Daily Dose of TOXINS: Part 2
Episode 117
Dr. Nicole & Grace are jumping straight back into the concerning daily dose of toxins that most people are unaware of in this episode of the Integrative Entrepreneur. The duo covers everything from powdered eggs to Bluelight & botox to collagen peptides. Listen now to hear how to detoxify from these everyday toxins. Noteworthy Time Stamps: 1:24 Diving straight into coffee concerns 4:15 Food storage & mold 6:00 We are what our food eats 10:16 Sad truth about eggs 11:00 Household items & outdoor toxins 13:00 High fructose corn syrup 17:30 Jaime Oliver sugar talk 19:13 We eat fries too 19:40 Technology 20:30 Bluelight & your skin 23:00 Collagen
Topics: coffee, mold, because, toxins, corn, lead, moldy, entrepreneur
Key takeaways from this episode
- So all of that moisture, moisture, moisture, grabbing type of environment within the bag that your grounds are housed in creates a a again, a breeding ground for mold then you're putting it in your moldy coffee maker and drinking it out of your lead mug.
- So okay, so then you're you're making coffee to pour into your lead mug and you're either your coffee maker's moldy, your coffee beans are moldy or it's all moldy.
- So on top of that maybe you're having a Colombian coffee, which in our practice we see most commonly as a sensitivity because of the way the beans are burned.
- So, maybe you're not at Starbucks or at Dunkin and you're trying to be even more proactive and you're making a coffee at home.
- Either way, coffee makers are just a breeding ground for mold.
Pull quotes
Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems.
Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey.
So, maybe you're not at Starbucks or at Dunkin and you're trying to be even more proactive and you're making a coffee at home.
Transcript
I've been up all night. No sleep. Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems. Dive into Integrated Wellness Radio with Dr. Nick and Dr. Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey. So, maybe you're not at Starbucks or at Dunkin and you're trying to be even more proactive and you're making a coffee at home. So then you're using your coffee maker, maybe it's a drip, maybe it's a Keurig with the pods. Either way, coffee makers are just a breeding ground for mold. And your Keurig is plastic, yeah, exactly and you're getting BP the majority of coffee makers are plastic just because it's coming into like a drip, just because it's dripping into a glass pot doesn't mean that the inner workings are magically stainless steel or glass. One of the saddest things that I found out, literally a year ago, is that the majority of your cups, your mugs, have lead in them. Mhm. Mainly because I went to Marshall's And I picked up a mug that I liked and there was a sticker on it that says, "Lead-free." I was like, oh! You like, "Now I have to look through this." Yeah, and I started looking into lead, and plate, and mug making. And it's super common. Okay, so then let's add people who make pottery to our list of contaminated professions for that reason. Glass blowing. Yeah, exactly. So okay, so then you're you're making coffee to pour into your lead mug and you're either your coffee maker's moldy, your coffee beans are moldy or it's all moldy. And what I mean by that is that coffee is one of the highest food products contaminated with mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are microscopic molds. So on top of that maybe you're having a Colombian coffee, which in our practice we see most commonly as a sensitivity because of the way the beans are burned. And then you're buying ground coffee, They're not supposed to be burned. Right., they're supposed to be roasted. Pretty much. And then you're buying coffee grounds because who wants to go through the trouble of grinding the beans every morning? So you're buying ground coffee and how long do you think it's been sitting on the shelf for? Mhm. So, how long do you think it was in a truck for? Mhm. Where the hell did it come from? Yeah. So all of that moisture, moisture, moisture, grabbing type of environment within the bag that your grounds are housed in creates a a again, a breeding ground for mold then you're putting it in your moldy coffee maker and drinking it out of your lead mug. So, This is so sad. This whole podcast. I know, but there are organic coffee companies that lab test independently for mold and mycotoxins. So there is a saving grace here because when Dr. Nicole first told me this, I I think I did cry. And I you'll realize when you make that swap to mycotoxin-free coffee that you no longer need five or six cups a day. Like like I did. Yeah, and you're like after one cup, you actually feel a benefit. So you're not just drinking it so you don't have Get a headache, you're not just drinking it so you don't go into withdrawal. But you're actually drinking it and feeling the antioxidant effect that it's actually supposed to have. Exactly. Coffee does actually have a lot of benefits to it when you're getting it in its purest form. But what you were just mentioning with the storage process of the coffee. I want you to understand that there are foods that have a higher probability of mold or fungal overgrowth and that is because of the storage process. So this actually applies to rice, this applies to oats, this applies to coffee beans, Corn. So, corn. Um, you know, it's interesting because Dr. Nick, my husband is from Iowa and when we were out in Iowa, I was saying, I was like, "Oh, that you know, that cornfield like the corn is moldy." And he's like, "Yeah, that's field corn." I was like, "What does that mean?" That's