Speaker 1: 0:00

Reduce the levels of these chemicals in your body by 60% in just three months. What would take well over five years to achieve can be accomplished in three months.

Speaker 2: 0:11

With whole plant food. I'm serious. Just wrap your mind around that for a minute.

Speaker 1: 0:16

But as I'm saying this, I'm getting goosebumps at how amazing this is.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Jared and Anita Roussel, christ followers, healthcare professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food.

Speaker 2: 0:48

We, too, tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes, and we weren't finding answers to traditional routes. So we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon sustainable plant-based living. The truth is, you can eat more whole plant foods, and it's not hard. You just need the way. That's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started. Hello, friend, and welcome to this episode of the Power on Plants podcast, where we show you exactly how to eat more whole plant foods and finally feel good, so you can fully enjoy living your God-given dreams.

Speaker 1: 1:44

So, anita, have you ever heard of quote-unquote forever chemicals.

Speaker 2: 1:48

I have heard of forever chemicals, and I think it's something that I don't want to have forever in my body. I'm pretty sure about that.

Speaker 1: 1:54

It doesn't sound like it's a good name. It's not like forever love, forever love, good, forever chemicals not so much.

Speaker 2: 2:02

Or forever whole plant foods, because that makes me happy right there. Forever whole plant foods.

Speaker 1: 2:06

That is also a very good thing, but forever chemicals are not. Usually on our podcast we talk about foods and how they affect your health and how sometimes you're not necessarily feeling the best from what you're eating. But sometimes it's not the food, it's what comes in the food or the environment around you that may be causing some health struggles, and today we want to touch on one of those and tell you what you can do about it. And for this episode it's forever chemicals. Now we hear that term. What does that generally describe?

Speaker 1: 2:34

Well, there's a group of chemicals that they abbreviate PFAS perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are called forever chemicals because they don't break down easily or quickly hence the name forever and over time they can build up in both the environment and our bodies. So the question is where do they come from? That is an excellent question, because probably most of us are not thinking, hey, I use PFASs or I even know what they are. Surely I'm not using these substances. But actually we are. These are chemicals found in common everyday items that we use Nonstick cookware, teflon Teflon is a forever chemical. Waterproof clothing, gore-tex it repels water on our jackets and you wear them for hours at a time, and Gore-Tex has been around for at least 20, 30 years, maybe even longer, right, so it's in our environment. Stain resistant carpeting.

Speaker 2: 3:37

How many of?

Speaker 1: 3:38

us live hours and hours of our lives on stain resistant carpeting.

Speaker 2: 3:42

Yeah, that's just fantastic. I mean, think about that St stain resistant carpeting. Yeah, that's just fantastic. I mean, think about that stain resistant carpeting. I seem to recall that it's also in chemicals that are sprayed on our furniture, things like our sofas, our mattresses, those things we spend hours of our lives on, day and night.

Speaker 1: 3:58

Things we wear, things we sit on, things we walk on and things we use to cook Also and the one that actually surprised me a little bit food packaging. So this helps create greaseproof food wrappers, pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags.

Speaker 2: 4:17

Okay, that's another reason to just mix the microwave popcorn all together. Here's a takeaway tip Get yourself an air popper. It is a life changer. If you like popcorn, you're going to love an air popper. Just do it. Just try it. You will not regret it. You don't have to use any oil or butter. It tastes absolutely amazing. It takes no time at all. And guess what? It doesn't have in it? Forever chemicals in the wrapper of a microwave popcorn wrap. You can avoid a lot of that if you microwave your popcorn using an air popper.

Speaker 1: 4:46

So, as you see from this example, those chemicals are used anywhere you need to resist water, grease or stains. So we've talked about Teflon, Gore-Tex, but I'm sure the list is immense with something like that.

Speaker 2: 5:01

So we're not trying to make you fear-based here. We just want you to be aware and understand that these things exist in your environment and you're around them, touching them, breathing them and eating them on a regular basis. So this isn't something to get fearful about or scared about, because we're going to be sharing with you one of the simplest things that you can do in order to reduce these in your body.

Speaker 1: 5:26

on this episode, so the next natural question would be well, why does it matter? Okay, I have these, they're in my body, they're in my environment. What is really the problem with these? Well, they're linked to certain kinds of cancers, like kidney cancer and testicular cancer. The World Health Organization even considers them as a class one carcinogen.

Speaker 2: 5:46

That means there is direct evidence to link it to cancers, stuff to be on our furniture, on our rugs, on our carpets. We really need to take a stand about these things, especially when there are options available that we can purchase without these things, like healthy mattresses that don't have the flame retardants and stuff on them. Vote with your dollars.

