Podcast 137: Toxic Homes

Yet one more way to get really sick is living in a toxic home, toxic office or any toxic place.

You could fill a small library with the books and official research reports written on this subject. Do some research if you or your family suffer from allergies or unexplained physical symptoms. Many popular building materials, including plywood, particle board, treated lumber, adhesives, paint, paint thinners, insulation, paint strippers, carpets, and carpet pads – even decorative paraffin candles – contain highly toxic materials such as formaldehyde, chloroform, lead vapor, arsenic, and countless other toxins.

They can enter your living area as gaseous vapors and increase the toxic load of the body. Add to that the problem of toxic black molds, and you have a very toxic home.

For detailed information on this subject, check out these books…

The Safe Shopper’s Bible by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.

Diet for a Poisoned Planet by David Steinman

Toxic Relief by Don Colbert, M.D.

Podcast 137: Toxic Homes

Scott: Welcome back everybody you are listening to the Life Enthusiast co-op online radio network restoring vitality to you and the plant, I have one plant in my kitchen and we are restoring vitality to it. I am your co-host Scott Patton and along for the ride as usual is the founder of Life Enthusiast Martin Pytela, hey Martin how are you doing today?

Martin: I am just loving it, thank you for asking.

Scott: You know Martin last time we talked about one of the people you had an email correspondence with and then spoke with and he looked like he had Candida and different things he could do and we got him into Toyota and root causes and all those sort of things and I was thinking after we got off the air last week what are other things that we can do because we are still in our how to get sick series here so what are some of the other things we can do that will help us along when it came to getting really sick in a way that is somewhat unique.

Martin: Perfect question, well living in a toxic home or a toxic office or a toxic workplace would be good.

Scott: How would you even know that?

Martin: Well you know when you enter a new home and it has painted with toxic paints and you might experience something like a headache or you might smell it, I don’t know have you ever sat down in a brand new car?

Scott: Yes I have the smell of a new car.

Martin: Well sometimes it smells pretty good like when the new car smell was made with wood and leather well that is not the case now, now they are vinyl right.

Scott: And they do something to give you that new car scent.

Martin: Well to them it is important to make this new car scent but what I am talking about it is when you first get into a vehicle that is sitting in the sun the vinyl in it gives off a whole bunch of chemicals I mean there are people who are so sensitive they can’t buy a new car. They have to buy a two year old car that is owned by a non smoker who didn’t wear perfume.

Scott: Interesting so one way you can tell is just how you feel about something right.

Martin: Oh yeah for sure one of the signs that you liver is not working so well is that you are sensitive to perfumes.

Scott: Oh I didn’t know that was a sign that your liver wasn’t working so well.

Martin: Well it is an assault, it is an assault from outside and these are some kind of organic toxins coming in. The other day I was asked to explain it to somebody and I said if you think about it in your capacity to deal with toxins as a lake with a dam visualize that you have a lake that is almost full like it is nearly overflowing and it means it has rained hard and the water is spilling over the dam like you have no capacity left to protect the valley down below from the down pour, it just spills. Whereas if you have the lake half full you have twenty feet of room to rise still, even a massive tropical storm won’t fill it.

Scott: That is a good analogy I like that.

Martin: So the same thing if your liver is working at capacity or near capacity just to keep you functioning the moment you hit some toxins you go straight into a headache or a migraine or something of that sort.

Scott: Interesting so anyway we were talking about our home and that is not something people talk about a lot and it’s like what sort of paint did you use or what is the type of carpet or do you have mold.

Martin: And there are people with allergies that have to install wood floors or something like that but definitely no carpets because you might be allergic to dust, dander and whatever so you need to keep the floors completely bare so you can vacuum it every day. You know one of the real bad culprits are candles, it’s just bizarre but candles made with paraffin you know the scented candles scented with some artificial flavor you know bees wax candles do not have this effect. The natural bees wax candles burns and is non toxic but the parathion candles are so if you have a sensitive person do not treat them with aromatherapy candle made with paraffin.

Scott: I never would have thought of that.

Martin: Yeah it is not common thinking like if you don’t have this problem you don’t even think of it and yet you know like you have somebody arriving at your home and your home is fragrance and scent free but someone shows up and they just lathered their face with a cologne or aftershave or something like that right it is like being tossed a hand grenade which just blows up in the room and so if you have somebody with this type of problem you can’t even stand it you have to leave, you have to ask the person to leave or ask them to go have a shower and this sort of problem you encounter in medical offices like a waiting room or any waiting room or movie halls you know but I remember sitting in a doctor’s waiting room and somebody arrived and sat down and this cloud of odor or scent starts spreading throughout the room and not to them of course because they are not sensitive, they can’t tell because they are sitting inside their own scent and they don’t even realize that they are effecting everyone else.

