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The Fed+Fit Podcast | Nurturing a Healthy Mindset for a Healthy Lifestyle

We’re back with our 22nd episode of the Fed+Fit Podcast! Remember to check back every Monday for a new episode and be sure to subscribe on iTunes!

Find us HERE on iTunes and be sure to “subscribe.”

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Episode 22 Topics:

  • Cassy opens up a new Nutrition Seminar opportunity for ALL! Contact her HERE.
  • 5 sneaky everyday toxins.
  • How to avoid these everyday toxins.
  • Harmful or harmless carrageenan review from Chris Kresser.
  • Branch Basics – everyday cleaning products that are safe and clean.
  • A review on all natural deodorant (homemade and “clean” brands) and what to avoid.
  • How to use Bone Broth.
  • 2 total body exercises you can do anywhere.

We would LOVE some feedback, so feel free to leave a review in iTunes, comment below, or even give us a shout on social media!

Ep. 22: 5 Sneaky Everyday Toxins

This is the Fed and Fit podcast starting your week off with motivational thoughts on real food and fun fitness activities with Cassy Joy Garcia and co-host, Charissa Talbot. Remember our disclaimer; the information and opinions shared in this podcast are solely those of any given individual, and not a substitute for medical advice. Here are the ladies.

Today we’re going to talk about a new nutrition seminar opportunity; 5 sneaky every day toxins and how you can avoid them; 3 ways I personally use bone broth; and 2 total body exercises that you can do absolutely anywhere.

Topics
1. Updates from Cassy [4:15]
2. Updates from Charissa [8:37]
3. 5 sneaky everyday toxins [13:24]
4. Fed and Fit: bone broth and 2 total body exercises [34:09]

Cassy Joy: Hey Charissa!

Charissa Talbot: Hey Cassy!

Cassy Joy: How are you doing today?

Charissa Talbot: I am tired.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} Oooh.

Charissa Talbot: I will just be honest. I am burnt out and tired.

Cassy Joy: You are le’ pooped. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: Yes. Yes. But, I am super excited to be here with all of you, so I will say that.

Cassy Joy: I am super excited to have you here. I was fully prepared to have to wing it so you could start on your vacation a little bit early. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: It’s totally fine. Totally fine.

Cassy Joy: That’s great. Charissa, for those of you who don’t know why she is so le’ pooped, just finished, if you saw that autoimmune wellness bundle, she was the little Oz behind the curtain that was helping to keep all the engines running constantly during that really intense 5 days.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: Thank you for all of your hard work.

Charissa Talbot: Aw, thanks. Yeah I got really good feedback from everybody, and we did really well and a lot of people are going to have so much information now in one place to really help them get started, you know for those who have to look at the possibility of them getting a little more strict with their eating to help them heal a little bit faster. It’s good. It’s all over really positive, and it was a really god experience. Now I know. The thing is, when you go through something, whatever it may be, you’re always learning, you know? Whether it be a relationship, a friendship, a work project, an event. Whatever it is, whatever you’re doing, you just kind of have to be grateful for the opportunity to figure out how to do it better if you decide it’s something that you want to do again. I’m feeling super, super grateful about the whole experience, but I’m just a little tired. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: That’s really sweet. That’s a great perspective, and it definitely plays true to your character. I’m excited for you.

Charissa Talbot: Aww.

Cassy Joy: There’s nothing quite like that feel; this is going to sound a little weird, and I don’t mean it to the unhealthy extent, but you know that exhaustion you feel after you push publish or send, or you finish some major project, and you’re kind of able to sit on the couch and bask in that accomplishment. It’s such a good feeling.

Charissa Talbot: Or if you get finished with a WOD, you feel the same way.

Cassy Joy: It’s totally the same way. For those of you who did your Memorial Day MURPH.

Charissa Talbot: MURPH!

Cassy Joy: MURPH! There’s no feeling quite like the accomplishment of finishing MURPH. So.

Charissa Talbot: I did MURPH two years ago; I feel like I’ve done my duty. Don’t really see me doing it again. It might happen, but yeah. Exactly. It’s a different type of exhaustion, but it’s the same you get that, {deep breath} and I did it.

Cassy Joy: Mm-hmm. Yep, it’s good. That’s awesome.

1. Updates from Cassy [4:15]

Charissa Talbot: So Cassy, what is up with you?

Cassy Joy: Well, before we get to the meat of today’s episode, I have two updates for you.

