Sarah Clark shares her journey from broadcast journalism to becoming a non‑toxic living educator. In this episode, she talks about how motherhood, family health challenges, and her own breast cancer diagnosis shaped her mission to help people make healthier choices without the overwhelm. Sarah now teaches practical ways to reduce toxins in everyday products, food, and household items, empowering families to create safer environments at home.
Check Out These Highlights:
Many women build lives that look successful from the outside, only to realize something feels off on the inside. For Sarah, that realization came when her son’s sensitive skin reacted to “natural” products that weren’t as safe as they claimed.
She shares how digging into hidden ingredients and the lack of regulation in personal care products opened her eyes to the bigger picture: the everyday exposures in our homes that quietly affect our health. From switching out cookware and food storage to teaching her kids how to read labels, Sarah explains how small, manageable shifts can make a big difference.
Her experience as a breast cancer survivor deepened her perspective on resilience and clarified why environmental factors deserve more attention in health conversations. Throughout the episode, Sarah speaks candidly about identity, self‑trust, and the emotional work of making changes, while also offering practical advice for reducing toxins without feeling like it has to be “all or nothing.”
If you’ve been curious about clean living or felt overwhelmed by conflicting information, this episode is a reminder that healthier choices are possible one step at a time.
About Sarah Clark:
Sarah Clark is the founder of Better Health with Sarah, where she helps families cut through the overwhelm of clean living and take practical steps to reduce harmful chemicals in their homes, products, and diets. As a breast cancer survivor and former TV reporter, she combines her love of educating with a grounded perspective on resilience, identity, and the everyday choices that shape long‑term health.
Connect with Sarah:
🌐 Website: https://betterhealthwithsarah.com/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betterhealthwithsarah/
💬 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterhealthwithsarah
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterhealthwithsarah/
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About Me: https://tobymyles.com/about/
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Toby Myles: My guest today is Sarah Clark, a former TV reporter turned non-toxic living educator who's on a mission to help people live healthier lives without the overwhelm. When Sarah was 15, she dreamed of becoming a news reporter so she could share stories and educate others. That dream came true, but it was motherhood and later a breast cancer diagnosis That shift her shifted her focus to empowering people to advocate for their health and make small, meaningful changes for healthier living.
Now through her business, Better Health with Sarah, she helps people cut through the overwhelm of clean living and take practical steps. To reduce harmful chemicals in their homes, products, and lives. Hey Sarah, welcome to the podcast.
Sarah Clark: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Toby Myles: I am excited to have you here. Um, I usually kick things off by sharing how we know each other.
Um, and you and I met in the Impact Incubator community coaching program. Um, and. Right away. I think pretty early on, I, I had the, um, good fortune of sitting in on a presentation you did on this very topic, um, clean living and healthier and making healthier choices in our homes and in our lives. And I was like, zeroed in 'cause.
I need help with that. So, so I was pretty sure from that first time that I would eventually have you on the podcast. And so here we are. And I'm excited that you're joining me today.
Sarah Clark: I'm glad we're having the conversation and I'm always happy to share, you know, some of my knowledge and how I got to what I'm doing today.
And so thank you for having me.
Toby Myles: Yes, thank you. So, um, so take us back to, um, what you would say a moment in time, or maybe it's like. A cluster of moments that really kind of like put you on the path that you're on right now.
Sarah Clark: Well, like you mentioned, I, my background is in broadcast news. I have a communications degree and that was my job.
That's what I did before I had kids, and that was what I thought I would be doing, you know, forever. And I liked sharing stories of what was going on in the community and. You're just educating other people about what was going on and how it affected their daily lives. I did weather for a bit, which affects everybody in their daily life, and I just really liked that, and so that's kind of how I got started with that.
But really what set me on this more non-toxic living, low toxic living journey was when I became a mom and my son had really sensitive skin and eczema when he was small and I was buying all these products that said safe and natural on the labels. But he still kept reacting to things and I couldn't figure it out.
I was buying them at, you know, natural food stores and things like that, and I just couldn't figure it out. Like I was to the point where I was like ready to get our water tested, but the rest of us were fine with, you know, not reacting to things. And I was like, what is going on? And then I learned that there's a lack of regulation in the beauty and personal care product industry in the United States.
And so a lot of those labels really, uh, companies can just say whatever they want on the front of the labels. And so those, those terms, safe, natural, et cetera, didn't necessarily mean that that's what the case was. And so when I learned this, it kind of made sense. I was like, oh, well that makes sense. I mean, even the sensitive skin things I was buying had things like fragrance, which can be allergens.
Things like that, that I was like, what is going on? And so when I learned that, I kind of got really frustrated and felt, you know, just a little bit like, how can they be lying to us like this? I just figured products on the shelves in the United States would be safe. Um, and Canada also has the same type of, um, issues as well.
A little more regulation in Canada than the United States, but still, like the European Union is very far ahead of. In regulating their products and ingredients in their products. Mm-hmm. So that kind of started me off on that trajectory of like, okay, well I wanna educate people about this. Like what is in the personal care products they're using every day, what is in the beauty products and how those ingredients can affect our health because there are a lot of links to, um, human health issues with some of those ingredients.
And then the journey kind of shifted a little bit with a health diagnosis in our family, um, of an autoimmune disease. And we pretty much. Healed that, um, with diet and food only. And so that was a huge shift in just reading tons and tons and tons of labels on products. And so just finding, you know, ingredients that were in some of our products, I was making a lot of things from scratch.
Which, you know, in an ideal world, yes we wanna have like whole Foods things from scratch, but the reality is not accurate of that. Right? Like especially as a busy mom of two kids that are playing sports in school. And that's just not realistic to be making, I mean, I was making crackers from scratch and bread and all the things.
