Detox Isn’t Working? Support Gut, Liver, and Hormones the Right Way with Meghan Swidler

What's one sign that your body is craving detox support that most people overlook?

Inflammation, joint pain, any type of skin issue, acne, psoriasis, eczema, hives, rashes, any time of hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, pcos, any gut issue, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea. Like any and all of these symptoms, excess weight, like all of this is fundamentally rooted in there's underlying toxicity that needs to be addressed within the body. And so instead of looking at it as a negative because you know you're frustrated because cavity acne, it's actually your body giving you a gift, which is a signal of, hey, I need to pay attention to this.

I love it when I get to do this work. With dear friends, Megan Swidler. Welcome to Rooted in Wellness.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

This is long overdue. You are one of the people that was the top, at the top of my list to come on the show, but life kept happening. And I just want to say your books have been such an inspiration. They're actually part of my client protocols who want to go deeper into the detoxing method. So sweet. Yeah, I don't think I've ever told you that.

Oh, my God. Thank you so much.

Yeah, we're going to dive into all things detox today. But you know, to kick things off, this podcast is all about ancient wisdom in our modern day world and really how we can all become more rooted. And the feeling of rooted means rooted in your health, in yourself, in your happiness and what I believe, and I know you believe as well, this inner wisdom that we all have to heal. So I want to kick off by asking, asking you what are three things, two or three things that make you feel uprooted in your life. And this is like perfect timing with what we were talking about just before recording around the need for nature. But what causes you to need that?

Yeah, like the things like that, I need to be rooted.

Let's go back to that. Let's talk about the three things that we'll start with rooted first, then we switch things around. So let's tell me what are three things that help you feel more rooted in your health and your happiness?

Yeah, such a great question. Yeah, I mean, connection to nature is just absolutely so critical for me. As I just mentioned to you before, I went on a two month camper van trip across America. And just being connected to nature in any capacity at any time just allows me to feel more connected to Myself to God, to my intuition. And I really need it to feel rooted and grounded. I would say just my people, my relationships, my chosen family, my family. I think we are not meant to live in isolation at all. And I think a lot of people are suffering from that in this hyper digital world that we're living in. And I really think that connection, community, my people, everyone that is really important to me, the expanders in my life really help me to feel rooted. And probably sunlight, just like daily, daily sunlight, morning sunlight, just helps me. Yeah. To ground me too.

So, yeah, we love starting with this question because I'm so sick and tired of the feedback of wellness being so complicated and overwhelming and expensive when every single person that sits there lists things that are free every day.

Totally.

Right, I know.

Totally.

On the flip side, you know, you know what it feels like to feel uprooted. I know feeling uprooted probably drives a large part of your work. It's what enables you to be more effective with a lot of the clients that you work with. So what calls it causes you to feel uprooted in your life? Yeah, lack of nature. We know that.

Yeah, I think for sure. Notifications and just like overstimulation, I think we're living in a world of complete distraction that prevents you from really being present in the moment where you are where your two feet are. And I think a lot of that is like notifications and phone calls and messages and LinkedIn DMs and Instagram DMs and emails and all the things. Like, it's just kind of really, really overwhelming. So I've been proactively, you know, putting my phone on airplane mode for 12 hours a day, overnight into the morning hours and just like really doing my best to eliminate all of these micro distractions that are in my life that really make me feel uprooted and kind of just like scattered. Yeah, I think energetic density, like, really makes me feel uprooted. And so especially coming back from being on this trip, on the road, you know, coming back to. Yeah, just places that are very energetically dense, where there's kind of a lot of overstimulation. It's. Yeah, it's a frequency thing. I think I can just feel it in my body when I'm. And I'm very susceptible to that. So, yeah. Lack of nature or just places that are overly densely populated kind of disconnect me from myself and then. Yeah, I think, yeah, just like not being. Not being in. Not having the rituals and routines that ground me, especially in the morning. I feel like I have. It doesn't need to be a very strict morning routine necessarily, but there are certain things. Waking up and having a glass of water, going outside, getting morning sunlight, going on a walk, doing my breathwork, practice my kundalini in the morning. And if. If for some reason I'm not able to do that routine, like consecutively a few days in a row, I definitely feel off.

I feel it.

Yeah.

The rituals that are completely off.

Yeah. Yeah. So those are a few things.

