I’ve been releasing episodes of Toxin Free-ish each week, for 81 weeks! And in that time, I’ve shared toxin-free advocacy information and tools for you to work your way towards a more toxin-free life. Today, we’re doing something a little bit different. It’s time to really get to know the host beyond the insights!

My friend Suzy, who I met in Ecuador and immediately felt the chemistry of deep friendship with, is sitting to interview me. Her podcast, Unbranded with Suzy Dean, dives into many stories and experiences. Her love for plant medicine collided with my love for regenerative agriculture. We care deeply about living in alignment with nature and making decisions that heal the body and the earth in the same breath.

This conversation was incredibly refreshing. Tune in to hear stories and insights that I’ve never actually shared on the podcast or my Instagram before. After Suzy released the episode, I got a few DMs from listeners who said they really appreciated the opportunity to get to know me better. So I thought, what better way to invite you in closer than to reshare this episode? I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little more! 

In this episode, we’re chatting about:

• How and why I became an environmental toxins attorney
• The experience with my daughter’s severe eczema that changed our lives forever
• Why I work with Young Living and don’t shy away from MLMs
• What gives me hope in the environmental and health space

Misconceptions About Toxins in the Home

I think I came to this realization in the work that I was doing. The biggest misconception is that somebody’s doing something about toxins. That is completely not true, especially here in the United States. There is no toxin-free advocacy or holding companies accountable for what they put in their products.

The other big misconception is that just a little bit is fine, and that is an old-school way of thinking it used to be. Like, a high amount of a carcinogen that causes cancer is bad, but if it’s just a little bit, it’s fine. But we now know low levels of exposure over time are equally as significant, if not more significant, to our health. We have serious health issues caused by not just our toxic world (our environment is something most people can’t do much about), but what’s coming into our house. 

Easy Toxins to Spot

Fragrance is number one. If you do nothing at all, look for fragrance-free products. One step further is to look for a listed essential oil and it’s actually listed on the ingredient label, not a separate fragrance added.

A lot of endocrine disruptors hide in fragrances, which is a reproductive toxin. “Fragrance” can be thousands of different ingredients. There are all of these things that hide in that word that aren’t required to be put on labels. 

Check out the series I did on fragrances:

• Part 1: Safe Synthetics in Perfume vs. Natural Scents
• Part 2: Understanding Fragrance Allergens and Reading Labels
• Part 3: The Link Between Fragrance & Infertility

The other thing is just transparency. Can you read a label? Are the ingredients actually listed out, or are they categories? If the label is vague or actual ingredients aren’t listed, it’s a red flag.

Why I Love Young Living

When I came home from living in Europe, I needed essential oils. I started asking around different companies about where they’re getting their oils from. There’s so much that can go wrong in the process.

• You can grow a plant and it can be full of pesticides and heavy metals, and devoid of any nutrients. 
• You can distill it in water that’s contaminated. 
• They can use solvents in the distillation process. 
• They can store it in plastic, which means you’re probably getting phthalates and BPA
• A lot of them are adding synthetics and fillers into it and fillers. 

There’s no regulation or toxin-free advocacy. If you’re buying cheap oils on Amazon or in grocery stores, that’s what you’re getting. I called every essential oil company and nobody wanted to answer my questions or I got fluff answers.

When I called Young Living, they offered to have me come to their farm and show me everything. I went to their lab and a scientist explained all the different tests they do at the farm. It was the transparency that sold me. I sold Young Living for eight years because it’s the cleanest, most transparent company you can buy your product from.

A couple of years ago, I went to Winter Harvest in northern Idaho with the CEO of the company, one of the vice presidents, and the farm manager. We spent hours in the snow distilling red cedar and talking about regenerative agriculture. At that moment, I realized I’ve always loved Young Living. I’m passionate about their movement and I want to help fix our broken system. Use code SHAREYL to get 10% off your order!

I’m so thankful for Suzy allowing me to open up about my story. Thanks for listening and supporting me along this wild journey of toxin-free advocacy!

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please:

• Leave a positive review or rating wherever you listen
• Shop toxin free products on my Toxin Free Shopping Guide
• Download your free 25 Toxins to Avoid
• Post a screenshot, share what you loved, and tag me on Instagram @wendy_toxinfreeish
• Want to ask me a question to get answered on the podcast? Leave me a voice message here.

Related Episodes:

Episode 71: Welcome to the Toxin Free(ish) Podcast! The Detox Dilemma Podcast 2.0

Episode 73: 5 Things I Did to Heal my Hashimoto’s Naturally