Episode 203 | Oct 29, 2026

Non-Toxic Living Made Simple, With Kate Middleton

Could the products you use every day be affecting your health in ways you haven’t considered? From laundry detergents and cosmetics to food packaging and household fragrances, potential sources of chemical exposure are woven into our daily routines. This week on Health Coach Talk, Dr. Sandi welcomes Kate Middleton, also known as KB, lifestyle expert and creator of Toxic Free with KB, to discuss how everyday environmental exposures can influence our well-being and how simple, intentional changes can support a healthier lifestyle.

“What I like to really press on is exposure. What are you exposing yourself to the most? And then swap those out.”

Kate Middleton (KB)

Kate’s passion for toxic-free living began with her own health struggles after experiencing mold exposure while living in Los Angeles. Facing unexplained fatigue, inflammation, and other persistent symptoms, she found herself searching for answers that traditional medical appointments weren’t providing. Her personal journey inspired her to launch Toxic Free with KB, a podcast and wellness platform dedicated to helping others make more informed choices about their environments and everyday products. In her conversation with Dr. Sandi, Kate explores some commonly overlooked sources of exposure, including fragrances, plastics, skincare products, and children’s cosmetics. She shares why prioritizing the products we encounter most frequently can make the transition to a lower-tox lifestyle feel more approachable, along with her perspective on the importance of rest, nervous system regulation, and addressing environmental concerns before pursuing trendy wellness solutions.

For health coaches, environmental health is an important consideration when supporting clients in building sustainable wellness habits. Many individuals may feel overwhelmed by conflicting information about ingredients, product safety, and the pressure to eliminate every potential toxin from their lives. Kate’s practical, progress-focused approach offers valuable insights into helping clients identify manageable lifestyle changes that align with their priorities, routines, and budgets. Through education, awareness, and behavior change support, health coaches can empower clients to make more informed everyday choices while recognizing when environmental or medical concerns require professional evaluation. Tune in to explore how small changes in our surroundings can contribute to a more intentional approach to health.

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Transcript

Dr. Sandi: We are living in a toxic soup. We are surrounded by toxins. They are everywhere in our air, in our water, in our personal care products, cleaning products, you name it. And so, I was delighted to bring on a guest to “Health Coach Talk” who is really focusing on helping people live a low toxic lifestyle. Her name is Kate Middleton. And let me tell you a bit about Kate.

She is KB, a lifestyle expert, the host and creator of “Toxic Free with KB.” This is a podcast and wellness brand that helps the modern woman make healthier, more informed everyday choices. She champions toxic-free living. So, without further ado, here is my interview with Kate or KB.

Welcome to the show, Kate.

KB: Thank you so much for having me. This is a complete honor, and I’m so excited to be here.

Dr. Sandi: So, let’s start off by focusing on what drew you to this type of work. Because it is increasingly on people’s radar, but still, it’s something that many people find overwhelming. And I’d love to hear from you why, why your interest in this work?

KB: Oh, my gosh. Well, my interest in being an expert on toxic-free living started with me getting sick. Of course, going down the rabbit hole on my healing process, I got really, really sick with mold illness. I was living in LA, and I was living with roommates and in a newer house. And my ceiling of my bedroom started caving in one day after a terrible rainstorm. And I was like, this is something I have absolutely never seen before. And it just had all the correlations connect of why I was feeling super irritable, why I was super fatigued, why my face looked gray, why I had gained so much puff inflammation in my face, looked like I had jaundice, didn’t feel like myself, had absolutely no motivation. And I got tests taken. There was a remediation done on the house, but I just still wasn’t myself. And I was thrown around to so many “specialists” here and there, and they didn’t have the answers for me.

So, when I started my personal podcast, “Toxic Free with KB” and my platform, it was a means for this broke girl trying to get healthy and feel sane again, trying to get answers. So, I had a lot of experts come on and give me the answers that I needed. I did the research. I did the experimentation on myself and what worked for me. I was like, this could help other people out there. So, I wanted to share my story with the greater community out there that was suffering just as much as I did. I could look like this… I had this great conversation. I could look like this, but I could feel completely terrible one day. Every day goes up and down. Anyone knowing that they’re living with chronic illness or the effects of mold illness or mycotoxins knows that one day might not be the next, the same as the next day of feeling.

So, my journey into toxic-free living began in that cleanup mode, that life remediation, I guess I should say, and getting myself away from that exposure. And then I went down the rabbit hole and I was like, what else in my life do I need to clean up? And it turned into a whole lifestyle platform that I’ve created.