That's so good. You and I have the same foundation. You grew up in Canada, in Tremblant, which is where the ashram that I used to live is in Valmoran. And that imprinting, growing up was everything. It doesn't surprise me that you escaped on a camper van to go and like, just be in nature for that exact same feeling, to be void of that energetic frequency that constantly is surrounding us, feels like freedom. Like, to wake up without any buzz or electrical wiring or wi fi signals or anything is so therapeutic. I think it's about our modern world that we've got to adjust totally.

It was. It was wild, honestly, because I. I got rid of my OURA ring six months ago because I. I found it created more paranoia and difficulty than support. And I was just like, I need to get rid of this. But while I was on the road, yeah, I was really connecting again. Really connected to nature, really connected to. To myself. And I was sleeping super well. My nervous system was super regulated. I was eating so well, but feeling so good in my body. And I think it all, again, has to do with just being connected to nature and just living the way we were meant to live. Right. And getting rid of all that overstimulation. It just. Whenever people are complaining about things, I'm like, just take a step away and get into nature and turn your phone off and do a digital detox, because that'll probably solve a lot of your problems.

So.

Good. Yeah.

Let's dive into all things detoxification. We'll start with some rapid fire questions first.

Okay.

Tell me a common detox myth that you wish people would stop believing.

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is that detox is really misunderstood. So people think that detox means starvation or deprivation or restriction. And I think, because when you think of detox, you think of juice cleanses or like extreme fasting or all of that. And so it's seen as scary, and that's a myth. And I feel like my soul's purpose in this lifetime is to re. Architect and recommunicate what detox really means. And to me, detox is about liberation. It's about freedom, it's about power. It's about returning the body to its true essence and basically relieving the blockages and the waste and the toxicity within the body to allow the body to heal and regenerate from within. I think people forget that your body is really its own healer and it has the capacity to heal itself if you give it the right conditions to heal. And so I'm not a healer. My job is to just give your body the conditions to heal itself. And so yeah, I think there's really a misunderstanding right now about what detox really means. Especially because there's all these quick fixes like do this two day cleanse and do this one day parasite cleanse and do this thing and don't eat for two days or do this juice cleanse. And that's really not what actual true cellular detoxification is about. And so I really hope to. Yeah. Re. Educate the world and really help people understand like how to heal their own bodies.

We're going to do that today.

Yeah.

Freedom over restriction. That's exactly what it should be. One detox trend that does more harm than good.

Does more harm than good. Ooh. I think, you know, what I've come to realize as of late is I think, you know, I think cold plunging is incredible in certain contexts.

Yeah.

But I've. What I've noticed is that I think the people that gravitate towards something like cold plunging are the people who probably need it the least.

Yeah.

Because they're already very overstimulated, very high performer, very type A and they probably are in a state of fight or flight. And so cold plunging can be supportive maybe for some people, but I think in a lot of cases for people who are tend to veer towards overstimulation and high performance, it's probably not the thing that they need. And especially for women potentially in their luteal phase or their men's, you know, certain phase of their menstrual cycle, it's probably not supportive to the body either. And I see women like going to the gym and doing it every single day for like 10 minutes or whatever.

Exactly.

So I definitely think. And they're, I mean there's, I can list countless others, but yeah, that's definitely one.

Because you and I both know the body has to be in this parasympathetic state in order to heal. And yet we're so addicted to living in that fight or flight.

Yeah. Totally.

What's your go to daily ritual for keeping your detox pathways open?

So many. I think one of, I mean one of my go tos is I make a cold pressed green juice every single day at home that I drink.

I wish we were neighbors.

I know. Probably make one later. Yeah, my boyfriend is benefiting a lot from that. But yeah, I think juicing, not fruit juice, but green juice, you know when the fiber is stripped away there the phytonutrients and live enzymes and biophotons and antioxidants and vitamins, minerals, nutrients go straight to your cells to do like very important cleansing work. And I think it's just such an incredible thing to, to incorporate into my day to day. So for me it's like an, a really important ritual. And then I think sweating too, whether it's a workout, I do a lot of hot yoga or just going in my, going in infrared sauna and just getting a sweat. It's like such a great way to release the body of toxins and just like stay in a state of equilibrium. So those are a couple.

What do you put in your juice?

Yeah, call it a. I call it the green lemonade. It's in my recipes, in my book. It's romaine or like any type of green green apple, tons of lemon, tons of ginger, parsley, mint, celery, cucumber. Yeah but like a lot of lemon and ginger kind of kills the green taste and makes it very lemonade Y. It's very good.

I love the lemon. A food or supplement that you never go without for detox support the green juice.

