E7 S1| Naturopath Debra Lee Educates Us on the Toxins in Our Daily Lives: What Are They and Why We Want to Avoid Them

In this episode I speak to Debra Lee, founder of Middle Tennessee’s Wellness Bridge Consulting. Debra is a Traditional Naturopath, Certified Natural Health Practitioner, a Hanna Kroeger Practitioner, Lifestyle Coach and a NuVision Biofeedback Specialist. A teacher at heart, Debra thrives on educating and coaching people to make better choices for themselves. In this episode she highlights some of the over 500 chemicals we are exposed to daily, where they are found, and what symptoms may occur after exposure. 

This is just the first introduction to Debra and her knowledge, and there is much more ground to cover. More conversations with Debra will be coming soon on the Sick and Seeking Youtube Page. 

We speak about:

• Why people seek out the support of a naturopath like Debra
• One of the causes for chronic illness relapse in our bodies is due to the environmental toxins lurking in the over 500 chemicals we are exposed to daily
• Commercial scents and air fresheners are not regulated and there can be unlisted ingredients in these products 
• Selecting high-quality essential oils that are labeled therapeutic-grade 
• The different organs in our bodies and what they do to help the body rid of toxic substances
• Environmental chemicals and toxins and how they may negatively affect you body 
• Awareness and avoidance of formaldehyde, aluminum, sodium fluoride, parabens, sulfates, nitrites, nitrates, MSG and aspartame in products or foods that go on, in, or near your body
• The important difference between calcium fluoride versus sodium fluoride, and why this distinction is important.
• How to limit one’s exposure to dioxin, also known as glyphosate
• Chewing gums and mints are now sweetened with aspartame instead of sugar and why this is potentially an issue 
• Debra’s suggestion to avoid harsh detoxes for the body and start with dandelion, parsley or cilantro teas

Timestamps:

1:30: What is a naturopath?
9:50: Common symptoms of toxic exposure 
18:00: Chemicals we are exposed to daily
27:45: Toothpaste and sodium fluoride 
31:00: Sulfates and parabens and where you may find them 
37:00: What we put in/near/on our bodies that we want to avoid 
45:00: Nitrates and nitrites in processed foods 
58:00: Types

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Transcript

leslie_field (00:00.078)
It is not a big deal. here we go. I haven't done this in a while. Sorry. I just need a minute. Like, how do I start? All right, here we go. Hello, Deborah. How are you today?

debra (00:01.884)
Okay.

debra (00:18.884)
Hi Leslie, I'm doing great, how are you?

leslie_field (00:21.614)
I'm doing well. It's always a pleasure to get to talk to you. And I'm so thrilled that you said yes to being on the Pad Cat podcast. So thanks for being here today.

debra (00:31.88)
Well, I am grateful that you asked. I always enjoy sharing. So this is a great opportunity for me to share. It gets so built up in me. just want to, you know. Yes. Yes.

leslie_field (00:45.47)
I heard that you wanted to be a teacher. So this is, this is perfect. Absolutely perfect. So Deborah and I met last year on a retreat when we went to Taos, New Mexico and we've kept in touch. I've worked with Deborah and some of the things that how I would say my working with Deborah have been is that she is so supportive, kind. And you know, especially when I was telling you about like my life and how I live and all my medical stuff, you, just.

you come across just with such a beautiful, just as such a beautiful way. I, it's hard for me to even describe it because it could be very like vulnerable when you're telling someone about your life and who you are and things about you and your choices. And so I just always have felt very held, very seen, and you just have such a beautiful way with how you work with people. And so thank you for that. Thank you for that.

debra (01:34.078)
Thank you. Thank you. That was very kind of you.

leslie_field (01:38.574)
So I should have said that Deborah is a naturopath and I would love for you to tell our listeners what is a naturopath.

debra (01:47.038)
A naturopath is basically a teacher in all things natural. It's trying to take a more natural route. I think a lot of people will call it an alternative route to health and well-being. more about teaching. You know, a lot of people like to recommend product and that sort of thing, which is fine. I just, where I seem to thrive is the teaching.

leslie_field (02:01.084)
Okay.

debra (02:14.999)
and more counseling. That just seems to be my niche. So that's really, yeah.

leslie_field (02:19.604)
Absolutely. It comes across like a duck to water. I don't know a better way to describe it. Yes, absolutely. You're a fabulous and beautiful teacher and you have so much knowledge to share and that's what this episode is about. I want to know, you know, I know what it's like to work with you, but tell me what it is like to work with a client or people that you work with.

debra (02:44.584)
So first and foremost, most people come to me because they are struggling with chronic issues and they'll get better and then they relapse. They get better and then they relapse. And over a period of time, once you start going to the doctors a lot, a lot of they get discouraged because the doctors are no longer listening, you know, because

here she comes again or here he comes again. And so you kind of get shuffled around. And what I've seen with working with clients is there's several things that happen on a regular basis that I want to talk to everybody about because they are probably going to be, I would say one of the number one causes of relapsing, right?

leslie_field (03:40.248)
Mm-hmm.

debra (03:41.136)
It's a key. Are you ready for the key?

leslie_field (03:44.238)
I am so ready for the key because I had to sneak peek into the keys and the information. And every time I have a conversation with you, every time I read something, I'm like, gosh, I wish I'd known that earlier. So yes, Deborah, we're ready. I'm ready again.

debra (03:50.216)
Mm-hmm.

debra (03:59.742)
But you know, we don't know what we don't know. You know, so it's like, and this information is coming to you now because for such a time as this, you know, it's like, you know, 15 years ago, if you would have told me about essential oils, I would have rolled my eyes and said, you know, that's hippie stuff. but 10 years, just 10 years ago, I was ready because I needed

leslie_field (04:02.798)
Hmm.

leslie_field (04:21.87)
Mmm.

debra (04:29.362)
there was a component in it that I was being drawn to for what I needed at the time. My mindset had totally changed. just in a short, you know, short amount of time. So when you are going through that healing process, you are looking at all the different ways and you start to become more open to what is it that I'm doing? How is it that I'm reaffecting, affecting myself? What is it that's happening?

you start taking a step back and start evaluating. So now you're ready for more information to come in, you know, so it's all about being ready. So don't worry about not knowing it before. No big deal.