So there has to be a way to be able to like. Buy things off the shelves. So it turned into so much label reading and then realizing that there were a lot of ingredients and products that just don't need to be there, or that there are healthier changes. And then I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And that shifted it even more because I realized that there were environmental links to a lot of health issues and there just wasn't a lot of conversation about that.
I was joining, um, breast cancer groups like virtually and things like that, and there just wasn't much talk about it. It was always diet and exercise, which obviously are important, but there wasn't a whole lot of talk about those daily things that can affect our health, like. Ingredients in foods and products that we're using, and then just things we're exposed to in our house, like the pots and pans we use or things like that.
And so there wasn't a whole lot of talk about that, and I realized that that is there. It is a missing piece, I feel like, of a lot of health conversations. And so I wanted to help people with that without it being overwhelming because out there in the space of social media or wherever you're reading, a lot of times we just hear about the issues and the problems like.
Don't use this, but then what's the alternative? Like, what do we use instead? Right. And so that's my goal, is to help people make those healthier shifts without feeling overwhelmed by it and without feeling like it has to be a hundred percent perfect. Because the reality is we're never gonna escape. You know, a lot of our exposures, we just can't.
But we can control what we bring into our homes and things like that, that we're exposed to every day, you know, to an extent.
Toby Myles: Yeah, it's so good. And I do remember, um, when I heard you talk the first time, the one thing that really stood out to me was that, um, this idea of like, it doesn't have to be all or nothing, especially in the beginning.
Right. And I think that is the part sometimes that people get overwhelmed with. There's so much information. It's like people don't know who to trust. You know, if you watch the news like one day. One thing is bad and then the next day something else is bad. And then that first thing, that's not really that bad as we thought.
And you know, it gets very confusing and you know, people feel like, wow, I like. Have this whole cupboard of stuff that I spent money on or this whole bathroom filled with like, you know, beauty products or cleaning things or whatever, and they probably think, wow, I just have to throw that all away. And so it sounds like, and what I remember you talking about is that like that's not necessarily the approach to take, like to just.
Throw it away. Like in some cases it's okay to use what you have, and then on your next purchase you make a shift to something else.
Sarah Clark: Right? Because I feel like that is, I think what help holds people back a lot of the time of like, oh my gosh, I don't have time to do this perfectly. How am I ever gonna figure this out?
And so they just either don't do it or they just, I can't be bothered with this, where there are smaller shifts that you can make and things that are free that you can do inside your home to just help reduce some of those exposures. But yes, I, I encourage people to. I mean, some people, when they find out whatever they want to change, they go through and throw it all out.
Mm-hmm. But that's not the reality for a lot of people. I mean, that's, you've spent money on that, you wanna use it up. Mm-hmm. So I always encourage, like, just choose something safer the next time. Um, and you know, a lot of the exposures that we have every day, it's not like something acute. Like if you breathe.
Bleach fumes that you're gonna feel immediately or something like that, where it's super toxic, it's cumulative. That affects, you know, every day, the everyday things that we're putting on our bodies or that we're exposed to every day is cumulative. And so it's those exposures that we kind of wanna reduce.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so I'm curious then, um, like with your family, um, 'cause your kids are teenagers, right?
Sarah Clark: They're college, yeah,
Toby Myles: college. So they're beyond teenagers. How has it been with them? With you, with you? Um. You know, are they on board with it? Are they like, oh my gosh, mom? Yeah,
Sarah Clark: they, um, I would say my husband's probably the harder one to like, kind of, you know, like, these are the shifts that we're gonna make.
But again, like, if it just shows up in our house, like I just, it just like, I, we had plastic cutting boards, for example, for a while, and I was, I had a whole bunch of wooden ones. And I realized that everyone kept gravitating towards the plastic ones. And I was like, okay, these just need to disappear. Like I was using them for like just one thing that we would cut maybe meat or something.
And I was like, Nope, these are going away. And so once they disappeared, then no, no one's gonna like use them anymore. And so the kids I feel like are, have been used to this. They've been, you know, I've been doing this for a while as far as. Not currently what my business looks like, but just talking about healthier products and food and that kind of thing.
And so they're used to it. Um, there was some pushback for sure in high school of like, I just wanna, especially my daughter, like I just want to go to the store and buy whatever I wanna buy or what my friends are buying. And so it's just more the education of like, okay. And it, it isn't like. No, you can't use that at all.
It's like, let's find a safer version of what you want to use. And you know, some of the things I just had to let go and just kind of explain why, you know, this might be a safer thing to choose, but. A one-off use or a minimal use I wasn't too worried about because it's just, you can't, you can't be worried about it all the time because that's just, that's not healthy either.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: So now that, um, they're older and she's a little bit older, she's like, oh, you know, I saw this on such and such place. Did you know X, Y, Z? And I'm like, yes, I did know that.
Toby Myles: Trying to tell you.
Sarah Clark: I've been telling you this for years. So she's finally like understanding or. We tend to use things with very little fragrance in our house.
And so when they do use something like that, they're like, whoa, this really is strong. So just having those conversations without like, you know, this is what I would choose and why, and teaching them to read the labels. Um, there's things, there's apps and things that it make it a little bit easier to know what to look out for, but, um, that's, yeah, that's, it's, it's an ongoing conversation.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. One of the things I really appreciate too, um. About that. What you do is that, um, like your kids, yeah, they might, you might have some pushback, right? 'cause they're young and they're kids, but as they get older, you know, there's this ripple effect. It's like you, you're instilling these, this knowledge in them so that they can make choices.
