Utilizing Nature in the Home

Guest: Razi Berry

The contents of this presentation are for

informational purposes only and are not intended
to be a substitute for professional medical advice,
diagnosis, or treatment. This presentation does not
provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other
qualified health provider with any questions you
may have regarding a medical condition.

Ryan Sternagel: Welcome back, everyone, to the Toxic Home Transformation.

I am Ryan Sternagel of the SternMethod.com, the Integrative Answers to
Cancer podcast, and the creator of Navigating Childhood Cancer, an
integrative coaching program.

And we have with us Razi Berry who is the founder and publisher of
Naturopathic Doctor News and Review, NDNR.com, and Natural Path,
TheNatPath.com. She has spent the last decade as a natural medicine
advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized the support of the
naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of
North Americans through her publications.

And self-proclaimed health food junkie and mother of two, she loves all things
nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees, which is not
easy in Phoenix—I don’t think it’s easy up here in Utah either. I’m going to try
my best though when we get into our new house—laughing until she snorts,
and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy. And yes, that is her real name.
Razi, good to see your face. How are you? And thanks for coming on the Toxic
Home Transformation.

Razi Berry: Hi, Ryan. It’s great to be here. I haven’t heard that bio in awhile.

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Ryan: That’s the one I was presented with.
Razi: That’s great. I love that. That’s my favorite. It’s the most real. And that’s
what we’re going to do today, get real.

Ryan: Get very real. Get very real. Do you still grow fruit trees?

Razi: I do. I do. I belong to this—Listen to this. It’s crazy. So I’m in Arizona.
And I belong to the Arizona chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers
Society.

Ryan: No way.

Razi: And it’s just a bunch of crazy people that like to try to grow tropical and
subtropical fruit trees in the desert. So many of them fail. But the fun part is
trying. And I do have a lot of trees on my not-really-large property. I lost my
lichen trees this year. I was really sad about that.

Ryan: Uh-oh. Yeah, no. Well, I’ll have to get some tips on you. And I’ll try to
one up you by growing fruit trees not only in the desert but in the high
mountain desert up here in Park City. So that should be interesting. I don’t
know. Do they do well in—we’re building a log house. And it has that classic,
great wall of windows right on the front.

Razi: Ah, beautiful!

Ryan: I was thinking about just seeing if I could get away with some fruit
trees right in front of that. I don’t know. What do you think?

Razi: Well, I’m sure you can grow apples and pears and cherries and things
like that, I’m imagining, depending on how cold it gets. But citrus and all that
stuff does great here. But I try to grow things like mangos and papaya,
avocados, which really actually the problem here in Phoenix isn’t what you’d
think. It’s not the heat. It’s that in those other subtropical and tropical
climates it doesn't get as cold as it does here. And then for other, like stone
fruits, it doesn't get cold enough because you need so many chill hours. So we
are in this no man’s land. Outside of most citrus, it’s really hard.

But I do have beautiful pomegranate and fig and every kind of citrus you can
imagine, kumquat, limequat, key lime lime, pink grapefruit, yellow grapefruit,
blood orange, Cara Cara orange. Those are easy to grow. But I’ve got some
apple trees, a cherry that doesn't bear very much fruit, plum, mulberry. Lots.

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Ryan: Yeah, all right. Well, you’re probably going to be hearing more than you
want from me when we get a new house. We have a greenhouse that’s waiting
to be built. A Geodesic Grow Dome, it’s called. So you can actually grow—it’s
made for the mountains, so you can grow year round. And it’s heated by a
pool inside. So it’ll be pretty neat.

But enough talking about growing fruit trees in the desert. Before we get into
this, do you just want to give everyone—we just read your bio—but just a little
better flavor of anything you’d like to add to what it is you would say you do,
Razi?

Razi: So aside from publishing pretty much the industry trade publication,
Naturopathic Doctor News and Review. This is our 14th year of print. It’s case
studies. And every year we dedicate an entire issue to mind-body medicine
which is always our June issue. And it really aligns with the principles of
naturopathy.

And then I also publish the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine

which has been accepted into three indices where taking those steps, it takes
a few years to get into PubMed.

I have my own love project that I’ve been doing called Love Is Medicine. And
I’m currently writing a book on that topic. And it’s really the convergence of
love and relationships and health and how it’s biodynamic and
interdependent. And our relationships with ourselves, the environment
around us which is a lot of what you’re talking about in this wonderful
summit, and with each other impact our biology, our physiology, our
psychology, and our consciousness. So that’s where I’m geeking out right now.

In addition, I also coach some physicians in my Master Mind, a business

strategy. So I wear a lot of hats. And I’m having fun with all of them.

Ryan: So I’m in your Love Is Medicine Facebook group. I didn’t know you are
writing a book called Love Is Medicine.

Razi: I don’t know if I’m going to call it Love Is Medicine, or if the publisher
will let me.

Ryan: That’s a good name. And you post just the most beautiful stuff in there,
for lack of a more eloquent term. A little bit of a curveball for you. But just
anything offhand, do you have in the spirit of increasing the love in the home
from maybe a practical level—I imagine I’m going to ask you that question,

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and you’re going to have something that comes to mind. Yeah, might be an
interesting way to start it.