Charissa Talbot: Ooohh!.

Cassy Joy: First, the girly side. Wedding planning is going really well. I’m still having nightmares that crazy things are happening.

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: My most recent nightmare was that I got to the ceremony and {laughs} for whatever reason we had not figured out what our party favors were going to be, so instead, last minute, my very crafty sisters found these neon pink, hard plastic bow ties and they gave one to everybody, including all the women.

Charissa Talbot: {laughing}

Cassy Joy: So everyone was hanging out in these neon plastic bowties, including me.

Charissa Talbot: Cassy, your dreams are getting out of control girl.

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Charissa Talbot: You need to rein it in, I don’t know what’s going on over there. {laughing}

Cassy Joy: Yeah, if anyone knows how to analyze dreams and pull some relevant useful information from that, I’m all ears.

Charissa Talbot: This is hilarious.

Cassy Joy: So that aside, in the real world, we finally picked a theme and it’s not neon pink bowties. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: Oh, come on now, that was great!

Cassy Joy: It would be one to talk about.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: We’re getting married in late October, we finally decided, because I have a hard time choosing colors, it’s just too much pressure. I love all the colors, so we’re just going to do fall harvest. So we’ll have pumpkins; especially because that’s how Austin proposed to me, was on pumpkins. And then other fruits and pomegranates and things like that for decorations. I’m trying really hard to not DIY everything, because that’s so my nature.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: You know, is to want to put personal touches on everything. If I could get away with it, I would want to make everybody dinner and still enjoy my wedding. If I could that, I would. But I may go to make some special stuff. I’m thinking like a pumpkin coffee cake in a jar as a thank you present with the recipe attached, just add pumpkin and coconut oil and things like that.

Charissa Talbot: That would be really cute.

Cassy Joy: Isn’t that cute? And then maybe some paleo granola or something like that. And then I also want to kind of; I have a request for all of our listeners. If anybody listening knows a paleo friendly wedding cake baker in the Texas area preferably, please let me know. Leave a comment, email me, whatever it is you have to do. Send smoke signals, I’ll get it. We’ve got some great gluten free options where we are, but my first choice would be to make it totally grain free.

Charissa Talbot: Right.

Cassy Joy: So that’s what’s going on in the wedding world. In the not so wedding related world, I am thrilled to finally tell you guys that I’m taking one of my offline projects that I have been doing for years, and I’m opening it up to everyone.

Charissa Talbot: I’m really excited about this for you.

Cassy Joy: I think this is, you know, and I didn’t realize what a need there was. I almost feel a little selfish. I feel like I’ve been keeping it all to myself and just cherry picking opportunities. I didn’t realize there was such a need. So if you’re interested, what we’re talking about is, I have years of experience leading nutrition seminars. And if you are interested in setting a nutrition seminar up for your company, your gym, yoga studio, box, college, or university, let me know! I have been selectively leading these seminars for a long time, and I’m opening up my schedule to everybody. So regardless of where you are in the world, I can come to you.

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: And we can work together to make a presentation that you really want your team to hear. Of course it will be revolving around the nutrition practices and lifestyle principals that I live and breathe and if you listen to this podcast you know what those are.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: So we already align. But everything from launching a nutrition challenge to just a workshop on the four pillars of health. I’m here for you, so reach out to me if that’s something you’re interested in. Like I said, I’m happy to travel anywhere. I’m going to make some room in my schedule, and I’m at a good time right now to do that. So I’m excited about that. If that’s something that interests you, I’m here for you.

Charissa Talbot: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Very exciting.

2. Updates from Charissa [8:37]

Cassy Joy: Ok Charissa, I want to know what you’ve got planned!

Charissa Talbot: Well {yawn} as I try not to yarn.

Cassy Joy: After a big yawn {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: I am going on vacation by myself, and I’m not going to be on any form of social media. I’m leaving my computer at home; I am disappearing. {laughs} I’ll see y’all later.

Cassy Joy: I think that sounds great. I was telling Charissa before we got on the show, I’ve never taken a vacation by myself, and I know that she has in the past, and that just sounds so appealing. It’s almost like, I’ve never actually gone to a movie by myself.

Charissa Talbot: Get out, are you serious?

Cassy Joy: I’ve always wanted to. I’m serious.