Speaker 1: 6:12

I remember a doctor I worked with before where he used to kind of jokingly say, quote, unquote better living by chemistry, end quote. And while on the surface it may seem like it makes your life easier because, hey, I'm not getting stains on my jacket, my food is not sticking to my pan, what's the long term consequence? And I think now we're starting to see this play out in research and the lives of real people. Next is hormone disruption.

Speaker 2: 6:39

Oh, fantastic.

Speaker 1: 6:40

Yes, reduced immunity, which makes it harder to fight sickness, which also would be harder to fight cancers as well, because our immune system is important in all these aspects. And then there are developmental issues like low birth weights. I mean the impact is far-reaching and substantial. Now, while the science may not be 100% settled, there are still enough red flags to suggest limiting your exposure. It's known that forever chemicals can persist in the environment for decades or even longer and for many years in the human body.

Speaker 1: 7:13

The half-life of these forever chemicals is about five years. The half-life of these forever chemicals is about five years. Now, the half-life is a term that we use in science and in medicine. That helps to gauge how long it takes to get rid of something, because a lot of that is concentration dependent. So when you have 100% of something in the body in the case of this example, it takes five years for half of that to be gone. Now, once you have half of it remaining, because it's a lower concentration, it's going to take another five years for that to half, which leaves you then with 25% of the original. And that sounds great and all, but it takes about five to six half lives for something to be considered out of your body. Wow, that would be in this example. 30 years, that's a long time, 30 years, and that seems very daunting.

Speaker 2: 8:01

It can. But again, we don't want you to walk away feeling overwhelmed by this information because you can't do anything about the things you don't know. So this first part of this episode is just making you aware, opening your eyes. These things are out there. Now you know. So then you start looking for the solution. What can I do?

Speaker 2: 8:21

Don't just tell me this scare stuff. That's like news, right? We watch the news and we hear it's not really news. We just hear fear stories that freak us all out. So that's not what we want to be surrounding ourselves with on a regular basis. You need answers, and that is what we're here to provide you with, because that is what we're all about. So what can you do about these things to get them out of your body quicker and to keep them out of your body? You know we've already talked about one way you can keep them out of your body by looking at what you're buying and choosing the better options where manufacturers intentionally do not put these things on their products. But then what do you do once you're just by default around these things and they get into your body? Is there a way that you can clear them out?

Speaker 2: 9:07

Avoidance is best, but unfortunately they're just present in the environment, right, so we're not going to worry about it because if it's there, we're not going to worry about it, because stress makes you sick, it makes you not feel good and it causes problems, so it's not something we're going to worry about. You're going to just take the information that we share with you today and put it into action, and you are going to start feeling better.

Speaker 1: 9:28

But beyond avoidance, there is hope found in our food. There's a starch called beta glucan and wonder where that's found. Well, excellent question. It is found in common foods that can actually help detoxify these forever chemicals from your body.

Speaker 2: 9:46

Yes, and I have a feeling I might know what category of food products contains beta-glucan.

Speaker 1: 9:53

If you're thinking plants, yes, you're correct. Oh, I am thinking whole plant foods. There are some specific plants that we will share with you in just a moment, but first, You're thinking plants.

Speaker 1: 9:57

Yes, you're correct, oh I am thinking whole plant foods, ding, ding, ding. There are some specific plants that we will share with you in just a moment, but first I want to touch on how they work. Forever chemicals will bind to bile acids in our digestive tracts, which bile acids help us break down fats in our food so we can absorb them better. Even the healthy fats found in plants like nuts, seeds and avocados. Beta-glucans will bind to the bile acids, preventing them from being reabsorbed along with the forever chemicals. Without this special starch, it will just be reabsorbed in the gut, and it's constantly recycling. We're never eliminating it. The exciting part is that a 2024 study shows that a daily intake of beta-glucans just three grams of it reduced the levels of these chemicals in your body by 60% in just three months. What would take well over five years to achieve can be accomplished in three months.

Speaker 2: 10:53

With whole plant foods. I'm serious. Just wrap your mind around that for a minute.

Speaker 1: 10:58

But as I'm saying this, I'm getting goosebumps at how amazing this is.

Speaker 2: 11:02

It is amazing how God created plants for us specific plants, and you don't have to worry about I've got to eat just this one or just that one. But you do want to make sure that you get these specific ones in your life, because we are surrounded by these chemicals on a regular basis. These are ones that you just should make your regular go-tos. Mix them in with a lot of other whole plant foods.

Speaker 1: 11:29

You're not going to go wrong in doing that. Now you may be asking yourself what foods have this supercharged starch? You may be shocked to find out that these may already be sitting in your pantry or fridge. The highest concentrations for beta-glucans are oats and barley.

Speaker 2: 11:40

Yum.

