How to Reduce Your Toxic Load at Home: Practical Steps That Actually Work

The full transcript of this episode is below. Lightly edited for readability.

Kelly: Hey Anthia, thank you so much for coming back to the show. Last week’s episode was brilliant, and I hope everybody has been taking your advice — just taking time with their food, chewing until it’s actually liquid, and taking the time to observe how your body responds to what you’re eating. If you haven’t been doing that, you still have time. Please do.

So last week we talked about how to support the body to detoxify — we went through all the different detoxification organs. Really practical, beautiful episode. And this week we’re going to look at the other side: all the ways that we’re putting toxins into our bodies, and how we can gradually find ways to reduce those. I’m looking forward to this episode. Thank you so much.

Anthia: Thank you.

Kelly: As I said last week, we always start by getting an insight into something in your life. This week I thought it would be nice to ask: what’s one small change you’ve made to your own life recently that surprised you with how beneficial it’s been?

Anthia: I think we touched on this last week — and for me it’s reverence for the stage I’m at, which is perimenopause. Because again, it’s very noisy out there. As a practitioner who sees a lot of women who are in perimenopause, I’m also in it myself. And having real reverence for this transition has made it so much more, I don’t know what the word is — enjoyable. And not frightening.

There’s so much negativity around it. And that word reverence has come up for me again, applying it to this now. I’m in this transition, and what does that feel like?

Kelly: And does reverence in this case look like reverence for your body and the changes it’s going through?

Anthia: Yes. It’s like — my goodness, I’m so blessed. I’m healthy. I’ve made it this far in my life in this body. And sure, it doesn’t look like it did — why should it? The outside world wants us to look exactly the same and not change, and it’s just not realistic. But I’m a woman like anyone else. We have vanity, we want to look our best and be beautiful and be desirable and still be noticed. But for me, what’s more important is a reverence for this extraordinary body — how it’s able to help me do the things I love so much. My patients being liberated from symptoms and disease because I look after it. It’s a different way of existing. And I think a lot of women are feeling this right now. I’m not 20. I’m 54. And this is what 54 for me feels like.

Kelly: Yep. And it looks beautiful, by the way. Yeah. I love that because I’m 46 and I’m constantly being fed the same thing — all the ups and downs of perimenopause and what it should look like. I love the approach of just focusing on loving your body and loving where you are.

So last week we talked about how your approach to detoxification has stayed consistent over your 31 years of practice. You’ve also been advocating for a chemical-free lifestyle for just as long. What brought you to that position before it was trendy?

Anthia: I can thank my dad for that. We come from a Greek Mediterranean background. We grew our own food. Dad was an electrical engineer — he very much understood science, physics, chemicals, and toxins. We weren’t allowed to have toxic chemicals in the household. There were natural products, simple things that dad would make. And then I started naturopathy when I was 18, so I just jumped straight into that natural world.

But I’m obviously very aware that we can’t achieve zero toxic chemicals. I live in the city. There is no such thing as zero.

Kelly: Absolutely. And that was exactly what I was going to ask next, because going into this topic it can feel a little overwhelming. I’ve been aware of this for at least 20 years, trying to live a low-tox lifestyle. But I did a total tox burden test and it still came back showing plastics, this and that. I thought — my goodness, I try so hard. So yeah, it can feel overwhelming. How do you work through that with your clients?

Anthia: We always say start with the foods you’re eating. Minimise the toxins — additives, preservatives, artificial colours and flavourings. There’s your first lot of toxic chemicals. And then how the foods are stored — that’s your second lot. Minimise the amount of plastic that food is stored in.

And then: what is the most commonly used product you could swap out, whether it’s for cleaning, beauty, or personal care? Some people come having already eliminated everything after being diagnosed with a chronic illness. Others are completely brand new.

Kelly: So let’s start with food. Could you talk through those hidden toxins?

Anthia: I get my patients to do something called a food audit. I even created a Substack called The Food Audit. The food audit is looking at the ingredients of everything you eat that comes out of a packet. Often people are just looking at the nutritional panel — protein, carbs, fats, sodium, sugar. But the ingredients will often have numbers and words you don’t recognise. So we say: fewer ingredients, ingredients you recognise. That’s a good place to start. If you don’t know what something is, ask questions, visit the Substack, or just start flipping packets over and reading.

