Episode 93: Sherry Torkos
Managing Stress Around Sanitizing and Cleaning Germs with Sherry Torkos
This week Samantha chats with pharmacist, author, certified fitness instructor and health enthusiast Sherry Torkos. She's a frequent guest on radio and TV shows throughout North America where she discusses a range of health matters. Sherry is passionate about integrating conventional and complementary therapies to optimize health and prevent disease
In partnership with The Clorox Company, a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products.
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Podcast Script
Sam: [00:00:00] Monetize your passion for wellbeing like a job you love every single day. Find a happy life from a healthy lifestyle. What's up guys. This is spin, skin and other addictions a podcast by me, Samantha E Cutler of The Fit Fatale. Each week I'm going to take you deeper into the world of wellness with entrepreneurs who are building brands designed to better your life.
[00:00:27] So you'll be hearing from fitness gurus, medical specialists, and influencers in the world of fitness, health, beauty, and nutrition. I hope you guys love it. Let's get down.
Sherry: [00:00:44] So cleaning, we're talking about removing dirt, dust, debris, things like that. It also does help to wash germs off of, on your hands or surfaces. But when we're talking about disinfecting or sanitizing, we're talking about [00:01:00] Chemicals, they could be non bleached, like bleach free chemicals or bleach or alcohol based, or other types of chemicals that are used to kill and destroy bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other types of germs.
Sam: [00:01:14] You're listening to spin, skin and other addictions episode number 92. This week, I have pharmacist, Sherry Torkos on the show where she's sharing all of her insight into cleaning, taking care of our immune system and how to manage stress as well in our day-to-day life. Sherry shares on the podcast the difference between cleaning disinfecting and sanitizing, which for one gives so much insight into what that difference is and different products we should be using for surfaces versus our hands and our physical body.
[00:01:48] She also shares different essential oils that are naturally disinfecting as well as how we can just protect our immune system against viruses, germs, and diseases as a whole, from the [00:02:00] inside out. Sherry is most passionate about integrating conventional and complementary therapies to optimize our health and prevent disease.
[00:02:08] This episode is brought to you by the Clorox company, a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products.
[00:02:16] Hey everyone. And welcome to another episode of spins skin and other addictions. Today, I have Sherry Torkos on the show and she has a pharmacist and get this, author of 18 books and booklets. She is, you may have recognized her from being on TV or radio all throughout North America, discussing a range of different health matters. And Sherry has won several national pharmacists awards for providing excellence for her patient care today, specifically, Sherry and I are going to be diving into sanitization and talking about germs and how we can manage our stress levels and anxiety as we reintegrate.
[00:02:56] Especially during this pandemic. So Sherry, thank you so [00:03:00] much for being here. I love this topic that we're talking about and I'll let you introduce yourself a little bit more background for our listeners today.
Sherry: [00:03:07] Sure. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. I was excited when this opportunity came up, you and I are very like-minded in health and wellness and had the opportunity to both participate in the healthier by nature expo recently.
[00:03:22] So this was just a great fit and yeah I'm excited to to share my my thoughts and suggestions with your audience. So my background is a little unique in that people see a pharmacist as more of just a conventional healthcare practitioner. My degree is a bachelor of science in pharmacy and the type of practice that I've engaged in though has been more holistically oriented. And so that's where, I think a lot of people are surprised merging the whole conventional and natural side of things, but this really came about due to my own personal [00:04:00] experience in suffering with a serious health condition as a teenager that wasn't able to be addressed by conventional medicine. I always knew there were value. There was value in conventional medicine and certainly drugs can provide some life-saving treatments and therapies. But I learned when I was diagnosed with celiac disease and I was a teenager, there was no drug for celiac disease.
[00:04:20] The only thing that was going to restore my health was a strict gluten-free diet and taking supplements to help correct some of the nutritional deficiencies that I had experienced. know, I took that with me after I graduated from pharmacy school. And I thought, strongly about the importance of working with my patients to educate them on the value of good nutrition, using diet as therapy.