Dr. Sandi: What a story, and one, unfortunately, that is all too common. In fact, my daughter, who’s in LA, had just about a similar experience. And she had in her bedroom…they discovered this worst toxic mold that she had been sleeping under for years and not remediated and finally got tested. But she was going from doctor to doctor, had all these mystery, all of a sudden, eczema and suddenly I’m allergic to the sun and all this other stuff, pain, joint pain, and it all was tied into mold.

So, mold is one of the most pervasive issues that people are not aware of, but there’s so much more. And we can go room to room, like when people are often clueless as to what are…what is toxic and then how can you actually start to remove and replace because it could be overwhelming. I just started on this hunt for fragrance-free trash bags, and good luck finding them. Every one we picked up, we were there for like 30 minutes in the store reading the fine print on every garbage bag, and they’re all like, oh, scented with some fresh and clear, with Febreze, scented with light scented. The fragrance-free one is hard to find.

KB: Yeah. What people don’t…that is actually a really great example. I’m a stickler, especially going back to the mold. When you contract something like mold in your life, you turn into literally Sherlock Holmes’s dog, and your sniffing abilities, you become extremely chemically sensitive. And fragrances is one of the things that your body innately contracts. Your body wants to know, oh, my God, is there a musty smell around the corner? Warning, warning, warning.

So, when we talk about fragrances, too, that’s one of my pillars like…or that’s one of the things that I truly speak upon is going fragrance-free, the term fragrance-free. Not unscented because unscented is still a scent, but fragrance-free. And first of all, you know, what people need to realize is when you have a fragrance around you or on you, that goes into your body’s system, your endocrine system, hormone disruptors.

And first of all, I have to say, why do we need a trash bag or our trash in general to smell like lavenders or lilies or whatever they want to put on it? Those things smell bad because that’s a symptom, you know, like, oh, take out the trash. Same thing with body odor. Don’t cover a body odor. Certain body odors even tell you…if you’re sweating out a toxin and it smells funny, like vaginal pH, that’s a really great example. If your vaginal pH shouldn’t be like putting scented vanilla inside of you, that’s a sign of something greater, and people need to realize symptoms are symptoms for a reason.

Dr. Sandi: That is such a good point, and we are trying to mask odors. We get into an Uber or Lyft, and it’s toxic, for example, with all of the air…air fresheners, I think, are some of the worst offenders. And that scent just lasts in the home for years and years. What are some of the other things that you’ve identified as being particularly toxic?

KB: Oh, my gosh. So, without becoming overwhelming…because I like to tell people that simple swaps, it’s all about going back to exposure. What are you exposing yourself to the most? So, when you say, what are some of the things that are most toxic? Laundry detergents. It’s on your body. You sleep in your bed, what, one third of your life? Swap that out to something, again, fragrance-free and plant-derived. There are so many brands out there we are so blessed with. So, laundry detergents.

Plastics. There are so many things in the world that are packaged with plastics. So, yes, we are around it. It’s going to happen. But when you get home, take those items, wash them, take them out of the plastic, and put them into a cotton bag with the holes in it, and store it in the refrigerator that way.

Again, going back to the plastics, please, no plastic water bottles. When those things heat up, those microplastics are going into your body. Get glass. Plus it tastes better. And we talked about the fragrances once again, but cosmetics, those are some things that are so under regulated, like deodorants. So, not to overwhelm anyone, but the things…what I like to really press on is exposure. What are you exposing yourself to the most? What are you exposing yourself to the most? And then swap those out.

Dr. Sandi: That makes so much sense. And I think that you mentioned a big one, which is plastic water bottles. Plastic storage, food storage containers, I know, are a big one for me and I swapped those out years ago for glass containers. And there are so many that are on the market now and are easy to do. An area that I think many women are either not aware of or they’re loath to swap brands, it has to do with skincare products, cosmetics. Can you comment on that?

KB: So, cosmetics, you were talking about eczema just recently. And a lot of women I’ve noticed, I’ve had conversation with, they’re like, why do I have psoriasis? Why do I have eczema? Why do I have dermatitis? Okay. So, it’s the products, those fillers and those preservatives that might be in cosmetics. And we all know we want to look glam sometimes. I do my own makeup, but really, really make sure that when we talk about cosmetics, you are getting one that is certified clean, certified clean. Sephora, I really am not a super fan of Sephora just because it’s just…I don’t feel like it’s always telling the truth, but they do have a lot of clean brands out there. ILIA is a great brand, Merit is a great…

Dr. Sandi: I love ILIA.

KB: Yes.

Dr. Sandi: They make the best mascara.

KB: And it stays on. My face right now, I have a whole mix of a couple of brands, but Merit, Saie, and ILIA are some of my favorite brands. And they’re clean, and they actually look like you’re wearing makeup. They’re not gonna rub off in two seconds, which some clean brands do.