And ideally they're gonna talk about those things to other people too. So people that you might not ever have day-to-day contact with. Are going to get some version of that information as well, which can only help people. But I have to laugh about that. Um, you know, your, your daughter especially coming back and saying, oh, did you know, because Uhhuh, I, that's happened so many times.
My kids are in their thirties and um, right now they're both really getting more into, um, you know, healthier eating and. Wellness and fitness, which I've done my whole life. I was a personal trainer in a previous career. And they'll come back and say, did you know, you know, in something, you know something that, I'm pretty sure that I told them when they were teachers,
Sarah Clark: right?
Toby Myles: Like, mm-hmm. Yes, I did know that.
Sarah Clark: Yeah. It's funny when they start to realize it on their own. I was like, I don't, I guess I don't care where you're learning the information, as long as it's true and accurate and you know, so then I've, if it isn't, or if it's sensationalized, and that's the thing that happens on social media a lot, is that the sensationalism of it.
It's like it leads people to be like super fearful or can.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: Like, I can't touch this at all. Well,
Toby Myles: yeah.
Sarah Clark: Yes. I mean, like, I had a friend tell me that they were, um, somewhere touring a college campus and it was really hot and her daughter was like, I don't wanna drink out of any plastic water bottles.
And she was like, wouldn't drink water. And I was like, if that's the only, if you only have access to that, like choose the water. Yeah. But maybe don't do it on an everyday basis like, you know, when you're at home. Right. Use glass or use a stainless steel water bottle. Take that with you. Um, I mean, I probably, I feel like we probably all spend our childhoods like dehydrated.
'cause I never had water with me. Never. And now I can't even go to the store without having, I know, you know, the a five minute drive to this grocery store and I'm like, oh, I need my water just in case.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: Mm-hmm. So things like that, like of course if you only have access to water in a plastic, whatever.
Do it. Like, you know, that isn't like,
Toby Myles: yeah,
Sarah Clark: starve yourself or dehydrate yourself. So things like that where the conversation is like, yes, and you know, try to choose something safer or better, but it doesn't have to be an all or nothing. That's just not reality.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. We're talking about, like you said, small amounts over time, not, um, this is poison and you're just gonna like fall out, you know, dead
Sarah Clark: from
Toby Myles: it.
Sarah Clark: Right, right. Yeah. In fact, my daughter, um, how you were saying about like healthier shifts or whatever, like with your, with your kids with food, like my daughter, um, just went back to college after winter break and helped me reorganize our pantry and, you know, threw away a lot of expired things and whatever, and she was like.
I feel like we don't have a lot of food. And she's like, my friends say that our house is like an ingredient house. Like it's not just full of just like
Toby Myles: mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: Walk in and have tons and tons of like snacks or whatever. And I'm like, yeah, we do have chips and crackers and, but again, try to like choose the healthier options of that.
But I was like, oh, you're right. It is a lot of like ingredients to make something instead of just like,
Toby Myles: yeah.
Sarah Clark: Store.
Toby Myles: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that gives you more control, right? Yeah. And that means fewer preservatives, right? Um, I mean, the one thing that I remember, you know, early on in my nutrition journey was if you're looking for labels, aside from like specific ingredients, which I'm gonna ask you about in a minute, but aside from that, you want like as few ingredients as possible, right?
Like on the label, if it says one thing, like that's probably a pretty good thing to buy or eat. Um. And things that you can't pronounce often or things to steer clear from. Right. So you don't even need to know what they are. If you can't say it
Sarah Clark: mm-hmm.
Toby Myles: You, it's probably bad for you.
Sarah Clark: For food, for sure. For like beauty products, it's different because a lot of times they have like the, the real name of things, so even something as benign as like citrus.
You know, lemon, whatever, you know, they have the unique names with that, so that's not always the case as far as like beauty products go. But with food, I would say yes. Mm-hmm. Like you wanna, you wanna as close to real ingredients as possible. Um, it's just better, you know? Yeah,
Toby Myles: yeah.
Sarah Clark: But again, don't like. It was very overwhelming to be making things from scratch all the time because that's what we had to eliminate certain ingredients and that we couldn't, I couldn't find them on the shelves or I would have to drive, you know, 45 minutes to a, a store to find a specialty store to find certain things.
So I was making a lot of things from scratch, but that isn't. Not everybody has to do that, but it's like, how can we find those, um, you know, a little bit healthier products that are out there. It's just mm-hmm. Knowing what to look for.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. So then when you are working with your clients, um, like how do you, how do you approach those changes?
Especially if there's somebody that really. Like needs, like pretty widespread help across their whole home and their diet. It, what does that look like when you start working with somebody?
Sarah Clark: I mean, I kind of start with what they, their priorities are, or what part it feels a little bit more, um, easier for them to, to want to make those changes, right?
Mm-hmm. So if it's switching out the pots and pans or you know, where, what are the first steps that you feel like could reduce some of your risk without it being like. Overwhelming. And so maybe it is they wanna start with beauty products. Maybe it is that they wanna start with, you know, their, their kitchen and what they're food storing their food in or things like that.
Mm-hmm. So it's kind of more what the client wants or what people want, um, and what feels doable and not overwhelming because if everything is like thrown at you all at once, you're like, oh my gosh. At least for me, I'm like, I can't, I don't know where to start, so I'm gonna do nothing. So, yeah. Yeah. What are those, you know, smaller shifts that you can make and to just kind of get in the habit of starting to read labels, whether that's beauty products, whether that's food.