[00:04:43]We think of drugs as therapy, but for a lot of conditions, not just celiac, but for diabetes, for heart disease, cancer arthritis, there are a lot of dietary interventions that can really help. Through my journey. I educated myself on nutritional medicine, nutritional [00:05:00] therapies on integrating natural products.
[00:05:03] So vitamins and herbs and supplements into the way I practice. And I did that for many years. I started practicing in 1992. And I had just segwayed this year. I've stepped away from active practice. I'm still doing work in the natural products industry, but I hung up my pharmacy lab coat and wanted to really just free up some time for me to also get more involved with my son's education, given that a lot of families are right now homeschooling or their kids are doing online and we're doing a blend of both. So I stepped away from the pharmacy and just trying to focus on taking care of my son and then doing a little bit of my natural products and consulting work on the side.
Sam: [00:05:43] And you chose to take a very interesting path because when we think of pharmacists, naturally, as you said, just quickly going over your own personal story, you quickly realized that supplement and diets were what was going to heal, what you were personally going through with celiac disease. [00:06:00] And that drugs were not the answer, but I think people normally put pharmacy, pharmacists specialists.
[00:06:06] Associated right away with drugs. And have you noticed that you've taken the path less traveled in that approach and how has that turned out for you?
Sherry: [00:06:16] Yes for sure. In fact, when I started practicing with more of a holistic focus I was one of very few pharmacists in Ontario that was practicing that way.
[00:06:27]My first job as a pharmacist, I was managing a pharmacy in a medical building and I worked with 10 doctors and they were very strict conventionally oriented and not open to even the most basic of like vitamin D or vitamin C, omega-3, there's a lot of resistance initially. But what I've found is that educating the doctors on the value of some of these holistic therapies was helpful, not only in enlighting enlightening them, but gave them greater comfort in recommending it to their [00:07:00] patients. I found at the time, and again, we're going back to the mid nineties, the doctors were primarily learning about therapies, from the drug industry, right? So the companies are selling drugs and that's first and foremost, and there wasn't much in education for doctors on vitamins and herbs and natural therapy. So it's very different today. Most doctors that are coming out of medical school have a fairly decent knowledge about nutritional medicine and they're learning more about natural therapies. And I think partly because there's so many studies and this is coming to the forefront, and also, I think it's driven by.
[00:07:36] Consumer demand people are using these. I think I've read a statistic, not too long ago, that over 70% of Canadians are taking one or more natural product. So these are widely adopted things that are out there. Patients are going to their doctor and saying, Hey, I'm taking this for my blood pressure.
[00:07:54] I was able to lower my blood sugar by taking this. And so I think the doctors have become have gotten more on board because of [00:08:00] that as well. But, yeah, it wasn't easy when I started practicing that way. I was one of the very few, but now today I would say that there's a lot of pharmacists that have a decent knowledge in holistic therapies.
Sam: [00:08:13] Yeah, and it's so important. It just ties into, from my own personal experience, it ties so much more into how our body connects with our mind as well. I think when we look at it, as you said, from a holistic approach of what are we consuming, what are we taking in our bodies, from what we eat from what we touch, or we use as products to how does that then, get digested and internalized into our body.
[00:08:37] And how does that literally create? I always find this so fascinating. Create the cells that become our body that become our mind and our brain and everything that regenerates us from the inside out. So I absolutely, as you said earlier, I'm definitely aligned with your approach. There's something that I want to dive into that I hinted at a little bit earlier, is this topic around cleaning and disinfecting and [00:09:00] sanitizing because there's a big.
[00:09:03] I guess fear factor stress around reintegrating, as things open a little bit more. We're both here in Ontario and I think this pandemic has really just brought a lot of stress, I think to our country as a whole to people going back to work, to taking public transportation and things that we're trying to do to help our world like public transportation. Or just really connecting with other people, going to local coffee shops, and there's this big fear factor around it. And as a pharmacist, I know you have, a really strong opinion and tricks and tips, but I would love to hear some of the things like, let's start with what are the difference between cleaning disinfecting and sanitizing for one thing, because I think there's a discrepancy and understanding what the differences between those three.