what they feed the, feed the animals Yes. So that's the animal feed. So we are getting doses of growth hormone, we are getting doses of antibiotics, and we are also getting exposed to mycotoxins because of the nature of what's being fed to the animals. So, you know, we're not always what is the phrase it's it's not we are what we eat, we actually are what our food is eating. Food is eating. Exactly. And then you can even add a whole another layer to that going off of factory farming because of the way animals are slaughtered and the cortisol the levels of cortisol that's pumping through them knowing that's about to happen. So factory farming is not my realm of expertise in any way but on top of all of that then there comes it comes down to the actual effect it has on 100% and then the the like memory that the the tissue holds. It's so funny you say that because there was this place that we used to go to back in the day and they had buy one, get one free burgers on Wednesdays, so you know that the meat was bad quality to be able to give, yeah, give a burger away. My cousin used to have nightmares every time we would go there. Wow. Yeah. And I don't remember what the nightmares were. But I just remember after the third time it happened, "I'm like this is very odd trend." That's very significant. So it's interesting what you said because this isn't, you know, psychosomatic or oh, the energy of the animal, maybe, but this is, this is actually physiological, you know, you have this flood of adrenaline and cortisol and that is something that is actually affecting, you know, the the constituents of the meat. Yes. So, when we're talking about the milk that you put in your coffee or the milk that goes in your latte in your cereal, you know, the milk that you use to make your oatmeal, um, or maybe you did some type of you're on the healthy side. You're like, "I'm gonna have some eggs and, you know, turkey sausage or turkey bacon." If you again are not buying quality, these are things that are completely off of the radar. Right. I had a girl that I was talking to and this is actually we were at a networking group. So this is prior to even us starting the business but she was saying she's like, "What tips can you give me? I just can't lose weight. I literally feel so inflamed. I can't lose weight." You know, all my weight is in my abdomen. And she's like, "I eat so healthy." She's like, "Don't get me wrong. I have drinks on the weekend, but like, I eat so healthy." I was like, "Well, tell me a little bit more about, you know, what you're eating." And she's like, "Well, I have a a grilled chicken salad, you know, for lunch every day. I have some eggs in the morning." But as I dug into it, she was actually stopping at a gas station and getting a hardboiled egg. Um, so who knows the quality of that. Um, and then the again, the hormones and everything else that was given to that chicken. And then she was getting her grilled chicken salad from a pub. She was just around the corner from her, from her office. So I was like, "Okay, I know that consciously you are making an effort but what you need to understand is that you're getting, you know, a a pretty cheap salad from a pub, which means they're using cheap ingredients. So you're getting an iceberg lettuce that is has zero nutrients, number one, zero fiber. Secondary to that, it's going to be completely covered in pesticides. Then you're getting a dressing." I worked in restaurants. So I know all of this very well. Yeah. But the dressings are not homemade. They come in a big ass container and most of them are laden with MSG. Even your balsamic vinaigrette. Yeah. So there's that chemical on top of it and then the chicken more than likely is being fed growth hormone and antibiotics and you know, a variety of other issues with it. And that animal was fed a variety of corn. Right. So you're eating quote-unquote healthy, but in reality all of these ingredients separate and together are inflammatory. Yeah. And Granted she was getting a hardboiled egg from a gas station but if she were to have gotten eggs maybe from that pub, there's a high likelihood that they came out of a box. Meaning that they were powdered. And when I was working in um, a food service kitchen, at a cute rehab center, meaning that my off, my office was in that kitchen, I wasn't working the kitchen, but I had to walk through it all the time. I didn't know at that point in my life that eggs could be powdered. Oh. Yeah. And that's what's being You guys should see my face right now. I know. [laughs] You could they could hear it. I love food so much and I just get so mad when people do stuff like that. I know. Um, okay, so as we get into, you know, I know that we're in the era right now. A lot of people are working virtual, they're working from home. But in reality is when we're talking about our home and then we're talking about an office building or we're talking about, you know, these large buildings that house our grocery stores and our shopping is we're talking about off-gassing from, you know, carpets to fluorescent lights to toxic people. Yep. Absolutely. Um, and, you know, just understanding too is that it's not always about what's in the house, but what what's outside of the house. You know, something that I had to become very conscious of is that, you know, one of our dogs got sick and we give him filtered water and we make his food for him and we we try to get all of his food from a farm. Like, yeah, we're those people. But, um, the amount of pesticides. I was living in a area where, you know, keeping up with the Joneses when it came to your lawn and every spring, I would see the trucks