Detox Your Life and Top 12 Foods that Should Always Be Organic - Jillian Michaels Podcast Summary - September 9, 2011

Don't have time to spend 45 minutes to an hour listening to Jillian Michaels' weekly free podcasts? Or perhaps you love them, but can't remember all the tips and advice from that week? Or you aren't able to access the podcast because it's on iTunes? Here I will summarize the content of her free podcasts each week to make the information more accessible for you.

Of course, Jillian's way of speaking can be motivation in itself. To listen to the weekly free podcast, visit the iTunes store and search for The Jillian Michaels Show.

Jillian talks detox and gives tips on how to detoxify your life. She also addresses the common problem of using food as a reward and why you shouldn't do it.

Jillian talks detox. She wants to focus on why we're getting sick, instead of solely on treatment. She is frustrated with the lack of concern for prevention and doctor's refusal to tell people to never do something like drink diet soda or eat fast food. The doctors argue it's polarizing, while Jillian essentially takes the stance that is the reason we love her: get over it.

Jillian draws a line between calories and chemicals. Just because diet soda doesn't have calories doesn't mean it lacks dangerous chemicals. She says one of The Doctors, Travis, says that if it's chemicals she's really concerned with then she wouldn't live in L.A. Jillian counters that there is no substitute for L.A. in her life; her family and career are there, but she lives in the most chemical-free place she can. Meanwhile, diet soda and McDonalds have healthy substitutes that won't make you unemployed or take you away from your family. Try water and eating nearly anything other than McDonalds.

Bottom line: substitute healthier, chemical-free choices when you can. The easiest way? Go organic.

Jillian cites the rise in infertility, cancer, and allergies as evidence that the chemicals in our food are killing us. She also makes the point that you can't meaningfully compare the food choices of older generations because 99% of the chemicals in our food didn't exist before 1950. Your grandmother who ate tons of meat and lived to 100? She wasn't eating beef and dairy laced with rBGH. And she wasn't eating veggies laden with pesticides. She was eating real food - the type of food you can only guarantee in today's world by choosing organic (or local, when you know the farmer).

1. Change your sheets. Polyester and cotton blend and permanent-pressed linens sheets release formaldehyde. (Note: GROSS!) Formaldehyde is highly toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. Jill recommends untreated cotton.

2. Do not use chemicals on your lawn, especially Round-Up and other weed killers. Kids and pets play there and bring them inside. Instead, add mulch to garden beds to inhibit weeds or set the lawn mower to 3" because longer grass will choke out the weeds from getting enough sun. Also, Jillian says vinegar (google natural weed killer for a recipe) and corn gluten will kill weeds safely, if you just can't stand long grass or letting weeds get by you.

3. If you can't go completely organic, prioritize. (Jillian caught her mom with non-organic berries and had a tantrum.) Thin-skinned fruits and veggies should be organic or avoided. Otherwise, choose non-organics with thick skin (watermelon, oranges, etc.). Jillian says you'll reduce pesticide consumption by 80% if you go organic with only the thin-skinned produce.

List of the 12 most contaminated items that should ALWAYS be organic

• Celery
• Domestic blueberries
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Imported necatrines
• Imported grapes
• Spinach
• Bell peppers
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Potatoes

Tips: Buy frozen organics. It's cheaper, keeps longer, is frozen quickly so it retains more nutrients.

Second tip: Try a CSA or farmers' market if there is one near you.

4. Avoid excessive food wrapping (including fast food wrapers, pizza boxes, etc) or individual packaging. The fast-food, plastic wrap, and many other containers have oil and water repelling chemicals that are carcinogenic and transfer into the food. Glass is the safest container.

5. Dry cleaning chemicals are very toxic. These chemicals can cause anything from headaches to liver and kidney damages to uterine cancer. What do you do? If you have to dry clean, air out the clothes outside before you bring them in the house.

6. Don't buy costume jewelry (especially if it's made in China) because a lot of it contains cadmium. Small exposures to cadmium can cause kidney and bone damage. Also watch the metal toys for kids from China, which are also laced with the stuff.

7. Dust and change your air filters. Get rid of the toxins that get tracked in on dust. Get them out of the house.

8. Try to go natural with your beauty and cleaning products to avoid the chemicals most of them contain. (Using household products is cheaper than the expensive natural ones you can buy.)

Jillian takes a call from Gene who is struggling with using food as a reward, including Rollo McFlurries (Jillian doesn't know what that is. Bless her.) Jillian says this is self-destructive and will make Gene feel worse in the long run. Jillian says every now and then, it's fine to have a favorite food, but it's never okay to use food as a reward. She doesn't want food to be your support system. You regret eating it after, you feel worse, then you need more McFlurries. Not good. Don't make emotional associations with food as a reward. Instead, think of the McFlurry and think about that regret, disappointment, weight gain, and failure feelings that follow the McFlurry.

You deserve to treat yourself, but do it with something affirming instead of destructive. Try a manicure, spending time with family or friends, a new magazine, or watching a favorite TV show.

Jillian takes a call from Rene, who is quite rambling and after about ten minutes we FINALLY learn what the question is. Here's the advice I could surmise from this (quite painful to listen to) call:

Jillian says not to take more than 600 grams of calcium in a supplement because that's all your body can absorb at a time. You also need magnesium and Vitamin D.

Apparently Rene wants to lose weight quickly. Jillian says to count calories, because weight loss is addition and subtraction. Jillian says to aim for 1200 calories a day, but dark green veggies don't count against you. Then work out at least 3-4 times a week.

And this call finally ended after fifteen minutes. Mercy.