我尝试将排毒方法简化到最基本层面。首先，我们不需要那么多产品，即使有些产品毒素含量较低。减少产品数量，仔细挑选产品，是防止毒素进入我们家园、身体、孩子和宠物的好方法。另一个因素是我们摄入体内的物质。我创建了一个简单的四步系统：评估、避免或更换、添加和允许。评估是指了解我们体内和家居环境中的毒素水平。避免或更换是指避免或更换有害产品。添加是指添加有益于健康的物质，例如通过饮用过滤水。允许是指允许一些我们无法完全避免的接触，例如孩子在人造草坪上玩耍。追求完美并非目标，尽力而为即可。重要的是采取行动改善家居环境，逐步改善，朝着正确的方向前进。我们可以进行一些基础的血液检测，例如检测重金属含量，作为评估家居环境毒素的基础。关注解决方案而非测试结果，逐步改善家居环境，朝着正确的方向前进。改善家居环境，高回报的策略是优先关注饮用水过滤、选择有机食品和更换家具。饮用水过滤至关重要，建议使用反渗透过滤器。建议优先投资厨房水槽的反渗透过滤器，浴室的淋浴喷头过滤器可以作为补充。沙发和地毯中可能含有阻燃剂等有害化学物质，建议选择符合TB 117-2013标准的家具。改善室内空气质量，减少合成香料、蜡烛和香等化学物质的摄入。定期更换高MERV等级的空气过滤器，可以有效改善室内空气质量。在室内摆放绿植，特别是阔叶植物，可以帮助净化空气。保持室内干燥可以有效预防霉菌滋生。定期检查房屋是否存在漏水情况，可以有效预防霉菌滋生。选择环保建材，例如陶瓷地板，可以有效减少家居环境中的有害物质。尽量减少使用人造光源，多利用自然光，减少电磁场辐射。建议保持与电子设备的距离，以减少电磁场辐射。使用人造草坪存在健康风险，建议在使用后清洗身体，并考虑选择更环保的替代材料。通过改变生活方式和环境，我们可以有效控制健康，降低患病风险。
我将多年来积累的排毒经验简化到最基本层面，目标是让每个人都能轻松上手，逐步改善家居环境和健康状况。追求完美并非目标，尽力而为即可。重要的是采取行动，朝着正确的方向前进。
一、 四步排毒法：评估、避免、添加、允许
我的排毒方法核心在于这四个步骤：
二、 家居环境改善：高回报策略
在改善家居环境方面，我建议优先关注以下几个高回报的策略：
三、 结语：掌控健康，从点滴做起
通过以上这些简单易行的步骤，我们可以有效控制家居环境中的毒素，降低患病风险，提升生活品质。记住，改善健康是一个循序渐进的过程，不必追求完美，重要的是持续行动，逐步改善，最终获得健康和幸福。
The mindbodygreen Podcast⋅17h ago
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03:08 减少家居毒素的关键在于减少产品数量，仔细挑选使用的产品，并注意摄入体内物质。
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04:16 追求完美并非目标，尽力而为即可，重要的是采取行动改善家居环境。
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05:53 关注解决方案而非测试结果，逐步改善家居环境，朝着正确的方向前进。
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06:40 建议进行一些基础的血液检测，例如检测重金属含量，作为评估家居环境毒素的基础。
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08:36 改善家居环境，高回报的策略是优先关注饮用水过滤、选择有机食品和更换家具。
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10:50 饮用水过滤至关重要，建议使用反渗透过滤器。
◉
16:09 建议优先投资厨房水槽的反渗透过滤器，浴室的淋浴喷头过滤器可以作为补充。
◉
17:34 沙发和地毯中可能含有阻燃剂等有害化学物质，建议选择符合TB 117-2013标准的家具。
◉
21:39 改善室内空气质量，减少合成香料、蜡烛和香等化学物质的摄入。
◉
24:03 定期更换高MERV等级的空气过滤器，可以有效改善室内空气质量。
◉
26:39 在室内摆放绿植，特别是阔叶植物，可以帮助净化空气。
◉
28:41 保持室内干燥可以有效预防霉菌滋生。
◉
29:54 定期检查房屋是否存在漏水情况，可以有效预防霉菌滋生。
◉
32:28 选择环保建材，例如陶瓷地板，可以有效减少家居环境中的有害物质。
◉
35:48 尽量减少使用人造光源，多利用自然光，减少电磁场辐射。
◉
39:06 建议保持与电子设备的距离，以减少电磁场辐射。
◉
42:31 使用人造草坪存在健康风险，建议在使用后清洗身体，并考虑选择更环保的替代材料。
◉
47:01 通过改变生活方式和环境，我们可以有效控制健康，降低患病风险。
00:00
Welcome to the My Buddy Green podcast. I'm Jason Wachub, founder and co-CEO of My Buddy Green, and your host. Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag, the second. Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it on one trip. He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, 语法解析
00:22
And he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos. Stronger makes everything better. 语法解析
00:37
Toyota is the best resale value brand for 2025, according to kellybluebookskbb.com. And with a wide range of dependable vehicles for any lifestyle, you can get everything you need in a vehicle today while investing in tomorrow. So choose Toyota and choose value. Shop buyatoyota.com for great deals and more. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2025 model year. For more information, visit kellybluebookskbb.com. Kelly Blue Book is a registered trademark of Kelly Blue Book Co. Inc. 语法解析
01:04
Toyota, let's go places. In 2025, even the most ordinary products like shampoo and cookware can come with a hidden chemical load and navigating it all can feel like a full-time job. That's where today's guest, Dr. Ellie Cohen comes in. She cuts through the confusion and offers a practical science-backed roadmap for reducing your exposure to harmful toxins without turning your life upside down. 语法解析
01:33
Dr. Cohen is a board-certified rheumatologist, integrative medicine specialist, and one of the country's leading experts on environmental health. She's also the founder of the Smart Human platform and podcast, where she breaks down how chemicals in our everyday environment, from the food we eat to the air we breathe, can cause 语法解析
01:50
quietly disrupt our immune systems, and drive chronic disease. In this powerful conversation, you'll learn what's really in your water, your furniture, and your personal care products, and more importantly, what to do about it. Dr. Cohen shares her four-part detox framework, her favorite high-impact home upgrades, and why perfection isn't the goal, progress is. Consider this your guide to detoxifying your home and habits without the overwhelm or fear. 语法解析
02:18
Let's get started. So everyday toxins are an unfortunate reality of living in 2025. So with that said, there's lots we can do to minimize our toxic load without turning our lives upside down and becoming an episode of Portlandia. And so… 语法解析
02:41
How do we do that? What's low effort, high return? Yeah. So great question. Big topic. Difficult to navigate. A little overwhelming, even for me after 15 years of doing this work. Listen, I have tried to, you know, whittle it down to basics. And the basics really start with we don't need so many products, despite the fact that some may have some more toxins than less. 语法解析
03:08
Less is more in general and vetting the ones that we like to use is a great way of keeping stuff out of our homes, which make their way into our bodies, into our kids, into our pets. And then another component is what do we add into the body? So, you know, I kind of created a four A's system, which is very simplistic. First is assess. The second one is to avoid or swap. 语法解析
03:33
The third is to add. There's tons of things to add and we can get into this. And then the fourth thing to me is allow. It's my colored hair. It's my boys playing lacrosse on really toxic synthetic turf three times a week, 10 times a week, whatever. It's the component that lets us live and have a quality of life that makes sense. You said assess. We'll start there. Other than like not feeling well, what do you recommend in assessing our state? Yeah. 语法解析
03:58
Let's talk about lab testing. How do we know what's going on in our home? Well, I will say that most of us are filled with toxins to begin with, because if you're not really doing it, and I'll be honest with you, it's not perfection. This even as much as I know, and I've been practicing testing and doing stuff to my own body and even to some patients, it's not perfection. 语法解析
04:16
There's no perfection here. It's the best we can do, which is quite a bit. You know, I want people to know that. And I don't generally believe after 15 years of doing this, I was certainly stressed out in the beginning and learning this and trying to figure out why I didn't know this. Why wasn't I taught this all the way to, well, how do we live with the problem? How do we live with this issue? And I think that's a really important journey for me. 语法解析
04:39
