How Your Body Care Products Can Affect Your Fertility with Emma Rohmann

podcast May 26, 2022

We’re exposed to environmental toxins everywhere. They lurk in the air we breathe, in the food and water we consume, and in the personal care and cleaning products we use. Today, I and my guest Emma Rohmann talk all about these environmental toxins and how they relate to your fertility. You’ll learn about the specifics of where these toxins come from and the various ways we get exposed to them.

Emma moved from making workspaces greener and healthier communities to putting into practice at home what she learned on the job. It was parenthood, however, that really set her on the path to permanent green living. Frustrated from the lack of practical and balanced information available during her research, she felt compelled to create her own blog to counter the one-sided perspective she kept seeing.

Emma proudly calls herself an environmental engineer, founder of Green At Home, and mom of two. She combines her education and corporate career experience to offer science-based and practical guides, courses, and programs that help moms and moms-to-be reduce toxins at home without a lifestyle overhaul, feeling overwhelmed, or spending time and money on what doesn’t work.

Her credentials include coaching as part of David Suzuki’s “Queen of Green” program, guest lecturing at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine on reproduction and environmental health, and holding a certificate on environmental health from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.

During our conversation, Emma and I discuss hormone disruptors, their impact on fertility and the human body, how we’ve gotten used to feeling unhealthy, and how we can decrease toxicity in our bodies. Concerning fertility, different chemicals act in different ways and she provides specific examples. One of them, found in plastic bottles, you’ve probably heard of but it hides in another surprising source as well.

We’ll also take you point-by-point through common rebuttals to purchasing non-toxic products for use on yourself, your family, and your home. Research is still evolving, so the exact mechanisms of how chemicals work aren’t clear yet. But with the evidence mounting, we can still take a proactive approach and become more conscientious consumers.

Show Notes:

[02:03] - Michelle introduces her guest, Emma, with a little background information.

[03:25] - Emma tells us how working in commercial spaces served as her education about environmental toxins.

[04:48] - Emma took what she learned in the workplace and brought it into her home space. Parenthood especially opened her eyes and eventually led to the creation of her blog.

[07:03] - What are hormone disruptors and how do they affect us? Emma talks about a few ways in which they impact us.

[09:22] - Emma clears up some terminology and gets into the specific impact of hormone disruptors on fertility.

[10:15] - Different chemicals affect fertility in different ways and Emma gives a specific example.

[11:35] - What are some of the sources of these toxins? How do we get exposed to them regularly?

[12:44] - Emma reveals a source of the chemical BPA (banned in baby bottles) that you may be surprised to learn.

[13:40] - Another common chemical called phthalates is found in personal care and cleaner products with synthetic fragrances such as candles and even scented garbage bags.

[15:42] - Michelle sometimes gets push-back when she talks about using green products. Emma responds point-by-point.

[17:00] - Some chemicals are used for decades before we find out they’re detrimental. So we can’t just go on what’s on the shelves; we have to be our own test subjects.

[18:35] - Toxins, particularly hormone disruptors, act in the body in incredibly low concentrations. But it doesn’t take very much to do damage.

[20:34] - Michelle recalls a conversation with an older lady at a sauna about using her own special, chemical-free lotion. This demonstrates a difference between generations.

[22:21] - Discover Emma’s big a-ha moment as a triathlon athlete that really exposes how unhealthy we actually are, despite thinking otherwise.

[24:23] - A variety of health problems are so common now we don’t think of them as major. Our version of healthy has been skewed.

[26:23] - It’s important to consider what authorities in these fields tell us. Michelle talks about semen analysis parameters determined by the World Health Organization.

[28:24] - What are the top three things people can do to reduce their exposure to hormone disruptors and optimize their ability to conceive?

[29:40] - The one thing Emma recommends that, while not free, can go a long way to reduce your intake of chemicals.

[31:03] - Get into the habit of reading the labels on your personal care and cleaning products. The easiest way to start is by avoiding those with synthetic fragrances.

[32:48] - Reduce your use of plastic, especially microwaving your food with it. Chemicals in the plastic leak into the food during the heating process.

[33:57] - Emma reveals how you can work with her if they want to get more support on this topic.

[35:31] - Michelle asks Emma what she’d tell every total beginner who wants to get started today.