Yeah, I think food, I mean just like greens, you know, just I'm like it's, it's. And I love eating seasonally. I love going to the market. I love just you know, switching that up depending on the season. Like sometimes it's arugula, sometimes it's little jam. Or I might gravitate towards like endive and radicchio depending on the season. Tons of herbs. I love herbs. I love microgreens and sprouts. I'm like the guy at the farmer's market was like, you buy more than some of the restaurants. I was like, that makes sense. Thank you. But yeah, greens, I mean and just like raw. I think a lot of people are living are kind of enzymeless and enzymes and biophotons are so important to support the body just and support your life force, energy and vitality. Right. And a lot of people are not eating any raw food. So yeah, those microgreens, those herbs Those greens, like you're just going to get those. So much life force from those foods. And so yeah, that's like a non negotiable for me.

Love it.

Yeah.

The most surprising symptom that improved once you started addressing root cause toxicity.

Yeah. So just context. I went in my 20s when I graduated from Cornell, I was in, I was actually in tech. I worked in a hypergrowth tech startup in San Francisco, New York. And in that time I was on an iud. I had gut issues. I had cystic acne on my face, my back, and kind of like tried everything and I started eating healthy, but I was still struggling and then realized that the Mirena IUD was, there was a Reddit forum that said, you know, it causes cystic acne. And so got rid of it and then detoxed and healed myself, went deep into holistic health and healing, went into colon liver cleansing, parasite cleansing and healed myself. So yeah, I struggled pretty severely with acne and all sorts of imbalances and healed myself. And then I quit a venture capital job to pursue my passion and help others do the same. So I've definitely, if you're, if you're listening to this and you have symptoms, like I've fully lived it. I know what it's like to be in that position and to go to dermatologists and talk to doctors and they're just prescribing you medication and don't have answers for you. So yeah, I've healed a lot through this work and also just continue to maintain my health and vitality through continuing this work on an ongoing basis. Yeah.

And you have the most glowing, flawless skin you always have. So it's a testament to that. Thank you for that.

That's so sweet.

What's one sign that your body is craving detox support that most people overlook?

I mean it's so, it's everything. Right. Like I think your, your body, again, your body is so when you have symptoms, like don't see them as negative. Right. I think people are, oh, I have a symptom. It's like a symptom is a signal, it's a message. Your body is so hyper intelligent that your body is always trying to give you signals that there is underlying imbalance, that there are underlying imbalances that need to be resolved. And so I think, you know, inflammation, joint pain, any type of skin issue, acne, psoriasis, eczema, hives, rashes, any time of hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, pcos, any gut issue, bloating, gas, you know, constipation, diarrhea, like any of, any. And all of these symptoms, excess weight, like all of this is fundamentally rooted in that there's. Yeah, there's underlying toxicity that needs to be addressed within the body. And so yeah, it's, it's always like, you know, instead of looking at it as a negative because, you know, you're frustrated because you have the acne, it's actually your body giving you a gift which is a signal of he, I need to pay attention to this and how do I go inward and resolve this? So I think I see everything under the sun and those are a few common ones. But there's so many. I mean, autoimmune issues, fertility issues, you name it.

Yeah, and I think as women we tend to almost hate our bodies or hate our symptoms when more often than not, when I can really get someone in touch with the emotion behind it. I met with tears over the sadness that they feel when their body's simply trying to communicate with them. Right, Totally. Never ignore the symptoms.

Totally.

What I love about you is that as we just got a glimpse of, you're really redefining detox and what it means, especially living in la where there's such like this paradigm of hardcore detoxing and cleansing. And I think that to your point, a lot of people, when they hear that, they immediately think of a hardcore five or seven day juice fast or something that a celebrity has tried. But the truth is that detoxification is really something that our bodies naturally do. And in Ayurveda we talk about this concept of accumulation. And when our body accumulates too many toxins, we simply need to support those detox pathways. So when we talk about detoxification on a biological level, what does that process actually look like in the body? So for you, you went on a journey of discovery from your GI tract to liver. Is there a place where most people should start when they think about that cellular detoxification?