Scott: That’s right and they are used to it so they are not thinking about it at all.

Martin: But if somebody in that room is sensitive then they come home with a headache so people out there if you are not suffering from smell sensitivity just try and be responsible.

Scott: That’s right no need to lather it on, we have enough stuff going on in the air and not putting stuff on to add to the problem.

Martin: And then of course there is the fun things like the paint and paint thinner and paint stripper and particle board glue and lumber treatment chemicals that make it ant resistant and all these things that you find in your home right.

Scott: Right and it just adds to the issues.

Martin: Oh totally so anyway if you are sensitive like this take heed it starts with the liver and you need to get on a liver detox.

Scott: So what would be an example of a liver detox?

Martin: Well in our world we have Dr Miller’s Holy Tea and Dr Miller’s Miracle Tea; both of them are formulated to push on the liver very nicely and gently. There are actually quite interesting stories from users out there that share their experiences with us and the other thing is we have the Exsula Strata-Flora which is formulated as a detox for the liver and pancreas and whatever else that will support so that is the sort of thing that I would recommend to people.

Scott: What sort of differences could you expect if all of a sudden your liver is working better and has decided to clean itself out because I know you well enough to know that I just take this and oh I feel better.

Martin: Oh you mean the stuff starts leaving?

Scott: Yeah just too kind of give everyone a warning of what to expect.

Martin: Well you know you will need to empty your colon you know you will need to clean it and then the toxins go and then of course the stones in your gallbladder and liver need to go so you will be pooping stuff for a good while and it won’t be smelling pretty.

Scott: Well because it is not in your body you will weigh less.

Martin: Oh yes you will get lighter that is a promise.

Scott: So we have been talking a bit about your home and what is in your home and sometimes when you have carpet all over the place it may be difficult to justify ripping it all up and replacing it with wood but at least you are aware of some of the causes. The other thing I wanted to talk about because this was sort of related was okay we have our home but we are also in clothing most of the time.

Martin: Well interestingly enough I wear cotton or wool you know my undershirt is a hundred percent cotton and so is my underwear mostly, my pants are either cotton or wool, my socks are cotton I don’t use the synthetics you know.

Scott: Right because there are a lot of synthetic fabrics out there.

Martin: Oh gosh yeah well there is the acrylic and then there is the polyester so yeah its trouble or it is certainly not contributing. If you are not weak like one of my own personal problems was liver toxicity so until I cleansed my liver I suffered so I created the habit of wearing natural fibers so these days I am not about to switch to wearing synthetics just to test it.

Scott: Right if it is fixed don’t break it.

Martin: I don’t need to push it, I don’t need to find out if my liver is good enough to wear synthetics but certainly if you are wearing synthetic clothing and supplement drying it with synthetic fragrances with your dryer sheets and all of that you are certainly putting an extra load on your liver.

Scott: So what we are saying is that you are better off to go as close to natural as you can when it comes to where you live and the place that you live and what you put on your body because we have talked a lot about what you put inside your body.

Martin: I actually have a thought about that, sorry I keep interrupting today I am just too excited and this is what you say what we put in your body and the thought that you have these tattoos and implants and just places people operate in I mean breast implants come to mind you know.

Scott: Right yeah and when you bring that up there was a big sad story hitting the news recently there was this fellow I believe he was on some reality TV show and murdered his wife and he did some things.

Martin: I know the story he actually went quite a ways, he removed her teeth and fingers.

Scott: Yeah and he thought this was great no one will know who she is and I can get away with it and what he didn’t think about was she had breast implants I don’t know if you had thought of this I certainly wouldn’t have but they put a serial number on them.

Martin: Oh yeah breast implants are serialized and it is sort of like a lot number on a bottle of pills or supplements right and manufacturers are required because it is a medical device to track it.

Scott: Yeah so they checked the serial number on her breast implants and low and behold they knew who she was and then they went looking for him and that’s where the story gets worse.

Martin: Yeah that’s where the story gets worse because well anyway I know that he ended his own life in the consequence of all this.

Scott: So if you are thinking of getting murdered and mutilated maybe having breast implants is a good idea but otherwise when it comes to a long term life.