Charissa Talbot: Oh my gosh. When I lived in Brooklyn, this was my, every Sunday I had my tradition where in the morning, I would get my coffee, get on the subway, go into the city. I would walk around Central Park for an hour, sometimes two hours, just people watch. And then I would take the subway to Times Square because there was this really huge movie theater, it was like every movie you could ever want, and there were always tickets. I would go there, every single Sunday, I would take myself to the movies. This was before I was paleo. I would get a soda and popcorn, and watch a movie by myself every Sunday. It was just my thing I did.

Cassy Joy: That’s so neat!

Charissa Talbot: I don’t know, it’s so, I think doing things like I go out to eat by myself. I know that sounds really strange to a lot of people, but you know, the nice thing is I like hanging out with me. I think I’m a pretty awesome person, so I don’t know, it’s not uncomfortable for me. I’m just so used to it, because I’ve just kind of been, I don’t know. My mom, she just raised me super independent. Probably too independent {laughs}. You know me, I love being around people, I’m a ham, and being around people is great. But sometimes alone time, I put that high value for myself, for sure.

Cassy Joy: That’s great. I mean, that’s definitely something that I can learn, and I’m going to do it. Just like I made good on my promise to make my little water bottle sock bundles {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: So have you handed any out yet.

Cassy Joy: I haven’t come across anyone needing one!

Charissa Talbot: This is Murphy’s law.

Cassy Joy: It is. It really is.

Charissa Talbot: Dang it Murphy! You’re always getting in the way!

Cassy Joy: {laughs} But they’re in my car, and I’m ready to hand them out to anyone in need.

Charissa Talbot: Nice.

Cassy Joy: And if you want to know what we’re talking about, go back and listen to the interview where we had Ricky Mena, aka Spiderman on.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: But I will make good on this promise. I’m going to go to a movie by myself at some point in the next couple of weeks.

Charissa Talbot: While I’m on my vacation, you go to a movie by yourself.

Cassy Joy: I will, I’m going to do it.

Charissa Talbot: Ok.

Cassy Joy: And I’m going to go see one that I want to see. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: Exactly! That’s the thing, too. Here’s the thing about doing stuff by yourself, and it’s a little selfish. But sometimes we all need, it’s ok to do things for yourself! If you go anywhere with somebody, then it’s like, oh I didn’t really feel like eating there. What if you really wanted to eat there? Oh, I don’t really feel like doing that. Or this, that, and the other. Most times I’m very, whatever everyone else wants to do, I’m fine with. Because I can make anything fun. I just go with the flow. But it is nice to take those times for yourself where you can be like, I feel like sushi, I’m going to go eat sushi. And you don’t have to run it past anyone, or convince anyone else to go. You just go to sushi. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: Mm-hmm.

Charissa Talbot: It’s nice.

Cassy Joy: That’s awesome. It sounds so silly, but it seems like such a whole new world. Maybe I’m just too dependent on company. I’m going to do it; I’m going to take myself out for dinner and a movie.

Charissa Talbot: There you go! Take yourself on a date.

Cassy Joy: I’m going to do it.

Charissa Talbot: You’d be great company. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: I think I’d be pretty good company. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: You’d dress up very nice for yourself. Ok now we’re taking this too far. Anyway, yeah. If any of you have not done some things by yourself independently, just go try it. It might be uncomfortable at first, but it’s actually really nice.

Cassy Joy: I think that’s great. I’m excited. Y’all comment if you do it too. I challenge everybody else who is listening who has never done something like that by yourself. Let’s do it together separately.

Charissa Talbot: Dinner and a movie solo. I will be doing it all week on my vacation.

Cassy Joy: Awesome. I can’t wait to hear about it.

3. 5 sneaky everyday toxins [13:24]

Charissa Talbot: Yes, yes. I’m excited. Ok, let’s jump into today. Because I really love this topic, especially with what I’m drinking at the moment, which I’m sadly looking at saying, this is probably the last time I’m going to drink you. Today we’re talking about 5 sneaky, and they are really sneaky, everyday toxins, and how we can avoid them. I’m super excited about this.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, I think it’s like a fun little 5 cheat sheet. You know, there are a whole lot of other toxins out there, and it can be really overwhelming when you start to think about it. And the reason why these matter is because when you think about your total load, meaning what are you carrying around with you in forms of toxic buildup, exposure, all kinds of pollution. You know, the world we live in, it’s just not necessarily structured so that we’re feeling awesome all the time. So what we’re trying to do in this whole healthy lifestyle is to reduce that total load. We can’t eliminate it altogether because it’s just not the world we live in.