Sherry: [00:09:48] Yeah, they're good terms. I say to my son, did you clean your hands? And if he rinsed them underwater quickly and Nope, not get the soap in the water and wash. So cleaning, we're talking about removing dirt, [00:10:00] dust debris, things like that. It also does help to wash germs off of, on your hands or surfaces.
[00:10:07] But when we're talking about disinfecting or sanitizing, we're talking about Chemicals, they could be non-bleached, like bleach free chemicals or bleach or alcohol based, or other types of chemicals that are used to kill and destroy bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other types of germs. So there, there is a difference.
[00:10:29]Think of cleaning and sanitizing. It's giving you that greater protection against viruses, and we're talking more specifically for surfaces. So when you're, we're looking at, how do we keep our clean, our hands? Clean and free of viruses bacteria. Washing your hands with soap and water is still the best way to go when you can.
[00:10:48] But if you're out and about, and you don't have access to soap and water, then that's when you would want to use, say a hand sanitizer or like a wipe or something that's made for use on your [00:11:00] skin. Now, products that are made for use on surfaces are different. So you don't want to use something that's designed to clean, say a door knob or a counter or a a shopping cart on wiping your hands because those chemicals are not necessarily made to be ingested and if you touch your hands to your mouth and that could be an issue. What I typically do because I travel around not a whole lot right now, but when I'm going to the grocery store or the bank, or anywhere where I'm going to be encountering high touch surfaces. So think about things like the doorknobs, railings, light switches, faucets, remote controls, things like that.
[00:11:39] Those are high touch surfaces. They should be disinfected to make sure you're getting rid of those viruses, bacteria, germs. And you can carry wipes with you. I have the Clorox on-the-go disinfecting wipes. I like them because it's a little packet. It fits in my purse and they're free of bleach, but they work very well to kill [00:12:00] the viruses, bacteria and other germs.
[00:12:02] So those are great to have with you. When you're out and about on the go again, they're not designed for washing or cleaning your hands. Soap and water is best or using a hand sanitizer. So we were out at the eye doctors the other day and we had to use the hand sanitizer. I find those things get very irritating to my skin.
[00:12:19] So what I always do is I use a hand sanitizer and then I wash it off with soap and water, as soon as I can, just so that I'm not getting any kind of an irritation on my skin.
Sam: [00:12:29] What’s interesting is that , I think we don't realize that the disinfecting and sanitizing process is so different. For example, when you walk into the grocery stores, you mentioned we disinfect or sorry, we sanitize our hands because you have to, as you walk in, but then we touch the grocery cart.
[00:12:47]And that's not been disinfected, as you mentioned. So having something on the go is so important and we just in our heads think, okay my hands are clean now without the process of, okay, now I'm touching something else. What was on there before? [00:13:00] So we'll try to think what are some of the, I guess most concerning surfaces is that we should be aware of and what should we be disinfecting when we're in public, I'm thinking of coffee shops or I'm thinking of where I go, touching the grocery cart. What are the most important things?
Sherry: [00:13:18] The grocery carts, a big one, unless you're getting your groceries delivered to your house. We are going to be going to grocery stores.
[00:13:24] And I've noticed like in our town, there are students, it seems that have been hired to stand outside the store and they disinfect the grocery cards. But I've noticed just through my own observation, varying levels with respect to attention to detail, some kids are giving them a quick wipe. Some people are wiping them a little bit more thoroughly.
[00:13:43]If you don't want to put your trust in somebody else to disinfect the handle on the grocery cart, then have the on the go wipes with you so you can do it yourself. So think about that. If you're going to the bank and you're touching the bank machine I noticed that our bank, when I go in to see the teller, I have to [00:14:00] sanitize my hand at the station before I go in, of course we're still wearing masks, right?