Kelly: And are there particular things to really look out for?

Anthia: Flavours, preservatives, all the numbers. Just start with that. Then I say — now we’re going to look at your produce. And I teach people about the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. Some people look at me with wide eyes. The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 come from the Environmental Working Group in the US. They list the twelve foods grown with the highest amount of pesticides, and the fifteen grown with the least. We say the Dirty Dozen should be consumed organic. The Clean 15 — you could buy non-organic if you don’t want to spend all your money on organic produce.

Kelly: I’ll link to these in the show notes. And I personally find it’s a great way to save money. I’d love to buy everything organic, but this is a much more cost-effective approach.

Anthia: And it teaches you to think differently. If a recipe calls for spinach — spinach is at the top of the highest-pesticide list — can we swap for something else? Zucchini, another green, parsley. Rather than that rigidity of sticking to the recipe when you can’t afford the organic version.

And here’s what’s interesting: sometimes people are sterilising over here with strong detox protocols, and yet they’re still eating raw non-organic spinach in a smoothie. They haven’t looked at the basics.

Kelly: Yes. Absolutely. What about water? What do people need to know about what’s in their tap water here in Australia?

Anthia: Some people say, isn’t our tap water safe? And yes, it is safe from harmful microbes. But there are other things that might be coming from old pipes or the environment — heavy metals, chlorine, trace amounts of pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics. Buying a water filter is a simple place to start. I recommend The Water Shop — not sponsored, just love them. They can kit people out with really inexpensive counter units if you’re renting, or something installed underneath the sink if you own your place. Good-quality water, without heavy metals or toxic chemicals.

Kelly: Yes — and there are options from relatively affordable right up to getting the whole house done. Personal care products. Could you talk about the chemicals we’re exposed to in those?

Anthia: Whatever you apply on your skin, you might as well be eating. We absorb it through the skin. We breathe it through our nasal passages. We use oral products in our mouth — mouthwash, toothpaste. And cleaning products come through the clothes we’re wearing.

With personal care — skincare, makeup, toiletries, hair products, deodorants — some patients want to go all in and change everything at once. I say: that’s very expensive. And yes, I’d want to do that too. But it can be a really expensive exercise.

First ask: do you really need that product? It’s the same with cleaning products — do you need a drain cleaner? Which is the most commonly used product you could swap out? Because the one you use most often is the one where the swap makes the greatest difference.

Kelly: Could you speak to what the impacts of these products are — skincare, makeup, deodorant?

Anthia: It’s the cumulative effect. The eye makeup remover, the hair colour, the deodorant, the lipstick, the soap, the foot cream — all accumulating within the body as known endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors affect hormone regulation. Some are known carcinogens — cancer-causing from the cumulative effect of toxic chemicals across cumulative products.

There are also products that disrupt the skin’s pH and the skin barrier — they don’t allow the skin to breathe. The skin is an organ of elimination. It needs to breathe. So every which way you cut it, there are multiple reasons to care about this.

Kelly: And with cleaning products — you mentioned some really simple swaps. What do you personally use?

Anthia: Bicarb, apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and bicarb — that’s one of the best drain cleaners there is. Eucalyptus in a bottle of water with some apple cider vinegar makes a really good multipurpose disinfectant cleaner. And there are some beautiful natural cleaning products out there that are genuinely as effective as the chemical ones — for grout, stainless steel, windows, all of it.

Just make sure they aren’t greenwashed. Great marketing, but when you look at the ingredient listing, there’s not much natural in it.

Kelly: And unlike food labels, personal care and cleaning product labels don’t have to list every ingredient — which is why you have to go to the website.

Anthia: Exactly. Reading labels is a good place to start, but the transparency just isn’t the same as with food products. So go to the website. Find people like you and me and ask us: what’s your favourite natural product for this?

Kelly: Totally. Okay, let’s talk about the home environment. Mould, VOCs, synthetic fragrances. Could you talk about the toxic burden we could be exposed to in our homes?

