Words of Wellness with Shelly

The Toxic Truth: Environmental Chemicals and Your Health

• Shelly Jefferis • Season 2 • Episode 117

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The silent epidemic affecting millions of Americans isn't making headlines, but it's hiding in plain sight in our homes, food, and personal care products. Welcome to a deep dive into the "T" component of the TDoS syndrome—Toxins—and how they're undermining our health despite our best wellness efforts.

Did you know the average woman is exposed to 167 chemicals daily just through skincare and makeup? Or that newborns arrive with approximately 200 chemicals already detected in their umbilical cord blood? Perhaps most alarming: of the estimated 80,000 chemicals in commercial use today, only about 700 have been tested for their effects on human health. These statistics aren't meant to frighten but to empower you with awareness that can lead to positive change.

The connection between our rising chemical exposure and increasing rates of chronic disease isn't coincidental. When graphed together, the correlation is striking—and concerning. These toxins accumulate in our fat cells, particularly visceral fat surrounding our organs, potentially disrupting normal cellular functions throughout the body. But there's hope in taking small, consistent steps: swapping cleaning products, reading food labels, choosing cleaner personal care items, and prioritizing whole foods. The journey toward a less toxic lifestyle isn't about perfection but progress, making better choices approximately 80% of the time while still enjoying life's pleasures. 

Ready to reduce your toxic burden and support your body's natural detoxification processes? Reach out for resources on non-toxic product recommendations, or join us at the Moms who Flourish Wellness event on October 4th in Southern California. Empty nest mothers are also invited to explore Shelly's upcoming small group mentorship program. Whatever step you take today—however small—can contribute significantly to your health tomorrow. Connect with us, share your own toxic-free journey, and let's create a healthier future together.

CONNECT WITH SHELLY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithshellyj https://www.instagram.com/momswhoflourish
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShellyJefferis

LINK to upcoming MOMS WHO FLOURISH Wellness Event October 4th: https://buy.stripe.com/00weVc40n64nbsNblH0gw0p

A few of Shelly's favorite clean products:

High quality, clean nutrition and beauty products: https://shellyjefferis.isagenix

Clean-crafted wine, free from chemicals & pesticides:
https://scoutandcellar.com/?u=healthyhappyhours

Cayla Gray- Non-toxic cologne & perfume: https://caylagray.com/wellnesswithshellyj (10% discount)

JuJu Non-toxic candles & air fresheners:
https://goodjujucandles.com/?ref=mrtgnygh
Coupon code for 10% off: ShellyJefferis

Thank you for listening to the Words of Wellness podcast with Shelly Jefferis. I am honored and so grateful to have you here and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute to follow, leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with anyone you love and anyone you feel could benefit from the message.

Thank you and God Bless! And remember to do something for yourself, for your wellness on this day!
In Health,

Shelly

Speaker 1:

Think about what you're using for cleaning products in your home. Start to swap those out. Think about what you're using for your snacks. What snacks do you have in your pantry? Take a look at the ingredients and start to think about how. Can I swap these out to be a little bit of healthier choices for myself and my family? Can I swap these out to be a little bit of healthier choices for myself and my family?

Speaker 1:

Do you get confused by all of the information that the bar does every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing, what foods you should or should not be eating, how to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone, I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more to share tips, education and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes. With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you, to bring in guests who can share their journeys so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life, and that you will we all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives, full of energy, happiness and joy.

Speaker 1:

Now let's dive into our message for today. Hello, my friends and I started a four-part series a couple weeks ago and I wanted to continue with that series today, and I am talking about four of the biggest threats I could say to the health of this country, and I don't know how many of you have heard of the TDoS syndrome, but there's a book that came out a few years ago by the name of Peter Greenlaw, and he's a researcher of the researchers, so he has, for many years, taken the information and research that has been put out and researched further for himself, and he wrote a book about these different threats to our health years ago, and now there is more and more evidence showing it to be proven, and this is a topic that I've looked at for many years and I've researched as well, and I just wanted to break it down into four parts for all of us and for all of our listeners, so that we can become more aware of steps we can take to be healthier for ourselves and for our families. And some of this is a little bit of a repeat of information I have shared in my podcast on stage as a professor, and I will continue to share because it needs to be shared. And I will continue to share because it needs to be shared and there are still individuals out there who aren't aware of some of this information.