But with that, make sure that you’re not getting…you’re not having things in there like parabens, phthalates, any of those endocrine disruptors. I live in a very sunny climate. A lot of people, even when it’s gray outside, people are probably still wearing sunscreen on their face. So, make sure you’re not…you don’t have avobenzenes, homobenzenes, hormone disruptors in your SPFs that you’re putting on your face. There’s a lot of tinted moisturizers.

So, those are just to some…to name a few. I want to give a shout out to Jenny McCarthy. She is amazing. She’s been on my show. And she’s created Formless Beauty, and she’s done her due diligence with cosmetics. And she’s hustling so hard with the EWG to get her products verified. And it’s not easy to do that. So, I would highly recommend…I’m not endorsed by it, but I’m just passionate in what she’s doing with that.

And so, when you look at cosmetics, that’s another alternative, too, for something that is a full-on face makeup that won’t disrupt your hormones at the end. Again, with makeup, we can’t be perfect with that. We kind of have to give and take some because there’s not one perfect makeup brand, but it’s about wearing the makeup when you wear it and then letting your skin breathe. I’m a huge proponent of letting your skin breathe and just letting it be.

Dr. Sandi: Absolutely. And speaking about letting it breathe, and I know you are wearing nail polish, but I think nail products, those are often the…especially the gel nails. And I was once in a salon and one time I tried these gel nails, I had to walk out of there. The stench, it was so oppressive. And I feel sorry for these women working in these nail factories that are just exposed to all of these toxic chemicals that are in the brand, that are in the polish remover. So, can you comment on the nail polish and specifically some of the things that you find are the worst offenders? And what are some good brands we could switch to?

KB: Yeah. So, I would love to because… True story about me. I have dealt with Raynaud’s for many, many years of my life, to the point where it was so debilitating that my fingernails have split in half. They would swell up and crack and bleed. And I had always been so embarrassed by my hands. I mean, they look so beautiful now, but I vowed to myself to make them look loved and pretty. And so, doing my nails is part of that. And, yes, I work on camera, and it makes me feel feminine.

So, I actually…in the town that I live in, I have…there’s a non-toxic nail salon here. We are so blessed. You go in there, Sandra, you cannot smell a thing. You cannot smell a thing. So, I do wear a gel, but it’s seaweed-based, which is something so innovative. And I had…way back when…because I hadn’t done nail polish just because of your point on that. But way back when, when I had done gel before any of the non-toxic find, my nails would be yellow underneath. They would be yellow. So, now, when I take the nail polish off, they’re clear as day. They’re clean, nothing is stained on them. They’re healthy, and it’s amazing.

So, seaweed, we all know, is pretty nourishing as well, and it’s not as harsh. So, that’s what I use. It’s a seaweed-based gel. And there’s some other brands also out there that are not gel. I think it’s called Londontown, which is amazing. Londontown, which is super amazing. Oh, shoot. What’s the other ones? There’s some other really, really great ones out there.

Dr. Sandi: Dazzle Dry is one. It’s quick drying. I think they’re free of all the worst formaldehyde and the worst offenders. And there are new ones coming out all the time. Speaking of that, I have grandchildren and my little granddaughter, they love makeup. And apparently, the products that they are selling increasingly popular for little kids are more toxic even than the adult products. So, there are some lines that are coming out that are now organic and toxin-free for kids because they’re putting this on their skin and on their lipsticks and blush. And this is particularly troublesome for kids.

KB: And even spa products. So, children are such a close topic to my heart because they don’t know better on some things, but they just want to follow trends. So, even when you go back to school, like packing a school lunch or something, getting things in packaged products, like swap parents, you know, like truly swapping those things out, like wrapping your child’s sandwich in beeswax, bees wrap, that will keep the sandwich fresh.

But the other thing, going back to the cosmetics, these brands are marketing to children. The under eye patches or the mascaras or the lip glosses or the trendy hand sanitizers. We don’t need all of that. We truly don’t need all that. And it’s really hard as a parent to say, that’s bad for you, because they don’t get it. They just want to belong, and they want to be cool. And it’s the parent’s duty to be educated, and that’s part of my process is to educate them. What are the simple swaps you can make? What are the simple brands that I’ve researched and found that if your child does want…if you have a tween or something and they do want to wear a lip gloss or a mascara, these are some brands that you can go to and feel comfortable.

Dr. Sandi: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

KB: It’s not about fearmongering, but it’s just about having fun along the way. That’s my whole process.