Razi: Yeah, love in the home. Well, I’m really into this idea of embodiment
because we spend so much time in our heads. Even in relationships when
challenges come up with our children, with our partner, we do a lot of
thinking, ruminating, and also trying to analyze. “Is she saying this because
she’s on her period? Is he doing this because of how his father treated him?
Are my kids not getting along because their father and I got divorced?”

So we spend a lot of time in our heads and not really in our body. And where
we love and where we live is in our bodies. All of these chemicals of
attachment, whether it’s infant and maternal attachment or attachment
between two adult partners, we think of that as being in our head or being in
our heart. But all of those molecules of emotion are really produced more in
our gut and in our heart than they are in our brain. I call it our three hearts—
the heart here, the heart here, and the heart at our solar plexus.

And so it is when you stay present, not in your mind, not mindfulness, but in
your body. So for instance, how am I feeling right now? Let’s say you walk into
your room. And your child’s room is a mess. And you notice your chest
tightening up. And you’re like, “Arcadia!” And you can just feel. It’s always
great to stay in your body when you’re communicating with people that you
love because if you feel tightness somewhere or you feel an unease, it’s a good
gauge that you’re not taking that communication or that dialogue in the right
direction.

So I think that using your body as a compass for how you interact with each
other is probably the best way to take the temperature of a situation. If your
body is feeling relaxed, if you’re feeling warm, if you’re feeling at ease, then
chances are you are going to make the right decisions and communicate in
healthy ways.

That’s not to say that uncomfortable emotions won’t come up. But you have to
really listen in, engage what that feels like in your body.

It also is a telltale sign in relationships maybe we shouldn’t be in if you have a

partner in your life that you always feel stressed or nervous around or self
conscious. That’s your whole body, meaning all of your emotions, all of these
perceptive senses from our enteric nervous system and our central nervous
system from the memories in our limbic brain—those all are coming together
to communicate something.

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And so once again, even in these situations or a business situation—let’s say
you have a job that you just are constantly feeling not yourself, not easy, there
are things you can do to transform relationships. But you only have control of
yourself. So I have learned to always use my body as a guide. And hindsight is
20/20. And I think sometimes I didn’t listen to that and wish that I had.

Ryan: Yeah, no. That’s really cool. And yeah, I’ve been trying to be more and
more thoughtful about that sort of thing myself. I’ll even set myself reminders,
just even on my phone, to stop whatever I’m doing for a minute and check in
and see how, am I tensed up about something? Or is there something that
keeps repeating in my mind that I probably should just let go or deal with or
whatever?

And then once you start doing that, then you get more of a sense, now that
I’ve been setting the reminders for myself for awhile, now I’m more tuned in to
myself and don’t even need the reminders as much. I can just think about
how I’m doing more.

Razi: That’s a handy tip.

Ryan: Yeah. Yeah, I also heard—you could do the same thing. But someone
talked about—it was like making a good impression when you walk into room.
You do the doorway drill in your house. When you walk through, you
straighten up, put your head back, that sort of thing. And you can even put a
little sticky note on the door of your house to remind yourself to do that. So
you don’t have a sticky note when you’re out in public.

But I was thinking you could even do that with what we were just talking
about, just have a little sticky note. And then every time you walk through a
doorway or pass through the sticky note or whatever, then you can check in
with yourself and see how you’re doing.

Razi: I remember last time we talked we went off on a lot of tangents, too. So I
hope it’s okay if I take us on another quick one. But with regard to bringing
more love into the home, we just don’t touch people that much anymore. We
just don’t touch. And there have been a lot of studies with regard to touch.

Under our skin, we have these little membranes called Pacinian corpuscles.
And they connect directly to the vagus nerve that runs from the center of our
brain down through our heart. It really is the master of our central nervous
system.

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And so when we are touched or when we touch another person, it releases a
lot of hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin which helps with regulating
blood pressure. And hugging has been clinically proven to reduce pain post
surgery, during labor, even people who have undergone traumatic car
accidents.

What’s interesting is that if the person that is touching them is empathetic,

the pain relieving quality doubles. So if it’s just a person in your life that
doesn't have a lot of empathy for you but they’re trying to help, it’s still
helpful. But if it’s someone you’re in a very empathetic relationship with, a
very caring relationship, somehow your body knows that.

So we are really disconnected. We’re afraid because of the legal society we live
in. I used to have teachers that hugged me. And I know they can’t do that
anymore. And I understand there are things that happen. But the people in
your life that you see that you have affection for, I think it’s really important to
show that affection because we’ve disconnected from that.

Ryan: I am going to give my kids and wife a big hug right when we’re done
with this interview.

Razi: I love it.

Ryan: My brain is too practical. I just thought of reminding myself to hug my

kids. But that’d be pretty sad if I needed a reminder for that. I hug my kids
quite a bit.

Razi: We get busy. We’ve been untrained. So I think that’s beautiful if you set
reminders for yourself. We’ve been untrained to hug people. Everybody fist
bumps now.

Ryan: My kids are pretty good at that, too. Let’s get back on track, Razi,
because you did have some really cool stuff that I’m excited to talk about, to
round out what we’ve been talking about in the summit that has not really
been talked about yet. And that’s all very exciting to me as well.

So let’s start with naturopathic living. And is it năturopathic or nāturopathic?

I think I asked you this last time.

Razi: It’s both. It’s like tom-ā-to and tom-ah-to.

Ryan: There we go.