Speaker 1:

And the first part of this series I talked about stress. So when we talk about the T-D-O-S syndrome, t is for toxins, d is for deficiency in our nutrition, o is for overweight and obesity and S is for stress, and I'm not doing these four episodes in any particular order. The first of the four series I spoke about stress. Today I'm going to speak about the T, the toxins, and, mind you, I'm going to give you the abbreviated, the very abbreviated version, because it's a very, very big topic. There's a lot of information out there and there's a lot to share. So what my goal is here today is to break it down, give us some facts, give us some of the basics, so that we can all start making some healthier choices for our families, and many of you are probably already doing that, and that's fantastic. I just feel like it's so important to continue to share this message about what's affecting our health, and there is a quote that 95% of disease and illness can be attributed and traced back to environmental factors and toxins. So it's a really, really big deal, my friends, and I feel very strongly about it. So I'm just going to touch upon the topic today briefly, like I said, give you some information.

Speaker 1:

There was an article also that came out a few years back in the USA Today stating that toxic chemicals are the biggest threat to human health and even though we're living longer, we are sicker. So when you think about that and I share this often that when we look at the graphs and the amount of pesticides and chemicals that have been used over the last 10, 20, 30, 40 years and you graph that out, I used to share with my students. There was another graph very similar. That was almost just as in alignment with the amount of chemicals used as the increase of diseases was happening. It matched almost identically. So take any illness right now that we're facing, let's say, diabetes, cancers. You see, when you look at the statistics and the information, the incidence of these different diseases has only increased. Now I don't know about you, but if I think about all the years of the supposed research that has gone into fighting these illnesses and diseases, we should be in a better place than we are right now. And diseases, we should be in a better place than we are right now.

Speaker 1:

And the fact of the matter is what we're exposed to every day. The toxins, the chemicals are attributing to so many of these illnesses, the majority of them, 95% of them. So when we talk about this, every day we're exposed. So the water that we're drinking, the water that we use in the shower, the soap that we put on our skin, the shampoo, the skincare that we use and, mind you, for all of my women friends, female friends, mamas out there, we use on average on average it's in print on average 167 chemicals a day. Now I'm going to say it's probably 170 or more. But we're not just using, and we're being exposed to that many because because of our skincare routine, that's a little bit different than what men do, right? So, in addition to cleaning our faces and putting creams on our faces and whatever it is that we do for our skincare routine, in addition to that we have the makeup right. So we are being exposed to many more chemicals on a daily basis because of that. We also have cleaning products. The cleaning products we use in our homes, air fresheners, the food that we eat All of these things can come with chemicals, pesticides, toxins. So so many different ways we're being exposed every single day.

Speaker 1:

And again, I will always say I share this, just to bring about the awareness, not to make it seem like a dismal scenario or to sound very like there's no hope, because I always believe there's hope. I always believe there's something that we can do, but we have to be aware of this. It takes awareness for starters, and then it takes taking some steps, being proactive with our health and taking little steps along the way that can help reduce our exposure. We're not going to eliminate it entirely, of course it's not. It's never going to be 100%, but I will always encourage everyone, all of you, to take small steps. Just start doing little things now, if maybe you're not doing it any yet, but start, just start. I just I encourage you to start.

Speaker 1:

Think about what you're using for cleaning products in your home. Start to swap those out. Think about what you're using for cleaning products in your home. Start to swap those out. Think about what you're using for your snacks. What snacks do you have in your pantry? Take a look at the ingredients and start to think about how can I swap these out to be a little bit of healthier choices for myself and my family. Think about how can I swap these out to be a little bit of healthier choices for myself and my family.