Yeah, I mean, yeah, when we talk about detox, as you said, it's about opening the body's detox pathways. Well, what, what are those detox pathways? There are five main channels of elimination in the body. We have the colon, which is kind of releasing waste through, you know, your bowel movements. That's the biggest channel of elimination. Then we have the liver, which is processing toxins and then dumping those out of the liver, releasing them through the bowels and the urine. Then we have the kidneys that filter the blood and release waste and byproducts through the urine. Then we have the lymphatic system that works on pressure and movement and then we have. Yeah, the skin and the lungs are kind of the backup. And so what detox fundamentally means is, yeah, supporting the body and opening up those, those different detoxification pathways. Right. So for the colon, for example, you know, fiber is the miracle. It acts as an intestinal broom that comes in and helps to move built up matter within the system. So I think eating tons of fiber rich plant based whole foods really supports the colon and releasing waste from the body. If we talk about the urine, a lot of people are chronically dehydrated, right? Hydration at the cellular level and eating, you know, drinking mineral rich spring water that has a lot of electrolytes and supportive elements to actually support hydration at the cellular level. For the skin, you know, sweating, moving your body, being in the sun, going into an infrared sauna and yeah, I think. And then the liver, we could get into that too. But yeah, just really there's. There's so many things on a day to day basis that you can do to actually support your body in opening up those elimination pathways to allow your body to release that toxicity that's burdening you, basically.

It's so interesting that most people are completely unaware of that. Right. And when we go to blaming those symptoms, we're not necessarily thinking like, oh, maybe my lymphatic system does need some more support. Right. And I'm sure you've worked with many people who maybe they've tried a detox before and they felt like shit. They don't want to do anything because they felt like crap. Right. And I don't know if I share this with you, but when I had mold toxicity, I didn't know it. I didn't know it. It was after Covid. Also I did a three day water fast and I was like the one person out of a group of 60, this is with Jesse Itzler. I put on weight, I was gaining weight, everybody else was losing. I felt terrible. Incredible, like brutal migraines for somebody who doesn't get headaches. But sure enough, I understood. My detox pathways were compromised.

Totally, right? Totally.

Then I went and did lymphatic drainage. I really went to support with some like liver loving herbs and stuff like that. Oh, I met with Maria, right. Our amazing colon.

Monica.

Monica.

Monica, yeah. She's the best.

She's the best.

She's the best.

Oh my gosh. And then sure enough, my sleep went up, my HRV went up and I really just had this new appreciation for understanding detoxification, even as somebody who is a nutritionist and already healthy and doing all those things. So that leads me into helping people understand because I'm always amazed when I go on social media and there's like these haters out there who want to say, your body already detoxes. Stop believing me. These people are saying that you have to do more. But we live in this modern world. If you're alive in this modern world, you were exposed to a lot. The average person's exposed to over 700,000 environmental chemicals in their lifetime. And the EPA has identified more than 80,000 industrial chemicals that humans come into contact with every single day.

Got stats in my book too.

That's why I build it up.

You got it.

So this is the Environmental Protection Agency and there's an awareness on these chemicals in the environment and they exist in a lot of the products that we use every single day in our air and our clothing. The list goes on. So how can we reframe detoxification for our listeners as not this like short term cleanse that can be beneficial, but really understanding that detoxification is something that we need to adhere to long term?

Yeah, I mean, as you said, we are living in an extremely toxic world, right? So like, you know, there are those haters that say, oh, you know, your body detoxes itself. But we are, yeah, we're living in a very toxic world. There are 85,000 chemicals in our supply, 10,000 of them in our food supply alone. And less than 1% of those have been rigorously tested for human safety. And we are just constantly, constantly, constantly inundated by toxins. And yeah, like as I said earlier, detoxification isn't about like a short term, it's not about short term restriction or deprivation or starvation. It's really about freeing your body to return your body to its true essence. You know, we are not living the life that nature intended for us to live. And so if we were, maybe some of these practices and that constant, constant focus on detoxification wouldn't be as important. But that's not the reality for most human beings. And as you said, most of us are just overwhelmingly inundated by toxins. And so yeah, it's really important to reframe detoxification as again giving your body the conditions to heal itself and relieving that waste and that obstruction from the body to allow your body's inherent life force, energy and phytophthy vitality to flow through you. And so again, it's about freedom. It's about liberation, it's about power. And detox is not just physical. Again, you know, with detoxification and talking about the colon and the liver and parasites and lymphatic and mold and heavy metals, we're seeing that as a very physical thing. But it's not just about relieving the body of these physical blockages, but it's also about elevating your frequency. Right. So like when you get rid of that, that stuff, that muck that's weighing you down, you're not just going to experience physical upgrades, but you will also experience mental, emotional, spiritual upgrades. You will experience quantum leaps in so many other areas of your life because your frequency of your body has been elevated. And so, yeah, I think it's really important to reframe detox as not about scarcity, but about abundance, because it is abundant. Like when my clients finish my program, it's like, oh, I got a new job or I found a partner. I feel so good in my body. I'm just seeing the world in a new way. I'm connected to myself, I'm connected to source. I'm connected. It's much more than, it's far greater and more profound than just a five day juice cleanse.