Um, it's, it's amazing. Even at the grocery store, you're like, okay, there's, you know, I used an example in my, one of my courses that. It's, there's like a peanut butter jar and it's three different labels, all the same brand, but they're all different. And it's like how, like you really have to, like, if you're shopping quickly and grabbing it, it's, it's challenging to do unless you actually flip it over and read the ingredients.
Yeah. So. Getting in the habit of doing that, but then it gets a little bit easier because then you know which brands to trust, which ones you can, you know, safely choose every single time. So it just, it, it takes a little work in the beginning, um, but it's also like knowledge is power and so it helps you be in control of that and what you're choosing to buy.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure. I do remember you talking about that peanut butter example. Mm-hmm. Um, I happen to be somebody that likes. Like a peanut butter that is like peanuts. Mm-hmm. I think it tastes really good. Yeah. And may maybe I didn't always, I can't remember a time when I didn't, but there probably was a time when I was happy with GIF or Peter Pan.
Right. That has like all the sugar and stuff in it. Right. So I think too, like that's part of it, right? People kind of getting used to something new. Especially if it's food. Like Yeah, it tastes a little different. Different isn't necessarily bad.
Sarah Clark: Well it's like when you're, when kids are small and you're like introducing new foods, right?
And it's like they may not like it the first time, but maybe like by the third time they like it and reintroducing those things. So sometimes it does take a while. I remember when I growing up, we did use like natural peanut butter. I think there was literally one brand at the time. I, when I was a kid and I'd go to friends' houses and have peanut butter and jelly or whatever, and I was like.
Why do we always have this, you know, natural peanut butter that's just peanuts and salts or whatever and
Toby Myles: mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: I was like, when I'm on my own, I am going to buy whatever I want. And so I did that in college and bought J and Skippy and Peter Pan and whatever else. Mm-hmm. And I was like, huh, I don't really like this.
Like this is, I bought it 'cause I could. And, you know, would eat it occasionally. And I was like, I don't, I don't really like it. Yeah. I don't like how it tastes. And went back to the, you know, just peanuts and salt. And so, um, it's, you know, sometimes people just have to figure that out on their own. Mm-hmm.
But taste buds, um, things like even just reducing fragrance in your home once you start like going without it, it's. It gets easier to avoid it.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. I think the thing too, um, that definitely helps. Like you said, you know, back then there was like the one brand, right? Like now, um, I think the peanut butter I buy, I don't remember the brand, but I buy it at Walmart, so it's not like I have to go somewhere, you know?
Special to get it. Yeah. Um, I don't have to go to find a health food, health food store or Trader Joe's or anything like that, although I love Trader Joe's. Right. It's not, they're not an ad for Trader Joe's, but I love it. But, um, but yeah, some of these things, like if you just look at the label, you're like, wow, this is just like you said, peanuts and salt, you know, right there on my shelf in Walmart.
Sarah Clark: Exactly. And it doesn't have to be, I mean, a lot of times even when I do go to like our, you know, local food co-op, I buy the brand that's like the store brand. That's like the more generic brand. 'cause that's what my family likes the best. Yeah. And so it doesn't have to be, I buy it a lot at Costco. Like it doesn't have to be anything like super.
Fancy, just, you just really want like peanuts and salt. Mm-hmm. Like, that's the thing is when you start really reading those labels, a lot of 'em have like palm oil in it, or they have sugar. Sugar is added to so many things.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: And we had to eliminate that. Um, during this phase, which I, we still do, I mean, I still don't buy things with added sugar like that, that aren't necessary.
Like spaghetti sauce or, you know. Yeah. If you're not making it from scratch or peanut butter, like those things where you're like, you don't, you don't really need that in there. Yeah. You don't need it.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I know sugar is a biggie. And so are there things when you're working with someone that.
Uh, are easy to prioritize, like right out of the gate, no, you know, as little plastic as possible in containers and, and things like that. Is that pretty high on the list?
Sarah Clark: Yeah, I mean, starting in the kitchen's probably an easier, you know, a easier way to start because it is those shifts of like, yeah, try to store your food in glass.
Mm-hmm. Try to, you know, don't put the plastic in the dishwasher or if you do have plastic at all, you know, a lot of times, like I'll use glass containers that I bought probably. I don't know, eight, 10 years ago, the lids are plastic, but they aren't touching the food and they get hand washed every single time.
Right. And so things like that, I feel like the kitchen often is an easier spot for people to start. Mm-hmm. And even if you, you know, say you're using non-stick pans, that's a whole other world of like, there's so many things out there and a lot of greenwashing that goes on. Even if you're wanting to switch out your pots and pans, it's expensive to buy a whole new set.
And so what I kind of encourage people to do is maybe switch out one pot and one like, you know, skillet or whatever that you're, you're cooking every day with. And then. Work on replacing the rest. It doesn't mean, again, go spend $400 or whatever you're spending on pots and pans 'cause that's expensive.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: Mm-hmm. Do it one at a time if you need to or use the ones that you're using, the do the ones you're using the most.
Toby Myles: Yeah. I
Sarah Clark: think that's a, it's the daily exposures that we wanna try to reduce. Mm-hmm. Eliminate is not gonna happen in just today's world. That's just not reality. But reducing where you can is kind of the goal.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I love you talking about those glass containers. 'cause I bought some, I don't know, maybe about. Within the last year, maybe six or eight months ago. And the thing I love about them is not only are they healthier, um, but my cabinet is so organized now. I don't have all the things all over the place and things that lids that don't match bottoms and stuff.
It felt so good to get rid of all those like. Plastic, you know?
Sarah Clark: Yep.
Toby Myles: Containers.
