Shownotes
Most of us want to live healthier, then drown in conflicting advice, endless product lists, and guilt. On The Soul Mirror, host Sayan sits with green living veteran Amy Hartshorn to cut through the noise.
You will leave knowing a less toxic life is about progress, not perfection, and that small, conscious choices in your home, food, and body care put you back in control.
About the Guest:
Amy Hartshorn is a certified organic farmer and green living educator with 34 years in nontoxic living. She is technical editor of Green Living for Dummies and hosts the Green Living Now podcast.
Key Takeaways:
- Aim for 80/20, not 100%. A less toxic life is progress, not perfection.
- Cut plastic where you can. Bottled water is one of the biggest hidden sources.
- Read the back label, not the front. The ingredients tell the real story.
- Watch for greenwashing. Words like "natural" are unregulated and often meaningless.
- Start small. Swap your laundry detergent, buy the "dirty dozen" organic, one step at a time.
Connect With the Guest:
Website: https://www.greenlivingnow.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amytodisco/
Free guide: 10 Words on Food Labels That Are Lying to You, on her website
Episode Chapters:
[00:00] The health maze: why wanting to live well feels overwhelming
[04:00] A paperback and a pregnancy: how Amy's awakening began
[09:00] Plastic you cannot see: about a credit card a week
[14:00] Progress over perfection: the 80/20 approach to detoxing
[19:00] Greenwashing and the lie of the word "natural"
[24:00] Reading labels: the front is marketing, the back is truth
[28:00] One conscious step: where to actually begin
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Transcripts
00:00:08 Sayan: Most of us want to live healthier, but the moment that we decide that for ourselves, we really end up in this loop of conflicting information and overwhelming product lists, not to mention and also guilt about everything that we have probably been doing wrong all around. Today's guest has spent thirty four years cutting through all of that.
00:00:32 Sayan: Welcome to another episode of The Soul Mirror. My name is Ian. As most of you know. And today I'm joined by Amy Hartshorn, a thirty four year veteran of green and holistic living organic farmer, upcoming Ted speaker and tech editor of Green Living for dummies. So, Amy, really great to have you here with us today. And I think this is going to be an important one. Looking forward to this conversation.
00:00:56 Amy Hartshorn: Oh, excellent. Thank you so much for inviting me.
00:00:59 Sayan: Thanks, Amy. So, you know, before we jump into that central theme or heart of today's conversation, a little disclaimer for all the listeners who have just tuned in today. Some statements may reflect personal belief and opinions and are totally presented as individual views and not medical advice. So I recommend all my listeners to please consult qualified professionals for any kind of medical conditions.
00:01:23 Sayan: So with that being said, uh, Amy, before, you know, non-toxic or less toxic was a hashtag. Uh. What was the state of, uh, this conversation thirty four years ago? Imagine you and me. Uh, I probably wouldn't have born at that time, but, imagine this conversation thirty four years ago. And, uh, uh, you know, how different would that be at that point of time?
00:01:55 Amy Hartshorn: Very different. I think people's awareness about the toxicity of everyday life is so much greater than it was back then. So I happened upon it. Actually, I was, um, I grew up in a very healthy household. My mother was into nutrition, my stepfather was a chef, and I learned how to cook at a really young age. And so good food was very important to us. And I was inspired by a great aunt, Jojo, who grew most of her own food and traded with her neighbors for chicken. And we would go for Sunday dinner every so often. And I still remember the taste of her tomatoes sliced with a little bit of salt. And yeah, so I went from that beginning to my first job in a summer job was working at a health food store, and I learned about organic food and vitamins and supplements and a little bit about household products, but not that much. Until thirty four years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I found this little paperback book called The Non-Toxic Baby. And that's what opened my eyes to the fact that we have all of these toxic chemicals in, you know, body care, cleaning products, carpets, paints, everything that we purchase and bring into our home, including the baby shampoo and the baby creams and all this sort of thing. And I first of all, couldn't believe that that was the case and wondered why nobody was talking about it. And even more importantly, I thought, why is nobody protecting us, the consumer, from this? How is it that we're able to walk into a store assuming these things are all safe, not realizing that there could be health impacts from using them? And so I jumped into a whole research mode to figure out what was the safest products I could use for my family. And then once I did that, I couldn't help but share it with other people because once I learned something that I feel is important, I want other people to know, and I feel like my bigger purpose is really helping to raise awareness around how to get the toxins out of your food and get them out of your home, and also embrace holistic health tools to try to prevent illness and even to heal things if you know something comes along. So that's been sort of the three part focus that I have had for, for all these years.