You're optimizing your vessel.

Totally.

We get one of these, we get to drive one of these in our lifetime.

Totally, totally. Yeah. And again, it's a consistent thing. As you said. It's like we are constantly inundated, you know, even me. Like after I went through my initial health journey, I still continue to do the things that allow my body to stay in homeostasis and you know, colonics and liver supportive herbs and juicing and hydration and high water content foods and all these things. Like, I continue to prioritize these things because I know what it feels like to feel my best and to feel that life force, energy and vitality flow through me. And for me there's no other option. And so it's important to keep up these practices. And yeah, it's like there's no need to be perfect too. Like if you go on a trip or you veer off course or it's Thanksgiving or it's Christmas and you feel sluggish, it's cool to always feel empowered to know that you have all these tools and resources to come back to equilibrium, you know?

Yeah. And when you come back into balance, when you go and you have the Thanksgiving or the holiday or whatever, it is such a cool feeling to understand what causes your body to feel heavy.

Yeah, totally. I find with my clients, like, once they start feeling really good in their body, it's kind of a blessing and a curse. But you start to notice when things dysregulate you. It's like, oh, whoa. I used to eat this food all the time, but then I went back to that food and I just noticed how tired and sluggish and heavy I felt. But it's super empowering because that means that you're way more connected to your body and to your intuition. And I think, again, freeing your body of all the blockage and all the toxicity just allows you to become more connected to yourself.

Absolutely.

And to really tune into that inner, inner knowing. Because, yeah, I can give recommendations. Right. But like, at the end of the day, your body knows best, and so it's important to tune back into that intuition.

Well, I think you've prompted all of our listeners to tune into every single symptom that you've already mentioned as a sign of potentially needing a detox. Let's break it down a little bit more. What are some of the symptoms that you see? You know, I know when, whenever you see like an Eastern medicine doctor, specifically in like Ayurveda or traditional Chinese medicine, they look at your skin as a sign of internal health to understand what's happening. So let's just start with the colon. The colon is such a big one. You know, you and I work with. I would say the majority of people have some sort of digestive issue.

Yeah.

What are some symptoms that your GI tract is not detoxing the way that it should be.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, the gut is the second brain. And it's once when you have a slow moving colon and when you have that imbalance, it prevents all other organs and systems from functioning effectively. So then not only do you see digestive issues, you always see that paired with other issues, hormonal issues, acne, skin issues, thyroid imbalances. Because it's all very much interconnected. And unfortunately, Western medicine is siloed all of these different things. But in fact, the body is an orchestra, it's a symphony. And imbalances in one part of the body affect the other. So, yeah, to answer your question, I think any sort of bloating or gas or constipation, Right. You should be ideally going to the bathroom one to three times a day. I think people are always blown away to hear that. They're like, wait, I go once every other day. And it's just because, you know, what's not normal has been normalized. And people think it's normal. But yeah, if you're not eliminating, if you're eating three meals a day and you're only going to the bathroom once every other day, there's an imbalance there. And then when you have that blockage in your body, right. Like things can't pass through when you have blockage in your colon and that leads to fermentation and putrefaction and gas and bloating. Right. So constipation, gas, bloating, just stomach distension, all of that inflammation, just dysregulation in the gut. It's all a sign that your things are out of balance. And again, you can do lab work to check for markers of bacterial imbalance and you can do a stool test. But also the quantitative signals are great, but the qualitative signals are equally as powerful because you can just tune in and tune into those symptoms. Yeah.

Do you run stool tests with your clients?

Yeah, I can, yeah.

Yeah, Often they're not necessary. It's beneficial, I think for me, when I'm trying to assess like what type of a probiotic might be beneficial or if there's an infection or parasite or something like that.

Yeah, yeah. Testing is interesting. Like, I think it's really empowering. But I also think that a lot of practitioners over index on testing and don't actually know how to heal. And so they make people pay thousands of dollars. I have clients coming to me. I spent $2,000 on labs. I don't. I was prescribed a million different supplements. Nothing's working, nothing's helping. And the, like, the miracle of the body is again, the body is self healing and self regenerating under the right conditions. You just need to give it those conditions. And so testing can be supportive. But you know, if we're supporting on clearing the colon of waste, the body will heal and regenerate itself once you release the waste from the body. And I don't necessarily need a stool test. Like maybe if I think someone has E. Coli or H. Pylori or Candida or yeast, like, yes, the stool test would help me know if someone has that right. But I think the body is just so miraculous in its ability to heal. And so we need to trust that more. So, yeah.