Sarah Clark: Yeah. One of my friends is an organizer, and we did a big home remodel a couple years ago, and she came and organized the house and she says to store things with the lids on. Mm-hmm. And so things are just like stacked up in our kitchen and you know, sometimes we're out like, oh, everything's in use and it's all in the fridge, and I just figure out something else.
Find a jar in the pantry. I mean it, yeah. And again, like mason jars are relatively inexpensive. They last like forever. But if you don't have access to that or you can't, you know, pay for that, use a jar from a peanut butter jar or a spaghetti sauce, anything, it doesn't matter what it is. Mm-hmm. Just glasses, you know, storing food, reheating food for sure.
Like don't reheat in plastic. Yeah. Um, no plastic in the dishwasher and those types of things. It just becomes habit after a while. And, you know, I've kind of trained my family with that. Like, if I see something in the dishwasher, I'll take it out and, you know, and wash it or whatever. Or encourage them to do that.
Yeah. So it just takes practice of, you know, these, we're gonna do it this way kind of thing. But, you know,
Toby Myles: yeah.
Sarah Clark: It takes a while and why, you know, why do you want to do that? So,
Toby Myles: yeah. Well, so, okay. So before I move on to, I do have another question for you, but, um, we'll have lots of questions, but, um. Talk to me about the plastic in the dishwasher because I'm in violation of that.
Not always, but um, we do have a few PLAs. They're like a hard plastic. Like my smoothie cups for my blender. They, I put those in the dishwasher and now I'm thinking like, maybe I shouldn't, but I want you to tell me why I shouldn't.
Sarah Clark: It's, it's better to hand wash it. The plastic, the heat with the, with in the dishwasher eventually will break down the plastic and then it kind of sheds micro microplastics too also into our water.
Microplastics are big problem. They're everywhere these days and it's hard to eliminate. So the plastic it and it, it eventually will break down. What you're using, you know? Mm-hmm. It'll break down those cups or things like that. Okay. So, um, in fact, I actually saw a post today that somebody posted like, what do I do about these lids?
They keep, you know, falling apart and breaking in my dishwasher. And I was like, Hmm, well
Toby Myles: don't, don't put '
em
Sarah Clark: in there. Don't put 'em in the dishwasher. Um, mm-hmm. Like I said, I've had these same glass containers for probably eight years and, um, they, you know, they're fine and they, 'cause they don't. I hand wash them.
Yeah. The glass cord I don't hand wash with at the time, but the lids I do. And you know, IKEA is a great place for things like that too. They have so much storage like that that's pretty, in a pretty affordable mm-hmm. They have tons of things like that, so it's a good place to, if you're, you know, wanting to start with some things.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: That, so,
Toby Myles: yeah. Okay,
Sarah Clark: good. Yeah. Reducing the plastic exposure in your home is really big. 'cause it's, it is almost impossible when you're outside of your home, but in your home is. Seems a little more doable.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Clark: And there are things that you can't escape, like the plastic, like you're saying, some of the things, the blenders or whatever like that just,
Toby Myles: yeah.
Sarah Clark: Can't escape it. So hand wash it?
Toby Myles: Yeah, hand wash it. Okay. I'll hand wash it. Um, the one thing I, I have really been paying attention to is, um, aside from things that I put into my body, but um. I like beauty supplies, shampoos and conditioners and things like that. So for the first time ever, um, a few months ago I bought, uh, a, a bar shampoo and bar conditioner, and I was really skeptical, but actually I really like it and I'm so surprised.
I like it.
Sarah Clark: That's, that's one thing that's like on my to-do list. I haven't done it yet.
Toby Myles: See you, you see my hair? Like our listeners can't see my hair, but it looks okay, right?
Sarah Clark: Yeah, it looks great. I have, um, very fine straight hair and so it gets tangled very easily and that's been my hesitation is like, how can I possibly find one that'll work, but I'm getting closer, like to, to wanting to try it out because I love that idea, the no waist, and then just having is something, you know.
Toby Myles: Yes. And when I first brought it home, um, it's, well this is probably No-no. 'cause it's, has a scent to it, but, um, but it, it made this bathroom smell really good and my husband was like, what is that? That smells so good in the bathroom.
Sarah Clark: Yeah, I know it, it's definitely on my to-do list to, to try it. Yeah.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: I'll be doing that soon when I run out of what I'm using, so,
Toby Myles: yeah. Yeah,
Sarah Clark: yeah. I mean, making again, those. It's healthier switches and where you can try it out. And some, some of it is trial and error. Mm-hmm. Like what's gonna work, what's not and you know, try something, take it back or, you know, use something the next time, try something else.
Yeah. Um, you know, it, it just kind of becomes habit to like know what to look for.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. I think the next thing on my list is, um, the cleaning supplies. Mm-hmm. You know, the one, is it blueland, the company Blueland? Mm-hmm. Um, where you just. You know, you have the glass bottles and you just
Sarah Clark: Yep.
Toby Myles: Use, you know, use the refills.
So I do have some cleaning supplies I have to get through. Although the good news is that I, I don't really clean that much, so. I guess that's good.
Sarah Clark: Yeah, I know. I'm, I'm not a, I don't love to clean. I like things clean, but don't love the process.
Toby Myles: Same
Sarah Clark: cleaning, same. So yes, it's, it's an ongoing situation.
Yeah. Um, but yeah, same with that. You know, sometimes you can use, I've been trying to use baking so a lot for things so like, or whatever, vinegar and, you know, again, getting back to like how things used to be mm-hmm. When things weren't so overwhelming with choices. 'cause that's what gets really, really hard.
