breakfast by 4am and have gone to bed the night before by 7pm…

If you’re NOT following that protocol before you jump into a workout, you’re messing up your hormones.

Fasted workouts only increase cortisol, and an increase in cortisol is the main driver behind excess weight around your mid-section.

This is true if you’re in your 20’s and 30’s and want a baby, or those days are behind you, and you’re in your 40’s and 50’s entering perimenopause and menopause.

Struggling to lose weight, and confused why HIIT (or any) workout first thing, counting calories and cutting carbs isn’t working?

As women our hormones require us to treat them with respect.

💪Balance your blood sugar before you workout — that means 30g of protein, fiber, fats and some carbohydrates. Restricting carbs increases cortisol. Drink your coffee with breakfast or after.

💪Get adequate sleep — 7-9 hours (hence if you want to workout at 5am, a 7-8pm bedtime is critical).

💪If you’re incorporating intermittent fasting, start your 12-14 hour fast the night before so that you’re waking up and eating within the first hour.

*another thing to consider if you’re keen on being in the 5am club: if you’re waking up before sunrise, you should throw on a pair of blue light blockers until the sun comes up.

Feel free to put any of your ??’s in the comments.
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#lowtoxlifestyle #hormoneimbalance #fastedworkouts #circadianrhythms #5amclub✔️ #cortisolcontrol #bloodsugarregulation #lowtoxconsultant #ttcnaturally #ttcover30 #preconceptionhealth

Want to know the worst offender? Topo Chico! (

Want to know the worst offender?

Topo Chico!

(This post is one in a series of posts about PFAS — what they are, why they are harmful, and ways to avoid them.

If you haven’t seen my previous posts, and want to know what PFAS are, head to @the.amandaleebodine to learn more).

After Consumer Reports released their PFAS findings of sparkling waters where they identified Topo Chico as having the highest amount of PFAS at a whopping 9.76 ppt, Topo Chico decided to do something about their levels.

Since, they have lowered those amounts by half they claim — but still far above the “safe” limits outlined by scientists.

There is no safe level of PFAS we are finding — but regulations are slow to catch up.

What does Topo Chico’s ability to lower PFAS in their sparking water tell us?

That brands CAN manufacture sparkling water without high levels of PFAS, they just have to want to.

Here were the sparkling brands tested from highest PFAS to lowest:

⬆️ Topo Chico — 9.73 ppt
⬆️ Polar Seltzer— 6.41 ppt
⬆️ Bubly — 2.24 ppt
⬆️ Poland Spring — 1.66 ppt
⬆️ Canada Dry Seltzer — 1.24 ppt
⬆️ La Croix — 1.16 ppt
⬆️ Perrier — 1.1 ppt

⬇️ Sparkling Ice — non detect
⬇️ Spindrift — 0.19 ppt
⬇️ San Pellegrino — 0.31 ppt
⬇️ Dasani — 0.37 ppt
⬇️ Schweppes — 0.58 ppt

And before you ask about other brands, it’s helpful to know who the parent companies are so that you can avoid sister brands that very likely share the same bottling/canning facilities and/or supply chain.

💼Coca Cola owns
Topo Chico
AHA
Dasani

💼Nestle owns
Perrier
S. Pellegrino
Acqua Panna

💼Pepsi Co. owns
Bubly

Spindrift is independently owned, and the US version of Schweppes is surprisingly not owned by Coca Cola as it is in other countries.

So, which sparkling water have you been drinking?

Does information like this help you to make more informed decisions at the grocery store — I’d love to know in the comments.

We switched to a Spindrift over a year ago from AHA, we also like that there are no artificial flavors with Spindrift — something most brands can’t claim.
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#lowtoxlifestyle #sparklingwateraddict #pfas #foreverchemicals #preconceptionhealth #ttcnaturally #ttcover30 #spindrift

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