00:04:17 Sayan: Well, and, and I think that's, that's a very important, mark in, you know, just being self aware about your surroundings. Um, right. Uh, super important. And, and I think, uh, well, and that was thirty four years ago. Mind it. Uh, right. I mean, if, if you're talking about that degree of, uh, toxication Thirty four years, almost three point five decades back. I mean, we could we could imagine a what is it like today, you know, in, in today's, uh, environment. And, and so, uh, with so much of processed food, uh, trying to enter or have entered our ecosystem, I think, uh, uh, things are much, much worse than what it was thirty four years ago. So, uh, I mean, I would.
00:05:06 Amy Hartshorn: Agree with that.
00:05:08 Sayan: Yeah. I mean, and look, it's not just about processed food, right? It's about processed everything. I mean, even if you look at, uh, plastic, for example, there's a layer of plastic that's constantly getting, um, you know, uh, what's the word for it? Um, like constantly degenerating into the environment, uh, you know, right.
00:05:29 Amy Hartshorn: Turning into microplastics.
00:05:30 Sayan: Yeah, yeah. Uh, turning into microplastic, uh, you know, with, with, uh, I mean, it's reaction to heat and, and so I think this could go on, right? So yes, from, from a holistic perspective. I mean, I want to straight get into that heart of the conversation. Uh, what does one living in twenty twenty six needs to be aware about, uh, about, you know, what he or she is bringing to their homes, what they are actually taking inside their bodies. And, uh, you know, uh, pretty much of every interaction. Uh, so if you could share maybe a few of them, if not everything.
00:06:09 Amy Hartshorn: Sure. Yes. I think you bring up plastic and I think that is a huge issue. People don't realize how much plastic they are actually eating and drinking. And so one of the first things I encourage people to do is stop drinking from any plastic bottles. Mhm. Uh, that is one of the biggest sources. And what estimates have said we're eating about a credit card size worth of plastic per week. So that tells you how much plastic we are being exposed to. That's overwhelming. Right. And we know it's in the oceans and we know. And now they're finding science is finding that it's in the human body. It's in our brains. They think it may be connected to Alzheimer's. It's in our arteries. They think it might be connected to heart disease. Mothers are passing it from, you know, the placenta to the baby. So it is a huge problem. And, you know, you go shopping at a food store and you see how many things are, are packaged in plastic, not just, you know, bread in a plastic bag, but things like mayonnaise, you know, which is a high fat food, much more likely to leach that plastic into the container. So it's, it's nearly impossible, I'd say, to avoid plastic completely, but we can reduce the amount. So, for example, the other day my husband and I were going to the lake and he didn't want to bring the water from home, which is what we typically do. He said, oh, well, we'll just get some on the road. And I said, well, I'm not going to buy the plastic bottled water. And thankfully, we had one option of water that came in a stainless steel container that we were able to purchase from this little store, a lot more expensive. I think it was maybe five dollars US, but I figured I'm fine with that. I'd much rather use the the safer water. So one of the things that I want listeners to understand though, is that this is not about perfection, it's about progress. And that we I don't even live a totally non-toxic life. I still go out to eat occasionally. I go to friends houses who may not be eating all organic, healthy food. Um, I still am exposed to some of the same things that, you know, many people are exposed to. But the way I see it is if I'm doing about eighty percent healthy and twenty percent not as healthy, my body is healthy enough that I can deal with that and also still live within the world. Right. And so the other piece that's important is that we are making these choices to what we bring into our home. We don't have control necessarily over the outdoor air or, you know, some of the water supply and all this sort of thing, but we can get a water purifier to clean our water so that what we're drinking and what we're bathing in is much safer. So all of these different choices that we have are ways that we can feel empowered. So we don't have to feel like we're victims of a situation. And I think that's a very important piece. And, and then step, you know, taking one step at a time, not feeling like you have to do everything at all at once, but take one step and feel how that makes you feel. And if you can do this with friends and family, then you're not going to feel quite so alone. Um, and you get support from each other. And I think that's a really, uh, first step.
00:09:25 Sayan: Yeah, I think spot on. And, uh, I mean, while, while we could really, uh, you know, keep going and, and, uh, you know, keep picking certain things of what you probably shouldn't do, but I think, yeah, avoiding plastics. I mean, you really can't avoid plastics completely, right? Um, right. That's that's like nearly impossible. Uh, with, with the amount of exposure, uh, and, and just, you know, the comfort. I mean, we human species have, it had with plastics. I mean, in terms of, uh, buying processed food, buying, you know, convenience, anything from the convenience store, but wow. I mean, okay, so what my man naturally tends to. Is the, you know, the care products, uh, I mean, and, uh, I, I think it's, it's important, another important part of it. So while that, that comes, you know, in plastic packaging, but I think, uh, the leaching is not really an issue, but the issue is, uh, what you're really applying to your body, right? And, and some of the, uh, shampoo or, or there was this brand, uh, recently, it was like, you know, uh, people say it's a conspiracy, but I think I delved deeper into the actual fact of it. There was a company called, uh, or a company, which is dove, I think. I don't know if, uh, it's.
