Detoxing My Life: Uncovering the Links to Chronic Illnesses

Hi, I’m Jada Winckler, and my journey into low-tox living didn’t begin out of curiosity — it began out of necessity.

In my twenties, my health began to shift in ways I couldn’t ignore. I was dealing with chronic fatigue, digestive distress, inflammation, and symptoms that seemed to ripple through different areas of my body without clear answers.

But looking back, the earliest signs started much earlier.

Early Signs I Didn’t Understand

As a teenager, I struggled with hormonal imbalances, mood fluctuations, and endocrine disruptions that no one could fully explain. At the time, these symptoms were brushed off as normal hormonal changes, and I am sure you can guess the magic solution that was given to me: birth control.

My issues never fully resolved — they simply evolved.

By my twenties, those early hormonal shifts were layered with anxiety, gut discomfort, inflammation, and blood sugar instability.

Have you ever felt like your body was sending signals you couldn’t fully explain — but no one was connecting the dots for you?

Doctor visits often ended with prescriptions or symptom management, but nothing addressed why my body felt like it was steadily declining.

When My Health Reached a Breaking Point

Eventually, my symptoms escalated to the point where I was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, and persistent digestive distress that had been building for years. This was greatly affecting my daily life.

I was given possible diagnoses and medications to manage symptoms, but I still felt like I was missing the bigger picture.

Further testing eventually brought greater clarity to my digestive health and inflammation.

I learned I was living with Crohn’s disease — a form of inflammatory bowel disease rooted in immune dysfunction.

That diagnosis connected many of the symptoms I had experienced for years and reinforced that my body was navigating a deeper inflammatory burden.

What I Learned About My Gut

One of the most pivotal discoveries in my healing journey was understanding the state of my gut.

Comprehensive testing revealed severe gut permeability, high levels of pathogenic bacteria, and very low levels of beneficial bacteria in my microbiome.

This imbalance weakens immune resilience, increases systemic inflammation, and contributes to food sensitivities — especially for those already navigating autoimmune conditions.

Did you know your gut health is directly correlated with your hormone balance — and vice versa?

When the gut barrier is compromised, it impacts immune signaling, inflammation pathways, and endocrine function.

Understanding my gut health helped connect many of the dots behind my symptoms and reinforced how foundational gut integrity is to overall healing.

Genetic Testing + Gluten Intolerance

As I dug deeper into root contributors, gluten became a major piece of my health puzzle.

I had removed gluten from my diet nearly 15 years ago because of how severely my body reacted to it — inflammation, digestive distress, and systemic flares.

Many people are told to rely on standard celiac antibody blood tests to determine gluten intolerance.

But what most don’t realize is that if you’ve already eliminated gluten long-term, those antibodies often won’t show up — because your body is no longer actively producing them.

My bloodwork did not show celiac antibodies, but genetic testing revealed I carry the HLA-DQ8 gene variant — associated with strong immune reactions to gluten.

That genetic insight helped validate why my body responded so severely, even without a positive celiac test.

How many people are told they’re “fine” simply because the standard test didn’t catch the deeper picture?

Motherhood Changed Everything

In 2021, I gave birth to my son — a moment that reshaped how I viewed my health and the world around me.

Just one month before delivering him, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes — a life-altering diagnosis that forced me to confront how much my health had been struggling beneath the surface.

My pregnancy had already been filled with complications, including a partial placental rupture, and I ultimately delivered 10 weeks early.

After giving birth, my body struggled to stabilize.

Hormonal imbalances that had started in my teens worsened significantly postpartum. I experienced deeper endocrine disruption, autoimmune flares, exhaustion, and systemic inflammation.

As I continued working to understand my health after delivery, additional autoimmune patterns emerged.

I was later diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, affecting my thyroid function, as well as Psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition tied to immune imbalance.

Seeing autoimmune conditions continue to surface reinforced how interconnected my immune system, hormones, gut health, and inflammation pathways truly were.

But now, it wasn’t just about my healing.

It was about protecting my son.

When you become responsible for someone else’s health, it changes how you see everything — doesn’t it?

What My Testing Revealed

Comprehensive testing later confirmed elevated levels of herbicides, mold toxins, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting compounds in my system.

Seeing those results gave me clarity on where to focus — reducing my toxic load across food, home, and lifestyle.

How many exposures are we carrying without even realizing it?

Where I Started

The first place I began reducing my toxic load was actually through cleaning products.

Because I owned a cleaning business, I was constantly exposed to conventional cleaning chemicals — daily, repeatedly, and in concentrated environments.

As I began researching ingredient profiles, inhalation exposure, and cumulative toxic burden, I realized how much these products could impact not only my health but also the homes and families I was serving.

That realization led me to begin replacing conventional products with safer, low-tox alternatives inside my business first.

From there, the shift became personal.

I began reevaluating the food I was bringing into my home—removing ultra-processed products and prioritizing organic, whole ingredients.

Next came personal care.

I began looking at ingredient labels in skincare, body products, and cosmetics — realizing how many endocrine disruptors, synthetic fragrances, and preservatives we absorb daily through our skin.

Each layer I addressed—cleaning, food, personal care—reduced my overall toxic burden and helped me better support my immune system and inflammatory pathways.

Why I Created Feather & Nest

Feather & Nest was born out of lived experience.

What began as a green cleaning and organizing business quickly grew into something much deeper as my health journey unfolded.

Feather & Nest transformed from a green cleaning and organizing business into a low-tox, healthy living platform that considers the bigger picture—your home, your habits, your environment, and how they all impact your health and happiness.

I wanted to create a space where safer options were thoughtfully curated, ingredient transparency mattered, and education came first.

Everything I share — from cleaning products to beauty, wellness tools, and home swaps — is filtered through my personal health journey and research.

Where You Can Start

Reducing your toxic load begins with awareness — understanding what you’re exposed to and making more informed swaps where it makes sense for your lifestyle.

If my story resonates with you, I’ve created a curated space where you can explore the safer products and tools I personally use and recommend.

You can browse my low-tox marketplace to find vetted options across cleaning, beauty, wellness, and home — all in one place to simplify the process.

Your environment matters — and the choices you make within it can support meaningful change over time.