Martin: Yeah this is sad but I need to tell you this I have actually known a lady who was an activist for a breast implant group and she had silicone breast implants, there are two major types the silicone filled and the saline water filled.

Scott: She was an advocate for breast implants?

Martin: For women who have suffered horrendous damage because of their breast implants again this does not happen to everybody do you remember the stories I tell about dental damage with mercury and how it only effects about a quarter of the population so the statistics based medicine is able to get away with it. Well in a similar way the silicone or whatever implantations do not affect everybody so by all means take your chances and put in the implants and find out whether they do or do not cause the inflammatory reaction in your body. If they don’t then you have beautiful boobs but if they do you are coming down with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, vitiligo you know you start naming those auto immune disorders we have a long list that we have covered in our previous podcasts.

Scott: Right and you will have a problem getting them out too I would assume.

Martin: Not really no just another operation that you will have to pay for and it is probably twice the price getting them out as putting them in.

Scott: I would think so.

Martin: I don’t know it certainly costs ten times as much to remove a tattoo than to put it in right and that is another implant that I would suggest you go without.

Scott: Yeah that’s one of our favorites here we are taking stuff and sticking it under the skin so it will stay there like what is that about.

Martin: Well you know I find it hard to believe that people would actually want to put a picture of something permanent on their body just so they can remember something or whatever when they were eighteen but anyway that aside not everybody gets the problem but if you are one of the people that have the genetic and toxic load that goes with it you know the lake that we talked about earlier if you make your lake shallower when you do these types of things so that you are getting yourself ready for major problems later in life and encounter a toxic tropical rain right.

Scott: Well I like the analogy.

Martin: Yeah you are filling your lake and then when it comes to a rain storm you can’t withstand it and that’s what happens to people they always so it was the car accident that did it to me you know I had a car accident and from that moment on my back is bad. That is not how it went, it first was weakened and it is probably from the toxicity and inflammation in your body that is making it weak and then comes the assault you know the boom, the straw that breaks the camel’s back and then you cannot get it back and then you cannot fix it because your repair capacity is lesser than the damage done so if you want to get sick live in a toxic environment, particle boards, formaldehyde, lead, arsenic and silicone breast implants oh don’t think the salt water implants are less trouble they are only less trouble if they burst like if the silicone burst you are guaranteed problems and if the saline bursts you know it just gets absorbs but if you are allergic you will be allergic to either.

Scott: Yeah and then put stuff on your skin that is on there all day that is synthetic and add some stuff on there as well.

Martin: Yeah and top it up with petroleum jelly.

Scott: I have a friend whose sister is a doctor and her husband is a professor of what drug to prescribe for mental illness so “the enemy” and she keeps well I keep telling her about magnesium and not to eat it but to have a bath and she had a bath and you know when you have too much magnesium and your head kind of goes weird.

Martin: Oh yeah you get kind of woozy.

Scott: Yeah and it is a bit disorienting the first time it happens and the second time it happens you know what it is and it will take a day or two to wear off so she keeps going to her sister and she doesn’t tell her ninety percent of the stuff that I tell her but she goes to her sister and asks if you can absorb magnesium through the skin or in a bath and she said no you can never absorb that so she comes back to me and tells me what her sister says and she says I am trying to quit smoking and I am wearing a patch so why am I wearing a patch if nothing gets absorbed through the skin so at least I have the friend thinking right there is no hope for the sister right.

Martin: Well she might get it someday if she needs too. Yeah this is a complicated situation I don’t know if its karma or developmental some of us just need to reach the level of pain at which we are finally prepared to make a change. I was listening to Oprah Winfrey’s show the other day and she said at first you get a nudge, then you get a whack and then you get a kick and then you hit a brick wall and then the brick wall comes down on you so at what point are you willing to listen? so I mean our podcast here is aimed at people who are just possibly willing to listen when we talk about one part and it makes sense it kind of extrapolates and we are saying A and I know A is true and they are saying B and I am going to say that B is probably true and I am going to stop doing this thing that is bound to cause B so here we are talking about liver load and allergies and migraines and immune system cave-ins and all of that you know the chronic disease that follows. It is really frustrating because we are living in society and I am so livid with the manufacturers that invent and then produce and manufacture these things and put them out there. I am going on a walk with my wife and all of a sudden this waft of a dryer sheet is coming into the street right I forget the name of these sheets that are saturated with these artificial industrial fragrances but it is some kind of organic god knows what chloride thing that we are putting out into the air. You know a ton here and a ton there and soon it adds up to something.