Speaker 1:

Now, some of this I will say, especially when it comes to food choices and what we're eating, it takes a little bit of time to get used to some of these different food items, because many of us, if we've been used to highly processed foods, artificial ingredients, artificial sweeteners, we're used to certain flavors and it takes a little time for our taste buds and our bodies to transition to getting used to a little bit of a healthier, cleaner taste in certain products. So give it time. I promised give it time, it will pay off. It will pay off in the long run. So I always will encourage everyone just to take small steps as much as you can do, just small steps on a regular basis, small swaps of things that you're doing and using already and over time. The little steps add up. The little steps add up. Now I want you to understand.

Speaker 1:

The majority of Americans have between 300 to 500 unique toxins stored within fat cells in their bodies. It's estimated there are approximately 80,000 chemicals out there in commercial use. Now I've been sharing that figure for quite some time, so I'm going to just make a mild assumption that that number is probably higher at this point. But out of those 80,000 chemicals in commercial use, guess how many have been tested for their safety? 700. 700 out of 80,000. Let that sink in. 700 have been tested out of 80,000. Now they've been tested to see how they affect the human body. Does that mean that they are safe? Have they discovered that they are safe? No, it just means they've put that many through testing to see how they affect the human body. So this is a really, really serious topic and, like I said when I first started, I'm just going to be touching the surface of it today. I have shared on other episodes about this topic and it's something that I will continue to share One thing that I'm going to talk a little bit more about when I talk about obesity and overweight.

Speaker 1:

Being overweight, the O part of the TDoS syndrome is that many of these toxins get stored in our fat cells and they hang out there for a really long time, and what happens is, if we don't take steps, they can hang out there and more and more can build up. Steps. They can hang out there and more and more can build up and they can collect in the abdominal area, in our visceral fat, which is concerning because we all have visceral fat. That's fat that's in and around our organs and it can be protective for our organs. However, if we get too much, if the visceral fat is too high, it's dangerous for our health and if you think about most Americans, the visceral fat percentage is too high. It's too high.

Speaker 1:

So, again, taking steps to be able to reduce some of these toxins that have been stored in our fat cells is something that's really important to do, and I'm happy to share with all of you what I have done for over 11 years a cellular cleanse that helps to reduce some of that buildup, that helps to reduce some of those impurities that have built up in our fat cells. And I encourage you to seek out. You know, again, I'm happy to share with any of you what I have done for many years, but I encourage you to seek out ways to reduce your exposure. And you know, again, we can't escape, can't escape this, and that's why I stress it so, so strongly to take steps, be proactive for yourself, for your health, for your family's health. I can't stress it enough. Another very, very alarming statistic is that they have found chemicals approximately 200 chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. So, even as we are doing our best for all my moms out there, when you know how it is when you become pregnant, you want to do whatever you can to be healthy for yourself and your developing baby. Even as they are growing inside of us, they are being exposed and they're being born with chemicals already inside their bodies, with chemicals already inside their bodies. So there's work to be done, my friends, but I refuse to give up and to give up hope. This will be a lifelong journey for myself, for my family, for all of you, something I will continue to share always For any of you moms out there who are local, who are attending our upcoming Moms who Flourish Wellness event.

Speaker 1:

This is a topic that I share more about. On this is a topic I speak on and I give quite a lot more information and specifics. So any of you who are close to Southern California, I invite you to join us on Saturday, october 4th. It's going to be a very, very special day for moms, a day of information and experts speaking on different topics of wellness. There will be time for all of us moms to interact, and it's just a beautiful day of community and connection for all of us moms, and so I invite all of you who are listening, who might be local to Southern California, to join us. There's an early bird registration link in the show notes. So please go there, please join us, and I would love love to have you. Go there, please join us and I would love, love to have you. But in the meantime, I encourage you to do perhaps, some of your own research. I encourage you to take little baby steps along the way. I talked about this last week's episode about artificial sweeteners, sucralose. Reading food labels, starting to become familiar with what's on food labels, starting to become familiar with ingredients that you want to avoid. Start there. That's a simple place to start and then just step by step, go to the cleaning products, go to lotions, go to your skincare, and I will share with you all.