And I feel like that is what. Has it makes people hesitate is, and I, it was hard for me when I was started out with this of I don't have hours to spend researching this. Like, what do I buy? Yeah. And so, you know, it is overwhelming when you go to any store and you're like, oh my gosh, there's like 15 choices.
Mm-hmm. Um, so again, getting, you know, finding those brands that you can trust or you like, and then kind of honing in on that and choosing those, it, you know, that, that makes, that starts to make it a little bit easier.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. And it goes back to reading the labels, like you said. I think that's so important because, um, I always laugh when I see, you know, something that's like a candy or something that's like full of sugar and it's like gluten free, and I'm like, like, that's still not good for you.
Sarah Clark: Right. Totally. Yeah. I mean, and I fall for it too still. Mm-hmm. I mean, I still have all this experience and knowledge with it, and I still fall for it sometimes.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: And like, you know, I'll turn it over and I'm like, oh my God. Like, no, I'm absolutely not buying this. And so, yeah. You know, it's, it, it does take practice.
And again, it's not about, it's about progress, not perfection. And, you know, making those switches where you can and not worrying about it if you can't, or if you're on vacation and you're like not. You know, I, we were on vacation in Mexico like a year ago, and everything was plastic. Like every single cup, every single thing.
Like all of it, all of it was. Mm-hmm. And I was like, oh my gosh. Like, but what am I gonna do? Like I can't, you know, in my reusable water bottle. But it could only do so much so.
Toby Myles: Especially in Mexico where you really don't wanna be drinking the water.
Sarah Clark: Right, exactly. Like of course I'm gonna drink, you know, whatever the bottle of water is that's here.
Like, I'm not gonna mess around with that.
Toby Myles: No, no.
Sarah Clark: So, you know, things like that, you just kind of make, do where you can. It's not, it's, it's the progress part.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um, so. Okay, so let's go back a little bit further. I mean, I know you talked about, you know, going into broadcasting and that was something that you decided on like at a pretty young age, a teenager.
I consider that pretty young. Yeah. Um, do you remember like even younger than that, like as a little girl knowing what you thought you wanted to do or be when you grew up?
Sarah Clark: Not really other than, you know, again, once I was kind of in high school, I realized that I wanted to work in TV news. Um, my, most of my family, the women in my family were teachers.
And so I was surrounded by that and I was like, I don't think I wanna be a teacher. I feel like in, like, I sort of am doing it in my own way right now, but mm-hmm. Not like traditional in a classroom. I knew I wanted to be a mom. Um, and yeah, not really. I mean, just kind of like, I just. I am always curious and so I liked that part of like learning different things as part of being part of the media and things like that.
So
Toby Myles: yeah,
Sarah Clark: that's kind of, I don't remember really anything before that. I feel like. You know, a teacher would've been like in the realm, 'cause that's what I was kind of surrounded by. Mm-hmm. I just didn't know if I wanted to like, be like, I always liked helping in the classroom. I just didn't wanna be in charge in the classroom.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. I think that that's, I can definitely appreciate that. Um. Um, l learn, wanting to learn things and that curiosity. That's very much how I am and that's why I love what I do, is that I really, um, I always joke, I'm just nosy. I get to ask all the questions, you know?
Sarah Clark: Yes, yes. And that's probably what, like why I was led into a field like media and things like that, is because I do like to ask a lot of questions too.
Mm-hmm. I'm curious about a lot of things and, you know, ongoing learning and things like that. So I think that will never, that will never change. So,
Toby Myles: yeah, for sure. So, um. So I guess a couple things for our listeners. Um, I mean, you have a business. Mm-hmm. Um, and as anybody in business knows, especially, you know, solopreneurs or, or whatever, you know, just one person businesses, um, it can be hard.
Yeah. It can be a roller coaster, it can be challenging. Um. What are the things that just you kind of look back on that kind of help you keep going when things just do feel like, what am I even doing?
Sarah Clark: I think, you know, getting back to why you're doing what you're doing, like I feel like I have an important message to share and that I can help people.
And so I keep going back to that and I feel like if you look back on how much you have done, it's like, you know, it might be small little increments of things and then you're like, wow, I actually did that. Like mm-hmm. I actually did create a website or whatever it is. Just sharing what you're doing is.
Big, you know, that just putting yourself out there is a big step. Mm-hmm. So I feel like any little thing, you know, it's easy to feel like, oh my gosh, I'm not where I wanna be yet, or whatever. But if you look back on what you have accomplished or you know, that people are noticing or you are getting questions, that part, I feel like then, you know, you're, you're doing what you're meant to do.
Yeah. Like, I get questions all the time from friends about what should I buy for this last month? It was literally probably. Between November and December, it was probably five texts from friends about like pots and pans. Mm-hmm. I was like, oh my gosh. But they know I'm the one to come to you with that.
Mm-hmm. And so that is why like I've created this business that I want to be able to help people. Mm-hmm. And yet, and empower them to be their own advocate and to. Make those choices, like on their own kind of thing of how can I help improve my health? Like I noticed that all through my breast cancer journey as well as, you know, a lot of things felt out of control, but I could control this.
Like I could control what I was buying, what I was bringing into my home. I didn't wanna look back and be like, oh, what if I would've, you know, done this? And it's not to say that like, oh my gosh, your makeup is gonna cause cancer. But there are a lot of ingredients that are linked to health issues like cancer in some of those products.
And so. How can we reduce those exposures? And I, I didn't want to go back and be like, oh gosh, if I would've done this differently, you know?