roll up and they would do the spray for mosquitoes and all of that. And I realized that, you know, my dog was getting exposed in massive amounts of pesticides and and insecticides. And we actually ran testing on him and despite his filtered water consumption, is he was toxic. Yeah. My dog's a pesticide addict. She walk, I take her on walks and she walks with her tongue out ready just to lap up whatever piece of grass or leaf she can. And she doesn't eat it, she just sucks on it. And you see these animals that they look inflamed. They don't look fat, they look inflamed. They look like they could put it. It's tight, it's like tight swelling, the same as a person. Yeah. And there's so many animals now with these growths, these, you know, they turn it's goes from lipomas, to skin tags, and then it becomes cancerous. And you hear that all the time is that there's such an epidemic of cancer in animals and we can't overlook the amount of chemicals in the outside environment. Um, and, you know, again it's maybe not necessarily like don't let your dog outside but there are binders. Like there's charcoal, there's clay that you can put a little sprinkle in their food. Um, that will help them to bind some of these toxins and erradicate them out through the urine and the stool. Obviously that same applies to humans. Applies to humans. Um, one of the other things is like we could go down like the most insane rabbit hole with food is high fructose corn syrup. It's in fucking everything. Yeah. It's in everything and and a lot of times it's actually the first or second ingredient. It's getting worse, I think. It's getting worse and and what kills me and I I preface this whole podcast with my background but when you're looking at like an Organ, maybe not Organ. Okay, but uh tube feed formula or a shake for someone who isn't otherwise intaking as many nutrients, quote-unquote nutrients or calories essentially that they need in a day. What's the stuff they recommend for kids? Like is it Carnation, Carnation has something like that? Carnation has one. Um, I'm blanking on the other one, but they're owned by Nestle. Okay. When I was in my internship, that's when Nestle bought these bigger companies. And the um, ingredients got even worse at that time. So there's people that are drinking like three or four of these a day. Or they're being fed intravenously or or through a gastric tube and it's Right. It is like wheat, whey, soy, and um, high-fructose corn syrup. And unfortunately, that is in baby formula as well. That that set of ingredients. And it's also in the prescription dog dog food. So bad. So bad. The first three ingredients of that, uh, gosh, what's it called? It's a it was a prescription dog food. It's like $80 a bag. It's it's a and Right. Your vet will prescribe it. Yeah, soy, corn, and also high-fructose corn syrup. I'm pretty sure. But, you know, regardless when it's coming to the high-fructose corn syrup, you know, one of the things that I was joking about is when I was in Iowa with my in-laws is I saw Miracle Whip in the fridge And I was I've never really eaten Miracle Whip. I'm like, what is in this? And the first ingredient was soy oil, soybean oil, and the second ingredient was high-fructose corn syrup. And it's just fascinating how many of our condiments have tons and tons of high-fructose corn syrup in it. Um, and unfortunately, it's a lot of our snacks that are being geared towards children. So things that you have to really consider when it comes to snacks and prepackaged foods is what type of sweetener is in it? Is it high-fructose corn syrup? And also is it high in sugar? Because most of these items that we're consuming, if you were to tally up the amount of sugar that you have eaten at the end of the day, you will be completely horrified to realize how much sugar is in the things that you're eating from the start of the day to the end of the day. And very funny is I never classified myself as someone who was a sugar person. But when I actually tallied up how much sugar I was exposed to just through having a glass of wine and a latte in the beginning of the day, that was exposing me to an astronomical amount of sugar just those two things. And I wasn't necessarily eating rice and bread. And I wasn't having ice cream after dinner. I wasn't doing those things. So in my mind, I wasn't a sugar person. But in reality, it was actually coming into my body via beverages. So these are all things to consider and also considering what are the oils that are making up some of these products, especially condiments. Cottonseed oil, soy oil, canola oil, the grape seed oil. These are oils that very easily when heated become hydrogenated. They become hydrogenated, they become they become toxic to your body. And your body produces what's called free radicals. And this is overall causing an immune response and a toxic response to your cells. So, also understanding that majority of your soda, especially here in the US is going to have high-fructose corn syrup. It's not sugar anymore. The only sugar is actually in your soda that is in a glass bottle. I think they call it Mexican Coca-Cola, but the Mexican Coca-Cola is in a glass bottle and that actually has real sugar in it. Still has like 40 grams of sugar. Absolutely. Something. I think it's something like six or seven teaspoons. Yeah. Well, Jamie Oliver did a really cool thing when he did his TED Talk and he actually got on stage and he dumped a wheelbarrow. But like the wheelbarrow was it was overflowing with sugar. And he dumped it onto the stage and he said this is how much sugar your child is getting exposed to in a year just from milk. Mhm. Just from