Low Tox Life

This week I welcome author and journalist Carolyn Fry onto the show. Didn't think you could listen to 45 minutes talking about seeds? Think again! Here are the questions I asked Carolyn with a few tangents true to form as well:  What sparked the thought that this book needed to be in the world?  Were you always personally interested in nature and seeds growing up or was it something born from an experience at some point - an aha?  When you look at early human history, in the book you talk about how we 'walked to a better diet' - can you share a little about what you mean there?  How did shifting from hunter gatherer to seed-sowing cause a population boom?  (BIG tangent here too that's fascinating!) And what did cooking our food do for us in the early days?  How did seeds transform the way we feed ourselves?  How are some of the ways that seeds spread?  How have we changed seeds since we started cultivating them?  What is so important about seed conservation, classification and 'banking'?  Tell us the story of the first seed scientist Nikolai Vavilov. He saw in seeds so much more than anyone saw at the time - a true pioneer.  Now you talk about a lot of different seeds and types of seeds in the book and while they say no child is a favourite - do you have a favourite seed or two from all your research, and what is it / why? Does it make you sad to see how seeds are being manipulated these days in the name of 'progress'?  Carolyn has authored 6 books on natural history, conservation and science and is the former editor of Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society. It is such a pleasure taking a look at how seeds have evolved and how we've evolved because of them and I hope you enjoy the show. As usual, our show notes, new PATREON club and sponsor offer are available over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest is - simply put - awesome. We have such a wonderful chat about her book: The Dirt Cure, as well as a general exploration into the power of connectedness with our earth, neurology advances, healing and more. Dr Maya Shetreat is a neurologist, herbalist, urban farmer, and author of The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child, which has been translated into ten languages. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Telegraph, NPR, Sky News, The Dr. Oz Show and more. Dr. Maya is the founder of the Terrain Institute, where she teaches Terrain Medicine™, earth-based programs for transformational healing. She works and studies with indigenous communities and healers in Ecuador, and is a lifelong student of ethnobotany, plant healing, and the sacred. Dr. Maya's philosophy is that the health of our inner terrain—our bodies– is a reflection of the health of our outer terrain, the natural world around us. Gut, immune and nervous system—and the many microbes therein—are a direct reflection of the food we eat and where that food comes from, from the soil it's grown in to the water it swims in to the synthetic chemicals that it's bathed in. Fresh food, microbes (that's right, germs) and elements of nature—soil, sunshine, water, and fresh air—make children resilient and prevent or reverse their illness. I hope you enjoy the show and as usual, our show notes, new PATREON club and sponsor offer are available over at lowtoxlife.com/podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob is known as the guy who wore a month's trash through the streets of New York City, totalling 60kg by the end of the month (don't worry, he cleaned it before attaching to the ‘trash suit'). Rob is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and dude making a difference. He is dedicated to leading the way to a more sustainable and just world. Rob is the creator of The Food Waste Fiasco, a campaign that strives to end food waste and hunger in the U.S. He has dove into more than two thousand dumpsters across the United States (which we talk about today!) to demonstrate how nearly half of all food in the U.S. is wasted while 50 million (1 in 7) Americans are food insecure. Other things we talk about are his waste reducing tips through the home, how he lives on so little, what his next ideas and projects are and more. If you want the positive motivation to take your waste DOWN a notch or 100 notches - you will love this show. I'm still smiling ear to ear from our conversation and the hope I have for our world. As usual the show notes and show supporter offers are over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast - Enjoy!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is an undeniable shift from so many people away from single use plastics and plastic items that have plastic free alternatives (switching from a bath gel pump to a bar soap for example) but there is still a massive amount of work to do in spreading the word and shifting people's perceptions around them being ‘inconvenienced'. In today's chat, I discuss plastic pollution - the situation AND the hope we both share, for how powerfully we can change the statistic that there is going to be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050 if we continue this way. Rebecca shares many insights into consumer behaviour that they've studied to design the most effective change narrative as well as sharing her very personal journey in reducing waste in her home, to then the little office challenge she issued which then turned out to be the initiative that Plastic Free July has become - something that millions connect to from around the world today! Enjoy the show, be  uplifted not disheartened and see you for Plastic Free July! I'll be posting every day on instagram @lowtoxlife if you fancy joining me there. Show notes and this week's show supporter offer can be found at lowtoxlife.com/podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Lee Holmes joins me on the show this week to discuss the simple strategies she implemented when her gut health went south after multiple antibiotics many years ago. From there her immune system was affected until a cascade effect landed her in hospital. What she managed to do to eat and act her way back to health has now been shared with many thousands of people through her 8 books and thriving online community, and today on the show we talk about some of the strategies she's found to work best, and what's been helpful for restoring gut health, rebalancing the good and bad