Hi, and Welcome to Chemical Free Gal, previously Mom’s Mold Resources. Simply put, I’m a mom and wife who is in Christ Jesus, first and foremost. After that, I’m an Environmental Toxins Educator, Holistic Wellness Mentor, Herbalist, Inspirational Writer, Homeschooler, Self-Taught Chef, and Recipe Developer. I’m also an Advocate for Mold Illness, Environmental Illness, and mold-induced PANS. I’ve been educating and assisting families on their journey to wellness for over 15 years.
The use of the words “chemical free” in my blog name refers to toxic substances, be they man-made or naturally occurring. The picture I use below is in solidarity with all the women and families affected by environmental toxins and fragrances around the world. When I was extremely chemically sensitive, I had to use a mask like this and other carbon and P100 masks to filter out fragrances, car pollution, smoke, and other chemicals when I had to leave home.
This site and everything here are a result of my love for family and health and my desire to help others find answers. Prior to starting this site, I ran several international blogs on health and wellness with subscribers in over 250 countries. I also formulated herbal products and nontoxic fragrance-free beauty products, created recipes for those with dietary restrictions, and taught classes online and in my local community. This all stopped as my health spiraled downwards. If you’d like to hear a little about my story, check out this podcast.
A few minor symptoms started after I started working in an old building. During that time, there were remodeling projects while leaks caused wet carpets to smell. I began to feel lightheaded and have nosebleeds. Fast forward some time, and I started to feel really dizzy almost on a daily basis. I also had daily bouts of extreme fatigue, swelling, and inflammation. My memory started slipping so much so that I could not remember something that someone had told me minutes before. I noticed that my symptoms became far worse when I was in my office.
For the first few years, I pushed myself to work and left home from my office each day, barely able to drive and deal with my responsibilities at home. I’d arrive home and crash in bed for several hours.
At work, I actually fainted a few times and dealt with a few bouts of subconjunctival hemorrhages. When this occurred, I would rush to my doctor or to the ER. I also began to run fevers (FUO – Fevers of unknown origin) each day after being at work for a few hours and had a very hard time breathing while in the office. I coughed constantly and wheezed almost daily (I do not have asthma and never have). I also was treated for walking Pneumonia several times during the first few years I worked in my office. Around this time, my doctor diagnosed me with Mitral Valve Prolapse, PVCs, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia, POTS, Aspergillosis, and Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis. He said that my heart and lungs were acting abnormally. He sent me to see a cardiologist and a few other specialists for testing and monitoring.
Being sick and having life turned upside down has been hard, but it has taught me so much more that I can now share with my loved ones and those around me.
What are you passionate about? Tell us a bit more about yourself.
My number one passion in life is sharing God’s love and hope through his word with people. Secondary to that, I am wildly passionate about helping others find answers to their health woes and using all that God created to help our bodies heal. My passion for health and helping people started when I was a little girl. I always enjoyed making teas, working with plants, cooking, planting, harvesting, and being covered in dirt, lol.
I’m passionate about healthy food, herbal medicine, eradicating chemicals in our homes and environments, air quality, autism, PANS, sustainable living, organic and nontoxic agriculture, and holistic medicine. I’m also extremely passionate about educating families concerning the dangers of fragrances and the effects that toxic mold, chemicals, and other toxicants have on human health.
I am a fun-loving wife and mom and a fighter against a few chronic and debilitating illnesses that walked into my life unexpectedly after my prolonged exposure to various environmental toxins, including toxic mold. Although our struggles have been difficult and we’ve endured many twists and turns, it is a great pleasure for me to share what I know with others. I feel blessed when I can encourage, and teach people about healthy living habits.
Both before and after becoming sick, and for over a decade, I have passionately taught many people about the benefits of eating organic and living foods. I have been a personal chef and healthy food advocate to people in my local and online community and have developed over 100 recipes for various dietary protocols, including Paleo, GAPS, AIP, Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Doug Kaufman Antifungal Diet, and a few others.
I truly believe that a balanced diet can be designed to help heal the body from whatever ailments are present. Food can be a powerful medicine or an equally powerful poison.
Why do you care about environmental toxins and chemicals?
Because my health was so severely affected by toxic mold and other contaminants, I am passionate about sharing my story, research, and hope with others. As a result of my prolonged exposure (8 years) to various indoor air contaminants and chemicals, I developed ME/CFS, TILT. and was diagnosed with autonomic nervous system damage, Aspergillosis, Vasomotor Rhinitis, POTS, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, Fibromyalgia, and a few other health issues that affect multiple systems in my body, including my respiratory, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. My symptoms were, on many occasions, completely disabling. Even now, as I type this, I have to say that after my prolonged exposure to toxic mold, every single part of my life has been impacted, and nothing has ever been the same again.
This is one of the reasons I am actively involved in teaching others about toxic mold, chemicals, fragrances, and VOCs and how these toxins can affect our health. Sadly there are not enough people speaking out about the effects of chemicals and other environmental toxins on human health.
Why do you educate on the dangers of fragrances?