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Razi: Depends how aristocratic you are, I suppose. So naturopathic living. In
naturopathic medicine, there are these guiding principles and paradigms. And
they’re usually expressed in Latin.
Vis medicatrix naturae which translates to “the healing power of nature.” So
this is an oath that the naturopathic physician takes that they really
understand the body’s innate ability to heal, that it’s part of a person’s nature
and the way the interact with the world and their environment.

With naturopathic living, I just translate that to the lay person to say that we
have a responsibility to ourselves to honor that connection to nature.

And another principle is find the cause, tolle causam. And a subset of that is
to remove the obstacles to cure. So what that means, if you think about that—
remove the obstacle to cure—it means your body or your life, whether we’re
talking emotional or physical, is always moving towards healing unless we put
something in its way.

And this summit is an example of many, many things that we put in the way
of our body or our lives. And so you go to a naturopathic doctor, and their
thought process is going to be, “Remove the obstacle to cure.” But for me,
naturopathic living is first to live our lives that way, to be getting rid of the
things that are causing a resistance to healing, whether that be physical or
emotional.

Tolle totem means treat the whole person. And what I like about this summit
as the way it applies to naturopathic living is it’s really treat your whole life,
your home. Your home is where you live. We spent 80-90% of our time indoors
which is not healthy because indoor air, as we’ll talk a little bit about and I’m
sure you’ve talked about this a lot on this summit, is quite toxic. Two million
people die each year because of the adverse effects of indoor air. That blew my
mind when I read that.

Ryan: Nobody has given us that statistic yet. Wow!

Razi: They actually did a sample of airborne pathogens in a subway. And

there were 1800 airborne negative pathogens, or illness-causing pathogens,
including anthrax. We talked off camera about energy always moving. And so
in nature, water is always moving. Air is always moving. Plants are growing
and taking in carbon monoxide and giving off oxygen. And so it’s a very
unnatural situation we have, living in these homes that are completely self
contained. And so it does create an unnatural diversity of pathogens.

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And I guess we could get right into some of the ways that we can deal with
that. And then we can talk about more of those principles.

Ryan: Yeah, yeah. By all means, fire away.

Razi: Okay, so one of the ways that people try to deal with that is through air
fresheners—I’m sure you’ve talked about those—scented candles, perfumes,
and things like that. One way to keep air quality clean indoors is through
burning of beeswax candles. I always have beeswax candles lit in my home.

Beeswax is naturally ionizing. It releases negative ions. And most pathogens

and dust and mold have a positive charge. And so the negative ions actually
attach to these pathogens and mites and things like that. And so it’s not just
covering up dirty air. It’s actually cleansing the air.

And it has been used throughout history. What’s so fascinating to me is that it

was even until recent history that churches, like the Catholic church for
instance, the only types of candles that were allowed to be used in ceremonies
inside the church were pure beeswax. And it’s just interesting how we have
some of these traditions in ancient medicine and ancient religion where these
natural materials were used.

And it was before we had a scientific basis. And I think we understood nature
better. And we didn’t need to have a double blind, placebo controlled study
because we were just more in tune.

So beeswax, I love the smell. It has a very sensual scent. It smells slightly of
honey. And it’s hard to stay away once you’ve gone beeswax. You’ll never go
back.

So honey itself, when it comes in contact with the skin, has a lot of healing
properties as well. So I’m not surprised that beeswax is so healthy. But it
contains natural peroxides and peroxidases to help heal wounds and such. So
there’s a lot. That’s for another time, though.

So another way, of course, is through plants. And I have some examples of

plants. And I have notes because, Ryan, I live my life this way. But I can’t
remember everything.

Ryan: No, I know the gist of where you’re going with this. And it’s all great
stuff that has not been talked about.

And by the way, I’m glad that you brought up the candles because my
interview with Alexx Stuart. I think she had just mentioned candles offhand.

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And I was talking about how I, just even from a proper biological lighting
standpoint, had been thinking about incorporating candles into our home
existence. And so I asked her what kind the best kind of candle was. And she
said pure beeswax with a cotton wick.
Razi: Cotton wick, yeah. There’s a big push towards soy because soy
byproducts are so cheap. But soy is not really safe. Neither is paraffin, of
course. So even if some candles are unscented and people assume they’re
safe, they’re not.

I also don’t really like even pure beeswax scented candles because even
though essential oils are lovely and natural, we shouldn’t probably be burning
them because they’re so highly concentrated. And you have to remember
essential oils are therapeutic. And when things come in contact with fire in
such a concentrated way, I don’t think it’d be good to breathe that in every
day.

So my vote is for pure beeswax, unscented candles. And if you wanted to add
some scent to your home, to your life, then put some essential oils on your
body. Or even better yet, bring cut flowers into the house. I think it’s the most
lovely way to bring scent into your home.

Ryan: Oh, man. I’m going to also go outside and pick some flowers. Or cut
some flowers after this interview.

Razi: So the toxins that we have in our indoor air are numerous. And they’re
dangerous. And one of them is formaldehyde. And that’s in carpeting and
upholstery. It’s in paint and glue. So it’s in paint on your walls or furniture,
and just a lot of consumer products—wood that has been treated with
formaldehyde to help it dry faster or even to keep it from catching fire. And of
course pressed woods have formaldehyde.