Anthia: Especially if you’ve just renovated or newly built — from the paints to the treated wood. In an older build you’re dealing with mould issues or lead paint. My clinic is in a beautiful old Georgian building — sandstone on one side, doesn’t get much sunlight. I put wallpaper up, non-breathable wallpaper, and it started to mould up behind the wallpaper. I had to strip it back, my beautiful wallpaper. So I learned: I need non-toxic, breathable paint so the wall itself can breathe.

Sometimes it’s trial and error, because you’re renting or you’ve bought a place and you don’t know the ins and outs. Not everyone can afford to rebuild, or to bring in a building biologist to measure mould. But the simple things: minimise your toxic chemical load, use natural candles, avoid synthetic fragrance in room sprays and incense. Open up windows — at any season — let fresh air in, let sunlight in.

Have plants around, but check the soil — make sure there’s no mould growing in it. Water them well, make sure they’re draining and getting plenty of sunlight. Otherwise we end up looking as sad as the plants sitting next to us in a dim room.

Kelly: Now I wanted to touch on EMFs. This is something I personally feel — but I know many people don’t. What’s your perspective?

Anthia: I only bring it up if it’s brought up, because for some people it’s not on their radar at all. I think once you start becoming aware of the impacts of toxic chemicals and EMFs, you in a sense create more sensitivity within yourself. Is ignorance bliss? Yes and no — because then you might end up with a diagnosis and be unaware it was coming.

A certain level of sensitivity is like a barometer of health. It’s your nervous system sensing safety. An appropriate response to an environment is what we want.

For patients who feel very stimulated nervous-system-wise, or fatigued, or who have constant headaches or difficulty concentrating, EMFs are a consideration. Often people look at diet first, toxic chemicals second, and EMFs get left last. But I think it’s just about being aware of it. The adjustment you’ve made — long drives in the Tesla: not good. Short drives: manageable. That’s practical.

Kelly: And my experience is that when I’m going through a lot of stress or my health is down, I feel it much more acutely.

Anthia: Yes. You’re already in a heightened state of awareness — in fight-or-flight. You’re going to sense things more acutely. That’s what the fight-or-flight response is meant to do. The freeze response is different — that dorsal vagal state where everything blunts out and you’re not as sensorially acute. But in the acute fight-or-flight state, you become almost intolerant to walking down the laundry aisle of a supermarket, to loud noises, to more EMFs.

Kelly: Let’s just touch on one more thing — plastics. I read a study in Nature Medicine that found microplastics in human brain tissue with up to a 50% increase in just eight years. And there are multiple studies now linking microplastics to ovarian ageing — which links back to what we were discussing about perimenopause. Where are people most exposed, and how do we address it?

Anthia: The sources are both obvious and not so obvious. Food storage — plastic containers, plastic wrap. Bottled water, especially plastic water bottles. But also indoor air — dust in our homes carries microplastics. So an air purifier that addresses particulate matter can help with that. And then the water we drink, which comes back to filtration.

Kelly: Yeah. And putting in air purifiers that deal with that — so important, because that’s the air you’re breathing the vast majority of your time.

We’ve come to the important part. This is a lot to deal with. Where would you recommend people start?

Anthia: Start with the foods you’re eating — read the labels, minimise preservatives and additives, check the Dirty Dozen for produce. Then choose two or three personal care or cleaning products that you use most often and swap them to natural alternatives. That’s it. That’s achievable.

Kelly: That’s really achievable. So: read the back of packet labels, go to the show notes and find the Dirty Dozen, try to buy those organic or swap them out — and then pick two or three high-use products on your body and swap them. That’s it. Thank you so much.

Where can people find you and the different ways they can work with you?

Anthia: Visit apothecabyanthia.com — you can book a one-on-one consult, subscribe to my Substack, or listen to my podcast How We Heal on all platforms. And you’ll find me either in my clinic and store in Surrey Hills or online.

Kelly: I highly recommend reading Anthia’s Substacks — so much practical, applicable information. And I would really recommend doing her seasonal cleanses. There’s one on now, so you may have missed it, but there’ll be another in winter — definitely sign up. Thank you again. And thank you for doing the double episodes. This worked out just beautifully. I really, really appreciate your time.

Anthia: Thank you. Pleasure.