[00:14:04] But if you're going to the bank machine, I don't know if there's people that are, I don't think there are people sanitizing the keypad before every customer. So that's a good space where you should pull out your wipe, wipe the key pad and also the handle getting there. So the door knob or handle getting in and out of the bank or any facility, if it's not an automatically opening door or if you can't bump something with your elbow to open it. If you actually have to touch that handle, they're dirty, yucky. So I would definitely disinfect that. If you're taking public transportation, say you're, going on the subway or the bus. If you can avoid touching anything inside. That's great. But if you have to even touch say that the machine to buy a ticket, that's an area where you would also want to sanitize before you're touching it.
[00:14:50]If you're going into a public restroom, women in particular, we find them icky. You don't want to touch the light switch. You don't want to touch the [00:15:00] faucet, the toilet handle. So you have to be careful because those are where a lot of germs can really lurk . So these are things you need to I think continue, these are health habits that we've started that we need to continue.
[00:15:13] Even after this pandemic ends, we're going to have to be careful for a period of time. Same with, the ongoing washing of hands, avoiding rubbing your eyes and your nose and your mouth, wearing masks. Even after people have been vaccinated, they're still suggesting wearing masks, especially if you're in crowded situations and we might have to still socially distance for a period of time until we rid our world of this virus, if that can ever happen.
Sam: [00:15:39] One thing that I think of, as you mentioned, all those different high traffic surfaces is we live downtown Toronto and we have a lot of crosswalks and you have to push the button at each crosswalk for the lights to flash. So the cars will stop, right? Because it's not a red light there. And it's like a very narrow.
[00:15:58] This is maybe a little off topic, [00:16:00] but it's a very narrow sort of spot to push the button that you can't really kick it or elbow it in. And you have to find a way to push your hand in or a finger in. But yeah, having like a disinfecting or sanitizing wipe on the go, as you said, like Clorox, whatever you can have in your bag is just so useful in those situations, because those are my most anxiety prone moments where I know no one was coming and cleaning that. No one, I don't think anyone from the city or anyone is going around and making an effort to clean those. And so that's also different areas that like we pay attention to on our day to day, like walks and such.
Sherry: [00:16:34] Yeah. That's definitely a good one to think about because yeah, you can, you can't use your elbow easily. So in that case, pull out your wipe and use your wipe to push the button.
Sam: [00:16:43] Yeah, and you just feel better too. There's a mental component and we'll dive a little bit more into that as well. But I think the stress part of it of not knowing like who touched this or who did disinfect it, or if you're sitting at, even at a restaurant when things opened for, I guess it was literally five days or [00:17:00] so in Toronto with outdoor dining , there was a little bit of that.
[00:17:05] That experience of who, who wiped this? Am I certain? And once you take it back in your control, I'm sure that helps regulate the stress that's involved in it as well.
Sherry: [00:17:14] Totally.
Sam: [00:17:16] And so what should we look for specifically when we're choosing a product that's best for us, for sanitizing surfaces?
Sherry: [00:17:22] First and foremost because we're looking at sanitizing disinfecting, you want a product that actually says on the package that it kills like 99.99% of viruses and bacteria. Nothing is a hundred percent, but if you can get something that says 99.99. That's great because that's giving you comfort that it has a broad range of it has activity against a whole range of viruses and bacteria.
[00:17:46] So again, the one that I mentioned, the Clorox on the go wipes that actually says it on the package kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. So that's great. Those ones are actually free of bleach as well, which I think is important for [00:18:00] some people. They don't want to have bleach or be touching it with their hands because bleach could be irritating too some people's skin. And if you can't wash your hands right after you've sanitized something that's another consideration, these little packages are great to be, get the, on the go wipes. They're easy to carry because you don't want to carry around like some wipes. You can also get them in a big plastic cartons, but that's not really easy and portable.
[00:18:24] So I'm getting a little small package that it fits in your backpack or your handbag or briefcase or whatever. I think that's handy too.
Sam: [00:18:34] And what specifically would you suggest for our hands when we're looking for products that we can use to sanitize our hands rather than surfaces?
Sherry: [00:18:42] Yeah. So again, also important to look at the labels because.