Benzene is in nail polish and nail polish removers. It’s in all sorts of plastics,
dyes, and detergents. And these are all things, even if you’re not opening a
bottle of benzene or formaldehyde and sprinkling it around you, remember
what off-gassing is. So nothing is ever totally at rest. Molecules are always
moving around. And these non stable compounds are off-gassing. And that’s
what’s creating this environment, this toxic microenvironment inside our
homes.

Another one is trichloroethylene. It’s in a lot of cleaning supplies, inks, and

paints. It’s also in printers if you have a printer in your home. Toluene and
xylene are both in household products and gasoline, paint thinners, and also
leather processes—so leather shoes or leather couches, things like that.

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Carbon monoxide, of course, is everywhere. It displaces oxygen in our blood.
And we breathe it in numerous ways.

So plants can actually remove these toxins. A study was done—I have a copy
of it somewhere—by NASA. So they were studying how they were going to
build these habitats for us to live on the moon someday or have astronauts be
in enclosed spaces for a long period of time. And everything in their
environment is synthetic and chemical. And so they did a study in 1989 and
found that certain plants could really remove or scrub the air of these toxic
chemicals.

I have a couple of my favorite. This one—I don’t know if you can see—

Ryan: Yeah.

Razi: Is called Peace Lily. And it’s so pretty.

Ryan: Peace Lily.

Razi: And I made this part of my kids’ homeschooling because I knew we had
plants. And I knew they were good for the air. But I made them label the
plants.

Ryan: Very nice.

Razi: So this one helps remove ammonia from the air. And the rule of thumb
is you want to have one plant minimum per 100 sq. ft. of your home.

Ryan: Alright.

Razi: All plants are good. This one is really funny. It’s sometimes called Snake
Plant. But my other favorite name for it is Mother-in-Law’s Tongue.

Ryan: Mother-in-Law’s Tongue!

Razi: It has a sharp tongue. I think it’s so cute.

Ryan: Yeah, I know the Snake Plant. I haven’t heard Mother-in-Law’s Tongue.
That’s good.

Razi: So it removes the trichloroethylene and benzenes very well. So it’s really
known for that.

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I have an orchid here. It also removes ammonia and benzene. And with
flowering plants, you need a little bit more of them. I don’t really understand
the science of why. But flowering plants move the toxins a little bit more
slowly. But they also give off a lovely fragrance.

And so what’s so fascinating to me is that we’ve designed really powerful air

filters. But nothing can match the design of a plant. When I stop to think
about it, I’m just in awe, Ryan. I’m sure that I’m a little bit of a geek when it
comes to this stuff.

Another one is the Chinese evergreen which you can find everywhere. You
could go to Home Depot and easily find these plants. And this removes carbon
monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde.

Ryan: No way.

Razi: Yeah.

Ryan: Yeah, that’s really cool that you actually have done the research into
what toxins specifically each one—and it makes it more real, too, because I
think we’ve had someone mention offhand that plants can detoxify the
atmosphere. But actually hearing these specific chemicals, this is awesome.

Razi: Well, good. Well, this one is the Gerbera daisy. And this is one of the top
rated ones by NASA. And it removed the benzenes. So imagine if hair salons
and spas and hospitals that all have a lot of benzene in the environment
because of solvents had these. It would be great.

I can show you a few more plants. But another important thing is plants also
give off negative ions in the air, which is how most, really, of the good,
expensive air purifiers work. They’re ionization. And so plants do that
naturally.

So again, rule of thumb, you want to have one plant per 100 sq. ft. And it’s
easy to do. I have plants all around my house. But because I did this, I
thought it’d be fun to get smaller plants. So I’m always looking for an excuse. I
was able to buy new plants.

Ryan: Glad we could help you out.

Razi: And so behind me, right there, is an English ivy. And it was the number
one plant in many studies to remove toxins. It’s really hard to kill. It’s easy to
grow if you don’t have a green thumb. And you can hang it, and it grows like a

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vine. And it doesn't need a lot of light. It doesn't need a whole lot of water. So
if you want to have an easy one that removes the top six toxins—that ivy.
And then this one is called an Elizabeth fern. Or sometimes, it’s called a
Melissa fern. It’s also impossible to kill. And our animals like to eat them. So
that’s why I keep it up a little bit higher. So I could bore you—

Ryan: That would be a way to kill it, right?

Razi: Yeah! I could bore you with a bunch more plants. So as far as just
ambient air, this one’s fun. This one’s called a Dracaena or a Dragon Tree.
And again, they all are just amazing to look at. They’re forms of art. And it can
really transcend a space, not just through clearing these toxins in our
environment but just giving a sense of wellbeing. They’re living.

So one definition of something having consciousness means it interacts with

its environment, and it grows. So if we think that humans and animals are the
only living things that have a consciousness, it’s something to think about
because plants respond to their environment. They respond to light and dark,
sunlight, rain, moisture. Some of these take more moisture from the air than
they give. Other plants give more moisture to the air than they take back. And
they grow. So maybe that’s one of the reasons why it feels good to be
surrounded by plants, because they have a sort of consciousness. Our
universe was designed with a lot of love. So this is one example of that.

So that is one way that plants purify our environment. But there’s also
another way. And it is through the use of medicinal smoke. And I’m not
talking about marijuana. Don’t worry.

Ryan: Sounded like where you were going. And by all means.

Razi: So throughout the ages, even predating Native American culture, so

ancient Mesopotamia for instance, herbs and plants were used as fumigation,
as smoke to heal different ailments and also to clean the air. And so I have
some examples I’ll show you. But there are three main ways that smoke was
used.