Charissa Talbot: Right.

Cassy Joy: But to reduce it and you can kind of chose powerfully how you can avoid some of those things. So you don’t have any one straw that breaks the camel’s back so to speak.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah. Well, let’s get into these. Ok, so, our number one, and these aren’t in any particular order.

Cassy Joy: No

Charissa Talbot: Just these are our top 5, so in whatever order. Number 1 is carrageenan.

Cassy Joy: Yeah. You’ll also see it as, is it carrageenan?

Charissa Talbot: Carrageenan, sorry.

Cassy Joy: It’s ok. You might have it right. I’m one of those people that I read the entire Harry Potter series, and mispronounced Dumbledore’s name, and I didn’t realize it until I saw the movie. I was like, oooh, that’s how you say it. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: That happens a lot. I think there are certain words where everyone sees it a certain way, and that’s just the way it is in their brain. It’s really hard to retrain.

Cassy Joy: Totally, I get it.

Charissa Talbot: Well, somebody comment and tell us who’s got it right.

Cassy Joy: Is it carrageenan or carrageenan.

Charissa Talbot: I have no idea.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} I have no idea either.

Charissa Talbot: But, we do know some stuff about this thing, whatever it’s called. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: We do, however you pronounce it, we know all about it. So what makes carrageenan, I’m just going to call it carrageenan.

Charissa Talbot: Go for it.

Cassy Joy: What makes it a toxin is it’s actually extracted from a kind of red seaweed, so you could say that it’s natural. And we’ll talk a little bit about what natural is in a little bit. But it’s widely used in the food industry for it’s gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Contrary to what you may have heard from a lot of other sources, it is not a known carcinogen, meaning a cancer causing agent. If you goggle carrageenan right now, I guarantee you’ll come across at least a dozen articles are like these scare tactics, “it’s a carcinogen! Stay away!”

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: We kind of want to give you a more well-rounded , honest perspective. So even though it’s not a “known carcinogen” based on science, it is still important to be aware of it, because it’s presence is known to cause inflammation and ulceration in some people. So, where carrageenan is found in our food sources, let’s see, it is a refined and extracted property from that algae. So if you want to think of it, if it’s been through a process it kind of becomes more non-natural, does that make sense?

Charissa Talbot: Mm-hmm.

Cassy Joy: Ok, so it’s found in a lot of bottles of almond milk, coconut milk, and even some prepackaged deli meats by even “clean” companies like Applegate.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: I do know that I think the Applegate Sunday bacon, at least the one that I usually buy, does not have carrageenan in it, but some of the other deli meats. I believe the roast beef has it in there. And it’s actually listed on the ingredient label. So, how we can avoid carrageenan; number one, just read the labels. Turn that food package over, budget a good 30 minutes longer to be at the grocery store so you can read everything.

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: But it’s generally listed. I’m not, like I said before, encouraging you to go into an all out panic about carrageenan and avoiding it, but if you already have digestive issues, know that carrageenan has not been proven safe. Right? So we’re kind of going on that guilty until proven innocent side of food additives.

Charissa Talbot: Yep.

Cassy Joy: So it’s not been proven safe. There’s some buzz around it being a carcinogen, it’s just good things to be aware of. And it’s in a lot of our even health foods, like I said, almond milk, coconut milk, and then some of those clean deli meats.

So if you’re interested in learning more, I definitely do, and I believe Charissa does, I usually totally agree with everything Chris Kresser says on most topics. So we’re going to link to an article that he has, Harmful or Harmless: Carrageenan. So you can check that out if you want to learn more.

Charissa Talbot: Nice. Ok, number 2, and we’ll see if I pronounce this one right. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Charissa Talbot: It’s phthalate. Am I saying that right? I don’t think I am.

Cassy Joy: You’re close; its phthalate.

Charissa Talbot: Phthalate!

Cassy Joy: There’s a lot of consonants in this word. And if you see it written out, it’s P-H-T-H-A-L-A-T-E-S and it just looks like a total mouthful.

Charissa Talbot: Oh my gosh.

Cassy Joy: It’s like you have too many teeth in your mouth.

Charissa Talbot: Alright, so what the heck is this stuff? {laughs}

Cassy Joy: Ok, what is phthalate. It is a hormone disruptor, that’s what makes it a toxin! Meaning, it can have adverse affects on a lot of… just think about what makes your body go. Metabolism, reproductive, all kinds of other, women especially identify with hormone disruptors, we can identify with what that means on a monthly basis. But it definitely throws a wrench in all of those systems.