leslie_field (05:03.746)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (05:10.051)
That's why I'm so glad I met you. So you're right. As I say, all in divine timing. I don't know. It's a reused, overused word, but I believe it. I believe it. Absolutely.

debra (05:16.296)
That's exactly right. That's right. That is exactly right. Yep. Yep. So you ready? Okay. The key to becoming re-infected and falling back into that loop is toxins.

leslie_field (05:25.149)
I'm ready, I'm ready.

debra (05:40.122)
We are exposed, particularly women, women more so than men because of, you know, we're at home a lot and do a lot of the cleaning and that sort of thing. Over 500 chemicals a day. A day. This is a daily chemical just entourage coming at you constantly from cleaning products to skincare products, the shampoo.

leslie_field (05:58.338)
Yeah.

leslie_field (06:04.867)
Mm-hmm.

debra (06:10.683)
fragrances, laundry soap, lotion, dishwashing soap, floor cleaner, counter cleaner, when we clean our refrigerator, the foods that we eat and it goes on and on and on. There's chemicals, everything is loaded with chemicals unless you've already started you know weeding out going okay I'm ready to change this out. A lot of people

leslie_field (06:26.99)
Mm-hmm.

debra (06:36.092)
you know, it's becoming, what do they call them? Crunchy moms, you know, that are into all things natural. So it's become a fad and a lot of people are, you know, jumping on the bandwagon going for all things natural. But, you know, people who have, I would say more people who have busy lives and who have big families, you know, you have a limited amount of time to do a lot of research, search things out, you know,

I get it. I had kids. I know what it's like to work full time, have kids, have to cook, have to clean and get it all done in a short amount of time without exhausting yourself, which we all know that that really happened. You always get exhausted. So, you know, we, you know, we grab what we can, right? We grab what's on sale or whatever, you know, so I get it.

leslie_field (07:06.648)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (07:18.071)
Yes, true.

leslie_field (07:26.702)
Mm-hmm.

debra (07:32.326)
What I want to do though is to educate and make you aware of the toxins that are predominant in our daily habits that are making you sick. And I want to talk about the toxin, where they are found, and what kind of symptoms you might be having in your body. Okay? Because when you start having these symptoms again,

you might look back and go, I just got a new dryer sheets. That's probably what's causing me to cough. Or I just lit a candle that I bought at Kroger. You know, it's a commercial scented candle. Those are notorious for making people cough and sneeze and have allergies because of the chemicals in it. And we'll talk about that.

Once you hear this and you start having these symptoms again, you can go, okay, what did I just do? What did I just put on? What did I just eat? What did I just clean with? You start connecting it. Once you start connecting it, then you go, okay, it's time to replace that. I need to find a more natural alternative. So it empowers you to make better choices. And that's what I want to do. Okay.

leslie_field (08:51.32)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (08:56.96)
Yes, absolutely. And it is a really good point, but goodness, those chemicals, they are everywhere. I know. And I think it is really great that we're going to deep dive into this a little bit more because, you know, I've heard chemicals and all this talk for so, long. And sometimes you're like, like you said, I'm too busy or, I can't see them anyway. Or, where do I start? But, you know, it's

debra (09:04.798)
500. 500.

leslie_field (09:26.114)
This is the moment then. Let's just start right here with what Deborah has to share and we'll start right here. Even if this is brand new to you, I'm happy to hear more.

debra (09:36.274)
Okay, so these are the most common symptoms of toxic exposure. Migraine headaches. I have a lot of clients who have migraines that reoccur. And when we explore it, typically it's something new that they've introduced into their household. Migraine headaches, okay? Now I'm not saying all migraine headaches are toxins. Some of them have a medical reason.

But I would say probably 80 % are probably toxins. Rashes, dizziness, asthma attacks, mental confusion, coughing, breathing difficulties, respiratory difficulties, mucus symptoms, sneezing, watery eyes, sinus problems, which all three of those you would think would be allergies. You you've been outside and there's pollen in the air.

You didn't know you could get it inside smelling commercial air freshener. Dermatitis, earaches, neurological problems. Now these can show up short term, like immediate result of being exposed, but the problem is the long term can create damage to major organs. And we'll talk about that as we go along in which chemicals have a more

have a little bit of a habit to still be stored in different organs and what it does to your body. And we'll talk about that, okay? The first category is air fresheners and cleaners. Now those are predominantly a woman is around. So that is going to be definitely part of the over 500 list of chemicals that we're exposed to on a regular basis, because we do do the cleaning.

leslie_field (11:11.278)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (11:22.734)
Mm-hmm.

debra (11:35.35)
and we are more concerned about our house smelling fresh. know, a husband typically, you know, it smells good in here, but he's not really gonna care. You know, the kids don't care. You know, the kids, you know, they can smell like stinky tennis shoes and they don't care, you know. it smells great in here. So air fresheners, for the most part, aren't regulated, okay, in the United States. So the chemicals,

leslie_field (11:43.886)
You

leslie_field (11:51.255)
you

leslie_field (12:00.31)
Mmm.

debra (12:04.83)
that are in it, they don't have to list all the ingredients. Okay, the manufacturers don't have to list all the ingredients. So choosing a more natural and safer air freshener is going to be a challenge. Okay, just because they don't have to list everything, you're not going to know everything that's in it. What you want to look for is VOCs

leslie_field (12:10.038)
Hmm.

debra (12:33.352)
Those are the inorganic compounds that are toxic. So if you think about the purpose of say an artificial freshener, okay, it's to change the scent, right? So if it's chemically made and it goes out into the air, those droplets are gonna get on your skin. You're gonna inhale them, they're gonna get into your lungs, all right? Now, what they do,

is they create an odor, but it's also the chemicals cause that to linger. So it has the ability to linger. And how often do you go and wash your hands after that immediate thing like sprays out? think to go wash your hands or wash your arms off because you might have had a droplet drop on your skin. Your skin is your largest organ of your whole body.

leslie_field (13:09.538)
Yeah.

leslie_field (13:14.061)
Mm-hmm.

