Healthy Home Highlight - Mattresses

A bonus highlight on mattresses, why traditional mattresses can be so toxic, and what to use instead.

Links: 

Avocado Mattress

Naturepedic Mattress

Transcript

Natalie: 0:02

Hello, and welcome to this week's Healthy Home Highlight. Before we dive into today's topic, I want to take a moment and share why I started this podcast and why I've added these Healthy Home Highlights. When I was first diagnosed with autoimmune diseases, I went through a terrible phase of hopelessness. It felt like I had no control over my health. And for a moment, I almost accepted that as my fate, but that's not who I am. I have a competitive spirit and I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I decided to use every skill I had learned, dedicate myself to research, meditation, prayer, and truly understanding how the human body works so I could change my trajectory. Over the last two years, I have poured my heart into studying everything that affects our health, reading books, reviewing studies, attending cutting edge seminars, and experimenting with what works. Now, one of the biggest things I realized throughout this entire journey is that so many people are going through very similar struggles, or they have a family member that's going through very similar struggles. I constantly get asked everywhere I go, What are you doing? What resources have helped you? And I feel incredibly blessed to have this knowledge and see real progress in my own health. I actually just got some great news. Very exciting. I've cut the antibodies attacking my system in half. Because this information has been so life changing for me, I want to share it with as many people as possible. And I truly believe that everyone can benefit. And I mean everyone. Especially with the statistics right now that one in three people have a chronic disease and 95 percent of the population have some sort of metabolic disorder. Our world has advanced so far, but some of the industrious things that have been invented are actually doing more harm than good to our health. Please, please share this podcast with anyone who could benefit from it. If you're new here, I recommend starting from episode one. I've designed the podcast in a specific order based on the steps that I personally used to lower my inflammation and begin my healing process. And again, these are the things that have worked for me, they may not work for everyone, but I want to put it out there so that you have the opportunity to benefit from this information as well. With my background in home and building design, I also wanted to add in these Healthy Home Highlights to provide resources on safe, clean alternatives for your home and your body. Now, I'm not suggesting that you go out and replace everything all at once. That would just be overwhelming and very expensive. My goal is simply to equip you with the knowledge so that as you replace things over time, You can make the healthiest choices for you and your family. Now let's get to today's episode. It's on mattresses. What are the hidden dangers of traditional mattresses? As we discussed in episode five on sleep, the quality of your sleep plays a crucial role in your overall health. But sleep quality isn't just about your bedtime routine or the number of hours of rest that you get. The very surface that you sleep on plays a significant role. Many traditional mattresses, especially those made with synthetic materials, contain harmful chemicals that really can impact your health. So how are traditional mattresses made? Most mattresses are made with a combination of cotton and polyester, which, as a reminder, polyester is derived from petroleum. Now, these materials are formed into a sheet of padding that's called polycotton. Once the sheet of polycotton is made, A system of coiled springs is then layered with multiple sheets of polycotton, usually about 9 to 11 on each side of the mattress. And then they top it with a flame retardant sheet and sew all of it inside the mattress material. Now, in order to meet the flammability standards, these manufacturers spray chemical flame retardants onto the mattresses. One commonly used group is called polybrominated, diphenyl, ethers, or PBDEs, and this has been linked to infertility, cancer, obesity, and developmental brain disorders. Now, there's even more flame retardants such as boric acid and melamine compounds, and those have been associated with endocrine and thyroid disruption, immune system toxicity, reproductive harm and adverse effects on both fetal and child development. Now, you might say, well, I don't have a mattress like that. I have a foam mattress and memory foam has just as many problems. Memory foam is made by combining a bunch of chemicals, such as isocyanates, polyols, and blowing agents, and they create this whipped foam that's then molded and cured into the rectangular shapes. This process releases hazardous emissions that include methylene chloride, toluene, diisocyanate, and methylchloroform. Now, these emissions contribute to off gassing and releases volatile organic compounds, which is also known as VOCs, into the air. And VOCs have been known to cause respiratory irritation. A lot of people with asthma can have flare ups because of this. It will cause eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and sometimes even allergic skin reactions. So if you think about it, considering how much time we should be spending in bed each night, sleeping on a mattress that continuously emits harmful chemicals is far from ideal. So What do you