So, phthalate is found everywhere between plastic food containers. Phthalate makes plastic more pliable, so bendy plastic for example, usually has phthalate in it. It’s found in air fresheners, cleaning products, body lotion, body soaps, and other beauty products. So, how can you avoid this phthalate hormone disruptor? This is where it really gets sneaky, Charissa.

Charissa Talbot: Very sneaky.

Cassy Joy: Phthalate does not necessarily have to be listed as an ingredient, because it could be in the makeup of the packaging of whatever your buying.

Charissa Talbot: Right.

Cassy Joy: And even though it’s not in the solution of whatever it is you’re buying, like a body lotion, for example, it could definitely be in the packaging, which will leech its way into whatever is on the inside, finding its way onto your body.

Charissa Talbot: Right. And here’s the thing to remember as we’re going through these, too. Like Cassy said, we don’t want you to freak out and throw away all your stuff, but maybe it’s something where you’re aware of it, and maybe when you run out of whatever you’re using, then maybe you look into what other options might be out there for you that are a little bit healthier for you.

Cassy Joy: Totally. Take it one piece at a time. I don’t want to overwhelm you guys. This is something that I still struggle with! I still have some plastic food containers in my house, although I’ve generally transitioned over, and my cleaning products I’m slowly getting there. So do what’s right for you.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: Speaking of plastic food containers; a way that you can avoid phthalate is I suggest replacing those containers with glass ones. That’s a really easy replacement; especially, pull out your plastic food container drawer or cabinet in your house, and if some of those plastic containers that used to be clear plastic kind of look a little milky now, that’s a sign that it’s aged and some of those phthalate hormone disruptor toxins are getting their way out of the plastic. So it’s definitely time to replace those, and I suggest replacing it with glass. They last much longer, and they’ve definitely gotten more affordable as time has gone on.

As far as air fresheners go; you know what? Toss those conventional air fresheners and maybe look into using an essential oil diffuser in your house, home, or car. Whatever it is wherever you use air fresheners; look into an essential oil option. Or break out some old fashion baking soda help absorb odors.

Charissa Talbot: Yep. I use my diffuser all the time. I love it. I love the, there’s an oil called purification, and it definitely just makes everything smell nice.

Cassy Joy: Definitely. There’s a lot of essential oil; you know, I think there’s kind of an evolving negative stigma around essentially oils right now, because there are 2 mega companies out there that have kind of set up a pyramid marketing firm.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: You know, and they just don’t have the best connotation because of those really obnoxious marketing efforts. All that aside, they’re definitely a better alternative to the conventional air fresheners out there.

Charissa Talbot: Yep.

Cassy Joy: I’m not here to promote any one company, but I will say that I use them on occasion.

Charissa Talbot: Yep.

Cassy Joy: Ok, so other ways you can get phthalate out of your house; cleaning products. Take a look at your cleaning products, and like I said, they’re not going to be listed on the containers, necessarily, so you can just go with a really safe company. There’s one out there called Branch Basics; and we’ll link to everything that we talk about in this episode will be linked in the show notes. But that’s an option out there. Our friends at Primal Palate, Bill and Hayley, use them and swear by it.

And as far as body lotions, soaps, and other beauty products, go with brands that say they are phthalate free. So you want to see if that’s written on the label/just find a company that you trust. Two of them that I trust are Primal Life Organics and FatFace Skincare.

Charissa Talbot: Love both of those.

Cassy Joy: Love them both. Great owners, great products. I use a lot of those on a daily basis. Ok, moving on.

Charissa Talbot: Number 3 is natural flavoring. So, here’s the thing.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: I’m sitting here right now recording this podcast live with my friend Cassy, and I am enjoying my most delicious coconut flavored soda water. {laughs} And it’s natural flavoring. So, Cassy, what’s the deal with this natural flavoring?

Cassy Joy: Ok, so what makes natural flavors…

Charissa Talbot: Wait, let me take a sip of this first.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: {gulping} Ok, go ahead, now I’m ready.

Cassy Joy: They’re so much more delicious when you’re unencumbered with the facts, aren’t they?

Charissa Talbot: I just had to enjoy that sip before you ruined it for me. So, go ahead.