milk. Nothing else. And people are like, "Wow!" It was like sheer terror. Um, so as we kind of navigate into, you know, the evening hours, you know, we're eating dinner, sometimes we're destressing with the wine, we're maybe having a cocktail, maybe having a beer. You know, if we had a really rough day, we might tailor our or um tag that along with some type of comfort food. Maybe we're having some buffalo wings with friends or Macaroni and cheese. Like things like Yeah. Spinach artichoke dip or french fries. Right. And just understanding once you're getting into that realm is now again, we're getting high doses of these hydrogenated oils. We're getting genetically modified breading, which is or wheat in the breading. Uh, we're getting, you know, our growth hormone and antibiotic-infested proteins. And it's a just a big old shit show. Yeah. And I mean, even just going off like the Dr. Nicole and I love French fries. We're not sitting here talking about how all of this and then acting like we don't eat it. But it it helps in In absolute moderation. Yeah. Absolutely moderation because what I was going to say is that when you If I want something or when I'm inclined to do that, I literally just think about the vat of boiling oil that the that French fries have been soaked in for the entire day. That doesn't get changed. Right. Yep. I worked in the restaurant. So you are correct, my friend. So, last but not least than I want to mention because we have gone overtime is this is not just about food. This is not just about products that you put on your skin. It's not about what you inhale, but it's also your environment. And what I mean by that is technology. So as we get into the evening hours, you know, we've applied a million things to our skin. We've inhaled a bunch and we've ingested a bunch of toxins and then we top it off with a couple of hours of TV, iPad, Kindle, laptop, video games. Whatever it is. And the amount of radiation that we're all exposed to due to our Bluetooth technologies and our EarPods and our Apple Watches is also just the icing on the cake. Yeah. So this is not just one thing. And I think that that's what we need to realize. And and instead of walking away from this podcast being overwhelmed, you should be like, "Wow! I have so much room for opportunity just to even change one or two things that will decrease the stress on my body." Right. And even, I'm so glad you said that about the radiation from the tablets, but also like something that has kind of shaken up the wellness industry is blue light in the past few years. And how it's damaging our eyes. It's damaging our eyes. Okay. It's rewiring our brain. It's rewiring our brain, but you're also your skin is incredibly affected by blue ray. So, blue, blue light. Blue, sorry. Blue-ray is like back in the day DVD player. That was just like a little subconscious slip there. Um, so all of my 20-somethings who are noticing especially in the pandemic that now they have wrinkles under their eyes or wrinkles in their forehead or spots on their skin that they didn't have prior and they're running literally running out and getting Botox. Um, it could also just be because for the last year and a half, the majority of us have been 100% virtual. So maybe you're your industry wasn't on the computer before or whatever. The case may be that you're now exposed to more blue light. It is 100% affecting your skin. So there are non-toxic companies that have done studies on this. That's how I learned about it. And that they're putting blue light blocking minerals in their sunscreen and makeup. Interesting. Yeah. Well, you know, even what you said is the we obviously have established today that glyphosate, the pesticide is unbelievably common in a lot of the things that we're eating. And one of the things that we didn't mention is that it actually compromises the amino acid called glycine, um, which is prevalent in your collagen. So between the blue light damaging the skin and the toxicity of the glyphosate, we have many individuals that feel like they're rapidly aging. Right. And they're like, my skin looks terrible. And we live in the era that, you know, Botox and filler and all of that is readily available. But really we're not addressing the root of the issue. We're just, you know, fixing something on the surface. Yeah. So it's just, you know, you see individuals that clean up their lives. They clean up their diet and you're like, "Wow, you look so young." Right. And it's really because they've removed these toxic things out of their body. Yes. That that are damaging their their collagen and their cellular health. Exactly. Do you want to talk about collagen real quick what you told me about like storebought collagen? Oh, God. Just Just really quick. Because I don't want people to just because we said a buzzword and I don't want everyone to run out and get. That's true. Yeah. Collagen. So you can speak to it more, but I have been plant-based for 10 years, so I take collagen builders. Like I take the precursor to collagen, which is basically just like herbs and roots and stuff. But what you told me about the source of collagen, like the animal source of collagen is I believe you said it was from the hide. Yeah. So we were actually at an event a while back and there was an individual that he has actually studied the effects of glyphosate in the body. And one of the specific things that he was talking about collagen. And then he said, "So many of you might be thinking, I'm going to go start taking uh, collagen." Yeah. Um, or, you know, drinking bone broth or or using the powdered based collagen. And he's like, "But we have to understand is about