And I'm just trying to shorten that journey for people. Number one, we're filled with chemicals we may or may not be able to control, but most we can, especially if you're controlling what comes into your home, your workspace, what you eat, how you, if you or how you filter your water, you know, some of your furniture. And these are the things I just try to tell people how to simply, safely upgrade. 语法解析
04:59
And then the idea of testing where it can be quite expensive. You know, you can use your insurance, which is what I put in the book. I want people to know how to talk to their physicians or their health care providers on what to test and what are the ICD-10 codes so that you can use your own insurance. 语法解析
05:15
you know, insurance, which is expensive to even test from very basic exposures like heavy metals. But aside from that, out-of-pocket costs can be quite expensive and they're a moment in time. When you take blood work of any kind, it's really a moment in time to 语法解析
05:29
These exposures are fluid, right? We go to the city to see a show or dinner or we, you know, go traveling or then we're home for six weeks and we can control our environment and then, you know, whatever, we get lost and we have to take plastic water bottles or we ran out of deodorant. So now we're using our old antiperspirant. There's lots of things that make those momentary things change. But what I'd like people to focus is not on the testing, is on the solutions. 语法解析
05:53
Because once you start to think about the solutions, you don't have to test all the time and you can know that you're moving in the right direction. But are there some basic… So if I'm concerned about cardiovascular disease, I'm going to measure my FOB, my LP little a, maybe I do a clearly test, maybe I do a… Like I'd start there in terms of labs. Like are there some starter labs, which for anyone who's doing routine blood work, I think we're having a huge moment with, you know… 语法解析
06:16
function health from Mark Hyman and testing in general, people are doing more tests. Like, are there some simple labs, you know, that people should just talk to their physician about that, like to get a baseline understanding? Yeah, I think what your question is really, you know, I every patient who comes through here in my practice here in New Jersey, I do, you know, whole blood, lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. 语法解析
06:40
Just very simple. It's part of everything else that people are getting tested for, for autoimmune or rheumatoid or cardiac disease or what have you. But I like to start with that, especially if they don't have any, you know, glaring heavy metal symptoms, right? You know, things that you have to dig much deeper for. That can be more expansive in terms of labs. And again, it's all in the, you know, it's all in the history. It's all in, we miss the fact that we have 语法解析
07:03
We need time to have a great history, you know, as clinicians. I'm a rheumatologist. We are known as detectives because we get some of the most difficult cases within medicine. You know, a lot of things cross over with joint pain. A lot of things cross over with fatigue, that kind of thing. And so you really are trying to think about, as a clinician, what are all the exposures that this person may walk through? 语法解析
07:27
Maybe it's unknowingly having, you know, their couch may be loaded with flame retardants because maybe it's been 20 years since they swapped out a couch. And maybe they're due. And this is a great opportunity to switch to something that doesn't have some of those chemicals. So the history is so critical to medicine. It's unfortunate we're in a system now that we don't have that opportunity. So you're bringing up the home. And I think you could go further. 语法解析
07:53
bananas here if you wanted to. There's so much in terms of product swaps. You know, we'll talk about water. There's air. You're bringing up the sofa. What are some of the key opportunities, if you will, where if I'm 语法解析
08:10
could you get 80% there with these investing in 20% of the opportunities? That's what I'm trying to get at. Like, is it, is it like, what are some of the, if we're just dissecting the home, high yield, I want high return. I'm, I'm busy. A lot of, a lot of people are busy. Is there a product swap? Like, are there certain areas, you know, is it the sofa? Is it the water makes a lot of sense, but like walk us through like. Yeah. So water's number one for me. Yeah. Okay. And 语法解析
08:36
And your question is great. So what are the really quick things that people can think about as sort of high yield? And that goes to a couple of things. Number one, your habits. If you're drinking hot, you know, hot tea or coffee every morning, which is part of your volume of water. 语法解析
08:49
cleaning things that are habits in your life. So getting a water filter that makes sense. I certainly push for reverse osmosis. We know the technology is critically important for removing more contaminants than, say, a carbon block in a pitcher or on a refrigerator door or on a faucet. Those are carbon blocks. Water goes through those very quickly, so it has less time to remove some of the contaminants that we know are going to get into our drinking water for a 语法解析
09:16
But reverse osmosis is now the price point has come down remarkably. And what's so interesting, which I like a little fun fact to share with people is my father's a nephrologist. He's 85 years old. He's still practicing medicine. It's hard to believe. And he manages dialysis patients and he brought over dialysis in the 70s. And what's so interesting about that is it was federally required in the 70s. That's where they started with this to have reverse osmosis used in dialysis units. 语法解析
09:43
And it's still being used. So once a month, federally, you know, federal regulators come in. They look through his water tanks that are huge. And that technology, which is originally designed simply to prevent these immune compromised dialysis patients, 语法解析
09:58
from having viruses and bacteria and infectious components. Turns out that since the 70s, we have thousands of new compounds and chemicals added to our lives, and it works by size. So even the bigger ones like phthalates and BPA and the bisphenols and PFAS, they're getting removed as well because they're bigger than viruses and single-celled organisms. So I think historically we need to be thinking that if water was so important to be cleaned at that level for these patients… 语法解析
10:26
