Photo by Jaclyn Boutwell

How important is the environment we live in for wellness?

The following is a transcript of a conversation between Carli Kilgore — Integrative and Functional Medicine Registered Dietitian (RD), Licensed Dietitian (LD) and real food + wellness expert in Houston, Texas and Donnie Boutwell, CEO Media Systems.

Donnie: We have a home automation and technology company that my Uncle started in 1980, my wife Jaclyn and I run it now. So for years, we’ve done all these cool bells and whistles in the house. Lately the discussion in our industry has shifted gears toward wellness because the home can either add or take away from your health and well being. There’s a lot we can do with technology to support that. We reached out to you because people that do what we do really need to hear from people that do what you do.

SLEEP

Donnie: Since we’re talking about the home, the first thing I wanted to ask you about is: What are your thoughts about sleep? I hear that lack of sleep can be a cause of many health problems. That’s something that we feel like with our tech that we can try to help with. How much does it matter that we get a good night sleep?

Carli: If sleep and stress are not under control or in balance, then all bets are off. It doesn’t matter what you eat or what supplements you take. Sleep is when all of our neurotransmitters reset, it’s when our hormones reset. So there’s so much repair that happens overnight, especially with the liver. That’s when the liver is mobilizing toxins to get rid of them in the morning. If sleep is not regulated, then it’s very difficult to even control our appetite because that leptin hormone, which is what helps us feel full and satisfied, is actually clinically shown to be lower when we don’t sleep. So you wake up and you’re hungry, then you’re over eating. The list goes on and on, but sleep is always paramount in the wellness order of operations.

Donnie: Does it make a difference if someone sleeps in a room that’s really dark?

Carli: It does. There’s a lot of great research on, well we could talk about blue light specifically… but any light that is hitting receptors in the skin is going to effect your cortisol levels.

Donnie: Wow!

LIGHTING

Carli: The solar noon that we all see at about 12 o’clock is really a way, when we’re outside, for our body to know what time it is, which will naturally regulate our hormones. So being exposed to any light when we’re sleeping will effect our percent of of REM sleep.

Donnie: Wow, so this is interesting. We have a way to control color temperature of light in the home. There’s been a lot of talk about circadian rhythm. It’s the idea that in the morning the sun is more amber, in the middle of the day, it’s more bright white, or blue light waves, then at the end of the day it sets down with amber again. Is that something that you think is relevant and matters to health?

Carli: I think it’s very relevant. So taking it back to hunter-gatherer days: those amber lights we used to sit around the campfire and see. Those help indicate that the sun has set, and now it’s time for cortisol to go down, which prepares us for sleep and helps the pineal gland recognize that it’s time to increase melatonin production. That solar noon is going to be more of those blue lights, and in the morning after sun rises… getting that exposure to the sun in the morning can really ramp up your cortisol when it’s supposed to be ramped up which helps drive energy. So yeah, that cascade of the color exposures on our retinas and our skin is the primary way to regulate our REM cycle, for sure.

Donnie: Wow, I had no idea it came in through your skin! That’s crazy!

Carli: Yeah, there’s even research being done right now that women might be more prone to thyroid issues because men in the work place wear a shirt and a tie that cover up those thyroid receptors where women typically have them exposed. Some people are even working in front of a computer with a scarf on who are aware of this research because all of those receptors in our body will pick up on those blue lights.

WATER QUALITY

Donnie: Okay, I want to shift gears since I know that nutrition is a big part of you do and what your expertise is. Can you tell me what your thoughts are on water quality?

Carli: Absolutely, I actually just wrote a whole detox protocol on how important it is to minimize exposure to toxins. The water, if it’s not filtered…. you know people throw prescription medications down the sink, there is chlorine in our water, there are so many chemicals that treat our water. There’s even arsenic in the water, bacteria in the water. If it’s not filtered, our bodies have such a greater load to bear in terms of detoxification. The liver is really the unsung hero of the whole body. If it’s weighed down by the job of detoxing from our water not being clean, then there are other processes that are going to be effected. So, yeah, that’s a big source of toxicity in everyone’s world, and a lot of people are not really aware of it: how dirty our water can be. I’m a big fan of high quality filtration. Absolutely.

THE HOME OF AN EXPERT

Donnie: Tell me about your home. Is there anything about it that you feel like contributes to your own personal wellness that other people ought to have in their homes?

Carli: Water filters. I use a Berkey water filter and also have filters on the shower and bath. I have a little boy and he takes a bath every single night. So his water exposure is so important to me. It has to be clean. Also, I try to keep blue light and light exposure down after sunset and use candle light at home.

EMF

Donnie: Let me ask you about something a little bit controversial. Some of our homeowners have come to us and said that the RF or wireless stuff in the air effects their personal health. So we have a way to shut all that off for people if they want to do that. And I just don’t know what the research is on that, if that’s really a thing? Do you know anything about that?

Carli: Yes! (laughs) It’s funny because, this is exactly my thought in trying to convince my husband of that. If you’re in the wellness community you’re typically VERY aware of it. Yeah, EMF… EMF exposure… I have covers on my phone, I have covers on my computer. I forget sometimes, but I like to shut my WiFi off at night. It’s all just bouncing around. It the same reason that people shouldn’t stand in front of the microwave when it’s on. All of the unseen energy that’s flying around our house can effect hormones, it can effect neurotransmitters. And our phones right by our head have radiation emitting. There’s a reason why they’re now telling pregnant mothers to keep the phones away from the belly! There’s a lot of signals flying around and just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there. So, I’d say that a big… a BIG selling point for a system to be able to naturally shut those off… we all have a million things to do. It would be nice to not have to worry about one more thing to shut off at night. I would LOVE that.

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

Donnie: So here’s my last question. If there’s one thing, just one thing that you could ask your clients, your friends and loved ones to change about their homes… If you could grab them by the shoulders and shake them and say, “Please change this about your home, it will really effect your life.” What’s the one biggest thing. It’s okay if it’s something we’ve already talked about.

Carli: I’d have to go with the water for sure. We cook with it, we drink it, we bathe in it… Our skin is our largest organ, right? It’s the way we absorb things most efficiently. If you’re not using clean water, your body isn’t clean. So, I have to go with the water.

Donnie: Awesome. You have been so helpful today! I really, really appreciate your time!

Carli: Good! Yeah, this is stuff that I love to talk about. We all need the technology, but we all want to be safe from it and they, (tech and safety) can go together. I think it’s so great that you’re thinking this way.

You can find more information about Carli at wellnessbycarli.com.