Episode 290: How You Can Manage Your Toxic Load

Toxins can be hiding in so many products these days, but today we'll talk about some ways that you can steer clear.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast, where you'll hear exciting, useful and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field.

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Today, we're excited to talk to Elena Starkey about what you can do to reduce the toxins that you're bringing into your home.

doTERRA: Elena, thank you so much for sitting down with us today.

Elena Starkey: I'm very happy to be here.

doTERRA: I am so excited to talk about this topic, because it's one that doesn't get talked about enough, and I think it's one that everyone can learn a little bit more about, even if you're not an expert. So, to start off with, can you kind of explain what we mean when we talk about toxins?

Elena: Oh, I'm not an expert in chemistry, but when I talk about toxins, I mean everything, which we wouldn't want to use for our children, for our loved ones, and something which can harm us in different ways, which can affect our health and our senses too. Like if we're talking about smells. So, toxins are ruining our body, mind and our soul. And I believe that this is a very important topic to discuss today.

doTERRA: I completely agree. So, what would you say are some of the most common ways that we're being exposed to these toxins every single day?

Elena: Again, like from my perspective, every time when we're going out of the house, we are exposed to the toxins. That's what we breathe. And every time we go into the public bathrooms, what kind of soaps do we use? What kind of sanitizers do we use? If we go to the beauty places like what kind of materials do they use? What kind of shampoos do they use?

Like we go to do our manicure, and I look at the cream which they are using and I'm like, "Oh, I'm not sure if I want that on my hands."

I see that we are exposed to toxins every day, everywhere, and lots of people just don't even realize how much toxins we have in our life.

doTERRA: I think you're absolutely right. And when you start recognizing them and you start looking like you said, you go get a manicure or you go into a public bathroom, you start thinking, oh no, what products are in here? What am I being exposed to? What am I breathing in?

Elena: Right. And sometimes I catch myself trying to get my products with me. Like I want to have my own sanitizer. So, when somebody asks me to sanitize my hands, I'm not using the public sanitizer. Or I want to get my hand cream when I'm going to do my manicure because I want to leave the place with that smell, which I love. And I know the ingredients which I use there.

doTERRA: Absolutely. So, those are a couple awesome ways to start working in your products that you know that are clean. What are some other ways that I can help reduce the toxins that are in my home that I'm exposed to?

Elena: Speaking of doTERRA products I've seen that it came slowly and naturally to my house. I started with some daily products like hand soap, and I was thinking, "Oh, it's not a big deal, hand soap." But how many times a day do we wash our hands?

And then, we use lotions, we use shampoo and scrub for the body, body butter. And people love those brands which have lots of different colors—beautiful bottles. But when we look at their ingredients, it's scary.

So, getting back to our house, I started with some beauty products. I started to use facial care and haircare. Like, I have blonde hair and it's curly and fluffy. And I used to say, "No, natural shampoos don't work for my hair. Because it's just not going to look good." But trying natural products—just give it time and you will never get back to those synthetic ones.

Then, I started to pay attention to what kind of laundry detergents I use. And I didn't use the harmful detergents. But still, what kind of ingredients do they have? Why can't I use doTERRA On Guard^® and Abode^® ? And it just goes slowly, slowly, slowly.

Every room you go to look around and see what else you can optimize with the natural products. It gets very engaging. It feels like a game. Like, what else, what else?

And then we go to supplements and the capsules—what the capsules for supplements are made of. And then we go to doTERRA Proteins, doTERRA Greens, doTERRA Fiber. And it's just an endless process, I think, with doTERRA.

doTERRA: I love that. And I think what is key is that you start small and you just do something. It doesn't have to be this overwhelming, "I need to change every single thing in my home right now."

Just, like you said, skincare or hair care—pick one place and start, and then see where that takes you and start working around in your home.

Elena: Absolutely. You go to the laundry room and start with laundry detergent. Then buy those woolen balls, with a bottle of doTERRA On Guard, or your favorite oil in your laundry room. So, you can put it on those woolen balls and it smells amazing. And it feels so good when you just dive into your bed, which smells like oranges or doTERRA Serenity^® . And it doesn't smell like chemicals.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, you mentioned supplements and the capsules they come in. What are some changes that I can make to help reduce the toxins in my diet and the food that I'm eating, or the supplements I'm taking?

Elena: Sure. It starts small too. We can't just change everything in one day, but once we start to pay attention to the ingredients part of the package, then we see how much goodness is in those bags. And then you try to understand, like because every change starts with a mental change.

Check all the ingredients which are mentioned in the Ingredients and try to imagine how much do you have to buy in a grocery store to start your healthy lifestyle. You would get broke, inviting all of this into your life, right, and all the ingredients. Here, you have everything in one bag and that's how you can start.

Start small. Add some doTERRA Protein into your diet, add some doTERRA Greens into your diet and you will feel the change in how it is different. Then you can add doTERRA Fiber and it smells amazing. It makes your drinks taste delicious.

Then you go and see what else you can change in your diet and how you can help to reduce those toxins and how you can detox your body. We're going into the Cleanse and Restore complex, and here we are already moving into some very basic products, which we have, like PB Restore^® and Zendocrine^® and all this great doTERRA Lifelong Vitality^® complex.

Step by step. You can't change everything in one day, otherwise you would be broke. But you can make changes with every LRP order. Every time when you make an LRP order, ask yourself not just, "What kind of smells do I like?" Or, "What products do I already use?" But, "What haven't I tried yet?" Because I believe that every product doTERRA has can change the quality of your life in some certain way. And this is a very long and beautiful journey to a clean life.

doTERRA: I love that. Now, talking about products and ones maybe people haven't tried, what are some of your favorite doTERRA products to help manage your toxic load and help really live that clean lifestyle?

Elena: Well, let's start with daily routines. There's LLV complex plus MetaPWR Advantage with Collagen. Again, Collagen has great ingredients and very clean ingredients.

And then we go into the "detox program" once in every six months, which is Cleanse and Restore. That's what comes to my mind when we are mentioning supplements. Plus, every day, as we know, women have lack of protein in our body. That's why we are always trying to fight this battle about healthy lifestyle, weight and how our skin looks, how our hair looks, everything. So, smoothies make the huge difference. And I love those smoothies.

And again, every room I go, I have my favorite product for. So, I think it's just a complex.

doTERRA: Yes. And I think the advice that you gave is so important: when you go to make a new order, think about something you haven't tried. Think about a room where you're looking for a solution or something you're trying to do different. I think that will help a lot of people find some new and really amazing solutions.

Elena: Absolutely. And to discover a new chapter in doTERRA. Sometimes we neglect some shelves in our virtual shop because we just don't think we need it. But once we get into that and we start to learn about it, we dive deeper, it's one, two, three months and you already don't understand, "How did I live without it before?"

So then when we see that some product is unavailable temporarily unavailable, you're like, "Now I need to go to the store and buy the dish detergent, which I don't want to buy." That's how it works with doTERRA.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Thank you so much for sitting down with us today, for giving us some really simple ways that we can reduce the toxins in our lives.

Elena: Thank you.

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils.

If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today. And remember, if you liked what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.