debra (13:30.95)
It is an organ and your skin is basically your second kidney. If your kidneys aren't functioning well, your skin will push out any toxins through the skin. So if you see somebody with rashes or toxins or eczema and that sort of thing, my go-to is check their kidneys. There's something going on with their kidneys that the kidneys aren't processing properly and the body is having to push these toxins out through the skin. So the skin, if it's now covered in toxins, you know,

leslie_field (13:31.03)
Mmm.

debra (14:00.444)
What is it gonna do, right? So air fresheners, they have a chemical that causes the fragrance to linger, all right? So it's going to linger on your skin, it's going to linger in your lungs. Those chemicals are just gonna sit there and build up, all right? Not good. You can...

leslie_field (14:11.618)
Yeah.

leslie_field (14:22.198)
No, can I ask a silly question? I might be getting ahead of ourselves because I feel like you're gonna mention this at some point, but I've heard about this with air fresheners and things, but sometimes I do want to encourage my house to smell nicer and I'm trying to find the least chemical way possible.

debra (14:27.43)
Yeah.

leslie_field (14:47.699)
I'm just gonna ask you and I never asked you this question before, Debra. What happens if I dilute some high quality medical grade, I think is the term, essential oils with water.

debra (14:59.646)
So diffusing, that's what it's called, diffusing. So that's what I do. So it's called therapeutic or medicinal. So that's what you want to look for. One of the problems with, say like with the air fresheners, the manufacturing, the industry is not very well regulated. So I can have one drop of pure essential oil put in a bottle, but cut with all kinds of products.

leslie_field (15:01.452)
Yeah. Okay.

Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (15:18.318)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (15:26.829)
Mmm.

debra (15:27.13)
And I am allowed to say it's pure essential oil. Not that it's 100 % essential oil. I can just say it's pure essential oil. So when you're diffusing it, you might as well just have a plug-in air freshener because it's the same thing. You're getting chemicals. So make sure what you get says therapeutic or medicinal. Sorry. I think that

leslie_field (15:31.246)
Yes.

leslie_field (15:44.631)
Mmm.

leslie_field (15:49.934)
Mm.

debra (15:56.22)
I don't think they are allowed to say medicinal anymore. I think it's just therapeutic. So Young Living, doTERRA, Mountain Rose, doTERRA and Young Living are more multi-level marketing, but they do have good quality essential oils. Mountain Rose has good quality, but they don't have the variety that a large company like Young Living or doTERRA has.

leslie_field (16:00.602)
Okay.

leslie_field (16:10.722)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (16:25.09)
Mm-hmm.

debra (16:25.746)
But yes, absolutely. Diffuse away. Good stuff. Good stuff. Yeah.

leslie_field (16:27.758)
Okay, okay, good. That's what I've been doing. Check. I'm doing okay. Not that I'm giving myself a test, but know, the little things I can do here and there, I'm glad.

debra (16:39.486)
Well, and if you have, I don't have mine right here, but I have an essential oil book. There are just so many good benefits for diffusing. The only thing you want to be careful is diffusing around pets. So anybody that has pets, if you diffuse, make sure it's up on a counter to where it's going up, it's going up in the air and not on

leslie_field (17:07.746)
Yeah.

debra (17:08.37)
you low worth of the dog or cat or whatever smelling it right away. I would definitely check to make sure whatever you're going to diffuse is okay. And you know, you can search and Google just found anything you could say is is it okay to diffuse eucalyptus with pets, know, whatever you want, rosemary or whatever. And it'll tell you. Sometimes you might have to weed through some of the comments people leave.

leslie_field (17:30.99)
Hmm.

Mmm.

debra (17:38.142)
You know, people are fun.

leslie_field (17:42.978)
Well, I loved hearing that about, you know, what do we put in the air? Commercial cleaners, fragrances. Well, we didn't go to cleaner so much. I didn't know if you want to talk more about that or if you want to go in a different direction because we are all ears.

debra (17:56.466)
Well, you know, one of the things that the chemical component that is in air fresheners and cleaners, okay, is camphor, phenols, ethanol and formaldehyde. And formaldehyde is very common. When I did some research on formaldehyde, you know, formaldehyde, we think about when they embalm people, you know, they put formaldehyde in the body.

leslie_field (18:22.902)
Yeah, yeah.

debra (18:25.234)
Why? Because it's preservative, right? It preserves the body, which is good. But listen to the indicators if you've been exposed to that, okay? Adominal pain, allergies, headaches, convulsions, vertigo, irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, all right?

leslie_field (18:28.024)
Mm-hmm.

debra (18:50.788)
Interestingly enough, it can be found in cheese, milk, grains, cosmetic, hairspray. It can also be in furniture. Now you're talking about like not solid wood furniture. Obviously you're talking about pressed particle board. It's basically in the glue that they use to make the pressed particle board. Okay. It's in laminate flooring.

and in construction materials. So you can be exposed to it without, you know, washing your hands with, you know, a disinfectant that has it in it. You can be exposed to it from just about anywhere. It primarily affects the liver, the lungs, and the brain. Now, the right kidney filters out heavy metals and chemicals. The left kidney filters out infection.

The liver works in conjunction with the right kidney to filter out heavy metals and chemicals. So formaldehyde will settle in the liver. That's pretty much where it goes to first. It can get into the lungs depending on say like you work in a factory that's building laminate for lowering, you're probably around it all the time. And that would probably be more where it's going to be settling in your lungs if you're smelling it all the time.

The liver works with the right kidney to help detox. What happens when it settles in the liver is it starts creating, it's almost like it blocks its ability, the duct, the ducts and everything, it blocks its ability to cause any kind of flow to happen. And as you go along in this process with me, you and I talk about different ways, natural ways to kind of detox.

leslie_field (20:50.252)
Mm-hmm.

debra (20:50.366)
And I'll share a little bit of that too as we go along. I want to finish talking about the toxins first though. Okay. I get myself sidetracked.

leslie_field (20:58.702)
I know, stay with us everybody. Stay with us. It's not all doom and gloom. We're just doing some informative education right now. And I know, Mia and I go, gosh, I'm feeling a little defeated if I'm being honest, Debra, but I know there's a light at the tunnel. So we're gonna get there. We're gonna hang in there. We're gonna be okay.

debra (21:06.504)
Yeah.

debra (21:18.578)
Yeah, hang in there, hang in there. Well, and anybody who's awake knows that they're being exposed to stuff all the time, all right? So this is to empower you to know why you're relapsing, okay? So just keep that in mind, okay? The next one is a big one, and it's deodorant.

leslie_field (21:27.692)
Yeah.

leslie_field (21:33.859)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (21:40.864)
yes, I'm ready.

debra (21:42.77)
So the deodorant, now regular deodorant most of the time does not. It's the antiperspirant that has aluminum in it, okay? Aluminum, it is a big toxin. It's kind of like formaldehyde. Now I highlighted formaldehyde first and foremost. It is probably number two on the offense of, you know, this is bad stuff. You know, you don't want this building up in your body, okay?