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: So
Toby Myles: yeah,
Sarah Clark: that kind of is, it was empowering to me where things were so, like I couldn't control that. Like the, the doctor's appointments I had to do, the treatments I had to do.
I couldn't control that, but I could control what I was buying and bringing into my home and what my family was exposed to.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. I'm curious, um, about your breast cancer diagnosis. Were you. I mean, at that time did you feel like you were already pretty healthy and pretty aware? And so was it even more shocking to you?
Sarah Clark: Yes. Yes. Like in fact, a lot of my friends were like, oh my gosh, like, you are like a really healthy one. And yeah. Yeah. Um, it was shocking. Um, sadly, like there's, I was 42 at the time of diagnosis and sadly. That is, I was considered too young at the time. This was almost eight years ago now. And, um, sadly that's not, it's very common now.
Like there's so many friends. I have probably 10 friends since my diagnosis that have been diagnosed with breast cancer, like 10 friends that I can text, you know, that are friends.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: And, um, so yeah, it, it was very shocking. Um, I knew the previous year, kind of six, eight months before that something felt off in my body.
That I didn't know what, like, I, I didn't know what it was. I, something felt off, I didn't think it was cancer. Mm-hmm. And in fact, this is something I always like to share with people too, is, um. I don't know if I had shared this part with you at all, but how? How my diagnosis happened. I found a lump and I remember clearly we were getting ready to go out outta town and I was like, this is strange.
This is, I haven't had this before. Mm-hmm. And went to the doctor a few weeks later to my general practitioner and she told me it was nothing. She dismissed it, said It's not cancer, you're too young. And I said, I'm having other things like fatigue. Something feels like off, like I couldn't pinpoint all these other things that then got dismissed as well.
Mm-hmm. And so I kind of went on my way and was like, okay, well I guess I don't need to worry about this. And I had heard of things like benign cysts and things with your cycles or whatever, and I was like, okay, I'll wait it out a couple months, see if something changes, see if this goes away. Didn't go away.
Went to another doctor. She also thought it was nothing. She said, I think it's a benign cyst. I think you're, you know, I think it's fine. But you can get an ultrasound to rule it out, rule out anything. Mm-hmm. So two doctors told me it was nothing and I had nothing to worry about. Um, so I wasn't concerned.
I was like, why would I, why would I think otherwise? Mm-hmm. So went into this ultrasound appointment, just kind of like a everyday thing. I really wasn't worried about it. It was just kind of like something I needed to check off my list to do that day. Mm-hmm. And I was blindsided in that appointment when the.
A technician brought in a radiologist and basically they immediately were like, you need a biopsy, you need a mammogram, you need all these things. Like immediately. And I was like, what are you talking about? Like, this is supposed to be nothing.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: I had two doctors tell me this was nothing. And they said, we, this looks like cancer.
And um, you, you know, you need to kind of get the ball rolling with all of these things. And I was like, I gotta go pick my kids up from school. Like this is, I don't have time for this right now. I'm texting people to get them and, um, you know. Texting my husband and I was like, can you go get the kid texting one, you know, one friend to get one kid, husband to get the other and calling my mom saw me.
I was like, what is happening right now? How is any of this happening? Mm-hmm. And it turned out it was stage two breast cancer. And um, I had a lumpectomy, I had eight rounds of chemotherapy. I had 20 sessions of radiation, numerous procedures as well, surgical procedures. And that was a like a nine month process from diagnosis to all my treatments being finished.
And, um. It was totally unexpected. Yeah. And you know, especially having a doctor, two doctors not be concerned about it.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Sarah Clark: The original doctor did call me and say, what is this? I saw this on my desk and I was like, you tell me. Thankfully I've heard from somebody else that she has changed how she does things and takes things more seriously.
And sadly, again, like I said, there are more and more cases of younger women being diagnosed with breast cancer, and so all of it needs to be taken seriously.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: And, um. I'm glad that it was treatable and all of that. I did a lot of naturopathic and integrative things along with all those treatments just to help my body feel better.
And I pretty much felt okay during all of it. Other than being tired, I felt okay, and I feel like that was. A result of doing some of those integrative things as well, but also the lower toxic load on my body. Yeah. Because I already was eating more healthy and using products on my body every day that didn't have, you know, questionable ingredients.
And so I feel like that really helped, you know, my health outcome and journey.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it's so sadly, we hear so many stories all the time about. Situations like that where somebody feels like something is wrong. Mm-hmm. And, and they are dismissed. And I mean, I've said it, oh, I've said it so many times 'cause I've had it happen in my own family.
Like, you have to advocate for yourself if you don't like an answer. I don't care how well known this doctor is, or who referred them or whatever. Like, if you know something's not right, like, you know, your body, you, you have to keep pulling on those threads and just keep going.
Sarah Clark: I advocate for that all the time.
And that's really one of the reasons why I did start my business this way is because it, again, putting that power into your, like your own hands of
Toby Myles: mm-hmm.
Sarah Clark: You have to advocate for yourself like nobody else is doing this. And that was the same thing with just the products on the shelves. I was like, this is outrageous that these are even allowed and.
They, there are known links to health issues and they're still allowed on the shelf. Yeah. Like these are like proven things. There are studies, they're all this and it's still allowed because it makes money. And so that is very frustrating. And so by empowering us and changing how we purchase things, we can help shift, you know, what's going on in the marketplace or just bringing the awareness so that we can then.
Demand that companies do better. 'cause a lot of 'em know better. And so mm-hmm. You know, it's up to us to start to like shift that and, you know, if we stop buying certain things, then maybe the companies will do better. So
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah.
