Gut health is the foundation of good health and it's no different when it comes to our kids.
In this podcast naturopath Jessica Donovan shares how to improve our kids gut health so they can thrive in our modern world.
Resources
In this episode I share which of my favourite natural cleaning products I used to complete the exit clean on my house in our recent house move, and how they performed.
Earlier this year we made our BIG family move from the small town of Roxby Downs to the city of Adelaide, 600 km away.
I contemplated outsourcing the exit clean to save time, but for various reasons, we decided to complete it ourselves.
I also secretly wanted to put my favourite natural cleaning products to the test to see if they were up to the big task of a leave-no-surface-spared exit clean, and they didn’t disappoint!
Links to Purchase
Click HERE to purchase koh (ekoWorx) Universal Surface Cleaner, Diamond Sponge, grout brush and microfibre cloths and receive $10 off your order (including bundles and sale items).
Click HERE to purchase Young Living Thieves Household Cleaner, Thieves Dishwashing Liquid and Eucalyptus and Thieves Essential Oils.
Click HERE to purchase Norwex Enviro Cloths (microfibre cloths).
Click HERE to purchase ENJO Window Cleaner and Cloth.
Please note: for some for these products I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase via these links. Rest assured I only ever recommend products I’ve used myself and which I am 100% happy with their performance.
Gut Health, or more specifically, poor gut health has received much publicity in recent times and for very good reason.
Gut bacteria and poor digestion have been linked to many diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, obesity, HIV, auto immune disorders, arthritis, mental illnesses and autism.
Why Am I Talking About Gut Health on Eco Chat?
Because looking after ourselves and our planet go hand in hand. We can’t perform at our optimum and care for our Earth if we’re sick or low in energy.
Which is why I have one of Australia’s leading experts in gut health on Eco Chat today.
Micheline Andrews is a nutritional health coach focusing on gut health. She is a bone broth advocate, speaker, and author of a brand-new cookbook ‘Bone Broth Basics’ , which we will talk about today.
If you’re a bit frazzled leading up to Christmas and think you have no hope getting through your TO DO list, let alone carving out time for YOU, this episode is for you. I’m sharing 5 easy ways you can fill your cup this Christmas... without even leaving the house!
If we don’t care for ourselves, and keep our cup full so to speak, we can’t fill others, and we definitely can’t look after the environment.
If we’re frazzled, stressed and tired, we’re more likely to make decisions based on convenience and generate more waste, not to mention spend more money in the process.
More seriously, if you’re busting your butt trying to live a more sustainable, zero waste lifestyle and you’re putting yourself last, you’re much more likely to not only burn out, but get resentful too!
You have my permission to take some time out and rejuvenate, even for just 5 minutes a day.
Happy Christmas!
Lotions and potions, deodorant, perfumes, soaps, exfoliants, shower gels and make up: many of us probably use some or most of these personal care products every day and may not give a second thought to the impact they might be having on the health or us or our environment.
In this episode I’ll share why you need to be savvy when choosing which personal care products you use and why beauty products may not actually be that great for both you and the environment.
To be in the running to WIN a place on my Home Detox Boot Camp be sure to share your best eco beauty tips in the comments on this episode's corresponding blog post HERE before Tuesday 31 October 2017.
This episode highlights three simple plastic habits you can kick to improve your health.
WANT TO WIN A SET OF HONEYBEE REUSABLE WRAPS?
Review the Eco Chat podcast in iTunes before Friday 18th August for your chance to WIN. Not sure how to leave a review? Follow the steps in this 1 minute video.
When it come to transforming women's health, look no further than Courtney Townley from Grace and Grit.
Courtney Townley is passionate about a multi-dimensional approach to women's health and fitness, and integrates the practices of clean eating, functional movement and stress management. She loves to move and share her love of movement with others while also introducing them to optimal health through healthy living practices. To her, it’s the greatest gig in the world to work so closely with women who want to be happier, healthier and more fit and change their lives for the better.