gut bugs and increasing resilience moving forward so that meal time stress can dissipate and you can enjoy food again. If you're someone who's tried ‘all the things' when it comes to your gut health, or even if you're curious about trying the little one day experiment Lee challenges you to in today's episode, I hope you enjoy today's show. Show notes and generous show support offers can be found at www.lowtoxlife.com/podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thrilled to have Dr Ralph Esposito join me on the show this week for our first male-focused show. There are of course so many things we could tackle, so I'm calling this part 1 and I want you to pop over to the show notes over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast and leave a comment with a male health topic you'd like covered for our part 2. In today's show we discuss fertility and the major factors concerning decline in sperm health and motility, major factors that upset the balance of testosterone and oestrogen in men, health check up markers men should annually request to check in on their health and a touch of prostate at the end - pun intended ;-) No subject on men's health is taboo in this ep. We discuss everything from drinking, sleeping and morning glory so if you find talking about sexual organs sensitive for you, tune out this week. For the rest of you buckle up for this important discussion that I'm already looking forward to the sequel of and of course, if you're a woman reading this, listen WITH your man instead of talking TO your man about everything he needs to do - always better when it comes from a doc rather than feeling like the nagging partner. Enjoy the show and the generous show supporter offer. All further resources, links and details can be found over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a while now I've been trying to put into words exactly why I feel that money, and a healthy and smart relationship with it is part of leading a low tox life. Today on the show, this happens. The 4 principal aspects that define a Low Tox Life are food, body, home and mind. Stress is a part of the mind and if we're stressed for prolonged periods of time, it negatively impacts our body and mind. A huge contributor to many people's stress? Money. And so, there's the link and why I wanted to bring my accountant, and all round money conversation superstar Melissa Browne into it. Melissa's been voted one of the Top 100 women of Influence by the financial review and she's determined to take the taboo out of money and get us all TALKING. I hope you enjoy the show. Shownotes and our generous sponsor offer can be found at www.lowtoxlife.com/podcast  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you look at a business founder journey, there are countless examples of the change makers and pioneers, being people who've come through a mess to create their message or a dark personal time, leading them to becoming a torch bearer of sorts on a new path. Stephanie Devine is one of those founders, and her kickstarter campaign cleared its goal in 48 hours, such is the demand for sustainable, traceable clothing items and in this case BRAS. I chat to Stephanie about the fire that was put in her belly to found this business and some of the struggles along the way to source materials and convince people to make certain components of her “VERY GOOD BRA” for her. Enjoy the show and be sure to check out the show notes and kickstarter campaign details over at www.lowtoxlife.com/podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week you've just got little old me! I'm reading a few excerpts from my upcoming book, Low Tox Life, which if you get the book or not, either way will hopefully be lots of food for thought! It's available internationally rolling out from July 1, 2018. I also share some of the journeys people have gone on since I issued the challenge to ask yourself these questions when considering a purchase: 1. How was this made / what from? 2. Who made it and were they fairly paid? 3. Am I ok with all those answers? Keep your research coming in the show notes comments and I'll be publishing some of the stories as an inspiring blog post to help others take their scrutiny up a notch. Show notes and this month's generous sponsor offer can be found at lowtoxlife.com/podcast, then click on show #88's show notes. Enjoy the book reading!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever been told, after getting a hormone test back - whether it was testosterone, estrogen, thyroid hormones, cortisol or anything else, that everything's 'normal' and 'you're fine?' - yet you feel totally NOT FINE? In this week's show I chat to the wonderful Dr Carrie Jones who makes the trickiest of hormone challenges (male or female) feel like a fun puzzle to get to the bottom of - and I'm serious. Imagine turning the talk of hormone woes on its head and making it instead an interesting fun thing to figure out - it was this attitude of Carrie's from following her instagram feed and the generous sharing she does there, that said: I have to have her on the show and shake up the hormone conversation, that's always such a Debbie downer! Carrie is a Naturopathic Physician with a Master's in Public Health having over 12 years in the field of functional and integrative medicine. As Adjunct Faculty for the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM), she has taught courses in both Gynaecology and Advanced Endocrinology. She has been the Medical Director for two large integrative clinics in Portland, Oregon and is currently the Medical Director for Precision Analytical, Inc, creators of the most cutting edge hormone test on the market, the DUTCH Test. So, come and listen while Carrie and I discuss the ins and outs of testing, what our results can tell us, how she doesn't believe in Adrenal Fatigue (yes, you heard me right there!) and what it means when your cortisone and cortisol are off kilter. It's such a great chat, and I can't wait to hear what you guys think. I love what the Dutch test can offer us, so I was super thrilled to have Carrie join me for a general in-depth hormone chat as well as a deeper look into the capability of the Dutch test. Show notes and winning a year's worth of coffee can be found over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast - Enjoy the show, Alexx See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.