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Insights from Beth Greer, the Super Natural Mom
Better health through sustainable, toxic free living – What does it take to keep your home healthy and safe?
If you are interested in living a more toxic free life, Beth Greer is a great resource. Named one of the top 50 health and environmental journalists to follow in 2016, she is the bestselling author of a Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet–One Room at a Time.
Greer provides Healthy Home Assessments and we are especially fortunate in Marin County, as Greer makes her home here.
As a sought-after speaker locally and nationally, Greer presents at Wellness Centers, Green Festivals and Corporate Events, to name a few. She’s been endorsed by Deepak Chopra, Ralph Nader, Dr. Mercola and others.
Are you or a family member suffering from unexplained symptoms of illness?
Many of Greer’s individual clients come to her to solve mystery illnesses, unexplained headaches, insomnia, or persistent coughs.
She explained, “One of my clients came to me because she’d been on inhalers and codeine cough syrup for an extended period. She wanted to get off the medication. She also noted that when she traveled occasionally, and slept at a hotel, she didn’t cough. I suggested we meet at her home, for an evaluation.”
“This client slept in a room filled with scented candles. She loved them, said they relaxed her, and didn’t want to let them go. In a case like that, I felt it would help to give her as much information as possible.”
The problem with synthetic fragrances.
Greer continued, “We talked about how synthetic fragrances can be made up of 100 different synthetic substances, that are not even listed on the packaging. The variety and range of her candle selection (synthetic to essential oil scented) presented a lot of variables. Rather than throw them all out, I suggested that we remove the candles from her bedroom for a night or two. We also talked about natural alternatives like beeswax, or soy candles scented only with essential oils.”
As the home assessment unfolded, Greer focused on another likely place for synthetic fragrances – the bathroom. From hand soap, to hair spray, deodorant to shampoo most of the products this client used contained fragrance. The products were packed up and removed from the home, along with the candles, for a trial run, just to see what might happen.
In a day or so, Greer received a call from her client, who sounded relieved as she said, “It’s a miracle. My cough is gone.”
Hiding in plain sight?
Take another mystery illness. A mother contacted Greer about her child’s insomnia. When Greer visited the home, one aspect of the problem appeared evident. There was a baby monitor inside the child’s crib. Baby monitors can emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and can interfere with healthy brain development. After Greer did an EMF reading, she found the crib emitting high EMFs, that could not be explained by the baby monitor, alone.
After a walk-through of the rest of the house, Greer discovered that there was a refrigerator in another room on the opposite side of the wall from the crib.
Greer said, “I suggested that the crib be moved away from the wall with the refrigerator and the baby monitor taken out of the crib and placed at a safe distance. These actions worked.”
Sometimes Greer’s detective work digs deeper to uncover a problem.
It is especially difficult when a family is taking many of the right steps, using green cleaning products at home, eating organic produce, avoiding GMOs.
Greer did a consultation for just such a family whose child woke up every morning with a headache. After filling out a questionnaire that revealed the problem started 17 months prior, Greer asked what changed at that time.
“They told me,” said Greer, “that they remodeled 17 months ago. They did not use any VOC paint and the floor coverings they chose were hypoallergenic. But their child kept suffering headaches. So, I did an in-home consultation. In the child’s bedroom, I found an air purifier placed very near the head of the bed. I suggested it be moved away from the bed to function more effectively, and that worked. The child’s headaches ceased.”
Greer recalled a time when a mom called, concerned about her child’s allergies. The mom started by saying her family eats all organic, but during the in-home consultation, Greer opened the freezer to find frozen pops full of food dyes and chemicals. She also found blue yogurt in the fridge, and Skippy Peanut Butter and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in the cupboards.
“When I turned around, the client admitted, ‘Listen, I lied,’ and I decided the best place to start with her was a discussion about how to read labels,” Greer said.
Greer is a strong believer that good health starts in your home and she enjoys working with individuals and families who are experiencing unexplained symptoms and want help. Visit supernaturalmom.com to learn more about her tips for making your home safer and toxic free for your family.
To catch Greer live join the fourth film screening in the popular Green Film Series. “Stink!” will be screened on Thursday, September 27th at 6:30pm at Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue. The screening will be followed by an inspiring talk and discussion with Super Natural Mom Beth Greer, one of the foremost experts on sustainable and toxic-free living.