You know, one of the number one causes of Alzheimer's, they're saying, is aluminum. So we don't want this to build up in our bodies because we don't want that to cause our brains to start deteriorating, right? Okay. So here are the indicators. Are you having stomach pain, stomach ulcers, kidney problems, small hard stools, forgetfulness, dryness of the mouth?

leslie_field (22:18.146)
Hmm.

debra (22:39.216)
Aluminum affects the neuro tissue in the spine. It settles in the brain and inhibits cell oxidation and it prevents the body from using up calcium. So people with like brittle bones, aluminum being in their body is causing their system not to be able to utilize the calcium. So if you're taking calcium supplements, you know, it's useless.

Aluminum is found obviously in aluminum foil, cookware, canned foods, so all those cans are aluminum cans, drinking water, they put aluminum in drinking water to make it less cloudy, and acids, baking powder, baby powder, hair dyes, beer and soda cans, and in toothpaste. So

you really got to pay attention to the deodorant. Is there a lumen in it? And we'll talk about toothpaste next. Is there a lumen in your toothpaste? You're putting that directly in your mouth. And where's your mouth? Close to your brain. So be really, really careful. Okay.

leslie_field (23:45.678)
Mm.

leslie_field (23:49.26)
Mmm.

Ugh.

leslie_field (23:56.261)
I've, before you move on to the next one, I actually just wanted to tell you, I don't think I've ever shared with this with you, Debra, because we only met a year ago when I was younger. You know, I've had chronic kidney disease, which my listeners know and which you know for many years, it's been 20 years actually. I remember like way back when, at one point I looked at the like warning label on the back of a particular antiperspirant deodorant I was using.

It actually, I was surprised and obviously quite shocked in that moment. And it said, if you have chronic kidney disease, you need to speak to your physician before using this product. And I thought, I've never seen that warning so specific to someone like me before. And that was actually one of my first wake up calls with, what is in this product that they're telling me even specifically don't use it. And then I'm thinking, well, should other people be using it either? And yeah, I've never told you that, but it was a big wake up call many years ago.

debra (24:51.994)
So interesting, they've probably had aluminum in it. yeah, yeah. So if you think about when you put deodorant on your armpit, okay, most of the time, most of us women, at least in the United States anyway, we shave, right? So we shave, we take a shower, we shave under our arms, we get out, we dry off, we put deodorant on, okay? That's freshly shaved.

leslie_field (24:56.521)
yeah, that's what they were telling me. Absolutely.

leslie_field (25:09.358)
Mm-hmm.

debra (25:19.992)
opened pores and now we're putting We're clogging up those pores with this aluminum gook. All right The armpits are your number one detoxing route Okay, you people don't believe that they think you know going to the bathroom is it's not it's your armpits Okay, if you you wonder why your armpit stink is your body is deep

leslie_field (25:21.355)
Mm-hmm.

debra (25:49.276)
detoxing it that's where it detoxes. Now people go well I can't not use an antiperspirant because I stink. Okay it means you have bacteria clogged up in those pores. You can make a paste of baking soda and vinegar put it on there and let it sit for about 10 minutes before you jump in the shower. Do it once a week you know it doesn't take that long but what it does is it opens up the pores and it

it to pull and release what is clogged up in those pores and then switch your deodorant. Now I don't wear deodorant anymore which people might go, but I don't stink either. You know I clear my pores and I use lavender essential oil on my armpits. So I don't have

leslie_field (26:24.782)
You

Hmm.

leslie_field (26:39.182)
you

debra (26:43.878)
I don't have any chemicals going up in my armpits anymore. Now I used to get like kind of fibrous nodules in my breast. They went away. That's what it was. My lymph glands were being clogged up. So it's like the lymphatic system needs to move all of that trash out of your system. It can't if you've got all of that clogged up. Okay. Unclog it.

leslie_field (26:59.086)
Mmm.

debra (27:12.584)
Set them babies free, you know?

leslie_field (27:13.646)
This was in Deborah's notes before we got on today. In fact, all I was thinking was, how did I not know this? I mean, let's bring it back. Deborah is a naturopath. She is telling us the most natural ways to live life. You we didn't have all these chemicals, I don't know, 30, 40, 50 years ago. We didn't have to, we all, a lot of us know, even though we don't know as much as what Deborah maybe is telling us, we kind of know that, you know, but we didn't have deodorant.

100 years ago, we only had...

debra (27:45.276)
No, Grandma used rose water, you know? That's what they used was rose water. And vinegar, they would use vinegar, baking soda, or rose water.

leslie_field (27:54.51)
Okay, when you say vinegar, are you talking about white vinegar? No, apple cider vinegar. Thank you for that distinction. Cause white vinegar is really smelly. Thank you. I'm like, white vinegar seems a little smelly, but that might be a better smell than the other smells. So, but thank you. So it's apple cider.

debra (27:57.936)
No, apple cider. Yes, good job to clarify.

debra (28:11.812)
if you think about making it like a little paste of it and just leaving it on 10 minutes and then rinsing it off you know you'll be amazed how long you can go without wearing wearing any kind of children after you do that you'll be astounded.

leslie_field (28:26.2)
We're going to do a sick and seeking podcast, non-deodorant week. And we're going to do a a little thing around this. get enough listeners and enough people who want to do it with me because I'm ready. I will raise my hand. It'd be the first one to say I got some stinky armpits. So I'm very happy to try this apple cider vinegar and you said baking soda. Yes. All right. Okay. Thank you, Debra. Thank you, Naturopath Debra.

debra (28:47.932)
Yep, make paste.

debra (28:53.928)
Your husband will thank you.

leslie_field (28:56.559)
Everyone as well will thank me. Yes, they will.