when it comes to the powdered based collagen, I have researched the best brands on the market and they are not using the bone um, or the collagen of the animal, what they're using is the hide of the animal, the hide of the cow in particular. And so you can grass-fed and or grass feed this animal, um, which obviously affects the internal environment, but the hide being the skin is being covered in pesticides. It's being covered in um heartworm medication. It's being covered in insecticides. Um, you know, bug repellent, etcetera. And that is what is getting processed in order to produce your collagens that are on the market." And at that moment, I was completely horrified. And, you know, he's like he's a farmer, too. Right. He's like, "Listen, I I have a farm with animals and I I have a farm that I do things differently now but I grew up on a farm and I know what the reality is of what goes on that hide throughout the duration of that cow's life." Right. So, yeah. So when it comes to the, you know, how what to take away from this entire podcast is understanding one, we're exposed to a lot of crap. And we say this with love and to empower you because the last thing that we want is people walking around having no idea how they can empower themselves and how they can modify their lives for the better. Obviously when we go through a life of exposure of toxins is that our detox pathways get overloaded. And the easiest example that I give to people is that it's like you bought the best of the best vacuum, but you keep using it and you don't dump the filter. And it's that you're filtered. There's nothing wrong with your vacuum, but your filter is at max capacity. So if your liver is at max capacity and the kidneys are at max capacity and your lymph nodes are at max capacity, which are your major detox avenues, then you're not getting rid of the bad stuff anymore. And you might say, "Wow, I'm so sensitive to caffeine or oh gosh, I'm hung over for four days if I drink a glass of wine." Or like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm so sensitive to medications all of a sudden." And that is all showing you that you you're your detox pathways of your liver are taxed. They're completely taxed out. So it's a matter of reverse engineering and getting those organs to function more optimally by helping you to eliminate what is blocking them. Dump the filter essentially. Mhm. And that takes effort and it takes strategy. So you can go and buy your storebought detox, but you might make yourself sick. Right. You can go get a lymphatic massage but you might make yourself sick. Really advocate for people to get more information about their body and their blueprint. Um, so that you could do it right and you don't first of all, create more problems. Second of all, you don't waste time and money. Yeah. Definitely. I had a cabinet of solid $35,000 to $40,000 of supplements from trial and error before we did what we do now. And what we do now is we don't guess we test. Right. Everything is tested. What detox you need is tested. What lymphatic therapies you need is tested. What supplements you need is tested. Right. And that is the beauty and getting personalized and being specific is that you're able to see positive changes in a shorter amount of time. Right. And without the exaggerated detox results or Herx reactions that you would otherwise be encountering. Well, yeah. Anybody who's ever worked with me knows that I hate that term Herx. Yeah. And I'm just like, that just means you're not doing it right. Yeah. And I'm not saying you're not doing it right because you're doing something wrong at home. I mean, it's Yeah. It's not the protocol. Not your fault. The protocol is not complete. So you can't just detox your liver and ignore your kidneys and your lymphatic system and, you know, vice versa. expect things to go well. Exactly. So you have to make sure that these systems are working together. So if you are looking for more information to learn a little bit more about our testing and how we are able to help individuals navigate getting this crap out of their body while obviously educating them on how they can be more proactive in their day-to-day. Uh, definitely head to our website, hop on a strategy call with our team. We're here to really answer all of your questions and see how we can help. Um, but we hope that this was empowering. Yes. That's the takeaway. And not overwhelming. But also gave you a little bit of a harsh reality. Yeah. Just drink different coffee. Yeah. And Grace obviously is the queen of giving you amazing tasty food alternatives. Um, because that's the thing is we love food. We love. We love to be social. Yeah. We love a good glass of wine. We love all those things. We've just learned the better versions of them. Right. I'm the queen of swaps and I'm here for you. All right guys, thank you for being with us. We will see you next time. Thank you for being a listener and subscriber to Integrative Wellness Radio. If you're looking to learn more about Integrative Wellness Group as well as Dr. Nick or Dr. Nicole, you can check out integrativewellnessgroup.com.
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About Integrative You Radio
Integrative You Radio is a root cause medicine and integrative medicine podcast hosted by Dr. Nicole Rivera and Dr. Nick Carruthers — two integrative doctors who build personalized wellness protocols from your DNA, minerals, hormones, gut, and nervous system rather than from a population template. Looking for an integrative doctor who reads your labs together instead of in isolation? This is the show.
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