And now we have access to this for everyday people at, you know, price points of $2.75 for an under-the-kitchen-sink reverse osmosis, which I prefer because it's easier when it's a plumber does it. It's a remarkable democracy or democratization, I should say, of clean drinking water. And I will say there's much we can do in the food system next, but by volume… 语法解析
10:50
I believe water is probably the most underappreciated contributor for human health conditions that people don't know about. So in terms of brands, do you have any favorites for reverse osmosis filters that we should take a look at? Yeah, I don't share brands because of all the academic work I do. So that's, you know… Or what should we look for? Like, what are some of those? If I'm going to go shop for them right now, because… 语法解析
11:14
I'm going to do and I'm sure some of our listeners. What should we look for? There's a couple of things to look for. Certainly brands through vetted systems like EWG has a very good system of talking about filtration, you know, water filtration systems. And they have come up with some a lot of ways to sort of decipher out. And I'm pretty sure they do mention brands as well. But Consumer Reports also can do that as well. And you're really looking at things that are specific to your home. 语法解析
11:39
So in some ways, you're looking at whether or not, you know, the filtration rate is at a certain level where you're, you know, how many gallons of fresh water that's cleaned are being used and how much are being removed in terms of water waste. You know, and Californians often ask me this question. So you do want to see what the turnover is for the water to make it clean. That's one of the things that you'll be able to find out when you start to look through some of these. And they also have to be third-party checked regularly. 语法解析
12:07
by water companies that do this. National Sanitation Foundation is one of the companies that does rating systems for some of these reverse osmosis systems, as well as pitchers as well. So there's a couple different things that you can look for, but ideally you wanna start with things that are also convenient to your life. 语法解析
12:26
When I mentioned, I've tried a lot of different filters over the years. Sometimes they come free to me. Sometimes I have to pay for them. I've even tested my water to see which ones do the job that they claim to do with a third-party testing kit like TAPscore. I have no problem sharing that. They're a very good company. But needless to say, those are expensive tests. The idea is that from a convenience standpoint on the countertop, I've noticed that that is really inconvenient for busy life. 语法解析
12:53
You are constantly filling them up. And then what was so interesting about one of the five stage filters, it wasn't RO, but it was, you know, five stage water filter, pretty reputable company, is that the day that it gave out the filter, right? 语法解析
13:06
All of a sudden, the water tasted crazy yucky. It was almost like it just gave up and said, I'm done. And those are expensive, those refills. So when it comes to cost, when it comes to convenience, when it comes to the type of home you live in versus, you know, a small apartment, some people argue there's not enough room. I've never seen an apartment that didn't have an under the sink kitchen sink that could have, you know, 语法解析
13:30
handle a small RO filter. I've seen that happen, and I look at those homes. I think there's a lot of factors that go into it. And certainly there's things like UV light. Do you pay for UV light? Do you need to pay for UV light to kill infectious, you know, etiologies? Do you need added minerals after reverse osmosis? People argue it's dead water. I have no qualms in saying that water is not the source of nutrition for humans. 语法解析
13:56
It's important, but it's not the source of nutrition and should really be considered with like a great big salad that's USDA organic, which is another high yield swap and change that is really, you know, one of my top fives, really. Because USDA organic is the only regulation we have in the U.S. market for food quality in terms of safety. And it's now accessible across all demographics. I've proven this. I've looked into every big box store to find – 语法解析
14:25
frozen organics, which are incredibly nutritious. And they have the added benefit of not having pesticides and GMO ingredients. So just to stay on water for a second. So it sounds like folks should go look at top score, see how their municipality, how they score in terms of their water, and then head over to EWG and look for some reverse osmosis filters. So that's just let's just say that's the sink. That's my source of drinking water. 语法解析
14:49
What's your view as we move into the bathroom? Do we need it there in the shower, the tub? Like how far do you go? Is there a yield there, so to speak, or is it maybe not worth the investment if I'm short on time or resources? Right. So I actually am very, I would say, thoughtful about my expenses since we have two kids in college and all these things coming up. And so my first inclination is say tap score if you want to because they're about a $300 water test. 语法解析
15:16
Oh, it's not free. 语法解析
15:31
you know, was really, you know, giving them good advice. So I do that expense. But here's the thing, you know, it's great to have, but it is not cheap and your water will change. Again, like your body, water systems, seasonality will change what you're getting from your tap water. 语法解析
15:47
Floods change it. You know, pesticides and seasonal growing in certain parts of the United States will change those results. So I'd rather people, you know, really think about that 300 wisely and put it into maybe the cost of the ARA filter. In a whole house filter, which if you can afford it, great, but they're still very pricey, I don't think they're necessary. You can also get a carbon block showerhead filter. 语法解析
16:09
for your bathrooms. And they screw in just like any other conventional showerhead. And you change it out every six months. It's about $20 at any big box, you know, Lowe's, Home Depot, that kind of store. So that's the kind of way I would do it is I would sort of put the cheaper cost into the showerheads and 语法解析
16:28
and consider really putting more money into maybe the kitchen sink RO for a lot more purposes. Makes a lot of sense. So the kitchen sink reverse osmosis is probably a must-have. The showerhead is a nice have, but a reasonable nice have at $20. You don't need to go out for the whole house. So, okay, so that's water. Before we go to air, you said sofa. It's something that's usually not top of mind as we think about sofa and rugs and things. 语法解析
16:56