In this episode, Courtney and Laura chat about sustainable eating and dieting, and how women can best transform their health, naturally.
I’m super delighted to have one of my very good friends join me today to chat about raising healthy kids.
Jessica Donovan is a mama of 2, naturopath and holistic health expert that helps families thrive. Jess is passionate about educating parents on nourishing their children with real food; helping to boost their health and heal naturally. Jess combines her extensive naturopathic knowledge with a realistic, empathetic, inspiring and down-to-earth approach to empower women to look after themselves and take charge of the well-being of their families.
Plus, we announce an amazing special offer!
It’s little surprise that the foods we eat impact our environment. Whether it be high food miles, large amounts of water or chemicals used to produce the food, land degradation caused by food production, or resources used to process and package the food and transport it to market, the choices we make when it comes to our diet can make a lasting impact on the world in which we live.
The good news is that by making a few small changes to our diet and including more plant-based foods, we not only improve the health of the environment, we improve our own health at the same time!
In this podcast episode I share 5 ways to increase your intake of plant-based foods.
Have you ever come face to face with a techno-tantrum when you’ve wrangled the tablet, smartphone, computer or TV away from your child?
Are you worried your child is becoming addicted to technology and you feel helpless about the situation?
Are you trying your best to get your children outdoors and playing in nature, only to have to drag them away from their screens in order to do so?
If that sounds familiar (and I’ll raise my hand as we battle this in our household too), you’ll love today’s episode.
I’m joined by Dr Kristy Goodwin, one of Australia’s leading digital parenting experts (and mum who also has to wrestle devices from her children’s clutches!)
Kristy translates the latest research into practical and digestible information for parents trying to navigate the digital terrain with their kids (without telling you to ban the iPad, or unplug the TV).
Kristy takes the guesswork and guilt out of raising kids in a digital world and I love it how she arms parents with facts, not fears about what young kids really need to thrive online and offline.
Our kids will inherit a digital world…. it’s here to stay…. so we know digital abstinence is not the solution. Kristy’s here to help us find the solution that’s right for our families.
If you love this episode, check out our recent chat with Sarah Sutter of Nature Play SA (episode number 53) here.
Throughout October on Eco Chat we chatted about sustainability and our kids…. How to foster eco-conscious children, how and why we need to get our kids playing outside more, how to nurture a love of science in our children…. And even how to be a happier mama.
Today I’m joined by Belinda Smith of The Root Cause to hear how we all can instil healthy eating habits in our children. Bel Smith is a health and wellness coach and a mum on a mission to transform children’s health, one lunchbox at a time.
The long-term health prospects of Australian children are a real concern. 27.4% of our children in Australian between 5 & 17 are now overweight or obese. Of these children, 80% will go onto become overweight or obese adults.
This stat alone is not the only concern. Chronic illness is now on the increase. Diabetes type 2, once an adult onset illness, is now occurring in our children, and Australia has one of the highest allergy rates in the world.
Together with her husband and 2 children, Bel travels Australia in their big green bus Kaley, running fun and interactive workshops for children and parents about making better food choices.
Sustainable living can require a bit more effort than conventional living, especially when learning the ropes, as instead of grabbing the items of convenience we may instead choose to make our own household products and foods from scratch.
If we’re not careful this can lead to overwhelm, burnout, resentment and chucking it all in or giving up entirely on creating a sustainable home.
But it doesn’t need to be that way at all!
It is possible to live sustainably, have time for work, friends, family, and yourself, and today I have a very special guest who’s going to explain why we need to put ourselves first in order to be able to create a sustainable home, and indeed a happy family.
Amy Taylor-Kabbaz is the Happy Mama.
She’s on a mission to help every new Mama she can feel connected to that strong, powerful, intuitive woman she glimpsed when she first became a Mama, but is now too tired and run off her feet to remember. She’s here to give you permission to put yourself first, to demand a happier life, to feel good about yourself, and to be a better Mama. The next round of her Reconnect program begins on 30th October 2016. Sign up here.
