environmental health & nontoxic living

Here you’ll find articles related to environmental health and non-toxic living. Several different factors play a large role in determining our health and well-being. There are certain factors we can control completely — like our diet, exercise habits, sleep, and stress levels — but protecting your health from toxins in your environment can be more complicated.

Because of the nature of the industrialized world in which we live, toxins are everywhere. The air we breathe and water we drink is often polluted, and chemicals make their way into every type of consumer goods, from packaged foods to personal care products to baby toys. At WellBe, we talk a lot about your “toxic load,” or the idea that what matters most is the overall accumulation of toxins you encounter over your life. We can’t avoid toxins completely, but we can make choices that minimize our contact with harmful substances and help keep our toxic load low.

Read these articles to learn more about how the environment impacts your health, and equip yourself with knowledge and strategies to live a non-toxic life.

Dr. Kasey Holland on EBV Reactivation Symptoms and How EBV Triggers Autoimmune Disease

Dr. Kasey Holland on EBV Reactivation Symptoms and How EBV Triggers Autoimmune Disease

When Dr. Kasey Holland was in naturopathic medical school, she was experiencing a cluster of mysterious and sometimes debilitating symptoms, and didn’t know what they were, despite the fact that the answer was staring her right in the face (Literally! She was busy diagnosing patients with the very thing she had! ). When she eventually figured out that she had reactivated EBV, and then healed herself, she decided to make this complex virus her specialty. Read on to learn Dr. Holland’s insights on EBV reactivation symptoms, the best EBV treatment, how EBV might explain what triggers autoimmune disease, and much more.
Dr. Jess Peatross On the Challenges of Testing for Mold Toxicity

Dr. Jess Peatross On the Challenges of Testing for Mold Toxicity

Dr. Jess Peatross — aka Dr. Jess — was working at a hospital in Portland, Oregon when she began to have inklings that something wasn’t right with the conventional medical system. She saw her colleagues using a cookie-cutter approach for every problem and sending patients away with laundry lists of prescriptions, and she knew there must be a better way. She left her job in the hospital and launched her own practice, where she now focuses primarily on stealth infections and environmental toxicity, in particular mold. Read on to learn her advice on professional mold testing, why it’s so difficult to do accurate testing for mold toxicity, and more.
Valencia Porter, MD, MPH on How Exposure to Chemicals Affects Your Health, and What to Do About It

Valencia Porter, MD, MPH on How Exposure to Chemicals Affects Your Health, and What to Do About It

Growing up interested in science and medicine, Dr. Valencia Porter always knew she’d become a doctor. What she didn't know was that, after working for several years working as a conventional physician, she would pivot to a completely new approach. Today, the double-board certified doctor is also a functional medicine practitioner and an author with a masters in public health focusing on environmental health. She has spent years working as the lead physician and educator at The Chopra Center, and much of her work centers around the health impacts of exposure to chemicals. Read on to learn about the risks of environmental toxicity, the different types of toxins, how to remove toxins from the body, and more. 
Is Grilling Healthy? It depends. The WellBe Guide to Safe Grilling

Is Grilling Healthy? It depends. The WellBe Guide to Safe Grilling

Nothing says innocent summer fun like throwing some meat on the grill and eating al fresco with friends and family. The only thing is — grilling isn’t actually so innocent after all. Yep, like that mosquito that keeps landing on your fruit salad, we’re here to put damper on your next summer bbq with some news about the serious health risks of grilling. But unlike that annoying mosquito, we’re going to make it better in the end, with smart tips to help you stay safe while still enjoying all the fun and deliciousness of grilling season.
How to Choose the Healthiest Eggs: Pasture-Raised Eggs, Free-Range, Cage-Free, and More

How to Choose the Healthiest Eggs: Pasture-Raised Eggs, Free-Range, Cage-Free, and More

Not all eggs are created equal. Similar to how a fetus is affected by the health and diet of its mother, the health and diet of a hen very much affects the quality of her eggs. If you're an egg eater, you'll agree that all the terms on egg cartons are confusing— how do you tell if you’re buying high- or low-quality eggs? We investigated to figure out which terms really affect our health— and which are totally nonsense. We also talked to Mark Kastel, the co-founder of The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group, for the inside info on why hen health affects our health. Here’s our WellBe education on eggs. Ready? Go.