debra (29:02.11)
Okay, so let's jump into toothpaste. So your skin, we have probably more skin in the inside of us than we do on the outside of us. So all of this inside here, all of that is skin. Skin is so absorbable, okay? So now we're brushing our teeth with toothpaste that has aluminum in it. And the other thing that they put in toothpaste,

leslie_field (29:02.894)
Okay, I'm ready, I'm ready.

debra (29:31.878)
which is astounding is sodium fluoride. Now sodium fluoride is also found in the drinking water. Why is it bad? Well, it can create nausea, loss of appetite, headaches, unclear thinking, depression, loss of willpower, mouth sores, ulcers, rashes, stiffness, stomach cramps, constipation, brittle bone, overall weakness,

and hyperactivity in children kind of sounds a little bit like the aluminum, you know, same type symptoms. It accumulates in the right kidney and it hinders the working of the thyroid. A lot of people have thyroid problems, parathyroid, the thymus and the pituitary gland. And it hinders the immune system. Sodium fluoride is a dead metal and the waste product of the aluminum industry.

leslie_field (30:08.27)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (30:18.36)
Mm-hmm.

debra (30:31.208)
Calcium fluoride is actually the natural non-toxic form of fluoride. So if you are looking at the fluoride that's in toothpaste, make sure it says calcium fluoride, not sodium fluoride. Okay?

leslie_field (30:47.5)
Yes. Can you say that one more time? We want calcium. Yeah. Okay.

debra (30:50.76)
So when you're looking at the fluoride in your toothpaste, make sure it's calcium fluoride, not sodium fluoride.

leslie_field (30:58.998)
Uh-huh. Did you know that I did not know it was a, I don't know that's the right word, but it's a derivative of aluminum, the sodium fluoride. I did not know that. mean, I've, I didn't know that's, I did not know that. So thank you.

debra (31:06.514)
Yeah, yeah. It's a byproduct waste product.

debra (31:15.538)
Yep. So next we're going to talk. you know, and I wanted to, well I'll do that here in just a second. I want to talk about shampoo. So when we're talking about our skin, what's going on our skin, you kind of get the theme of everything here. So when you're looking at any kind of lotion or anything like that, be careful, like your shampoos, your conditioners and all of that. they contain parabens.

leslie_field (31:25.422)
Hmm.

debra (31:45.094)
sulfates and the fake fragrances, okay, that will create irritations. One of the things that I've found, people who struggle with itchy scalp, dryness, and have more of like an eczema or psoriasis in their scalp, they are using shampoos that are geared towards dandruff, okay.

What's weird though is what it does is it dries out the scalp and it's the parabens in it that dries out the scalp. Now the reason parabens are in products is because it inhibits the growth of fungus. Okay. So say I create a product, I need to put a preservative in it. Well, paraben is easy to access and it's used on a lot of products.

and the FDA has said it's safe in certain amounts. So they put it in pretty much all the products, okay? You're going to be hard pressed to find things unless you go to a natural health food store, okay? Or make your own that does not have parabens in it. I've started noticing, now we have Publix here, Publix and Kroger. I started noticing, I keep an eye on the shampoos and stuff just to kind of, because I'm going to be able to tell you.

If you don't have a health food store near you, can go to local grocery store and look for this one or you know, but I've started noticing them offering more paraben and sulfate free shampoos. So that is nice to see. it's in, paraben actually are in deodorants, face washes, creams, lotions, and a lot of skincare products. Okay. The paraben,

leslie_field (33:26.168)
Mm-hmm.

debra (33:41.202)
disturb the endocrine system, endocrine function. If you think about that's all your hormones, it just disrupts it. You're like, what? And I'm it in my hair. Okay, all right. Especially in females, okay, the parabens resemble natural estrogen.

leslie_field (33:50.538)
Mmm. Wow.

leslie_field (33:58.253)
Mm-hmm.

debra (34:09.478)
and therefore it increases the activity of estrogen in your body. It is well researched fact that the increased estrogen level leads to increased risk of breast cancer. So there's another reason to be careful. It can cause skin irritation. If you have sensitive skin, you can get contact.

leslie_field (34:14.254)
Hmm.

debra (34:36.092)
dermatitis, inflammation, rashes, dry flaky skin, burning sensation, and blisters. So the sulfate that is in shampoo, so it's parabens and sulfates, the sulfate component of it causes it to bubble up, okay? So have you ever got a...

leslie_field (34:56.96)
Hmm.

debra (35:01.07)
natural shampoo and you're like it doesn't really suds up very much what's because it doesn't have sulfate in it okay so you go well I have to use so much more of it because it's not sudsing up well that's why it's not sudsing up okay no sulfate all right now sulfate strips out all the natural oils out of your scalp it leaves your hair and dry

leslie_field (35:05.368)
Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

debra (35:30.524)
dryer than normal. Now it is a stripper. So sulfates are used in cleaners, your household cleaners because it strips away. So now they're putting it in your hair product. It is stripping away. Okay, so if you have dandruff or eczema, it'll make it worse because it will leave your skin

leslie_field (35:35.287)
Hmm.

leslie_field (35:48.476)
goodness.

debra (36:00.424)
Again, really tight and itchy. If you color your hair, it will fade your color. So you'll see a lot of color resistant shampoos that'll say self-bake free. That's why. It'll leave your hair dull. Let's see. this is the big thing. It corrodes and damages your hair follicles.

leslie_field (36:14.017)
Mm.

debra (36:29.404)
which then leads to hair loss. So if you're losing your hair, your hair is thinning out, get rid of your sulfate shampoos. Try something a little bit more natural for a while, okay? And see if that doesn't help start bringing back some new growth, okay? So the next.

leslie_field (36:50.911)
So one of my questions would be, so it's a perfect moment. One of my questions would be, is, okay, we've talked about aluminum, we've talked about formaldehyde, we've talked about things we know that are in products and they don't list them. But for some of these things you're speaking about, particularly this calcium, nope, nope, the floor, the one that's that one, that one.

debra (37:11.742)
Sodium fluoride.

leslie_field (37:15.427)
and what we were just talking about, cellphates and parabens, would we as a consumer be able to find them on the back of a bottle or product? And they would say that word or?

debra (37:22.248)
Yes. Yes. Yes, they should. And it will be some form, but typically they'll have like a short name in front and then the paraben afterwards. So it'll be like a compound word, you know, but paraben will be in there. You'll see it. Yeah. Yeah.

leslie_field (37:41.878)
Okay. So you're kind of giving us these words that we can, you know, I mean, it's whenever you turn over a bottle of anything these days, I mean, half of it, there are these huge chemical compounds and some of them are, what's it called? Not their signature compound, but they're the one they've created or I don't even know what half these things are. So it's like, they're staring, they're already staring us in the face a lot of times. I'm like, I can barely pronounce what this word is. It sounds like a big chemical to me. but what you're saying is the other ones that we're talking about,

Those should potentially, they could be potentially listed as well on the label.

debra (38:15.396)
It should be within the bigger word. You'll see it. Yeah, so look for it within the big word. That's kind of how they hide it, you know.

leslie_field (38:18.966)
okay.