This episode is especially for the mums listening today, but if you’re a stay-at-home dad or even just a father who would love to support the mother of your children a bit better, then there’s plenty of gold here for you too.
Amy is coming into the Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs community as a guest expert next month to help our members re-shift their priorities, reclaim their time, and put themselves first. If you’re not yet a member, you have until 31st October to take advantage of the launch special and test out the first 3 modules for just $1!! Go to selfsufficiencyinthesuburbs.com today to join this new, amazing online club that provides you with the tools, and the support, to create your own self-sufficient home in the suburbs!!!
When our children grow up and look back on their most treasured childhood memories, what will they remember?
Will they have memories of climbing a tree as high as they’ve ever been before, or riding a bike down a hill so fast they thought they would never be able to stop? Will they remember having tea parties in a secret hiding spot in the garden, or carting all your kitchen pots and pans outside so they could make mud pies?
These are our childhood memories. We grew up playing outside. Adventures were limitless. We weren’t constrained by time or other activities, homework, or our parents. It was free play outdoors. It was spontaneous, exhilarating, fun, and exactly how we wanted to play. This was nature play and for most of us, the best time we ever had.
Two decades on, this type of play is no longer the norm. Sadly, our children spend less than two hours a day outside, one in four have never climbed a tree, one in three have never planted a garden, and the area in which they can explore, has shrunk by 90%.
Nature play is vital for children’s development, and for their health, happiness, and well-being.
This week I’m joined by Sarah Sutter from Nature Play SA. Sarah is on a mission to make unstructured outdoor play in nature an everyday part of childhood, and in this episode she shares how and why we need to get our kids back outside.
Last week I opened the doors to Self Sufficiency In The Suburbs...a new online club that provides the support and the info you need to create a sustainable home without turning your back on the modern world!
Join for just $1 in October!!
Have you ever looked around your kitchen and wondered if all the containers, pots and pans are impacting your health?
Maybe you’ve eaten Teflon in your stir-fry that was cooked in a wok that once upon a time was non-stick, or you’ve eaten a mouthful of melted plastic with your reheated food.
If that’s you then listen up because in this post I take a look at some of the common questions I receive about toxins in kitchen equipment and recommend some safer alternatives, including:
and more!!
I cover topics like this in my Home Detox Boot Camp so if you’re keen to learn more on how to create a cleaner, safer home to improve your family’s health and well-being, register your interest here.
Not many of us are born with the intention to lead as green and healthy a life as possible.
Most of us have an awakening at some point along the way.
A wake up call that tells us that we need to dramatically change our lifestyle for our own health and that of the planet.
Today I’m joined by a lady who experienced such a wake-up call and who has dramatically changed her lifestyle over the past year…. So much so that she’s started a new business venture that’s in complete alignment with her new way of living.
In this Eco Chat Jo kindly shares:
Jo’s transformation led her to create Dare To Be Healthy, an online store dedicated to helping people make better choices for themselves and our environment. She stocks a wide range of products that are natural, toxin-free, organic and eco-friendly with many vegan-friendly options.
Jo has also kindly offered a 10% discount off your first order for Eco Chat listeners. Simply enter voucher code HOMEDETOX10 in your shopping cart to apply the discount.
Given that newborn babies can typically sleep around 16-17 hours a day, it’s worth putting some thought into creating a natural baby nursery to ensure your baby’s sleep environment is as safe and toxin-free as possible.
In this episode I’ll share five things you need to consider when creating a safe, toxin-free space for your baby.
Whether your baby sleeps in your bedroom or their own nursery, following these five steps will help you create a safe and natural sleeping environment free of toxins for your baby. Of course your baby will venture into many other rooms in your home (especially after they become more mobile!!), so once you have your nursery nailed you may wish to shift your focus to the remainder of your home.