Sarah Clark: And just put the pressure on them to like, right. You know, that you can do this, so like, let's keep doing this.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So, um, for anyone listening who just maybe is hearing all this and not really. Sure where to start. Mm-hmm. Um, they wanna make changes. They know they're, you know, um, guilty. I'm guilty of the plastic in the dishwasher. So that's my number one thing. Um, but what, like, what would be a, like an something someone could do today?
They're listening to this episode, they're like, Sarah's amazing. I'm gonna get started. I wanna do something that's gonna make me feel like I'm really like. The most bang for my buck. Like one thing. What would be the one thing?
Sarah Clark: Uh, the one thing I
Toby Myles: know that's a lot of pressure. I'm sorry.
Sarah Clark: That's a lot of pressure.
Toby Myles: How? Okay. Three things. Three things.
Sarah Clark: I like to start with kind of like the, the free things to do, which is like, I have like a thing on my website of, um, you know. Three free, free things that you can do inside your home every day to just help
Toby Myles: Oh, perfect.
Sarah Clark: Your toxic load or whatever. So a few of them are like, taking off your shoes in the house, like, just take your shoes off.
Mm-hmm. Um, because that helps reduce what you're tracking in you think about where you're walking, you know, I even still, I'm reminding my college age kids, like watch where you're walking in a parking lot so you're not walking through like oil or whatever. Mm-hmm. And so, um, taking off your shoes in the house, um, opening, getting fresh air every day in your house.
I know it's hard when it's cold. But you know, just that transfer of air for, you know, 10, 15 minutes. Just have a door open or a window open, can kind of like help, you know, circulate some of the air, um, and try to reduce fragrance in the home. Fragrance is a big one, so whether that's in your personal care products, whether that's things that you're spraying around your house, just try to reduce that or eliminate as much as possible.
Toby Myles: Okay, those are good. Those are really good. I have my inside shoes and I never wear them outside, but that's just me. Um, my husband's here, he's probably listening.
Sarah Clark: My husband was a, definitely a harder shift with that, with the kids I started, you know, when they were pretty, or, you know, young. And so it's just a habit to take off the shoes when we come in the house and so many cultures around the world like shoes are not okay in the house.
Like, yeah. One of my cousins in Switzerland, they have like literally all lined up all of their indoor shoes and you immediately, when you come in the door, you switch into them. Yeah. Like that. It's not even an option to like walk further into the house. Yeah. So it's just, you know, you just, a lot of cultures do it.
It's just not the norm here. And so, um, yeah, getting into the habit of that, it becomes a habit after a while.
Toby Myles: Right, exactly. It feels weird to walk around the house with. Outdoor shoes on for me now. Right. Yeah. Even just to walk across from the front door to the kitchen, it's like, no, I gotta,
Sarah Clark: I know, like groceries or whatever.
I'm like, okay, it's fine. Like I'll just mop the floor and sweep and, you know, things like that too. Vacuuming, mopping or whatever, you know, often too helps. Mm-hmm. You know, get, get rid of some of the stuff that's just circulating.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Ugh.
Sarah Clark: Not very glamorous. Some of it is like,
Toby Myles: I know, not
Sarah Clark: glamorous, but it helps.
Toby Myles: Yeah. I know. I remember when my youngest grandson was crawling, he start first started crawling, and I remember my daughter-in-law having a little note on the door, like they already took their shoes off, but when people would come over, they would say, please, you know, we have a little one on the floor and everything that.
You know, he touches, goes in his mouth and all that, you know, just be courteous and mindful of that. So, um,
Sarah Clark: yeah, the kids, kids are most exposed because, you know, their bodies are smaller, but because of that, they're putting more things in their mouth. They're crawling, they're, you know, falling on the floor, whatever it is, so that they have a lot more exposure to those things than an adult would.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, this is so good. I swear. I feel like I could just keep asking you questions, asking you questions. I'm a motivated person. Um, and so I'm, I'm the type of person that will just, you know, like do little steps all the time. I think I do. Okay. I'm probably average. I'm, I'm, I know I could do better.
Um, uh, for people listening, I would love for you to, um, let them know where they can connect with you and find you.
Sarah Clark: Yes. So, um, social media, Instagram, most, most in LinkedIn, Better Health with Sarah. And my website is BetterHealthWithSarah.com. I do have those free, like, it's like eight free things that you can do inside your home, um, on my website.
And so you can grab that. And I do offer workshops as well, so I have a introductory workshop that's, you know. 25 minutes that you just kind of gives you an overview of some things that you can do and what to watch out for. And then I have a longer course that goes by, it's a six lesson course, so it goes a little more in depth with different things like air quality, indoor air quality, and things in your kitchen.
And one week is personal care products. So all of that is more in depth that comes with shopping lists and, um, you know, thing different printouts and things that you can do to have as a resource.
Toby Myles: Very cool.
Sarah Clark: And then I work with people one-on-one as well, so if you want more guidance and things like that, that's kind of, that's what I do.
Toby Myles: Very cool. Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I'm glad we finally did this.
Sarah Clark: Yes,
Toby Myles: I know this is gonna be a popular episode, so I'm really excited to have, um. Have this out there and, and get people, you know, just doing, making healthier choices.
Sarah Clark: Good. I'm glad I could help, but I could talk about this forever because I feel like it's doable for everybody and everybody.
Mm-hmm. Should be paying attention to it. I feel like most people come. To me like when they've had like a major health diagnosis or things like that or mm-hmm. Or going through it and so they're really wanting to shift things, which, you know, yes, that's an a very important time as well. But really this affects all of us and so anybody can have access to this too.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. This has been amazing. Thank you so much, Sarah.
Sarah Clark: Thank you.