Dr. Sandi: That is really critical that it’s fun. It’s not overwhelming. And I think this is an area where health coaches can be particularly impactful, can help people to be able to swap these different products or increase mold awareness as we initially discussed. But so many people are not aware. They don’t connect the dots. They don’t connect the products that they’re using, their home environment. They don’t connect it to their health, their physical and emotional health. Can you talk about that?

KB: Oh, yes, I would love to. Mental health, something very dear to my heart. And we need to realize that there’s a lot of invaders coming at us. There’s a lot of distractions and disruptors coming at us. And going back to my experience with mold illness, something so invisible can have such a detrimental effect on…speaking for women and our hormones. Making you feel irritable, moody. And it goes back to the exposure and finding the source and finding the root cause of things.

I just kind of want to tangent for a second and mention that, Sandra, we live in a society of quick fixes, and everyone is busy. I really don’t like that word, but they’re all busy. But let’s just say our schedules are full, and we need a quick fix. We don’t have time to stop, lay down, rest, when sometimes optimizing your sleep is the best thing for healing and mental health. Taking a break and resting, putting your legs up the wall is the best thing for mental health, rest and lymphatic work. But finding the root cause first, exposure, where’s the source coming from? And also doing something that will set your foundation up for success.

We live in a world that is very much interested in popping pills, very much interested or thinking that this next supplement is going to save them. It won’t save them. That peptide won’t change your life unless you set up your foundation. You can’t put up the drapes in your home until you build the foundation of the house and put the windows in to let the sunlight in.

Dr. Sandi: So important, yes.

KB: Right?

Dr. Sandi: Yeah.

KB: So, there’s a lot of little things that can help with mental health. And when you find the source of what’s going on, when you find the root cause of what’s making you feel this way or that way, and you sit with yourself and you notice, I think that’s the big key. You have to really have that relationship with yourself and notice what is going on, why you feel different. And then you can make a change. You can make a change from there.

Dr. Sandi: Oh, absolutely. These are such good points, and it is, first, remove. But I think it’s important to emphasize, as you’ve lived, we can’t do it 100%. We’re in a toxic soup, and there are assaults from everywhere. And we can only do the best we can and start with things that are…like having clean water, having…get the best air scrubbers for your home. So, things that…but perhaps, again, this is a budgetary concern as well. And that’s what coaches can help people or going to resources like yours, they can refer you to those sites, to environmental working group. And start slow, but just start. And then focusing on, well, maybe things we can’t control, but we can look at upping our detox pathways by eating the right foods, by all of those things that have to do with lifestyle, sweating, using saunas, using things that are going to help…cruciferous vegetables, for example. So, upping those detox pathways, efficiency is going to go a long way as well if you cannot always control 100% your environment.

KB: Oh, my gosh. Sandra, let me tell you, I lived in our last house… We actually just moved into this house in January. And our last house, we had terrible, terrible mold. So, I’ve had mold four or five times in my life, and my liver is pretty impacted. So, detox is part of my daily regimen. But you have to get out of the source. You have to get away from the source to start feeling like yourself a little bit again, and to be able to do the detox pathways. When you talk about detox, I think it’s very important that people know what they’re working with, genetically.

Dr. Sandi: Yes, absolutely.

KB: I think it’s one of the best investments to get a genetic test on themselves to see what their detox pathways actually are. So, if you think you’re just going to start detoxing, doing sauna, sweating, taking charcoal pills, binders, and Biocidin, and all these things that are going to let the bugs out and then try to soup them up, your body might not be able to do that on its own. Your body might have an opposite effect of going into a mast cell activation flare up. So, you need to recognize that first. I think that’s very important.

When we say detox, I’m obviously a big proponent. There’s so many things you can do, but again, going back to that foundation, that root, making sure your body is safe. One of the best ways of healing and great for your mental health is the nervous system. So, that is, I would say, step one after getting away from the exposed element. It’s just like a toxic relationship, Sandra. You got to do the breakup, you know?

Dr. Sandi: Yeah, for sure.

KB: Then you can start healing. But, yeah, there’s so many beautiful detoxes that we can do. But I think, knowing and understanding your personal detox pathways before you start anything trendy out there, that’s really step one.

Dr. Sandi: I think that is absolutely critical. It makes a lot of sense. Test, don’t guess. So, this has been such a delightful conversation. You are a wealth of information and resources. Kate, where can people find you?

KB: Thank you so much again for having me. That was so fun. People can go to my website, toxicfree.com. That will show you literally everything you need to know. I am on YouTube @ToxicFreewithKB. I have so many fun episodes and vlogs on there. And then Instagram @toxicfree.kb.

Dr. Sandi: Check it out. She has great, great resources. Thank you for being on “Health Coach Talk.”

KB: Thank you.