So one was inhalation. And so certain types of smoke were inhaled to cure
lung—and if that sounds counterintuitive because we think of smoking as bad
for our lungs, that’s because cigarette smokes and other types of smoke are
habitual. And it’s every day. This type of medicine, people didn’t smoke it
every day. It was if somebody had a lung affliction or central nervous or
neurological.

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Taking something in through your lungs is a very quick way. It’s absorbed into
your bloodstream and can often pass the blood-brain barrier, depending on
what type of plant it is. So inhalation is one really powerful way that smoke
was used.

Another way was just directly under the skin. So moxibustion or just burning
an herb and holding it directly over or cupping it over a rash or a burn. It
released the healing properties to the skin. And that was another way.

The other way is ambient smoke. You often hear that herbs like sage (this is
white sage) or cedar are used to clear negative energy. And so I’m not going to
debate today if that’s true or not. I’ll let you decide that for yourself. However,
it has been shown in studies in the Journal of Ethnobotanical Research to clear
as much as 94% of airborne pathogens after only 60 minutes of burning. And
up to three days later, many of these pathogens remain cleared. So in some
countries, smudging is used to even clear what they call hospital theaters in
India and such.

And so I’m going to show you an example of how to smudge just in case
someone doesn't know how. So this is white sage. And there are a lot of
antibacterial and antiviral properties in sage and in cedar. And so you just
burn the herbs. This came pre-packed. But people would grow their own
herbs. And then you blow it out. And then the fire alarm goes off. And you just
walk it through the home.

So I’m going to read something to you from this Vedic book, this book about
ayurveda. So it says, “The use of dry plant material for fumigations has been a
common practice in Vedic rituals.” And so they had three methods to kill these
toxic agents or what they called spirits that caused disease, which we now call
germs. So it was the sun, fire, and this is called [inaudible] karma. So it was
burning plants that were given to us by the gods or by God to clear the air of
these evil spirits that cause disease. I’m going to set this over here and let it
do its work.

Ryan: I’ve got to say, it still looked like you lit and were holding a big doobie.

Razi: So I’m going to get some food now, some snacks.

Ryan: Healthy food, though.

Razi: Right, healthy food. No. So another way that this is done is by sprinkling
dried herbs or powdered dried herbs into the fire or over smoke or over a plate
of coals and taking it into what is called the sick room or the sick tent. So it

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would be taken into the lungs as ambient air, not as directly smoking, or just
to fill the room. And so as the sick person was healing, they’re breathing in
cleaner air, breathing out germs for lack of a modern word. And it was used to
keep the air clean. I think it’s just fascinating that it has been used through
so many different cultures.

And so today, it’s trendy again. And it’s primarily used for people to be so
spiritual gangster. But who’s to say? I love the way a room feels. One of my
really closest friends just bought a new house. And I bought her some sage for
her to use in her home, just setting the stage for something new. So I hope I
don’t get any hate mail that I’m satanic or something because I’m not. But it
really has been studied to remove pathogens from the air. So I think that’s
really exciting.

Ryan: Yeah. Yeah, no. We’re already thousands and thousands of dollars over
budget on our house. But like you said, I now have to find a way to run out
and spend another several hundred dollars on this whole array of plants
because we have a few. But you just got me really excited for getting a whole
lot of them.

Razi: Just have a plant housewarming party. And say, “We’ll order some
gluten-free pizza. And you bring a plant.”

Ryan: Love it! You’re invited, Razi.

Razi: I can’t wait. I would love to see you guys.

So a study for any naysayers, it’s the December 3, 2007 Journal of

Ethnopharmacology. And medicinal smoke by burning a mixture of herbs or
single herbs had a 94% reduction of bacterial counts within 60 minutes. And
the ability for the smoke to purify or disinfect the air remained up to 24 hours
in a closed room and up to 30 days in an open room.

Ryan: Wow!

Razi: So that’s a pretty powerful reason to smudge.

Ryan: And there aren’t a whole lot of terms that I have not come across at this
point. But smudging—did you ever define where the word smudging came
from? I don’t think I remember that.

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Razi: I think smudging comes from the fact that it doesn't stay on fire. As you
smudge it out, it keeps smoking. And it’s the smoke itself, not the fire, that’s
releasing the compounds. I’m guessing. That’s my scientific guess.

So there’s also Palo Santo wood that has terpenes in it. So that’s one of the
properties that essential oils are studied for. It smells so good. Palo Santo
means “holy wood.” And it’s used to clear the air. And also it has some
medicinal uses in some cultures to breathe in to heal for upper respiratory
infections and colds and things like that.

Ryan: And you’re also getting the smoke from that one, too?

Razi: Yes. Yes, so you can burn it the same way. Here, I’m going to set it on
fire.

Ryan: Let’s do it.

Razi: Do you want to do live here? This one smells so good. It takes a little bit
more to get it going.

Ryan: There it is.

Razi: There it is. Whoo! And then it just burns for a little while and makes
everything smell really nice.

Ryan: Where does one go about getting Palo Santo wood?

Razi: So usually bookstores carry them. I have found bookstores. And now on
the natural markets—so organic, Whole Foods, Sprouts, wherever you live.
Natural grocery stores have them. Or you can find them online also.

