What happens when the attorney who spent years suing companies like DuPont for deceiving consumers about toxic products becomes the patient who gets taken down by mold, Lyme, and CIRS? In this episode, Ashley sits down with Karen Bloom, founder of Natural Haven, for one of the most layered and honest conversations this podcast has had on what it actually takes to detox your home, your body, and your life at the same time. Karen's path runs through a traumatic ankle break in Shenandoah that triggered a cascade of mysterious symptoms nobody could diagnose, years of pharmaceuticals that made things worse, a bullseye rash nobody connected to Lyme until it was too late, and mold hiding in her HVAC that took multiple rounds of air testing to finally catch.

Together Ashley and Karen dig into the difference between greenwashing and cleanwashing and why even well-intentioned consumers get tricked by both, what certifications actually mean and which ones are nearly meaningless for health purposes, the top offenders in nurseries and fertility-focused homes from EMF-emitting baby monitors to off-gassing furniture adhesives, and why the nervous system piece of healing is not optional and cannot be outsourced to supplements alone. Karen also brings her attorney's skepticism to every product claim she evaluates, and what she shares about how to actually read past the marketing is genuinely invaluable.

This episode is for anyone navigating chronic illness, trying to create a healthier home for a baby, or simply exhausted by the impossible task of figuring out what is actually clean versus what just says it is.

Episode 50 - A Consumer Protection Attorney’s Journey To Healthy Home Consultant with Karen Bloom of Natural Haven (47mins)

Episode 50 - A consumer protection attorney’s journey to healthy home consultant with Karen Bloom of Natural Haven

THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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Karen Bloom is a consumer protection attorney and the owner of Natural Haven, a healthy home consulting practice creating homes that support families’ health. She provides non-toxic product recommendations, mold guidance, and healthy building and renovation consultations. Karen's path to healthy home consulting work and education was personal. She spent nearly a decade with a debilitating chronic illness stemming from CIRS, Lyme disease, mold toxicity, and all that goes with it.

She is deeply passionate about helping people who are struggling with what she once did and formed Natural Haven to help people reduce their toxic exposure in their homes and calm down their nervous systems.

Karen draws on her background as a consumer protection attorney where she brought multi-million dollar cases against major corporations, like Dupont, for selling products with harmful chemicals without warning consumers of the harmful chemicals.

About the Guest