In the spotlight: Nada Soubra
Image via The Healthy Chain
For our next In The Spotlight series, I spoke with Nada Soubra of The Healthy Chain. Nada is a Certified Metabolic Health Coach who focuses on empowering busy parents to take more control of their health, get stronger, and prevent chronic disease using realistic approaches that create consistency, without overwhelm. When I saw Nada running a Low Tox Challenge, a step-by-step guide to a cleaner home environment, I knew I had to learn more.
Thank you so much for joining me, Nada. Let’s start with the overview, how did you get into health coaching and what does your practice do?
I set up my coaching practice to help busy parents take control of their health, live their best lives and prevent chronic diseases as they get older. My mission is around being very proactive, but balanced in the approach and using basic nutrition and lifestyle tweaks to achieve better health. I spent 15 years working in strategy consulting, but after a personal encounter with cancer, I was prompted to make health my top priority and passion, so I trained as a health coach and founded The Healthy Chain.
That’s so interesting. I guess often people don’t realise that making little switches can make a huge difference.
Exactly, a lot of the work I do is about activating our sense of understanding and helping people step off “autopilot mode” to break old habits. We’re all so busy rushing from thing to thing, we never really think about ourselves. I want to help people realise the things we’ve taken for granted all our lives, may actually be worth questioning. It’s very personal for each person, and what works for you may not work for someone else, so that’s where the power of personalised coaching comes in.
“I really wanted to shine a light on the toxins we live around, as often they are hidden in plain sight since you can not see or smell them.”
So, talk me through how the coaching actually works?
It’s a holistic approach and I always say there are three phases. The first is to understand your starting point, which is a 360 assessment and I tend to use either a lab or genomic test for that. Blood tests tell us a lot, but if you want to take the next step, I’m a practitioner with a company called Lifecode which does nutrient genomic testing. This is a fascinating space, where you can find out how well you process certain nutrients, so you can tailor your nutrition to fill in any gaps you might have as a predisposition. Another option is a glucose monitor, but I work with the client to understand which works best for them. I really believe in the power of information, so I think once people can see the numbers themselves, they feel more strongly they want to change. Following this, we move to step two, take action. I create a tailored plan for the client, something very realistic and feasible. Step three is to be consistent. I’m then there to hold their hand as they implement the changes and create the structure to help client’s stay accountable.
Thank you, it’s really helpful to understand how you can help. Now, I’d love to learn about your new Low Tox Challenge?
I set this up as I really wanted to shine a light on the toxins we live around as often they are hidden in plain sight since you can not see or smell them. They can have a huge impact on our health, especially on hormones, on brain health and cognitive function, they can be disruptive in so many ways. I think it’s important to be very balanced, it’s not about being perfect or getting rid of everything and creating phobias, but rather just creating awareness and helping people make small changes in their homes. (Sign up to the Low Tox Challenge here.)
That’s definitely me then, as I tend to panic and adapt it 100%, so it’s great to hear you encourage us to take small steps.
Yes, overall it’s about the load you are exposed to over time, rather than a one-off situation, so I like to share simple hacks and switches to educate people. I have a framework of 4 main areas that I look at. The first is air and water, so the water you drink and air in your home. Believe it or not indoor air pollution can be three times worse than outdoor, because people don’t aerate their home often enough, so simply opening the windows and adding house plants can make a huge difference. The second is food, covering whole foods in the form of pesticides and in the kinds of packaged foods we eat. The third is household products, anything we bring into our home, including furniture and cleaning products. And the fourth is personal care, so anything you put on your body.
“Believe it or not indoor air pollution can be three times worse than outdoor, because people don’t aerate their home often enough”
I love that you present it that way and make it really easy for us! I’ve always bought the same washing up liquid, because that’s the one I had growing up and I didn’t think more about it, so when I saw your post about switching to Ecover, it was a two second switch in my Sainsbury’s cart and now I know it’s much better for us. Ok, so where do we start with creating a low toxin home?
First, we need to understand that everything we bring into the home, that is not made of a natural material, will off gas to some extent. Which means it will release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These are organic compounds that dissipate into the air and are unstable. That’s why they are dangerous when you inhale them. In the short term, they tend to cause irritation, potential allergies and asthma. Over time, continuous exposure can also lead to more serious health outcomes.