One of the reasons is that my life was personally impacted. There was a time when exposure to fragrances and EOs would give me full-body anaphylactic reactions. Per doctor’s orders, I lived like a recluse for a very long time because visiting places with fragrances or essential oils meant hours or days with disabling symptoms. Going through this pushed me to connect with other moms experiencing similar health issues, and before long, I was managing several groups with hundreds of moms severely affected by chemicals. It was during that I began advocating for mothers needing accommodations at home, work, school, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and stores. It’s been a decade and a half since I stopped using fragranced items and began helping women on their journey to wellness, and although the journey has been intense, I’m so thankful for the opportunity to help other moms who were suffering like I was.
Do you offer any classes, and if so, what are they? Also, did your childhood influence what you are passionate about today?
Since the early 2000s, I’ve offered different classes and hosted talks on a yearly basis, but I had to stop in recent years due to health and family dynamics. I do, however, lead and offer support to various private groups. I also offer one on one consultations to families. My hope is that at some point, I will be able to resume all of the in-person (live) classes and hosting of events as I did for so many years.
My one-on-one classes can range from teaching people how to prepare healthy meals to baby and adult meal preparations to learning about eradicating toxins in their environment or discovering the art of herbal medicine making and so much more. I believe that once people are armed with the proper information, they can make wiser choices to improve their overall wellness. My motto is that we should live our life every day as a gift and then give that gift away every day.
My passion for health is my gift to you via this blog.
My commitment to health is of utmost importance, so when teaching others to craft herbal recipes and cook healthy meals, or when I teach about following a chemical-free lifestyle, I do not use or recommend things containing: petrochemicals, sodium lauryl sulfate, formaldehyde, mineral oils, parabens, PABA, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, hormones, steroids, hydrogenated oils, processed ingredients, synthetic fillers, etc.
Creating nutritious meals in my kitchen and handcrafting quality nontoxic herbal creations using all that God blessed the earth with, and educating people is essential to me because I never forgot my days as a little girl cutting herbs and pulling up potatoes while walking barefoot in the garden. That little girl became one of the most important aspects of my mission. Why? Well, because that little girl represents all of us in our quest for a healthier and safer life. She is one of the reasons why I do what I do.
That little girl can also be seen in the faces of thousands of poverty-stricken children around the world who die each day because of a lack of proper nutrition and knowledge of chemical contaminants in their water, food, and environment.
What do you desire to accomplish through this blog?
My desire is to equip people with lifesaving knowledge so that they can go out into the world and lead healthier, happier lives and impact those who are suffering around them. If I can’t use my life experiences to help others, then what is the point of going through hard times?
In my lifetime and the life of my extended family, I have seen and or encountered: cancer, arthritis, ADHD, asthma, allergies, M.E., PANS, Mold Illness, chronic infections, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, TILT/MCS, diverticulitis, back injuries, disability, high blood pressure, constipation, burns, eczema, psoriasis, chronic diaper rashes, parasites, depression, nursing, child-birth, multiple childhood illnesses, high fevers, severe chemical sensitivities, MCAS, hormonal issues, bad breath, anemia, bone loss, periodontal disease, and many other health issues.
As I have gone through life and dealt with various health issues in my family and extended family, I have sought to learn as much as I can about them and use all that God created to aid us in recovery and prevention. I have spoken alongside pediatricians, holistic practitioners, and other health and wellness aficionados.
In our home, we follow a nutrient-dense, processed sugar-free, gluten, and sometimes grain-free diet.
Who inspired you to learn about natural health and chemical-free living?
Sharing all the above with you would not be complete if I did not mention who was responsible for awakening my curiosity for natural remedies, cooking, organic foods, herbs, and chemical-free living.
That would be my dear Papi, my dad, who is probably strolling in a heavenly vineyard or dancing with the angels. My dad was promoted to glory due to medical malpractice, but his love, and teachings are alive and etched in my heart. Dad, I know you would be proud!
It is definitely not easy going through life-altering events like losing a loved one or battling cancer. My life has been full of hard times, good times, and suffering, but I have found that if we survive with grace and faith, we can share with others what we learned and make the world a better place. That is what I strive to do with each class I teach, with each meal I cook, with each product I make, and with each article I write.
This journey has not yet ended, and each day we face new battles. As I move forward on my journey, I hope to share with my audience glimpses into my world and all of the knowledge I have acquired on the topics of holistic herbal medicine, environmental toxins, TILT/MCS, illnesses caused by toxic mold exposure, PANS/PANDAS, and everything else I did before my health was affected by toxic mold.
Please be sure to check out our homepage for the latest posts and share them on your social media accounts. I can’t always write everything I would like to, so please bear with me as I try my best to provide helpful posts and information to you.
Knowledge is power, and the more people we share our story with, the more people will be helped!
Do You Offer Consultations?
Yes, I do. For over a decade and a half, I’ve offered hundreds of complementary consultations to families in need throughout my local and online community. My passion has always been to share what I’ve learned and share hope with families.
In late 2023, I hope to offer several purchasable guides and resources for families and those dealing with toxic mold issues. Please click here for more information and or to request a consultation.
Click here to read reviews and testimonials.
If you would like to support my work, you can do so by clicking here.
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I’m looking for a hair protectant for blow drying and straightening without chemicals or fragrances. A DYI would work too. Please help!!!
I make my own products for my hair. You can try pure aloe vera gel with any oil (argan, vitamin e, almond etc) your hair does well with. mix and apply as needed.
Blessings,
CFG
Lifting you up! You are appreciated, cared for, prayed for & important! Fight on!
Thank you! God bless you.