Speaker 1:

I do have a list of products and companies that I have discovered that I use, that I love. I'm happy to share that with you. Feel free to reach out, I'm happy to share the link with you. You Feel free to reach out, I'm happy to share the link with you. And it's not perfect. I'm always trying new products. I'm always open. If I see something that's non-toxic or a product that I haven't tried yet, I'm trying it. And I've gotten to a point now where I have three skincare products that I love, that are non-toxic, that I use. I use a combination of products and I'm slowly starting to find some makeup. I haven't found as many things in that area that I love and, to be honest, I know some of the products might seem a little bit pricey, but personally I will always go in when they have a sale and stock up, and there's so much more to choose from now, so that's a huge blessing. I mean, when I started this journey. 15, 20 years ago there were not as many options as we have today, so they're out there. There were not as many options as we have today, so they're out there.

Speaker 1:

It just takes a little bit of research and being a little bit of an investigator because, again, the other part of this is sometimes they fool you, right? There is something that I talk about and share in my presentation called greenwashing, and I've talked about this many times, but that's when a company will, through their messaging and their branding, will make it seem like their product is clean or cleaner than it actually is. So you really have to kind of be able to read between the lines and do a little bit of your own research to determine what's actually accurate and what's not. And again, I'm happy to share with any of you the list that I have and I'm happy to shorten that timeframe down for many of you, because I've done a lot of the work, I've done a lot of the research and I've tried a lot of the different products search and I've tried a lot of the different products and I mean even I have found my most favorite, cologne. I have found candles that are non-toxic, air fresheners I mean you name it. Like every product, if you think about any and every product that you use on a daily basis is probably exposing you to a chemical. It's not funny, but it's just the way it is. So, again, I share all this just to encourage you all to just start taking baby steps. If you're not doing so already, reach out with any questions. My information and my contact information is in the show notes. If you're a mama and you're local to Southern California, join us on October 4th. I will also share for any of my moms out there who are empty nesters.

Speaker 1:

I have a program starting very, very soon. It's going to be a very small mentorship container, just a very small group of us, where I'm going to guide us through some of these new phases of motherhood. I'm going to guide us in and through our wellness journeys. I'm going to share, we're going to share our experiences and just be able to open up to one another during this new phase of motherhood and just be able to open up to one another during this new phase of motherhood. So, if you're feeling a little alone, if you're feeling like you need support, if you're looking for a community that can relate and understand to what you might be going through. I encourage you to message me for information, because this is going to be a small, intimate group where we can really truly share some of what's going on and whether it be struggles and joys and be able to experience this new phase of motherhood together, because I promise for my moms out there who might be struggling with it, there are a lot of beautiful moments that come with it as well, and there are a lot of beautiful moments that come with it as well, and I just want to share and support all of you along the journey, because it's not talked about, we don't talk about it enough, and I've experienced a lot through motherhood and I've also been in the wellness profession for four decades, and so I'm combining all of that to bring you an empty nest. I'm calling it Open Nest for Flourishing Moms Mentorship. So I invite you to message me for more information if this sounds like something that would be something that you could benefit from and, with that being said, I hope you have found this information valuable today.

Speaker 1:

Again, very, very basic, just a brief episode, just to touch the surface and to remind all of you to be proactive, to make healthy choices the best you can, and I want to also emphasize, because I always will say this it doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself. I will always stress that life is meant to be enjoyed, so we still can enjoy ourselves and whatever that looks like for you, if you like to enjoy your sweets on occasion, your ice cream on occasion, some wine on occasion, whatever it might be, life is meant to be enjoyed. It's not meant to be restrictive, I don't believe. But if we can take small baby steps regularly, daily, and maybe 80% of the time make the healthiest choices we can, a lot of it's out of our control. I mean the air that we breathe. Obviously we have to breathe. We can't do anything about the air that we're breathing, unless we want to try and move to an isolated island somewhere. But that's the point too, for everything that we might be exposed to that we can't control. Let's take care of what we can control, what is in our power to control, to help us be the healthiest that we can be, for ourselves and for our families and for future generations.

Speaker 1:

So, with that being said, my friends, I hope you have a blessed rest of your week, take time, do something for your personal wellness today and I will see you next time on Words of Wellness. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did, and if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening, and if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness, on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy and blessed week. Thank you you.