[00:18:46] A product that is designed to be used on the hands will say, hand sanitizer versus just a regular disinfecting wipe or something that's meant for say cleaning the toilets or the sinks or whatever. So things that are made for using on the hands [00:19:00] have gentler ingredients. It depends whether you're okay with alcohol based wipes.
[00:19:04]Alcohol based whites are typically what you hear is recommended for cleaning your hands when soap and water is not available. But some people find that using alcohol-based wipes, they have to have, I think it's 60% alcohol in them that over time, if you're using them a lot, your hands may get really dry and irritated.
[00:19:23] So you can also check out products in health food stores and pharmacies that have natural essential oils in them. Products might contain like thyme, the herb like T H Y M E is a great on natural cleansing disinfecting product, also oregano, tea tree oil, things like that. Those are some natural based essential oils that you will find added into different sanitizing products for skin.
Sam: [00:19:50] And we hear even about ingesting those as well, like oil of oregano there's such a trend of taking that. Maybe that's an, a drink in your smoothie or just ingesting [00:20:00] it as an essential oil. What is your approach and how has your feeling around using essential oils in that approach?
Sherry: [00:20:06] Yeah, some essential oils can be taken internally in the, you just have to watch the amount like for example with oil of oregano, it's pretty potent.
[00:20:16] So a couple of drops of that in, it has to be diluted. I wouldn't recommend taking it straight up. But it does have some antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal properties. I recommended and we take echinacea, that's not an essential oil it's an herb. But echinacea has broad spectrum antiviral properties. So it's good for a lot of the viruses that we're concerned about today.
[00:20:37]And it can be taken daily for immune system support, so I would think about that as well. Tea tree oil is great we use on our hands it's used in hair products as well for repelling and skincare, actually for blemishes, for acne, there's been some studies that have found it to be fairly comparable to benzoyl peroxide, [00:21:00] but you have to watch the amount again. With tea tree if you use too much, it can be really irritating to the skin.
Sam: [00:21:07] Yeah, that's very true. I've tried tea, tree oil, actually. And it is very effective, but yes, if you use too much, that is, it's a hundred percent, very irritating. I think with most products, especially on your skin, you have to it's trial and error and see what works individually for you.
[00:21:21]But that's really interesting. I never realized that those are naturally disinfecting essential oils. I did know about oil of oregano and ingesting it, but I had never heard of using them topically. So that's a really interesting way to maybe have a more natural approach to, disinfecting our hands or a different part of our body.
[00:21:42]As we are out again in society and maybe feeling that anxiety, how do you feel like being equipped with the right tools, the right products for disinfecting sanitizing? How do you feel like that will affect and I guess, [00:22:00] impact people's mental health and stress and their level of control as they reintegrate.
[00:22:09]I think that's something for me, I reflect on a lot because once something becomes a little bit more in your control and you feel this protective barrier around you, you feel a little bit more okay. How would you suggest to any of our listeners, how they can equip themselves to manage that stress?
Sherry: [00:22:24] For sure. I think, knowledge is power. And I think that if we can have these tools and these things available to us, knowing that we can take charge of the situation, we're going to have greater comfort, maybe less stress and anxiety when we have to make the trip to the bank or the grocery store, take public transport.
[00:22:42] So arming yourself with the right tool. So keeping your mask with you at all times, maybe even a pair of disposable gloves keeping your wipes, your on the go wipes in your bag. All of those things I think are really important and I do feel that it will help to [00:23:00] conquer some of the fear that we have about reemerging in society.
[00:23:04] If we have things available that we can use to keep ourselves clean and to sanitize things around us and protect us. I think that's going to help us to feel more comfortable and more confident.
Sam: [00:23:18] Absolutely. And what are some of the other ways beyond that we can help ourselves stay healthy on a general day basis, in your opinion?
Sherry: [00:23:26] There are a number of things that affect our immune system and it can make us more vulnerable to getting sick. Whether we're talking about the viruses that are going around now or during cold and flu season if we're stressed out, if we're not getting enough sleep at night, those two factors can hamper our immunity.