00:10:51 Amy Hartshorn: The US company. Dove.
00:10:53 Sayan: Yeah.
00:10:54 Amy Hartshorn: Dove soap.
00:10:55 Sayan: Yeah. Yeah. I think the soap or the, uh, the shampoo. I'm not, I'm not. So this was almost a year back. Uh, but but pretty much, uh, banned in entire Europe. And, and because they found, uh, a chemical that, uh, sorry, I'm not actually able to recall, but it, it had got something to do with the reproductive health. I think it, it really affects that. Um, so it's, it's kind of interesting how these big companies are using some bizarre chemicals in, in the healthcare, uh, the skincare, my, my apologies products. So what's your take on that?
00:11:31 Amy Hartshorn: Yeah, so there's a lot of those companies using chemicals that are hormone disruptors, which is what I think you're talking about. And I don't know that specific case, but but there's also carcinogens. And one of the things that's interesting is there are a lot of these products that are banned in other countries like the EU. And, and, uh, I'm not sure if Canada is stricter than we are, but yeah, in the US, it seems like anything goes. And even when something's been found to be toxic, they allow that company time to let the, you know, sales complete so they can get rid of their stock of it, which just blows my mind. But yeah. Um, yeah, the personal care products are important. And I don't think a lot of women realize how many products they're using in a day. And it's not just the exposure to one chemical in one product, but there's multiple chemicals in one product. But then you add all the different things you're using in a day, and you might have multiple exposures. And sometimes I hear people say, oh, but I'm fine. I, I'm not sick. But then, you know, then you talk to them a little longer. You realize they're already taking different pharmaceuticals for various different conditions, and they're not really putting that together. Right. So when I think about household products, one of the first things I recommend people do is change your laundry detergent. You don't want to be using the mainstream brands because you're exposed to that twenty four over seven, right in your clothing, in your bedding. And, you know, it's even like I have this tiny little dog that sleeps in my bed. If I was using the mainstream brands with the terribly strong perfumes, that would also affect her. Right. Not just me. And so that's not something that people always think about. And also you think about for babies, you know, if you're washing their clothes and their bedding with these strong smelling and perfume is one of the worst, um, parts of those products because they can be made up of like two hundred different chemicals. And that's on top of the hormone disruptors and, and all those kinds of things. So switching out and if you're not really ready to go the full non-toxic product route, then at least go with fragrance free. It's better than clean. Uh, free and clear. Fragrance free is actually not including any perfume. Sometimes I'm understanding that free and clear might actually have a chemical that masks the scent that's still there, but. But fragrance free is better. Um, and then food wise, one of the first steps that people can think about is there's a non-profit in the US called the Environmental Working Group, and they have a, um, a thing that they do every year testing or taking the results from testing of pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables. And so they rank the dirty dozen, which are the top twelve that have the most pesticide residues that you really want to make sure you buy certified organic. And that includes things like strawberries and spinach. And then there's the clean fifteen, which actually is, you know, conventionally grown but very low pesticide residue, sometimes none. That would be things like pineapples and avocados and onions. So that's a first starting point to really look at. Okay, let me switch the ones that are the most toxic and the dirty dozen to certified organic. I always encourage people to grow their own if they can. Then you really know what you're doing, right? You know what, what you're using and what you're not using. And being able to grow your own food is an amazing thing to have access to that fresh, you know, wholesome, really good quality food.
00:15:12 Sayan: Absolutely. I think, uh, you kind of hit the nail on the coffin with that one. But I think, yeah, I, you know, it would take a whole different level of consciousness for us as a society. But I think when we reach that, um, we would, you know, go back to the early, uh, you know, early days when everyone used to be somewhere related to agriculture. Right. And and I think that that is not very far. I think that's going to be the case in the next ten, twenty years when, uh, you know, we realize what we're really intaking is actually, uh, not organic anymore. So, uh, but, but yeah, you know, uh, about, about the, uh, chemicals, the hormone disruptors, uh, you mentioned, I think the healthier practice and this is not just for the skincare products, but for, for any product that you buy is to just make a habit to, to read the, I mean, the whatever is in that product, right? Just to make it a habit, the ingredients and the ingredients. I mean, uh, you know, you might not know what, uh. I don't know what it is. Yeah, but or.
00:16:25 Amy Hartshorn: Be able to pronounce any of it. Really?
00:16:27 Sayan: Yeah. I mean, yeah, either of them. But but I think the point being, uh, by looking at twenty different products, you would become one percent more conscious about. You know what is not good for you versus what is actually required is a must have in a product, right? So for example, and I'll give a simple example. I mean, when we take, uh, any kind of, uh, protein supplement, we always prefer that, you know, that that protein percentage is over ninety percent, you know, over ninety five percent. That's how we know, you know, it's a, it's a good protein source, right? So, and, and that's just using common sense. But I think, uh, that awareness should be there when we are buying other kinds of products. But yeah, I mean, you were saying something sorry, I interrupted.