Rather than go through the process of creating a toxin-free home alone, join my Home Detox Boot Camp for expert advice and support from the hundreds of women in our active community.
Doors close on the final round for 2016 on Thursday 18 August 2016 and you can join here.
Dust… it’s not a sexy topic but it is an important topic when it comes to maintaining a clean and healthy home.
With dust being a leading cause of environmental allergies in both children and adults, it pays to understand what dust is, how it accumulates in your home and how to get rid of it, for good!
In this episode I’ll share:
My favourite dusting cloths are the Norwex Dusting Mitt and Enviro Cloths (available here), however the ENJO Dust Glove and Indoor Miracle also perform well (available here).
When it comes to toxin-free living there’s many sources in our homes that fly “under the radar”.
If you’re keen to discover the 5 Main Sources of Toxins In Your Home, reserve your seat on my free LIVE Online Event here.
For guidance and support to help you create a cleaner, greener and healthier home, check out my Home Detox Boot Camp. Doors will be closing soon on the final round of 2016!
When we think of air pollution we typically think of smog-filled cities, factories belching out toxic plumes or even just people in heavily populated cities wearing face masks to filter the air. But what if I told you that the air inside some of our homes is right up there with some of the more polluted cities.
Indoor air pollution has been ranked by the US EPA in the top five risks to public health, but what does this mean exactly and what can we do to improve the quality of air inside our homes and offices?
In this episode I’ll share why we should be concerned about indoor air quality and what you can do to improve the quality of the air you breathe inside your home or workspace.
You’ll learn:
Improving your indoor air quality is just one of the many areas to tackle when creating a safe, healthy home that’s free of nasty toxins.
For guidance and advice to help you create a cleaner, greener and healthier home, check out my Home Detox Boot Camp.
Doors are now open for the final round of 2016!
For many of us, splashing or squirting perfume or cologne on ourselves is part of our daily grooming regime. But is our obsession with scent and smelling nice causing harm to ourselves and our planet?
In this episode I discuss the health and environmental impacts of fragrance and why I choose not to wear perfume.
I chat about:
To enjoy optimum health we really need to smarten up on not just what we put IN our bodies, but what we put ON them.
That’s one of the main reasons why I created the Home Detox Boot Camp 2.5 years ago. In the course I delve into cleaning and pest control products as well as personal care and beauty. All in a supportive community and with access to me for questions and insights from guest experts who are leaders in their fields.
I’ll be opening doors again this coming week and you can join here.
They've been linked with obesity, early adolescence, infertility and cancer and take hundreds of years, if ever, to break down in our environment. I'm talking plastics and on the blog/podcast this week I'm sharing why we need to be concerned about plastics, plus how you can stay healthy in an increasingly plastic world.
I discuss:
If you’re keen to reduce your family’s exposure to toxins including those found in plastics, you can watch my FREE Home Detox Video Series here or pop your name on the waiting list for my popular Home Detox Boot Camp here.
Modern living and toxins often go hand in hand, but there’s plenty of ways we can reduce our exposure. The food we eat has a massive impact on our health, and naturally, what we feed our children directly impacts their current and future health.
In this episode I catch up with naturopath Jessica Donovan to discover how parents can best fuel their kids for a happy, vibrant, toxin-free life.
We discuss:
If you’re keen to learn more on this important topic, Jessica is hosting a FREE “Wholefoods for Kids” webinar on Tuesday the 12th of July.
Be sure to register your seat here.
From 12 July 2016 you’ll also be able to join Jessica’s Natural Super Kids online program and you can always follow Jessica at Energetic Mama.
Before I jump in to this episode I want to let you know that my Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs crowdfunding campaign has just opened and you can find it here.
Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs is all about living a more self-sufficient life in our modern world.
It will be an online course and membership club rolled into one that combines practical tools plus insanely useful how-to’s, with a gorgeous community of like-minded souls, to support you as you journey towards a better, simpler, more sustainable way of living.
Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs will be run as an annual membership program where you select to pay either monthly or annually, but if you buy Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs as part of the crowdfunding campaign rewards you will have LIFETIME access, meaning you’ll never need to pay a cent for these programs again.
Even better news is that you can pick up lifetime access for both Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs AND Home Detox Boot Camp as a package in the crowdfunding rewards for only $297 Australian – which is less than the price of Home Detox Boot Camp alone!!!
You’ll need to be super quick to pick up these specials as there’s a limited number of rewards available and the crowdfunding campaign only runs for 3 weeks….. which means it will finish on Monday 6th June.
So please check out my campaign and show your support to help me create and bring this idea to life.
Okay!!! Onto this episode......
It’s no secret that eco living can take a bit more effort than conventional living, but you and I both know that the rewards are totally worth it in the pride, freedom, health and financial stakes.
I’ve always said that eco living is a journey, and not a destination, and you need to look after yourself along the way. I’ve always thought I’ve maintained pretty good self-care but I’ll be honest and tell you that I've needed to crank it up a notch up it recently and I thought you may be interested to hear how I look after myself so that I can run both an eco-household and an eco-business.
I cover the importance of (plus share how I prioritize) the following:
How to run a self-sufficient household is the first module in my new program Self Sufficiency in the Suburbs.
But I’ll tell you right now and let you know that the key to running a self-sufficient household, a conscious business or just to turn up day in day out as a present mum who has the energy to give to her kids, you gotta look after YOU.
Are you striving for perfection when it comes to clean, green, toxin-free living? In the process are you rejecting gifts that don't align with your health or environmental values and moving them on as fast as they were given to you?
In this episode I chat about the gifts I was lovingly given by my children for Mother's Day and just why I'm choosing to receive, and use, a gift I would never purchase myself.
In today’s episode I’m chatting to Erica Brooke from ‘Erica Brooke 100% Natural Skin Care.’
Erica has a huge passion for natural skincare and green chemistry and is on a mission to help with nasty chemicals from skin care and deodorants.
Erica’s natural deodorant creams in particular are gaining a solid reputation in the natural body care space and today we’re chatting about all things deodorant, including:
You can follow Erica and view her entire range of natural body products at www.ericabrooke.com.au. Enter discount code HOMEDETOX15 to save 15% off your first order!
You can read Erica’s blog on performing a pit detox here.
Erica is also a guest expert in my Home Detox Boot camp. Normally interviews like these are just part of the exclusivity of the Home Detox Boot camp, but I really wanted to share this one today because deodorants are something that all of us are applying to our bodies day in and day out which is why it’s so important to switch to a natural one! I wanted to share Erica’s story and her tips for doing the pit detoxes and also why you should switch to a natural deodorant with everyone! But of course, if you are keen to hear from a lot more of my guest experts on the topic of removing toxins from your home and your life, be it personal body care, cleaning, household, kitchen…everything, head on over to www.homedetoxbootcamp.com and pop your name on the waiting list so that you are notified when I open it for next round which is hopefully going to be later in 2016.
If you love eating food and you have a social conscience, then today’s episode is for you. I’m talking wholefoods and how you can cook for a cause!!!
If you listened to my recent episodes on fluoride in drinking water you would have heard that our society’s obsession with sugar and processed foods is playing havoc with our teeth. But it’s not only that, eating a diet high in processed foods has been identified as the main factor causing so many modern health issues like obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, spectrum disorders, infertility and so many more.
Not to mention the environmental issues of eating processed, and highly packaged foods.
Eating a diet rich in wholefoods is essential for our health and that of our environment.
But what exactly are wholefoods?
In this episode I chat about what wholefoods are and I introduce you to a project by the Aussie Wellness Women that is attempting to raise $200,000 for the Luke Batty Foundation, by selling a gorgeous wholefoods cookbook "From Our Kitchen To Yours".
You can purchase your copy of "From Our Kitchen To Yours" by the Aussie Wellness Women for $19.95 here.