Okay. thank you. Thank you for that.

debra (38:26.6)
Hopefully no industry people will jump on this podcast.

leslie_field (38:32.778)
No, no, no, no. These are just, we're just a bunch of curious people who may or may not have some health things going on. And we just want to know more about like what's in our environment and how, how, what are some natural ways that can maybe support us in our life? So, cause, cause goodness knows I love my shampoo and conditioner and I don't know if I'm ready to turn over and look at that label yet today, Deborah, to be honest, but one day, one day I might go.

debra (38:44.626)
There you go.

you

debra (38:58.386)
I get it. I get it. How do you eat an elephant, Leslie?

leslie_field (39:03.274)
One bite at a time. Everyone knows this.

debra (39:04.904)
There you go. There you go. So start with your deodorant and then go from there. Okay. Now we're to jump to food preservatives. This is my favorite. So we've talked about everything that's out here. We talked about what we've put on our body. Now let's talk about what we put in our body. Okay. These probably are going to be where you will notice the reaction that you have a lot.

leslie_field (39:11.0)
Got it.

debra (39:33.768)
quicker, you'll be able to connect the dots probably a lot quicker than you do more of an environmental type toxin. Okay, because you can go, I just ate thus and so. Okay. So there are over 3000 preservatives that is added to our food without having being listed as part of the contents because of the lax regulations.

It's terrible. So the first one I want to talk about is called dioxin. Now, dioxin is part of glyphosate. Now, glyphosate is actually an herbicide, a weed killer, and it's part of Roundup. They spray it on our crops.

leslie_field (40:05.303)
Yeah.

debra (40:30.942)
crops and non-land so it can be in your garden. It is now being found in things that's done even list round up. So it can be in other pesticides, herbicides, insecticides. It can have glyphosate in it. Okay. It is highly toxic. It is part of, I don't know, during the Vietnam War, did you hear about Agent Orange? Okay.

leslie_field (40:58.872)
Yeah.

debra (41:00.412)
That's what it is. It's a component of Agent Orange. They used Agent Orange to try to kill the underbrush so they could do what they were doing. And it made a lot of the soldiers very, very sick. So that's what it's a component of, Agent Orange, Roundup, it's glyphosate or dioxin, okay? Most of your

leslie_field (41:02.156)
Hmm.

Believe I might have known that.

debra (41:31.046)
If you're going to go to the get produce, it's best to try to get something that is organic. I realize it's a little bit more expensive, but for the most part, they pay to have that organic label unless it's locally grown and you know that they're not using herbicides, but they pay to have that label. And part of paying to have that label is they get inspected to make sure there is no glyphosate or dioxin on their product. Okay. So it's worth

the extra money so you're not ingesting this, okay? The indicators of exposure to dioxin is digestive and intestinal problems, sinus problems, snoring, reproductive and hormone problems, toxic shock syndrome, migraine headaches. It can lower your immune system and create an environment where fungus and viruses thrive.

because it is killing non-beneficial bacteria. So now it's creating an environment where other stuff can go woohoo, the gatekeepers are gone, you know, let's go crazy. It can be found in lawn and garden sprays, bleached paper products. In ladies, it is found in feminine hygiene products. So please pay attention to what you're buying, okay?

because now you're, say if you use a tampon, think about where you're putting that, okay? So be really careful, okay? It can be in cardboard, milk, and juice containers. So you think about the cardboard, you know, what do they put milk and juice in for the kids at school? In those little containers.

leslie_field (43:07.171)
you

leslie_field (43:18.072)
Mm-hmm.

debra (43:20.126)
Don't get me started. Okay. It is easily absorbed through the skin and the soles of your feet. It settles in the brain, the digestive system, reproductive organs, and sometimes in the kidneys. So that's dioxin, glyphosate. So be on the lookout for that.

leslie_field (43:21.474)
This is.

leslie_field (43:37.25)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (43:40.994)
This one is one that I have more recently heard about. Not that it's been around a very long time, but I should just say it became on my radar from a gentleman named Dr. Scott Bush, I believe is his name. And he has done a big, not campaign, but a lot of work around glyphosate. And I just really had no idea. I had no idea that his research now is saying it's everywhere.

It's even in the places we're trying not to have it. It's in all of our water systems. It's on all of our crops, the ones that we're not even trying to get on those crops, because it's coming back down on the rain, from the rain. that one is a tough one. And I guess I'm just happy you're speaking about it so that we just have the awareness. We have to have awareness about these things. We're not going to solve it the one day or two days. And like you said, it's one bite at a time, but just knowing. And like I said earlier, it's even, I feel like harder sometimes because

debra (44:11.312)
if.

leslie_field (44:37.868)
We can't see it. We can't see these things. Sometimes even I forget why am I buying organic? And it's like just everything. kind of just, wait, why am I doing this? Yeah, I think it's good for me, right? I must be. And so these conversations I find are super powerful just to, hey, let's remind you why, if you can, why, Leslie, you're going for organic. You have a major organ system that is limping along. Let's help it out. Keep buying the organic.

debra (44:40.616)
Yeah, right.

leslie_field (45:07.682)
Thank you for sharing that about glyphosate.

debra (45:08.2)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good. So the next one is nitrates and nitrites.