00:17:09 Amy Hartshorn: Well, yeah. And so there's a couple of interesting points about looking at products. So when you look at the front of the product, that's really the marketing that they're trying to tell you that, oh, this is healthy, this is non-toxic, etc. what you don't know is when you look and read the ingredients on the back of the product, that's where you actually see the real story. So we call that greenwashing when a product is using toxic things, but making it sound like it's healthy and wonderful and safe. So I actually did a, a deep dive of research of one hundred different food product labels. And I wrote a book about it called the Comprehensive Guide to Food Labels. And what I learned was about one third of those one hundred were pretty good labels that actually had an independent certifying agency that could validate what they were saying. There was about another third that were somewhat useful. Parts of it made sense, but maybe not that great. And then there was a bottom third that was completely useless. Like the word natural. The word natural on a product means absolutely nothing. And a lot of people mistakenly assumed that that meant, oh, natural sounds great. It must be just like certified organic. But no, unfortunately not. And so there's so many different terms. Like even when I was researching, I didn't realize wild caught wasn't necessarily as good as I thought it was unless it had this marine fisheries, um, uh, certifying agency label on it or icon, I guess. Yeah. And so, so that's an interesting thing. And I actually have a free resource that I call the ten words on food labels that are lying to you that people can grab on my website. And that gives you ten of the words that you can, you know, print that out, take it with you to the store, and that will start you on the journey of looking at your labels differently. And it takes about five minutes to read.
00:19:00 Sayan: Wow. That's, that's really a great work, Amy. I really appreciate that because, uh, yeah, I think, uh, what you perhaps see on the front label is indeed, uh, you know, the, the whole, uh, selling point of, of a product, right. Uh, it's, I, um, I think that there has been multiple incidents in the past, um, you know, that were really marketed in a way that, uh, you know, people really thought that it's healthy or it's useful, but that's where the gimmick really lies. So I think that's where, that's where we should become conscious of that level. And I think this is why we are having this conversation. So for the listeners who actually are tired of like navigating this on their own, because I think there's a lot of contradicting information out there, you know, a lot of experts having different opinions on this, but, um, from what you have shared, I think, uh, your, your facts and figures have more or less been, you know, useful and informative. So for someone who wants to connect with you, I mean, uh, where's the best place for them to find you to read, uh, more about your work and the book that you mentioned as well.
00:20:05 Amy Hartshorn: So my website, Green Living Now dot com is the best place to find me. That's where they'll find some free resources. I have some courses, I have my own podcast and I'm restarting my blog. So there'll be even more in depth articles. And I do a newsletter every week, um, called The notes from the Green Rebellion that if they get that ten words guide, they automatically get signed up for the newsletter. So they'll get some really good information that will help. And one of the things that I feel is so important is I meet people where they're at. I don't expect people to do everything all at once or to be like me. Um, I think that we all need to trust our own instincts and, you know, listen to all of the experts, myself included, and think, okay, what does what's one thing that I can take away from what this person is saying that makes sense for me? You know, you don't necessarily have to do everything. You can just take one step and listen to your intuition to say, yep, that feels like a good step for me.
00:21:04 Sayan: Right. Absolutely. I think, uh, you, you kind of, um, nailed that one. So for the listeners who are, uh, still tuned in today, folks, I will be including all the details in the show notes so that you could easily reach out to, uh, Amy and also dive a little deeper into her work. But, uh, with that, folks, we unfortunately hit today's minute mark on this conversation. So I, I mean, firstly, I want to thank you for, I think, sharing everything that has been so informative and, uh, you know, uh, to the point. And I think, uh, I, I think my listeners have obviously related, but, uh, I especially have really enjoyed this conversation and I think there is something to learn from this. So folks, uh, with that, I would just like to add that, like Amy said, you really don't have to detox to one hundred percent. Not that I would say it's, it's, uh, not possible, but I guess it's, it's really, you know, detoxing to ninety percent is easier than detoxing to ninety five. And then the rest five is even more difficult. So think of it like that. So you don't really have to reach the one hundred percent or ninety nine percent all at once. You just have to remain conscious and remain conscious of the products that you buy and that that you interact with. So that's all you have to just basically start somewhere. So that's all that I would like to leave you all with. And, uh, I hope you sit with that for a few minutes as we wrap this up. But that's pretty much all folks for today's conversation, because I think living well is not just about being perfect. It's about being really honest and conscious about what you're putting in, putting out and about yourself. So that's all this has been saying on The Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. And we'll see you in the next one real soon.