[00:23:41] And I know that you are on a meditation guru and it's something I recommend a lot to my patients. Finding ways to deal with stress better, whether it's meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, going for a nice walk, reconnecting with nature, taking that time to, appreciate the [00:24:00] trees and the grass and the water and the things that are around us.
[00:24:03] Finding ways to alleviate that stress, eating a healthy diet is super important because what we put into our bodies. The vitamins and minerals that we get through fruits and vegetables and real whole foods, those elements, fortify, and strengthen and support our immune system. And it gives us the vital antioxidants that we need, the zinc, the selenium, and all those nutrients that help to support the immune system.
[00:24:29] So think about food as medicine, and then think about supplements maybe to compliment your diet. So not to replace a diet, but if you can use supplements just to fill in some gaps, maybe to top you up in certain areas. Like for example, vitamin D probably most Canadians are still not getting enough vitamin D. We've been spending more time in doors, less time out and about, so our skin is getting less sun exposure. So vitamin D should be top of the list because it is really important for the [00:25:00] health of our immune system. Depending on your diet, you might need a little bit of extra vitamin C. Now omega-3 fatty acids are really good to consider as well.
[00:25:08] And probiotics , beneficial bacteria, they can help to support gut health, but they also help to support your immune system. And so that's another one to to consider specifically as we're, again, re-engaging into society.
Sam: [00:25:23] And as you mentioned, most of these that support our immune system, they also support our mental health as well.
[00:25:30]Vitamin D is so closely linked to how it affects our mood and a few others that you mentioned as well, like Omega fatty acids for our brain health as well. And so it's interesting to see, how closely linked taking care of our mental health is with the food, with our supplements with some stress management is almost exactly the same as taking care of our immune system. And we know that's so closely linked to our gut, our mental health system. So it's all coming from the same place. So it makes sense, but hopefully [00:26:00] a few of our listeners today are making that connection that they maybe didn't make before.
[00:26:04] And are looking at their decisions, choices, health choices of how does this all tie into the bigger picture of how I'm feeling?
Sherry: [00:26:12] That's right. Yeah. The recommendations that I make are things yeah, that definitely benefit your immune system, but they benefit your mind, your brain but eating healthy, exercising, managing your stress also lowers your risk of heart disease, cancer, a lot of chronic diseases.
[00:26:26] So now's a good time for us to really put these things into practice, to take the time, to take care of our bodies. And it's going to pay us off. And in many ways down the road.
Sam: [00:26:39] Yeah. And as you said now is the time because we have the choice to control what we're consuming a lot more, as well as we're home.
[00:26:46]Right now, like we're mostly making most of our meals or doing our own groceries or controlling the situation of what we intake. And I think that gives us again, that power that control over the outcome, which I personally have actually enjoyed [00:27:00] during the pandemic as much as cooking for ourselves.
[00:27:02] It feels so exhausting at a certain point, but just having full control over what we're consuming and how we're fueling our immune system, our mental health, our bodies as a whole. And yeah, I think this, the tie in is very fascinating.
Sherry: [00:27:17] For sure.
Sam: [00:27:18] Sherry, I would love, if you can just share with our listeners where they can find you to find any more information from you on, sanitizing, staying healthy nutrition, all the different tips that you've spoken about today and where they can get a little bit more information and maybe find out more about some of the books that you've written.
Sherry: [00:27:37] Yeah, for sure. You can check out my website. It's sherrytorkos.com and that's S H E R R Y T O R K O S. So you can check out sherrytorkos.com. I have a blog page where I've posted various articles on subjects surrounding immune system health and wellness. And you can find links to my books. You can all look up [00:28:00] some of my previous TV interviews.
[00:28:02]I'll also give you my Facebook page. It's @holistic.sherry . So you can check that out. And I'm also on Instagram and you can see links through my website.
Sam: [00:28:12] Amazing. I want to say thank you so much for spending the time with us today and giving us a wealth of your knowledge. Hopefully some of our listeners feel a little bit more equipped to take on whatever is coming their way in the next few months.
[00:28:25] And I really appreciated having you.
Sherry: [00:28:28] Oh, thanks. It was my pleasure as well. Have a great day.