That's an area we spend a lot of time on. I think you can buy, you know, organic cotton sheets very easy in the bedroom. Sofa, rug, maybe not so much. Yeah. So rugs, I think, you know, have lots of synthetic materials unless it's wool, which is, you know, fireproof. And wool is great for a lot of reasons. 语法解析
17:16
And it's usually typically not sprayed with chemicals like, you know, stain guard chemicals when it's an original wool kind of good company. But when it comes to sofas, we are still, you know, big ticket item, right? I don't put this at my top of my list, right? I knew mine had flame retardants from the tag. 语法解析
17:34
for like six years. And every time we were on the couch, I would just be ticking, you know, because I knew that it was a problem, but we just didn't really have an extra three grand to throw around. And, you know, technically we now have the opportunity to look at a label and 语法解析
17:47
And it will say, you know, whether it follows TB 117-2013. Everyone write that down. Let's say that again, because everyone's going to write it down. So the original bill in California was TB, T as in Tom, B as in boy, dash 117. And that was when they put flame retardants in home burnishings in couches to allow for, this is the logic here, 语法解析
18:13
12 seconds of extra burn time if you were – this is 1950s and 60s – drop a cigarette on a couch. You would have 12 extra seconds on the phone, in the couch to get out of the home. And this was all beautifully done. 语法解析
18:27
by the tobacco industry. And it was written up in a Pulitzer Prize story from the Chicago Tribune. And basically what happened was the cigarette companies didn't want to change their formulation, so they kind of really opted to put these chemicals into products, particularly large objects in home furnishings like couches. It turned out that people, kids, adults, had some of the highest levels of these flame retardant chemicals in their blood when they were tested over the years. And it 语法解析
18:56
You know, it really took a fight to understand that we have to get these out. We have to know that they're harmful chemicals, number one. But then they reversed, you know, sort of the regulation of having these added chemicals in 2013. And so couches that will not have flame-retardant chemicals added, like brominated flame retardants and ortho chlorinated, they will have a label added. 语法解析
19:18
on the couch that says TB-117, the original bill, dash 2013. And it'll also say it. I think it'll spell it out as well. In fact, I could even say it under my couch, my chair right now. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. 语法解析
19:34
Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. 语法解析
19:57
We can look for that. That's a standard we could look for. And look, sofas are interesting in that you're probably not in the market like every couple of years. I think our sofa is like almost nine years old. So it's like an investment you're going to have for a decade or so. And they're expensive, but like you're going to be on it for quite a long time. So if you're in the market, it's worth it. Sounds like there are a lot of viable options out there. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, again, price points are important. Life is expensive. 语法解析
20:24
And so I think of everything through the eyes of through the lens of cost and high yield and, you know, water filters in your kitchen versus your whole house, you know, frozen USDA organics. These are the types of thought process that I go through because I want people to all be able to afford it. And I think for food, I think our audience will have to spend a lot of time on that. I think our audience mostly gets it. They're probably buying organic. They know the dirty doesn't. They're making that investment. But I think specifically the home and environment aspect. 语法解析
20:53
Yeah, no, listen, your home is your castle. And I think that's a very important thing. 语法解析
21:17
And it used to be so enormously, and it still is really, airtight, right? This is how we save money on our bills, right, for heating and air conditioning. But the problem with that is that we're so tightly enclosed that we don't open windows and we are breathing and recirculating a lot of the chemicals from things that we either know are in the products or things that we unknowingly bring into our home. 语法解析
21:39
And so, you know, when we think about air, you know, you think the obvious is why bring in air fresheners that are synthetic. You know, we don't often think about candles, but when we like candles and incense that we think is really great for the brain and mind and, you know, holistically, you know, calms us down, we could also be breathing in quite a bit of phthalates and a bunch of chemicals in the word, you know, in fragrance. Anything that has fragrance or perfume typically can have a large amount of chemicals, but particularly phthalates, which keep scents. 语法解析
22:08
sense lasting longer. And so, again, not bringing those in in the first place or vetting them, you're keeping your home environment with fewer chemicals that end up not just in our lungs, but also in our dust on surfaces. We don't often think about that. But whatever's in the air is 语法解析
22:25
will sediment onto surfaces often and into dust. And dust has been studied as one of the most, you know, laid in, chemical laid in components of our home. And so, 语法解析
22:37
that goes to, well, how are we picking up dust? You know, do we have a good air filtration system, HVAC system and filtering at a higher rate? Do we have great MERV filters? MERV filters are the rating of your home and air conditioning filtration system. If you have people come in and change them or you change them, the higher, especially in California, 语法解析
22:57
You know, most MERV filters are 5 to 8 in terms of their rating. I think it goes up to 16. You really want to be thinking higher MERV level, like say 12 or 13 when you're replacing your filters. These aren't expensive. They're just a component of 语法解析
23:10
of air return and what you catch. So there are some functional things you can do, but there's also windows that can be opened in environments where the air quality is better outside than in. You can get air filters if you want. And a lot of the quality of air filters depends on the CADR. So for MER filters, is the MER filter kind of the 语法解析
23:31
inexpensive filter you buy at like Home Depot and there's a rating and you change it out on your HVAC yeah you change it there's a rating and you change it out every you know couple 语法解析
23:41