And then this is frankincense. So I think you know about frankincense. So

you can use the essential oil, or you can burn the little resin. And you can just
put it in a little glass or glass dish and set it on fire. And I have some myrrh
which has been used—where’d my myrrh go? Here’s some myrrh. And these
all just have different properties in them. But they’re all antimicrobial.

Ryan: Could we get a close up of the myrrh?

Razi: Yeah, myrrh.

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Ryan: Alright, there it is. Yeah, frankincense and myrrh are certainly a staple
for essential oils for us. And I know people do use the resins. But I never really
just thought about how or why I would use them.

Razi: Yeah, I think you burn them.

Ryan: You’re running me deeper and deeper into debt here, Razi.

Razi: Oh! So something else about smudging is that it has this amazing ability
to relax children. So if my kids are getting really just wild or I can’t get them to
calm down, I’ll get a smudge stick and light it. And I don’t know if it’s just that
it’s calming to the nervous system, which a few studies have shown, or just
that it smells so good. But there is something calming about it.

And I notice the same thing for candles. When my kids seem like they’re
amped up and aren’t ready to go to bed, I’ll just light some candles. And it
really seems to set the stage, adds a little serenity to the environment. So
there’s no science behind that. But there’s a reverence about a pure beeswax
candle or fire. There’s something that, I think as humans, we’re in awe of. And
so that’s just a little tip I use for those parents out there.

Ryan: I like it. I like it.

Razi: So the earth gives us so many beautiful medicines and food to heal our
bodies. So we’ve talked about some plants. And I know I’m sure you have
many people talking about essential oils. But something I also like to talk
about is rocks and minerals. And crystals are one. I just really am in love with
crystals. And some people, Ryan, are afraid of crystals because they think it’s
some sort of magic or maybe something spiritual or against God.

Ryan: God made them.

Razi: Yes, that’s true. And so I have some crystals here. I have a few that are
way too big for me to bring in here. But this one is rose quartz. And quartz is
used in so many forms of technology—in microchips, computers, all sorts of
applications with regard to technology and electronics. And we really wouldn’t
have technology that we have today without the use of quartz.

And quartz is really mostly based from silica. And it has this property called
piezoelectricity. And basically, if you put it together with mechanical friction or
action, it produces an electric charge and also holds an electric charge. And
our bodies run on electricity in many ways. It’s the way cells divide and
replicate, the way our heart beats. And so it’s naïve to think that the rocks

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and crystals in the earth that are created for us don’t have some sort of effect
on the human body.

So rose quartz is one of my favorites. Traditionally, it represents unconditional

love. And I just feel really good around it. So I’m always giving rose quartz as
gifts to people that I love. I always have one. I have one in the bedroom. It just
feels good.

And even if there is no science behind it, there’s a lot of science that explains
placebo effect. And so placebo effect in multiple, numerous studies shows a
physiological effect on your body. So if someone is given a sugar pill and told
that it’s an antibiotic and their body gets well, that’s not in their head, is it? If
the infection clears, that’s not in your head.

So bringing some beauty into your home that’s from the earth, that’s from
nature, I think there’s nothing bad about it.

So rose quartz and then just good old quartz crystal. The way the light
bounces through these crystals is so lovely. And it just feels good. I noticed
the cat and the dog like to look at—they aren’t fixated on it. But they’ll run by.
And they’ll just look at it for a minute. And there’s something so mesmerizing.
And I think that just even the way a vase of cut flowers can transform the
energy of a room, I feel crystals do the same thing.

But there is one crystal that I’m really excited about. And there’s some
research. And then there are a lot of naysayers about the research. But this is
about shungite. Are you familiar with shungite, Ryan?

Ryan: Shungite. I think—what was it? For our anniversary, my wife was tense
about something. I don’t know where I even got the idea. But there was some
crystal mineral store down in Salt Lake. And I popped in there. And I believe
shungite was one of my selections [inaudible], yeah.

Razi: Okay. So shungite has a property in it called fullerene. And I don’t

exactly understand. The more I read about fullerene, the less I understand.
But it’s basically a powerful antioxidant. And someone won a Nobel Prize
about fullerene sometime in the 80s. And it’s a form of carbon, like diamonds
and graphite. But it’s different. It’s really resistant to change. And when they
look at it molecularly, it’s like a vacuum. And so they say it goes against this
idea that a vacuum doesn't exist in nature. And what some scientists and
researchers are saying is this protects against electromagnetic fields, so
against radiation.

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And I wasn’t sure what to think about this. But I ran into this at a bookstore.
And I love the way it felt in my hands. It’s just hard to put down. And so for
that reason enough, I love having shungite in my home. And I love to give it as
gifts. We have electromagnetic energy around us. And of course, we turn off
our wi-fi at night. I try to use Ethernet when possible. I have a landline phone
that I use for the most part. But it’s still all around us. So even if it just makes
me feel better, that’s not a bad thing, the placebo effect.

But shungite is being used in applications to filter water. And people are
charging water with pieces of shungite as well. And it’s supposed to be really
wonderful. So I do sometimes put crystals in my water. But I can’t make a
claim that it purifies the water. But it feels good. And I like it.

Ryan: I was just thinking while you were talking. Now, I don’t know if that
was—I think that was one of the things I got my wife.

Razi: I bet it was this. I bet it was black tourmaline. Black tourmaline is said
to eliminate negative energy and negative emotions and help clear them or
help them come—

Ryan: That’s funny. It was actually black tourmaline. Shungite—I got a water
structuring unit awhile back. And if you want to hear more about water
structuring, for everyone listening, Ben Greenfield talked about it a lot on this
episode.