Cassy Joy: Ok. So, the reason why I’m putting natural flavors on my list of sneaky toxins. Even though they sound totally benign, “natural flavors” which can be found on the ingredient label of a lot of your off the shelf products, natural flavors is a cloak for a lot of different things. And in order for something to be called a natural flavor on a food label, it has to be similar, close, or derived from a compound found in nature. Now, in actuality, if you read the government standards for a natural flavor, it’s a really thin line between real food and not real food. So there could be real flavors that are natural, and there could be also some not so good stuff.

For example, gluten could be listed under natural flavors, or it could be included in that cloak. MSG could be in there, soy, carrageenan, which we already talked about could be in there. You could also be a cloak for essential oils, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, fruit extracts, and then other kinds of lard, beef tallow, sheep lanolin, etc., all that could be included in there. And really, the reason natural flavors is used in off the shelf products is because it helps make sure that the flavor across all of the different batches of foods always tastes the same or they have the same consistency; that’s why they put them on there.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: Where it’s found; natural flavors, like I said, can be found on countless off the shelf products.

Charissa Talbot: In my delicious soda water!

Cassy Joy: In your delicious soda water. Flavored sparkling water, I have this question pop up a lot, participants of my Fed and Fit project. I say on there in the enjoy all you want list for the first couple of weeks is the natural flavor, meaning no flavorings of sparkling water.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: And they’re like; wait a second! I love my strawberry lime sparkling water!

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: Well, I’m sorry. It’s not on there. I just recommend, the way that you avoid it, don’t buy products that list it. It’s really that simple.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: One product for example that you might have trouble with finding without natural flavor is mustard. It seems like a totally benign type of ingredient; you know, mustard should just be vinegar and ground mustard seed, really if you want to get super basic. I remember being really sad the first time I started reading all the mustard labels. I was like, ah they all have natural flavors! What the heck!

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: And it’s because of those stabilizing ingredients and also some of those extracts. This is the reason why and so many of my foodie colleagues on and off line buy our condiments from companies that we trust, like the Primal Kitchen Mayo we’ve talked about before on here.

Charissa Talbot: Mm-hmm.

Cassy Joy: And then I also buy a lot of my dressings and sauces from Tessa Mae’s. I trust their ingredients. They use dates to sweeten things, which, you know I don’t always like my sauces that sweet, but at least it’s safer than knowing there’s a natural flavor on there that could have MSG in there which is going to make my heart race, and I’m going to have a headache tomorrow.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah, exactly.

Cassy Joy: So there you go.

Charissa Talbot: Alright. Number 4.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: PFAO.

Cassy Joy: Close! PFOA. {laughing}

Charissa Talbot: Oh, see I even said that wrong! Horrible.

Cassy Joy: You definitely need a vacation.

Charissa Talbot: I need a vacation, I’m so tired. I can’t read straight.

Cassy Joy: It’s ok. Bless your heart. Ok, so PFOA.

Charissa Talbot: PFOA, see, and I was like, oh I’m going to get this one right. Nope. Fail.

Cassy Joy: It’s ok.

Charissa Talbot: Charissa’s fired, everyone. Charissa’s fired.

Cassy Joy: No you’re not. No you’re not, I’m just encouraging your vacation. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: PFOA stands for Perfluorooctanoic acid. Now that’s a mouthful, which is why we have PFOA. So what the heck is it? PFOA is actually a known carcinogen, and causes birth defects in laboratory testing of certain animals. As far as effects it has on humans, it’s just “most probable” of a carcinogen and causing birth defects. Either way, I think that’s definitely enough to sound

Charissa Talbot: Scary stuff, yep.

Cassy Joy: Yep. There’s a bunch of lawsuits out there around PFOA and many of the large companies responsible for putting it out there on market are under federal regulation right now to reduce the emissions. But that does not account for what is already in our homes.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: So, where is it found? If you have a nonstick pan in your house that was built before this year; even if it was built this year, I almost guarantee it’s got PFOA in it. And we’re talking about Teflon nonstick. It’s also found in pizza boxes, stain resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids, microwave popcorn bags, and then like I said, some of that cookware.

Charissa Talbot: Hmm.

Cassy Joy: It’s in a lot of stuff, and it’s a pretty scary ingredient. So you hear people say that nonstick is bad because all of a sudden it starts to chip away and get into your food; that’s not the only reason. Sometimes these things that you can’t see, like this Perfluorooctanoic acid is getting its way out of the cookware and the pizza boxes and the popcorn bags into your food. And it’s just not good stuff.