Couple months. That's and so that's low. You don't have to buy a whole new HVAC system. Just get a high quality MER filter. They're like ten dollars or something. Yeah. And changing them routinely is very helpful because they do back up. I mean, they do get, you know, dirty. And when they get dirty, you can actually make the air a little bit worse quality. Yeah. So it sounds like MER filter 12 to 13. That's a no brainer. Correct. 语法解析
24:03
Home Depot. Easy. Yeah. And what's the difference between the other filter you were mentioning? So air filters that you bring in, you know, ones that you buy. Like, 语法解析
24:12
Like a purifier, like an air purifier? Yeah, like an air purifier. Sure. And I just clarified what I was trying to find is the clean air delivery rate. It's the CADR. And essentially, you're looking at the value of that based on how much air is circulated per square footage. So, for instance, a 300 CADR should be used for every 500 square feet. 语法解析
24:35
in order to get adequate air purification. So that's usable material. I think that's why I like to share that is that we actually… And by the way, an air filtration system or a purification system that's HEPA really cleans 99.97% of the air. I mean, it's very effective if you need it and want it. We've experimented with a couple of them, and it's been so fascinating to see we have a gas stove. When you start cooking on the gas stove… 语法解析
25:03
the purifier starts to go nuts, like code red. And I'm like, wow, I had no idea this was so bad. And then sure enough, it filters everything. It goes back to, you know, green or safe mode. And that would be after opening. We have the windows and it takes a while, but it really started. I was never conscious of the air. And I like gas stoves of cooking and what it did. Yeah. Well, gas, you know, it's interesting. I have a lot of gas appliances and, 语法解析
25:32
And, you know, for so many reasons, it's inexpensive, at least here in New Jersey. And, you know, it's just become routine. But in terms of just air filtration, unless you're sort of really thinking about that opening windows, getting some plants in your home, I think it's important to think you don't have to change out everything. But you really want to be conscious when you're using them to, you know, to put on the, you know, the stove, you know. 语法解析
25:58
So you want to be thinking about your air quality when you're cooking and even after. You mentioned plants. I love plants. Plants are very helpful. And also low-hanging fruit. If we're at Home Depot buying, and Home Depot is not a sponsor, they should be though. 语法解析
26:14
For Home Depot buying our Merle filters, you could pick up some plants there. What should we look at in terms of plants? So Dracaena has been well studied. Dracaena has really wide leaves. It's not only, you know, just sort of the largeness of the plant. It's really the surface area of the leaves that really work twofold, not only for photosynthesis and cleaning the air in general, but also because, again, many of the chemicals you don't even think of land on the surface area of plants, right? 语法解析
26:39
So you have an opportunity to also wipe off the leaves and that's like dusting, you know, and that will be less likely to circulate onto the floor. And, you know, babies and hand mouth behavior, pets. You know, I talk a lot about my pets. But, yeah, it's kind of like plants are it's hard to believe that anthropologically we don't live with more plants in our home. Right. It just seems to make sense, not only from a mental health perspective, but also from a functionality perspective. 语法解析
27:05
I just think people should maybe invest in some of these hardier plants. Dracaena, mother-in-law's tongue. What else? Gosh, there's a whole, I mean, pretty much any large leaf plant, but those are some of the ones that are most often used for homes. So if we move outside the kitchen in the living area, we move to the bathroom, I often think of mold. 语法解析
27:27
And my take, and I live in South Florida, bold is in more places than you think. And it also transcends tropical environments. How do you think about 语法解析
27:39
Mold. Big topic because there's all different types. We know we don't want it. We certainly don't like the black mold. That's scary. You know, it's a tough topic. I mean, I'm managing a big storm now and it's going through our gutters and it's getting underneath our kitchen. And then it's, you know, you know, this is a big issue. And as we get moving forward and with climate change and all of the things that we're experiencing with with more number, you know, floods and 语法解析
28:04
We're going to be experiencing, unfortunately, I think a little bit more in the way of mold exposure. But when it comes to mold, you really have to be thinking humidity, right? How do we maintain the humidity that 语法解析
28:18
at a lower level, because essentially that's mold thrives in humid environments. You know, it's just, it's just a fact. So the drier the space, the less like you're going to get mold. This is why out West we see people with, you know, multiple chemical sensitivity moving out West because some of that is related to the mold that they're experiencing in terms of some people's much lower thresholds for reaction to environment. So, 语法解析
28:41
You know, that's a place to start. When it comes to remediation, I always worry about, you know, any type of testing that's related to remediation companies like someone's brother-in-law or what have you, because it can really be quite a racket. So you really do, unfortunately, need to vet out as best you can individual companies that are not necessarily associated with the testing component as well. I'm not a big fan of those combos. So before we go to remediation, what are some of the areas where… 语法解析
29:10
we should just be aware that that might be susceptible to mold. So for example, I've heard the washing machine, leave it open. Don't leave it closed because humidity gets trapped in there. Or like the bathroom, like the rug, like there are certain areas, like what are some of like, if I'm just going around my house, like I want to check boxes, like I don't have a 语法解析
29:33
serious mold problem, but I don't want one. Like what are some of the low, low hanging fruit? Low hanging fruit. Look at your sources of water that come into the home. First, first place, all the sinks, toilets, that's your washing machine. You know, if you look at where water is brought in, then what, what you would think is that if there's ever going to be an issue, it's going to be a problem with the piping. 语法解析
29:54