This is probably going to bum a lot of people out.

leslie_field (45:21.006)
I know where you're going. I like bacon and things like that, but at least I'm aware.

debra (45:24.958)
I know yeah it's it's found in processed foods sausage bacon cold cuts and hot dogs moms and hot dogs when hot dog kids go yeah you know easy peasy but the problem is it can cause heart congestion chest pain heart irregularities and heart valve problems

leslie_field (45:43.553)
Aw man, yeah.

debra (45:54.59)
fast heartbeat that comes and goes. It cuts off the oxygen to the brain and the heart where it tends to accumulate and it can depress motor centers of the spinal cord. When combined with other substances, it can be cancerous. So you can buy nitrate free bacon. Did you know that? Since you love your bacon? Yep.

leslie_field (46:20.856)
You know, I did know that. I did know that. I just, hey, so I'm here, Debra. Thank you for the reminder. Thank you.

debra (46:28.734)
So I think the biggest thing, if you don't have say chest pains and heart problems or you haven't really noticed that it causes your heart to race, you might go, well, I'm not sensitive to it. Okay, I get that. But once it's combined, you are being exposed to dioxin, formaldehyde, sodium fluoride, aluminum.

It's once it's combined and you start mixing all you got a toxic soup going on. That's when it can become cancerous. So it's like you've got to go. Okay, maybe I should get my treat free, you know, just this one time to try it. It's not gonna hurt me, you know. So the next one is a biggie. And this one here actually

I found out I am highly sensitive to it's MSG which is monosodium glutamate. Now I didn't realize that probably 90 % of the restaurants use it in their food. Yeah, so if you eat out a lot that's that's going to be really tough because most restaurants use it because it's a flavor enhancer. It will make your hand flickers taste so much better, you know.

leslie_field (47:25.838)
Hmm.

leslie_field (47:36.853)
Oof. Oof.

leslie_field (47:51.468)
You

debra (47:52.734)
It is a flavor enhancer. It can be found in canned vegetables.

which is crazy, soups, deli meats and other foods. Other names for it are hydrolyzed animal protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and it could be listed as natural flavors.

If you see natural flavors on there, why would you ever think it would be something that wasn't good for you? You know, that is so deceiving. It's so frustrating.

leslie_field (48:28.374)
I know.

leslie_field (48:31.854)
That one makes me really mad. Yeah, that one makes, when someone finally pulled back the curtain on that one, I thought, I've been deceived this whole time. I laugh, but it's really, yeah, it's really frustrating and not right.

debra (48:43.708)
Yeah. So exposure to MSG can produce headaches, flushing, sweating, face pressure and tightness, lack of feeling numbness in your limbs, tingling and burning in your face, your neck and other areas, quick fluttering heartbeat, chest pain, nausea and weakness. What it was doing to me was causing me to flush and my heart started racing. And I was like, what did I eat?

Well, I like the sushi place up the road, you know, and so I did not know that, yep, they use MSG. I had to bring home. But that's okay. So the next one is going to be the last one on our list. Okay. And it's aspartame. Now aspartame has been around a really long time and it struggled to get FDA regulation.

leslie_field (49:17.58)
Hahaha

leslie_field (49:25.048)
Yeah.

leslie_field (49:33.056)
Okay. Yes.

debra (49:42.824)
How it managed to get through, I don't know. There might be some back door handshaking going on, but it is highly toxic, okay? It has changed its name multiple times because of all the different lawsuits. There is a document out, I think it's called My Suite.

My sweet something. But it talks about this lady's experience with being diagnosed with MS. And because she did have some, I think it was diabetic type issues, she was eating a lot of sugar-free food that had aspartame in it. Well, and then she got MS and she was wheelchair bound. Well, somebody had shared with her about it being a neurotoxin. So it attacks the neurons.

leslie_field (50:33.806)
Hmm.

debra (50:35.696)
She removed it and within about six to eight months she was out of that wheelchair just from removing the aspartame. Now she did clean up a little bit of her, she said her diet, I'll see if I can find it and send it to you and maybe you could put it in the link. I think I have it saved on my computer. It's a very interesting story, testimony. What it does is it stimulates the neurons to death.

leslie_field (50:41.144)
Wow.

leslie_field (50:51.038)
Mm. Yeah. Yeah.

debra (51:05.348)
It overexcites them that they just crash and die. It settles in the brain. the exposure, okay, so it can be listed as NutriSweet, equal, amino sweet. The exposure can cause headaches, dizziness, sudden unexplained mood swings,

leslie_field (51:21.432)
Mm-hmm.

debra (51:32.306)
vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps, vision problems, diarrhea, memory loss, fatigue, rash or hive, sleep disturbances, and changes in your heart rate. Aspartame, actually, if you look at any gum, do you chew gum?

leslie_field (51:54.35)
not really. Because after a while I feel like I want to vomit.

debra (51:55.536)
Okay, any.

debra (52:00.338)
Well, it's because it's got aspartame in it. All the gum and all the mints no longer have real sugar in it. They all have aspartame. And it's not listed as aspartame anymore because they changed their name. I think it's listed as amino sweet, but that's what it is. It's aspartame. How they managed to get that market, like, I don't know, but all gum and I think probably

leslie_field (52:07.054)
Mmm.

leslie_field (52:12.056)
Wow.

leslie_field (52:24.568)
Wow.

debra (52:30.118)
Most of your mints like tic tacs and mintos and stuff like that. They all have it in. No more sugar in it. It's hard. You'd be hard pressed to fight any kind of gum that is regular sugar. I think you can get like kid gum like bazooka or something like that. That's made with sugar. But the rest of it's aspartame. It's crazy. All right. Hold on. Let me see. Okay. So.

leslie_field (52:37.666)
Wow.

leslie_field (52:53.262)
can well before you finish you finish and then I got a question for you. Yeah.

debra (52:59.874)
MSG and aspartame are two chemical additives that are both exotoxins, okay? Subdoses added to the foods and the beverages that stimulate the neurons. So if you think about eating MSG and ingesting any kind of aspartame, what you're doing, if you say you struggle with anxiety, not just the fast heartbeat, but anxiety, think about what you just recently ate or ingested.