Scott: Yeah we keep talking about global warming and all that stuff and we have no idea what we are throwing out there and we have no idea what impact that it is having or could have and for no reason like there is really no good reason to have a scented dryer sheet in your dryer. I mean you know I could understand if you wanted to have a scented candle and you burnt the candle when you knew your boyfriend or girlfriend was coming over and wanted to make a romantic thing but to me it is just way overkill when you do that for just laundry and you are basically spewing it out into the neighborhood.

Martin: Well you know you could go natural, you could buy tea tree oil and sterilize your laundry with that or you could buy mint or spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen or whatever natural extracted plant but that of course would cost as much as ten times more than this industrial crap. The point is the manufacturers going after the lowest cost and they find they can have artificial almond flavor and they no longer need to put the almonds in, or they can have the lemon flavor and they no longer have to extract it from real lemons or they can have this artificial mango scent, tropical mix potpourri made from petroleum something and it would cost a tenth of what it would cost to get the natural stuff but going for the lowest cost has a huge price at the end.

Scott: And what is that price?

Martin: Your health and the health of your neighbors and the health of the planet and the existence of the human race as we know it.

Scott: Well I think you have pretty much summed that up.

Martin: No to be too subtle on the point.

Scott: Well and I think you know everyone has an impact collectively as well as individually and by taking steps to minimize it and when you think about it to like I have got in to the habit of taking all my clothes and now that it is summer time and not raining I hang them out in the backyard to dry and it is like I like it actually you know.

Martin: The fragrance of air dried clothes is so different from the stuff that comes out of a dryer it is not even funny but you know here is my appeal to all of our listeners: think, do not buy stuff that causes the addition of toxins into the environment like it is the little things like why is it that you have to have this blue block of something chlorine rich in your toilet? When you flush and see the blue color swirl go down the chute where does it go? well down stream right down into a plant somewhere where is kind of settles out and then it goes into the river and then it goes into the ocean and you know give it a thousand years and we are going to have oceans that are dead in fact we might have it sooner who knows but you know it is the consequence of putting the stuff down the chute. I mean if it is organic, if it’s natural like here is a good example there was this city in Florida that was doing a huge campaign of cleaning up their act because they were dumping raw sewage straight into the ocean and about ten miles out there was this coral reef, buoyant, living, thriving coral reef with fish and everything else. well so the city cleaned up their act and they turned on their sewage plant and none of the effluents were flowing into the ocean, the reef died out within two years.

Scott: Oh no!

Martin: Well somebody’s organic output is another person’s food but it was mainly organic that we are flushing down right, you know the poop and the toilet paper and the stuff you put down the garburator that is all okay because it is organic. What is not okay is when you take the paint thinner and pour it down the drain, so the consequences right?

Scott: And also it is not always the way we think and I think we have talked about here but we might have to talk about it on another show is some people want to try and make the world an incredibly sterile place but the truth of the matter is that we are not sterile we have worlds living on our skin right.

Martin: Oh yeah it is totally symbiotic.

Scott: Totally symbiotic and we are trying to make it us and us alone and like you were saying people think this poo is terrible stuff and it is just like no we are just recycling. What is terrible stuff are the plastic bags that go out to sea and the fish get stuck in or try to eat and choke on it and the whole bit. Like those six packs of cans that have those rings they are like deadly.

Martin: Yeah they are deadly to birds and they are deadly to fish.

Scott: Yeah and I think now they have made them so they decompose a lot faster and stuff because they realize there was a problem but those are sort of things that are unnatural like you cannot go into a forest anywhere and go up to a tree and pull off a six pack like you can go into the forest and step on bear poop no problem and no one is going to be complaining about the bear poop in the forest because they know it is going to fertilize the plants which grow and other animals eat or create berries that the bears eat.

Martin: Yeah right on, so I think we have said enough didn’t we?

Scott: Yeah so Martin here comes the part I ask you every week and we have talked about some interesting stuff and if someone is think oh man maybe that is what is going on with me but I don’t know who to talk to about this and we keep saying you are one of the people that they should be talking to and if they want to how do they get a hold of you?

Martin: Easy, call 1-866-543-3388 or go to the website at www.life-enthusiast.com there is plenty of inspirational information there and that should be enough so thank you very much for listening this is Martin and Scott restoring vitality to you and to the planet.

Author: Martin Pytela