Speaker 1: 11:41

One cup of oats has three grams of beta-glucans in it.

Speaker 2: 11:46

That's amazing. So just one cup of oats. It's that simple. One cup of oats a day.

Speaker 1: 11:51

So for in that specific study, where they took in three grams of beta-glucan a day, that would be equivalent to eating a cup of oats every day for three months. And barley barley, for the same amount, has twice the amount of beta-glucans. So for a cup of that, you're looking at about six grams of beta-glucans.

Speaker 2: 12:09

And you have to keep in mind this is all that they studied was one cup. What if you ate other things with beta-glucan? You didn't just eat that one cup of oats. Maybe you had your cup of oats a day, or a half cup barley a day, and then on top of that you ate mushrooms.

Speaker 1: 12:25

Yes, mushrooms are another source, although they don't contain quite as much. They're around 0.1 to 0.2 grams per cup and specifically mushrooms like shiitake and reishi were better mushroom sources for this. But I think another source that's going to surprise you, anita nutritional yeast was also a rich source. I like it.

Speaker 2: 12:45

We don't use a lot of it, but just a little sprinkle. If you can find one that is non-fortified, we use one that's non-fortified and it has made all the difference, because we used to eat the fortified one and it made me feel horrible, gave me headaches, headaches. I just did not. My body didn't like it at all. So, yes, sprinkling a little bit of nutritional yeast on your food is tasty, but here's another benefit of it and a cup of the nutritional yeast has about six to seven grams as well.

Speaker 1: 13:11

Now you're not going to eat a cup of nutritional yeast, but no, you shouldn't be no not that much's a bit too much, but if you're sprinkling it on foods as a flavor enhancer, it's something that you can use on a daily basis. That can be a daily source of beta glucan to then help with this process.

Speaker 2: 13:28

And I am all about habit stacking. So when I hear Jared talking about all these different things the oats, the barley, the mushrooms don't just think I'm just going to eat my oats. Figure out ways to get all these things into your life, because as you stack them you've got to ask yourself they only studied one cup. What if they had done more? Would the results have been better? So the moral of the story once again is eat more whole plant foods, the foods that God created your body to thrive on, and then all these nutrients that are in there that we don't even know about. Think about all the other ones that probably fight forever chemicals that are in whole plant foods. Eat a wide variety and eat a lot of them, but be sure that you're getting these and stacking them one on top of the other. You're going to start feeling so much better.

Speaker 1: 14:11

There are a few other grains mentioned as well. Rye wheat and sorghum also had beta-glucans Not as much as what's found in oats and barley, but they did also have them and I would say get these in their whole form. So, like oat, bran was higher than oats even, and you want to make sure you use those in their whole grain form. That's where you're going to get the best benefit. Now, the amounts can also vary depending on how the foods are processed. So if you eat an overly processed oat that's in some type of food product, you're likely not going to have the same as a whole food oat.

Speaker 2: 14:43

And isn't that always the case. That's why we don't just say plant foods, we say whole plant foods, because a lot of times those things that we remove that make plant foods no longer whole plant foods, those are the hidden gems or really the gems, because it's usually on the outside of the grain right, or the outside of whatever it is the fruit but eat the plant foods in their whole form as much as possible. So the takeaway here is Sunshine, eat more whole plant foods and if you're not eating on the regular oats barley mushrooms, I would throw in their cooked mushrooms versus raw, and maybe a little sprinkle of nutritional yeast here and there. If you notice that it bothers your body, don't eat it. Look at how your body responds to what you're eating and, as always, enjoy a wide variety of whole plant foods.

Speaker 2: 15:34

Don't worry about things like forever chemicals. Your father says do not worry, Trust me. Over and over again. Actually, do a study and look up. How many times does he say do not fear in the word? Why? Because he wants you to trust him. Do you think he can take care of all these things? Yes, he can. But he's also given us the ability to understand and know how things are working around us, like things that we're exposed to on a regular basis, and he's given us this amazing ability to know how to eat in the way that will naturally clear them from our bodies. Think about how awesome that is.

Speaker 2: 16:09

Listen, if you don't do anything else after this episode today, take some time to talk directly to your creator, to God himself, your father, who loves you and has provided you with the most amazing foods on the planet to naturally protect you and make your body feel its absolute best, so you can fully live this life to abundant overflow in every area. Friend, we have loved having you join us for this episode of Power on Plants. This information is life changing, but it's only going to change your life if you take action on it. So today, just take action on one thing from this podcast episode and before long you'll find yourself feeling so much better and fully living the life that you were created to enjoy. If you've gained some helpful info from this episode, be sure to share it with a friend and take just a moment to leave us a review. It means so much to us, and until next time, remember that you are loved and you are prayed for, and every day is looking brighter. Have a great one.