The way to avoid it; investigate your carpet and cleaning liquids. Just look for those words, ask really careful questions. Pop popcorn on the stove. If you really want popcorn, I’m not here to say that’s a bad thing. If you really want popcorn, pop it on the stove. There’s nothing wrong with that. And as far as cookware; if you are like, no. I’ve tried the stainless steel, cast iron, or enameled cast iron route and it just doesn’t work for me, I can’t handle all the stickiness, then try using ceramic cookware. That stuff is getting more popular, and definitely more affordable, and it’s a much safer option for nonstick.

Charissa Talbot: Or you could just not cook.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} Or you could no-cook paleo like Ms. Charissa.

Charissa Talbot: I mean, right, who’s got time for that anyways? I’m kidding. {laughs} Alright, moving along. Trying to make a quick one for you guys today. Aluminum, number 5.

Cassy Joy: Number 5; aluminum! Ok, so what makes aluminum, I have to try really hard not to call it “aluminium”, because {laughs} I just think it’s so much more…

Charissa Talbot: Hey, you know, at this point we’ve screwed up everything, we can just keep on with the trend. It’s alright.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} Oh, I’m for it. Ok, so what does aluminum do, and why is it a toxin?

Charissa Talbot: Yeah, what the heck?

Cassy Joy: {laughs} We’re really going to zero in on the aluminum found in deodorant and antiperspirants. I’m not going to talk about how we interact with it in the rest of our lives. But we are putting, if you buy conventional deodorant and antiperspirant, and unless it specifically says aluminum free on the bottle thingy, {laughs} bottle thingy, it’s really specific. Unless it says aluminum free on there, it’s got it in there.

So what happens is this aluminum in the deodorant enters the skin, and it actually creates a physical block on your sweat ducts. Which is why it helps keep you from sweating. That aluminum accumulates over time. The accumulation of aluminum in the body, in our underarm area, has been linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. I literally wrote an article all about how you can avoid aluminum, and I’ll link that in the show notes. It’s under my “beauty” column on my website.

Charissa Talbot: Nice.

Cassy Joy: I review everything in there from how you can make your own deodorant from home, to purchase it from a “clean” company to buying off the shelf aluminum free. But I also include a little disclaimer in there; I’m not here to say that I don’t keep a stick of it on hand. I do. I keep a stick of old fashioned, conventional antiperspirant on hand in case I’m going on television and I’m wearing a silk blouse. You know? {laughs} There are some occasions, but it’s the exception, not the rule.

Charissa Talbot: Right. Yeah, I keep mine around if I have to go on a date.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, there you go. Or, maybe I’ll wear some for my wedding. {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: You never know.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, you never know. Ok, that wraps it up. So just to quickly recap; we’re talking every day sneaky toxins. Carrageenan, phthalate, natural flavors, PFOA, and aluminum.

Charissa Talbot: Boom.

4. Fed and Fit: bone broth and 2 total body exercises [34:09]

Cassy Joy: Awesome. Ok, moving right along; we’re going to quickly do our Fed and Fit segment. We haven’t gotten to it in a while, so I’m going to go ahead and kick it off with our Fed portion.

Charissa Talbot: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: Ok, I want to talk briefly today about how I use bone broth. Bone broth is such a headline grabber, both in a good way and a bad way of late. I definitely make mine on a regular basis, and there are 3 things that I do with it. And I make my bone broth usually in a slow cooker for about 24 hours. I will either use it right away in a soup; my favorite is a kale, sausage and lemon soup.

Charissa Talbot: Mmmm.

Cassy Joy: I make that a lot. Number two, I will keep it in the pitcher in the refrigerator after I’ve strained all the floaties out of it, I’ll keep it in a pitcher in the refrigerator for my morning cup of broth. Really all that is is a nice gut healing mineral boost for the morning. There’s some other magical powers, but that pretty much sums it up.

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: And then I will also, my third way I will use bone broth is I will pour it into an ice cube tray for freezing, and then once it’s frozen, I’ll pop those cubes out, I’ll toss them into a bag in the freezer for future use, and that way whenever I need broth, I can grab as much as I like. And it’s frozen and I can just toss it into the soup, I don’t have to use it all at once. Or I’ll take one of those little bone broth cubes and I’ll put in a bowl for Gus. And I call them his pupsicles.