But it has to run through this series of—it could be anything. But they use
shungite stones in it, the one that I got. So that’s funny.

Razi: I like that. That’s really cool. Another one that I like is—this is so pretty.
And it’s really inexpensive. It’s called optical quartz. And it’s rutilated. It has
just these little threads throughout. And historically, it’s said to help really
intensify positive feelings. And I love—I have this in almost every room of my
house. And it just feels good to have it there.

So again, I can make no claims scientifically. But these rocks are in the earth.
There’s a study I found, actually this morning before getting ready for this,
that some Japanese researchers think that maybe what’s at the very center of
the earth helping regulate the magnetic field is quartz.

Ryan: Quartz!

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Razi: So they’ve done some studies. Of course, they didn’t go to the center of
the earth. But they did some other studies using lasers and carbon and silica.
And they feel that that’s very plausible.

It makes our watches tick. It helps our computers run. And it feels really great
to have around the home, too.

Ryan: Nice. Where and how do you like to get your crystals and gems and
such, Razi?

Razi: Crystals. I get that question a lot. And so there’s a saying that people
that love crystals like I do that, “Crystals find you.” So I find them in just—I
haven’t been lucky enough. I don’t have any great story that I was walking in
the desert and suddenly…

But I just find them at bookstores, gift shops. There’s the gem show that
comes to Tucson every year. So I always get a couple there when I go. But I
don’t know. There are people who are sellers online who get them from
Madagascar and Brazil. I have gotten a few on Ebay. That doesn't sound very
exciting. But I know what I like. Sometimes, I’m just out running errands, and
I’ll be somewhere. And there’s a lovely crystal that I have to have.

So just I think, “What you seek is seeking you,” says Rumi. So if you want
more crystals in your world, that’s all you have to do. And you’ll find them.

Ryan: Or you have a plant and crystal house warming party.

Razi: Yeah, that is so cool. I wish I would have done that for my birthday this
year.

Ryan: It’s done. Before we wrap up, was there anything else on rocks and
crystals and everything?

Razi: No, I don’t want to overwhelm everyone. I’ve got a bunch of crystals. But
I think that just getting started with just bringing them into your world. And I
think it really can just make your home just a calmer, more relaxed place—
just bringing nature indoors any way that you can.

Ryan: Yeah. Yeah, no. That’s really big. And we’re a little ways there on the
plants ourselves. And now, I’ve got to go hunt down some crystals somewhere,
too.

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Just in terms of we talked about bringing negative ions in, the crystals raising
the—I don’t even know what—I hate using the word “raising the vibrations.”
But it’s just what always comes to mind. But just the overall positive energy of
the home, is there anything else that comes to mind that you want to throw
out before we wrap up?

Razi: Yes, so I think it’s really important to keep your home as free from
negativity as possible. It’s already this enclosed space. It’s already really an
unnatural environment if we really think about it. And so as I was saying to
you before we got started, whenever I reprimand my children or have a
difficult conversation with someone, I always take it outside which is funny
because you think of that, “Let’s take this outside.” But I do. I take it outside.

I usually go in the front patio or sometimes the backyard and have important
or even difficult conversations there. I just intuitively think it feels better. It’s
out there free in the world, free in the universe. And you’re surrounded by
birds and bees and plants. And just nature is there supporting you. And I
think not to get that negativity trapped between walls and windows.

So I think that’s something that I have done always. And I didn’t really think
about it until we were talking earlier. I didn’t really think about how it does
improve the environment. So having those important and difficult
conversations outside your home I think can help keep your home feeling
safer.

And also I’m not very versed in the art or science of Feng Shui, although I
have been to Hong Kong. And I know business owners who take it very
seriously with great success. I don’t know that. But I do often change my
furniture around. I’m constantly rearranging furniture. When I say
“constantly,” I don’t mean weekly, but definitely a couple times a year. And I
feel like it’s really good to shift the space.

And my thought behind that is, again, in nature things are always in flow.
Wind is always blowing. Animals are moving around. Birds are flying. Water is
flowing. It’s even moving in a lake or a body of water. It’s always in flow. And
rocks might not be. But they do conduct energy or electricity. And so that’s
energy moving through them.

Our home environments are different. There’s a lot of stagnation. And there
are a lot of unnatural materials. And so I think to open windows and move
furniture around helps shift that energy. And it always feels really good. So I
think that’s something I intuitively do.

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Ryan: Beautiful! Something I will do now, myself. Razi, this has been
incredibly informative and a great way to round out everything we’ve been
talking about on the summit. Is there anything else you wanted to throw out?
Oh, actually, if you have time, I have one more question.

Razi: Oh, sure.

Ryan: Just going back to, do you have any kind of practical—I don’t know—
just how-to tips on having a bunch of plants in the house? Is it as simple as
just watering them every once in a while? Is there anything else special you do
to supercharge the plants or whatever? Just any plant owner tips.

Razi: Are you trying to find out if I talk to my plants? The answer is yes.

Ryan: Oh my gosh! No, I hadn’t even thought of that. But yeah.

Razi: The answer is yes.

Ryan: Yes, of course you talk to your plants, yeah.