Could it possibly have had MSG in it or aspartame? That creates a sense of anxiety. So that's affecting when it says mood swings, that can affect your mood because now you're anxious. Well, why am I all of a sudden feeling anxious? There's no actual cause for it. Well, it could be that, okay? Go ahead.

leslie_field (53:51.992)
You know, I never even, that seems like a very basic connection I've never made that having anxiety all come on a sudden is a mood swing. So thank you. was light bulb moment. Seems so obvious, but sometimes you just need to be walked through it. And I guess just going back, you've talked about all of these different potential, you know, symptoms that could show up in your body. Now, maybe you can't exactly answer this because, you know, has a lot of people who are listening understand and probably know who are my listeners.

our bodies are so unique. But is it possible just from one time you could potentially get nauseous or whatever or know, sick or vomit? Or does it take a lot of times? How does it work for each person? it both?

debra (54:34.238)
Both, you know, say when I was a kid, bacon never bothered me. Why all of sudden now does it bother me? You know, so it could be the accumulative effect of now that I'm older, I have more toxins built up in my body, that now just one little bit more, it's like, you know, it's just too much. It's the last domino. Now everything's going to fall. So it's like,

leslie_field (55:00.174)
Mm.

debra (55:03.344)
It could be that it could be like I so it was the aspartame any kind of it's really any kind of sugar alcohols. I can't like if any kind of like protein bars. I went through so many different protein bars. I ended up having to make my own and I'm making them with honey because all of them have sugar alcohols in them. I can't

I can't eat them. They make my legs and my arms like almost go numb. They tingle and I start to where I can't feel them. It's bizarre. Now, would that have happened when I was in my twenties? I don't know. I think maybe because I'm older, maybe I'm more sensitive, but I've also done a lot of detoxing over the last 10 years. Is it because now that has made me more sensitive?

So when I do get in contact with other toxins, now my body's on high alert, I don't know. I'm paying more attention, maybe it's because I'm paying more attention, I don't know. It's a question.

leslie_field (56:12.558)
Yeah, it's so interesting. Yeah. So I was just, that was one of my questions. And then I wanted to know, are we at the light at the end of the tunnel? Is there hope for us? Yes. Yay.

debra (56:21.968)
We are. We are.

That was the last bite of that big old elephant right there. But listen, an ounce of prevention, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Have you ever heard that before?

leslie_field (56:41.687)
I haven't.

debra (56:43.944)
So just, you know, you're empowering yourself with some knowledge. Do it a little bit at a time. Don't become overwhelmed. Deborah said, Deborah says, don't become overwhelmed. Listen to me. Listen to Deborah. Don't become overwhelmed. Do it a little bit at a time. All right. The thing of it is most people don't have the money to go and swap out all their cleaners for natural stuff. You don't have the money for that. You know, some people do, but.

I don't, I don't have the money to, you know, buy a whole bunch of new stuff. So I get it. Do it a little bit at a time. When you finish this bottle of dish soap, when you go to the store next time, find something a little bit more natural. kind of think about the things that we talked about when you go grocery shopping, what you're looking for, just, you know, kind of steer towards a little bit different, items, you know, you might have to cook a little bit different.

you know, cooking and using the microwave and all that for another time.

leslie_field (57:44.91)
I think there's so much more to come. I can say that since working with Debra and meeting Debra. And like I said, my time working with her, you've always been just so supportive, so kind, so generous with your knowledge, never pushy, just, hey, this is what I know. There's research. If you want to know, I'll share it with you. Take what you want or not, know, little bites, little bites.

debra (57:49.149)
yeah.

leslie_field (58:14.678)
So I have switched out my toothpaste. So we're there. I already was using a pretty natural. Thank you. Thank you. It was, it's not been easy because my husband still wants to use like the old stuff. And I'm like, Nope, no, thank you. I'm over here now. Deodorant. I've already made some changes. You know, we didn't even talk about water. I think it'd be great. Another time to have you back to talk about water. And you're just a wealth of knowledge and anything else that you want to share.

debra (58:19.197)
Yay!

leslie_field (58:44.248)
Before we close today.

debra (58:46.376)
Well, one of the things you probably have already noticed working with me, I'm not a big fan of harsh detoxes. So don't run out and do a bunch of detoxes. I don't recommend that. There's a process that you need to go through to get your body ready to do a detox. So don't do that to yourself. Just hurt yourself. You know, it's not worth it really, truly. You can do say like a dandelion tea or parsley tea.

leslie_field (59:08.046)
Hmm.

debra (59:16.376)
cilantro is really good, all of those. I would start with just a tea, you know, because that bypasses the digestive system and it goes straight in to help your kidneys and your liver just start slowly releasing, slowly releasing so you can handle it. Any kind of built up toxins. So a harsh detox will send you

into major reactions. You've got to monitor your bowels. There's so many things that you've got to be on the lookout for. I would recommend not doing that unless you are being monitored by a physician every step of the process or you've done them before. You know what you're doing, go for it. But somebody who's never done one, I don't recommend it. So try some tea.

leslie_field (01:00:09.784)
I think it's really important. That's a really important guideline, like a first sort of step. I love that. And of course, Deborah always still gives me my encouragement too. She's like, you could always try this. We still work together. So she's like, what about this, Leslie? could you consider that? And I always appreciate it. And I want to make my final shout out and thanks to Deborah.

You can't see this, but I'm holding up my giant water bottle. Yes, I haven't taken any sips while we've been chatting. However, every time I drink my water, I think of Deborah. So thank you, Deborah, for all the things you've shared. I have to be every day drinking at least half of my body weight in ounces of water. Woo! I learned a couple things or two. I do every day and I go, did I make it? Am I there?

debra (01:00:45.692)
You are so welcome. So what is the rule?

debra (01:00:55.87)
Woohoo! Look at you go.

debra (01:01:00.467)
Yeah.

leslie_field (01:01:04.248)
How much did I fill up? You need to think about this more Leslie, but in a nice way. So I do think about you, Deborah. Well, it's always fun chatting with you. We have a giggle when we're not talking about serious toxins all the time. We're usually giggling and having a good time. I just thank you, Deborah, for coming on and all of Deborah's information and the links that she was mentioning, we're gonna put those in the show notes. So until next time.

debra (01:01:10.59)
That's awesome.

debra (01:01:21.566)
Well, thank you so much.

debra (01:01:35.006)
All right, take care everybody. Okay, bye.

leslie_field (01:01:36.76)
Take care, bye Deborah.