Or it's going to be a problem with something that breaks down over time, caulking, some kind of joint problem between, you know, pieces of metal or PVC piping. So, yeah, I think it's important to do at least maybe once a year, maybe every six months if you have the time. Do a walkthrough through your home. 语法解析
30:11
to see if there's any water stains that were never there before. And if I were people, you know, thinking about this, you might take a marker or a pen and subtly mark out that water stain and see if it grows over the next month or two and see if it's a continuous water leak or not. And 语法解析
30:26
And so, you know, again, it's assessing, you know, like you would your body. We're assessing our home. It's not different. But you're keeping an eye on where those water sources are coming from and whether or not there's really any breakdown because things break down over time. You know, my washing machine has mold in it and we're literally today going to try to find a new one. So it's like you're trying to washing machines have a tendency to get a little black in it. You take a paper towel and this is what I've done. And tell me if it's right or wrong, like a little bit of 语法解析
30:52
It's like I'm trying to wipe and I don't know if it's mildew or I don't know what it is. I'm just trying to wipe it up a little bit up. Yeah, it's one of those things where, again, with life maintenance, you know, and it's exhausting because we have so much to maintain. We have our bodies. We have our kids. We have our home appliances. But yeah, I the mold is very hard to get off. I've done it. It's nasty. It's disgusting to do, especially if you wait too long. 语法解析
31:15
But leaving the door open is really interesting. My kids always shut it and they think they're being, you know, somehow special to us because they're being thoughtful. So one thing you shouldn't shut, otherwise shut doors, not this door. I agree. 语法解析
31:28
So if we were to zoom out to materials, I think this is also top of mind given what's happened in Southern California. You mentioned PVC piping. If I live in a home, maybe I'm building a home, maybe I'm doing a renovation, maybe I'm just concerned and I want to make some upgrades. 语法解析
31:46
How do you think of materials? I've heard tile. I've heard cement. I feel like, how do you think of more broadly materials in the home and the structure of a home? What I should look for? Maybe I'm looking to rent or move somewhere. Like, what are the questions I should ask? What are the materials I should be looking at if I want a home? 语法解析
32:04
I don't know if you can ever be 100%, to your point, toxin-free or chemical-free, but what are some of the boxes I should want to check? Yeah, I'll say I'm sitting in my office, and when I was renovating it several years back, I had this beautiful opportunity to do the legwork and think this through very carefully, including—and it was a lift because I've never owned or rented—I really should say rent. I've never really owned an office building— 语法解析
32:28
where I had control over the environment. It was always carpeted and a lot of polyvinyl chloride, you know, typical chairs and, you know, plastic everything, right? Which you can't always control. But in this case, I really was thoughtful over the large surface areas, high yield changes. And so I really threw myself into the flooring. And I found actually, I mean, you could even see it if I showed it, but, you know, flooring that was ceramic that looks like wood. It's very warm. Um, 语法解析
32:55
And it's hardy, it's sturdy, it doesn't crack. And so we went through that process and really came up with a beautiful type of ceramic and no rugs and nothing that would hold onto dust. 语法解析
33:06
I looked into my couch for my office and I found a flame retardant free couch. That was kind of interesting. And then I did find chairs that had no foam. I didn't want to play around with textiles where they put antimicrobials on the seats, especially office seats. And so I really I did have plastic, you know, chairs because plastic in that form was was the risk benefit was better than, say, fabric that had more upkeep, you know, with. 语法解析
33:32
I had no VOC paint, and I was certainly very careful about any renovations and being around that environment while these things were going on. I think people take it for granted when they do a lot of stuff around the home that they're just not going to have a problem, you know, spraying bee spray or, you know, forgetting the gloves and then, you know, kind of cleaning the house or going in the basement. We sort of think that we're… 语法解析
33:55
you know, so healthy that we're not going to get exposed. But I think that's the subtleties that I try to talk about in the book is that these exposures can happen in very low doses over time. It's not always the occupational hit that we hear about. It's not always like, you know, the renovation and, oh, my God, I breathed in so much bleach that one day. It's really the low indolent levels that we're experiencing is what I'm trying to let people know is how best to clean out our bodies and lower risk. So it sounds like 语法解析
34:24
In terms of the home, flooring is a high leverage opportunity and concrete, tile, ceramic better than wood because wood is susceptible. Yeah. And cleaning products. You know, a lot of offices or homes sometimes have cleaning services where, you know, they're bringing in their own cleaning stuff, which I would not want on my surfaces after they leave because it becomes my dust and things I touch. So I've opted to, you know, purchase… 语法解析
34:50
purchase my own cleaning products for my office, which are actually cheaper than a lot of the commercial junk that's out there that has antimicrobials and these things. But, you know, these are the choices that I'm proactively making. You know, I'm even the person who helps clean my home. I'm supplying what I think is safer so I don't have to let them figure it out and worry about it. You know, it makes everyone happy. And 语法解析
35:11
I'm making them healthier. Why do I want, even when you give gifts, when you give these products to people that may work with you or for you, you're hoping that they're staying healthy as much as you would do for yourself. Last thing in the home before we move outside the home, light, light bulbs. What's your take? 语法解析
35:28
Well, I sit in the dark in my – well, I sit with like natural light in my office. Right now I have all these lights on me just to make me look hopefully decent. But, you know, light is synthetic. It's just like synthetic noise, air pollution. I mean, I'm sorry, light pollution and noise pollution have been linked to a lot of, you know, health issues, health risks, higher cardiac risk, just a lot of – 语法解析