Charissa Talbot: I never thought of doing that, I’m going to have to do that for Pinto. You want a pupsicle? He’s sleeping right now. He’s like, you’re dead to me, I’m sleeping. He’s like, don’t bother me.

Cassy Joy: They love it. I don’t salt my broth until I’m cooking with it.

Charissa Talbot: Right.

Cassy Joy: So it’s literally just whatever has been extracted from the bones and other things that I’m using. Gus loves that stuff. He sits and licks it, and he’s like, I feel so special! So anyway.

Charissa Talbot: That’s awesome.

Cassy Joy: Those are the three ways I use bone broth. Now Charissa, I know you’ve got some really good stuff for our Fit segment today.

Charissa Talbot: I do, even though I’m exhausted, I’m still going to give you guys 2 exercises that I really love and that I think are great that you can do this week. I’m not going to be doing them. {laughs} But it’s ok. First one are up down planks. With this one, what you’re going to do is start in your plank position, and that can either be on your toes or on your knees, just depending on where you are fitness wise. Make sure you’re on your forearms. Think about pulling your core in, and think about creating a straight line with your body. So you want to keep everything nice and tight. Then what you’re going to do is come all the way up, one arm at a time, all the way up into the top of a pushup, and then all the way down back on your forearms. The trick here is to try to keep your body straight as possible, and try not to move your hips as much. So you don’t want to be over exaggerating. You want to keep everything nice and tight, holding that core tight, and going slow. This is not a fast movement. You want to go nice and slow on these.

My second one that I like that’s also another great body weight is floor step ups. This is also great if you don’t have equipment and you really want to get a good butt and thigh workout and maybe you’re just kind of over squats. Not that, I don’t know how that would ever happen, I love squats. But floor step ups. So you’re going to start on your knees. What you can do is raise your hands all the way up overhead. This helps engage your core, makes it a little bit more difficult. And then you just stand up one leg at a time, all the way up to a standing position, and then back down to your knees.

Now if you want to make this even harder, which is what I like to do, you can hold weights at your hands at the side. If you want to make it even harder, you can use like a bar and hold it over your head, almost like your holding an overhead squat position. And then just do stepping up and down from the floor. It really is a great exercise.

The thing you can do with these is you can couple them together, so you going to do your up-down planks, and then you do your floor step ups. I would say try 3-5 rounds, maybe 10 reps each, and don’t take any breaks. Just keep moving through both of these exercises. It’s a great little workout. And again, it’s nice, no equipment needed, you can do it in a small space and get it done quickly. It definitely gets your heart rate up, and really helps work all of your body. That’s why I love them.

Cassy Joy: Awesome, those sound really fun! People make fun of me, some listeners are like, you always say Charissa’s workouts sound fun. I’m like, they do! {laughs}

Charissa Talbot: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: That sounds like fun. It’s awesome. I’ll participate in that too.

Charissa Talbot: Ok. So, here’s what Cassy’s doing. She’s going to take herself to dinner and a movie, and she’s going to do my work out. Me, I’m going to do nothing. I will see y’all later. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs} Good for you. Awesome. Well thank you everybody for listening to us again today, we really appreciate your support. I’d love to know what you think about this episode if you like stuff like this, as well let us know. We appreciate the shout outs, and always the reviews on iTunes really, really help us out a lot. There’s some magic that goes into that, so thank you so much for everybody who has already reviewed, and thanks for doing it in the future. We will be back again next week!

 



About the Author

Cassy Joy Garcia, NC

Cassy Joy Garcia, a New York Times best-selling author, of Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed and Fit as well as the creative force behind the popular food blog Fed & Fit.


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2 Comments

  1. Hi There! I really enjoyed today’s podcast. I feel like I’m on the pendulum…I went from everything toxic to trying so hard to get rid of everything! It’s nice to hear such a balanced approach. I also want to sing the praises of Branch Basics. I really love their products. I have cleaned everything from a nasty utility drain to my engagement ring with their product and I’ve never been disappointed. I’m glad you guys mentioned them. I have a daughter that has pretty serious reactions to chemical cleaners so their product has been a lifesaver for us! Thanks again for the wonderful information that you all so graciously share!

    1. Hi DeAnn! I feel the same way as you and got way too stressed trying to remove all the toxins in our house. It’s all about balance right?! I just started using Branch Basics and am loving it so far! It is such a great deal for the amount you get and all the applications you can use it on as well. Thanks so much for listening and the kind words!!