Can you give us any examples of the main culprits?
MDF type products that are coated. Often the cheap ones, you can smell as soon as you walk in the room - you know the type! That smell is often the formaldehyde that has been added to preserve the material. If you can’t change the material, then I would advise aerating the room every day or ideally leave it outside for the first couple of weeks. Typically pieces stop off-gassing after 2/3 years.
Is there any guidance around what healthy levels of VOCs could be for the home?
No unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be anything formal, so wherever you can go lower, go lower. Even natural things release VOCs, some types of flowers and candles, but the synthetic chemical based ones tend to be worse for us.
Which materials would you recommend we choose?
Anything natural. So for wood choose untreated hard wood over composite woods. Glass and metal are good, then for fabrics think about using linen or wool where possible.
That’s tricky, because we design a lot of family-friendly interiors, which means we often start with a natural upholstery material but stain treat it, which I guess means we have just added additional chemicals? Is there a low toxin version we could explore?
Sadly not, I call this the cost of convenience, but these chemicals do exist in almost everything, so it’s just about managing the exposure.
Interesting, so perhaps we go towards darker sofa colours or we buy one with a removable cover that can be cleaned or replaced. Is there anything to watch out for with accessories?
The same thing really, you want to choose natural materials as much as possible, so feather cushion filling over polyester and wool throws.
Now, how about flooring?
Synthetic carpets continuously throw these fibres up, so choose short-pile wool carpet. Carpet can hold the dust though, so wood is always preferable if you can, with a lovely rug.
What would you advise for candles / home fragrances?
Avoid anything made with paraffin, ideally you don’t want to be inhaling that so look for natural options made of soy or beeswax. I personally like those fake battery operated candles that flicker. Cheap, automatic or plug in fragrance devices are terrible. You can use essential oil diffusers with either sticks or steam and they are fine.
And don’t forget about your fireplace. Real wood looks great, but inhaled daily, the fumes can be really bad for us.
Is there anything we should be mindful of in children’s products? I’ve noticed a lot of kids products are silicone now, what do you think of that?
Silicone is interesting as it is made from plastic, but it doesn’t degrade as fast as some plastics do, so I would use it but not on a high heat. For example, I wouldn’t use a silicon baking tray or put it in the dishwasher.
Generally, I would advise moving away from plastic for children, so use a stainless steel water bottle or metal cutlery.
Teddy bears is an interesting one, as a lot of these toxins live in dust particles, so it’s worth popping these in the washing machine every now and then.
Oh dear, I hadn’t even thought about the dust!
Generally anything that can reduce dust helps, from having wooden floors, to displaying less objects and dusting regularly. Don’t use a feather duster as that moves the dust from one place to another, use a wet cloth to really remove the dust.
Is there anything else we need to consider?
Shower curtains! Aside from being plastic, the PVC ones can build up mould which is a toxin in itself, so go for a glass shower door where possible.
And the other is often people don’t realise you can make natural cleaning products with the ingredients you have in your home, so before reaching for the chemicals, I recommend giving that a try. I have a list of them on my blog.
The Quick Five
We’re doing a ‘quick fire’ question round to get to know all of our guests, to get to know a little bit more about you. So, we have 5 quick questions for you…
1. What is your earliest memory of design?
The first thing that popped to my mind was my aunt’s house in Lebanon, she collected these stunning, ornate tables, it was almost like a gallery. Think hammered brass and mother of pearl.
2. What room or item in your home do you love the most, and why?
Definitely my kitchen, that’s where I spend 90% of my time. The kids are always in there tinkering with their projects while I work or cook in the background.
3. One thing you believe can elevate or transform any room?
It has to be plants. I love seeing them grow and the pop of green can elevates any space for me.
4. Best or worst design decisions you’ve made?
Our bathroom paint colour. For some reason we picked yellow beige and it just looked dirty straight away. We had to change it the next day!!
5. What is the most recent item you’ve purchase for your home?
A table football for our kids! We had a little dead space on the other side of our living room, so we bought this and it’s great. It’s created an anchor for the space and somewhere fun we can enjoy together.