35:48
non-anthropologic environments that we've created and maybe we need them if we don't have natural light. But I'm a big fan of, you know, keeping windows open, keeping shades open as best we can. And, you know, when you're doing, when you're using light bulbs, you know, use them when you need them. Use them at low levels. You know, trying to have dimmers is a great thing because dimmers give you that option as opposed to sort of bright or nothing. 语法解析
36:14
When it comes to EMF, when it comes also clocks in your home, using extraneous forms of EMF, not just light itself, I think are just helpful to the human body. And I think it makes people live more sanely without so much synthetic components. So here your natural light is paramount, but ultimately we do need to buy light bulbs. We do need lights in our homes. So what do you look for? Like, 语法解析
36:40
Like, do you have a view on what we should look for when shopping for light bulbs? I don't have, you know, it's a great question. You know, we all think about, you know, the economics of light bulbs. My light bulbs, you know, the conventional light bulbs seem to go out relatively quickly as compared to LED. You pay more per LED and yet, you know, maybe they don't even last as long as they say they do. You know, it's almost like triple the price than our conventional light bulbs we grew up on. So, 语法解析
37:06
You know, I really, unfortunately, don't have a great opinion in terms of anything health-related varying between those two types. EMFs, you mentioned that. I don't want to spend too much time on it. I think it's challenging, in my opinion. I think there's something there, but it's really hard to find a very credible expert. And it quickly goes to… 语法解析
37:35
a place of conspiracy theory and Verizon's out and Bill Gates are out to get us all. And, you know, do I think something's there? Yes. Do I, you know, try to avoid wearing unplugged headphones? Yes. But it's a tough one. 语法解析
37:56
Yeah, you know, so I agree with you on all of the above. I'm using a phone. I have a computer. My kids use all this stuff. And I'm living in a mountain in the middle of nowhere. 语法解析
38:15
What I think we should be thinking of, number one, is there are really great studies. National NTP, National Toxicology Program, American-run studies, U.S. studies. We don't really want to use microwave radiation around our bodies. We have a microwave, and it's a Faraday box. It's a box that contains and circulates those EMF for purposes of heating. But we actually don't want them close to the human body for a variety of reasons. And 语法解析
38:42
Really, there are good studies that show that we want to keep anything that has EMF a distance from our body. We don't need it. It's precautionary principle. It's a classic way of looking at things that may cause harm that has decent studies and animal studies particularly, which are easy to run, that we may not want to, you know, use those behaviors if we know that there's some reasonable harm to them. And that's the precautionary principle. 语法解析
39:06
It's very simple to live with our technology, but do it in a way that's safer. And I think just very basic stuff is just keeping a distance from this technology from our bodies. For instance, I go to visit my kids in the school. 语法解析
39:20
And all these kids have their computers directly on their groin. OK, there's no distance. And, you know, it's exhausting, but it's something to say, listen, you know, we do know that there are some the radiation is coming in. It's pulsed about 90 beats per second between antennas. You know, there's an antenna on our computer, antenna on our phone. It's no conspiracy theory. It's just the idea that we don't want to put that. 语法解析
39:45
Particularly when it's hot, you know that there's going to be some degree of radiation, but you want to just keep a distance. And if you can start thinking just towards a precautionary principle, it makes sense. Then you don't have to change your whole life. You could still live within society. You could still have your great stuff. 语法解析
40:00
But you're being a little more thoughtful, just like you would if you were thinking about, you know, a water filter or choosing organic or not, or which of the, you know, dirty dozen clean 15 you choose. So it's a layer of thoughtfulness that I think everyone can do. 100%. We don't let… 语法解析
40:15
our kids, one, they really don't use laptops, but in there, they're still young. If they do have to use a laptop for something, we never, ever let them put it on their lap. It's got to be at a table. Totally reasonable. And so something else you mentioned before I thought was interesting because like it's everywhere here. You mentioned toxic synthetic turf. And so turf is everywhere here in South Florida. It's like easier. Like if you play sports and like, look, it's good for kids to play sports and be active. But if you're 语法解析
40:45
Every sports field is most of them are turf now. Kids' playgrounds, turf. And I get it. Like kids fall. You want like something that's got a little give. It's easier to maintain. And I don't want us to avoid turf, but like, let's just talk about synthetic turf. And are there… 语法解析
41:01
are there, how bad is it? And are there decent options for someone who's maybe in the market for turf? So I will say, I'm going to shout out to my own podcast where I had one of the best guests on the whole topic was synthetic turf. So we really got into it. I love it. We're putting this in the show notes. Yeah, please put in the show notes. My podcast is called The Smart Human, and it's all about environmental health and, you know, a lot of the topics that I write about, of 语法解析
41:25
course. So I bring in all the experts, people that do the research, you know, not just that, you know, they create the headlines, but they're not, you know, necessarily heard from. So I had Dr. Rachel Massey and she had done her master's in this and she had done so much research. And we had a great conversation about this because there's pros and cons to everything. 语法解析
41:43
But the idea that with synthetic turf and I have two lacrosse playing sons and one's an All-American and, you know, I'm there. High school or college? High school. So and he just got into college. So I'm very excited about that. But where's he going? Where's he going? My son is going to Tufts University. I'm very proud of him. 语法解析
42:02