do? Well, fortunately, there are a few safer alternatives that are out there. I'm so grateful that there are companies that have really committed to produce a cleaner, safer mattress, and two of my favorites are Avocado Green Mattress and Naturepedic. Now, both of these use organic latex, and organic latex comes from the sap of a rubber tree. So the sap is harvested by tapping the tree, very similar to how maple syrup is tapped from maple trees. And the rubber trees are tapped to get their milky white sap. Now this sap is then brought to a factory, and it's whipped, and it's molded, and it's baked, washed, dried, and then it creates a very durable, springy foam. But it's from natural tree sap, not chemicals. Now, these mattress manufacturers also use natural materials like organic cotton and organic wool. Which, both of these have really great properties for helping you sleep cool. It helps your body temperature actually get distributed throughout the rest of the mattress. And a great feature about wool is it's naturally both stain resistant and fire retardant. So, no more extra chemicals are added when they use the wool in the mattress. Now, what certifications do you need to look for? Both of these companies prioritize organic and non toxic materials. And here's a few of the certifications that they have that you should keep your eye out for when you're shopping for mattresses. So the first one is G. O. L. S. And that stands for Global Organic Latex Standard. That means that a latex product has to contain at least 95 percent of certified organic latex. latex, and they make them meet really strict ethical and environmental production standards. Now the next certification to keep your eye out for is called GOTS. Now this stands for Global Organic Textile Standard, and this is for organic fibers like the cotton and wool that I had mentioned, and it makes sure that through all production stages it meets the organic criteria, all the way from the harvesting of the raw fiber through manufacturing and even up until labeling. Now, another certification you can keep your eye open for is Green Guard certification. And these two companies have a Green Guard Gold certification. And this ensures that low chemical emissions are met for all the indoor air quality. So when you bring your mattress into your home or even when the factory is producing them, they're not having off gassing or significant off gassing happen in your house. Now, the last certification that I would make mention of, it's called Made Safe Certification, and this just verifies that products are made without any harmful chemicals. So as you're shopping for a mattress, check out G O L S, G O T S, Green Guard, and Made Safe are great certifications to look for. Now let's talk a little bit about avocado green mattress. They meet the G O L S certified organic latex. They also meet the GOTS certified organic wool and cotton. And again, this is fire retardant wool. And they also have a really great commitment to wellness. Avocado is carbon negative. And that means that they remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than what their company generates when they're making these mattresses. So, great for the environment as well. Now, the other company that I love is called Naturepedic Mattresses. They're really focused on the ability to customize and have extreme comfort and then still maintain all of these really strict organic standards. They also have the certifications for the cotton fabric and filling, For the wool batting and the organic latex. A really unique feature about Naturepedic is that the top layer of the mattress has a zipper, and it allows you to be able to have different firmness levels on each side. So when you get a Naturepedic, let's say your sleeping partner likes softer or more firm of a mattress, you can get different fills so that you can have one side more firm and the other side more soft. This is perfect if there's different sleeping preferences in your family. Plus, they offer a 100 night trial. And a 25 year warranty and free returns. Now, one funny story. When my husband and I were first married, we were poor students, we needed to find something, we needed a new mattress. And we found a deeply discounted mattress at a local store because it was so heavy that no one could lift it. When they had originally tried to deliver it to the person who had ordered it, it was just too heavy and the plastic had gotten torn, so they returned it. Which was fortunate for us because we realized that it was a Naturepedic mattress. Which has been the most comfortable mattress that we have ever owned. And I truly believe it has contributed to better sleep and better recovery. Now, Naturepedic also offers crib mattresses for babies and pet mattresses for your little furry companions. So, all in all, both Avocado Green Mattress and Naturepedic offer some of the best organic non toxic options that are out there today. Now, while I haven't personally tried an avocado mattress yet, I love how they produce their products and I've read some really amazing reviews. Naturepedic, on the other hand, has definitely been a game changer in my own home. These mattresses are an investment, but given their durability and health benefits, they may be the last mattress that you ever need to buy. So, if you're considering replacing your mattress, I recommend it's worth saving up and choosing an organic, toxin free option that will support both your sleep and your overall health. hope this information has been helpful and thank you for joining me on another Healthy Home Highlight.