Razi: I don’t have full-on conversations with them. But I do say, “Hello.” And,
“Here’s some water.” And, “Aren’t you beautiful?” And you have to be careful
with babies and some pets. Certain plants aren’t good for pets. So you want to
be cognizant of that. Most plants you just don’t want to overwater. That’s how
most people kill plants, actually from overwatering instead of underwatering.

A couple of these plants today remove mold spores. And I forgot to tell you
that. And so it’s another good thing that plants can do. They can’t remediate a
big mold incident. But they can help keep the air free of mold.

But back to that, overwatering is the biggest problem with plants. And then I
like to rotate plants, too, so they get different light, different moisture levels in
the air. So I sometimes move my plants around and just rearrange some. And
it seems to keep them healthy.

Ryan: Nice! Nice. I’ve seen mold in the potting soil of houseplants. Has that
ever happened with you?

Razi: It hasn’t happened with me. But it’s probably because I live in Phoenix
which is so dry.

Ryan: Oh, yes.

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Razi: And I’m careful not to overwater. So I always let my plants go almost
completely dry before I water them again.

Ryan: And you’re just looking at the soil there?

Razi: Mm-hm. Just feeling the soil. I don’t let it get hard and crunchy. But I
just let it get just barely dry and then water them again. And then a couple
times a year, I’ll soak them in a sink, fully soak them through.

And also prune off all the dead leaves. Pruning is just a law of nature. And we
need to do that in our lives, too. Prune our fruit trees. Always prune the
extraneous things. Say no to things you don’t have time for. Get rid of things
you don’t have room for. Make room for new. Get rid of things that aren’t
serving your greatest purpose. And prune the little dried leaves off your
plants. Cut the dead ends off your hair, according to the phases of the moon.

Ryan: I won’t even ask you to elaborate on that one.

Razi: Well, that’s in the Farmer’s Almanac. Don’t blame me. It’s in the
Farmer’s Almanac, what days to cut your hair for thickness and what days to
cut your hair for length.

Ryan: No way!

Razi: Yeah.

Ryan: No way. Alright. Well, I get haircuts at home. So that falls into the
purview of the Toxic Home Transformation here.

Razi: That’s right. I always appreciate that you let me go a little bit woo-woo.
So to the audience, if everyone else was very scientific, I apologize.

Ryan: No, this is exactly what I wanted this to be. We had plenty of people
talking about all the science behind the toxins and stuff. And this is always
what I had in mind for this summit—the full picture of literally everything you
could do at home.

Razi: That’s so good.

Ryan: So yeah, and I knew you were going to provide a whole bunch of gems
on that note. So awesome! Razi, do you have any final, parting word or
thought on this whole what we just talked about that you wanted to impart on
everyone before we get out of here?

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Razi: Well, we can’t separate ourselves from our environment. So just
yesterday I said this to my children. I said, “Would you like to be the drum
that is the instrument that is used to make a sound? Or would you like to be
the hand that strikes the drum? Or would you like to be the sound that
emanates from the instrument when someone strikes the drum? Or would you
like to be the person that hears the sound? Or would you like to be the one
who’s dancing to the rhythm of the sound that’s coming from the instrument
that somebody’s hand strikes? And if you were to choose, which of these
would be greater?”

And I don’t think there’s a right answer. It’s all necessary. It’s all connected.
So looking at our home environment, this is critically important because we
can’t separate ourselves from our environment. We can’t separate our
thoughts from our body. We can’t separate our words from who we are. We
can’t separate those we love from our health. We can’t separate our work from
our real life. Those are all false dualities.

And so I just think this is a really important conversation that you’re starting.
And it’s very provocative think about what we can do in our home. And people
will often say—and you probably hear this, too, Ryan—that, “Oh, everything
causes cancer.” And to me, the answer is then, “You need to do everything
that you can do.”

You need to do everything that you can do. There are enough things that we
don’t have control of. But we have a fair amount of control over our home,
over the people we’re in relationship with, over the actions we take, over the
words we speak. We have a h*** of a lot of control over our lives if we think
about it. And so we have to make all these choices very, very carefully.

Ryan: Yeah. Yeah, and that’s what we always try to get across. Yeah, there are
a lot of things that cause cancer. But where do you spend the majority of your
time? You should spend way more of it than you probably do out in the woods
or something. But we spend a lot of time in our houses. And we do have really
good control there.

Yeah, and that’s a great way to look at it. You can’t separate yourself from the
environment you live in. We’re one and the same.

Razi Berry, always a pleasure. Do you want to let everyone know one more
time where to find all things Razi?

Razi: Oh, thank you.

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Ryan: Yeah, everything you’re working on that you want to let people know
about.

Razi: Yeah, I’m new to Instagram. You can find me at Razi.Berry on

Instagram. And on Facebook you can find me at Razi Berry. But I have a really
fun group called Love Is Medicine, if you’re so inclined to learn along with me
and talk about the ways that love and our relationships affect our health.

And if you’d rather be on the science side of it, there’s a lot of great science at
Naturopathic Doctor News and Review. That’s NDNR.com. And I appreciate you
letting me bring those up. Thank you. And hello to Teddy.

Ryan: She actually told me to say hi to you as well. And just for everyone
listening, or watching I should say, Razi and I just got a little woo-woo if you
want to call it that. But you are the science nerd as well. So that’s what I love
about you.

Razi: Yes, I am. I just love to have the opportunity to be this way. And I
appreciate that.

Ryan: All right, Razi.

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