And he didn't even get in for sports. He got in for his brain because the recruiting process, don't get me started, is really unsavory to say the least. I'm sure there's some moms out there listening to this or dads. But, you know, long story short, we've had a rule since they were very little, even with little of what I do. I mean, again, this is precautionary principle. I had a sense that knowing what I knew about some of these chemicals, it wasn't a good idea to be playing and then not wash off petroleum-based chemicals, whether it's the crumb, tire crumb. 语法解析
42:31
which you'll see on playgrounds or even the leaves themselves, you know, sort of the grass leaves actually. The tire, is that like that black substance that a lot of turf playgrounds, like it's a little, you sit down and you're like, and you're like, what's on me? What is this? Yeah, it makes everything bounce, right? Who wouldn't want to bounce off of a field, either the ball or their body, because you're basically running on, you know, thousands and thousands of pounds of chopped tire. 语法解析
42:58
I mean, I don't even have the exact numbers in my head, but if you listen to the podcast, it's really cool because she knows the numbers. We get into the numbers. We talk about how many tires it takes to fill something like 40,000 tires for one turf field, a traditional turf field. And it's chopped in there. And basically, not only does it smell so you know it's aerating off, but these are also very waterproofed chemicals because they're rubbers and they also have a lot of chemicals that keep them waterproof, which is why they're so slick. 语法解析
43:27
Same with the blades of grass. They have perfluoroalkyl chemicals, which are those forever chemicals, similar to like what you would put on a couch, like stain guard, waterproof. But they also have lead. And when they get heated up, these fields, and my son actually played face off, which means his face, you know, similar to like goalies, his face is in the turf on the ground huddled against another kid. So if anyone's going to be breathing this junk in and not only touching it, but it's him. But long story short, 语法解析
43:56
It's life. I'm not going to take my sports away from my kids. You know, it's life. And we all have soccer and all these fun things. It's about how you handle these fields like everything else. So I recommend often not, you know, don't go don't go into a field if you have an open wound. That makes sense, right? You don't want this chemicals getting into an open wound. So you want to patch up, you know, knees and elbows and whatever else that might have more exposure. And then really the general rule is wash with 语法解析
44:24
Soap after as soon as you can, you know, nothing scary. But after you have an experience on turf, because those chemicals might actually get onto your skin and they're waterproof, you really need, you know, a soap based product. 语法解析
44:39
product to really break that down. And it's not a bad routine and my kids are pretty much used to it already. No, totally reasonable. Is there a better option for like, does a better option for turf exist? Oh yeah. There's materials. We got into it in the podcast. Like there's cork. There's, there's really interesting uses of materials that are, you know, cork is remarkable. There's a cork based turf. Yeah. Yeah. But the thing is, is that the schools, these things that are available are, 语法解析
45:06
The problem is, and what I've seen with all these schools that we visit, even in these private schools and public, whatever, their biggest sell to the community on how great the school is, is usually a turf field. It is still so sexy to have a brightly colored, beautifully manicured, recently painted turf field than it is to have a conventional grass field, which could have pesticides, but usually far fewer chemicals in general. Right. 语法解析
45:34
And often you can't play on them when it rains. Well, in turf fields, you can because they're always ready to go. But are you saying, but there is a better, there's cork-based turf. So like you could get, if they wanted to, if someone theoretically wanted to, they could opt for cork-based turf instead of tire-based turf. And cork-based turf, same, you wouldn't know the difference. It would just… 语法解析
45:56
Personally, I've never seen them exactly. In my area here in New Jersey, I mean, every prep school, every public school has their turf field and no one wants to do anything otherwise. And I will say this goes to other components that it's bringing up when I used to lecture to hospital systems on many of the chemicals that I write about and talk about in everyday life. But in hospitals, they use materials like IV bags and 语法解析
46:19
feeding tubes and respiratory equipment for even NICUs and babies and toddlers that are filled with chemicals, but there's an option away from them. There's options that have lower levels, but hospital systems don't necessarily want to change. They're there, but they don't change. And that's what I had experienced for a good 10 years of doing this work and lecturing on it. Interesting. So we've covered a lot of ground today other than pick up the book, which I'll hold up. It's called Detoxify. Yeah. 语法解析
46:46
What do you want to leave people with? We covered so much. Oh, boy. And one sentence or two, I can tell you that from my experience, not only as a clinician treating immune and autoimmune disorders as a rheumatologist for years, but 语法解析
47:01
And then really getting into this integrative medicine approach and then also layering in with environmental health that I've discovered that not only do we have a real control over the destiny of our health in many ways through what we choose, what we experience, what we walk through, that many of the chemicals that we can't always put back in the bottle can be washed out, that we can utilize super great lifestyle, like sweating and sleeping and 语法解析
47:27
And, you know, the food choices, whether it's organic or not, water, we can change the chemistry of our bodies. And when we make changes, we can lower those levels and we can actually change our risk. 语法解析
47:40
And even managed diseases, which I do all the time, managing chronic illnesses also have inflammatory components that we can quiet down. So there's a lot more that we can do. And I want that to be the message, not so much these are all the problems. It's really these are the problems that you need to understand enough to make the changes that are very practical. Message of hope and empowerment. Yeah. Ellie, thank you so much. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. 语法解析
Edit:2025.05.05