And on the flip side, with social media, we have to be careful. I've worked with so many people who've gone out and they've done these like really intensive colon cleanses where they've completely stripped their colon, where they become more depleted, more digestive issues. There was one woman who I worked with this, this year. And since she was 18, it's been normal for her to have a bowel movement every one to four days.

Wow.

Yeah. Or sorry, two to four days. And her doctor just said, well that's just, it's how you're built. And this woman is like your big meat eater. And we just think about like if you're eating a lot of animal protein and you're not having a bowel movement in a few days, two or three days, all of those animals are putrefying in the system. Your system.

Oh my God. I can go on about the protein thing. Like I, I, it's like, you know, especially, yeah, the high protein thing. And then just like especially it's like one thing to have like high quality animal protein. But right now it's like there's this, the pendulum is swung into the direction of we're gonna put protein, we're gonna protein, put protein and water protein into everything. And so people think, oh, I need to have X amount of protein. And they're eating all these super highly processed foods with protein. And what happens is your body doesn't, even if you have a congested colon and an overburden liver, your body can't even absorb any of the amino acids or protein anyway. And so that just moves through your system. It gets stuck. It creates uric acid and metabolic waste, which further perpetuates the symptoms that you're experiencing. And so, yeah, most people don't need, in my opinion, more protein. They actually need to detox. They need to focus on rebuilding the foundation of the body. It's like trying to pour gasoline into a car with a broken engine. The car is not going to start if the engine is broken. You have to, you know, you have to fix the engine. And that's really mostly the problem for a lot of people is that they have a broken engine. So they're trying to layer on top protein and peptides and all this stuff and it's like, yeah, you, you have to, we need to get the foundation right to then optimize on top of that foundation, you know, and that's really the missing link, I think for a lot of people.

Yeah. And constipation, we've really normalized this in our society. Yeah, you give some really great tips in your book. But when we think about constipation, let's just start with that specifically, how do you usually support constipation? How do you kind of educate a client to re lubricating the intestinal tract so that they can get that liberation back.

Yeah, I mean, I love, you know, I love kind of talking about fiber because it's so, so, so critical. I love, I love kind of explaining like quick exit to slow exit food. Like, quick exit foods are light, airy, fresh, they're full of life force, energy and vitality. They give you a lot of vitamins, nutrients, minerals and nutrients. They pass through your system really quickly and they leave very little residue in the body. And the commonality between quick exit foods, like fruits and vegetables and microgreens and juices and smoothies is fiber. Fiber comes in and acts as an intestinal broom that kind of sweeps out and moves waste out of your system. Right. So if you're constipated, just like upping the fibrous foods, especially raw foods, maybe raw foods for some people can be too much. So maybe it's like cooked plant foods and then raw foods. But all of those quick exit foods are really, really supportive and kind of releasing all that waste from the body. And on the other side of the spectrum, we have slow exit foods, which are very dense, heavy. They move through your system very, very slowly. They take a lot of energy for your system to process and break down and they leave a lot of metabolic waste within the body. So on the far end, obviously highly processed foods, but a lot of just certain foods, sugars, gluten, even animal protein in excess can really, really, really slow you down because the body is just taking so much time and energy to process and break down those foods. And if it's not able to do so, it will just leave a ton of waste within your system, you know, and compound the problem. So I always say, yeah, eat majority quick exit foods to buffer the slight to moderate amount of like medium exit foods and the very minimal amount of slow exit foods try to like shift that ratio. And yeah, I think in today's world a lot of people are coming to me eating like ridiculous amounts of animal protein like three times a day and then the protein shake twice a day and the high protein snacks and all this stuff and it's just too much slow exit food. So your body is just, it's not moving through, you know?

Absolutely, yeah. You talk about ultra processed foods in your book and it's just, it just makes sense, right? When we look at the statistics, over 60, 65% of the American standard diet is now ultra processed food. And to your point, they're labeled high protein. They might be labeled gluten free or keto or healthy or whatever. So people are getting tricked into thinking that they're healthy and wondering, well, why am I having an issue? I'm eating all this really great health food that these people are recommending. So when we think about that gut motility, it is so important. It's gonna manifest in how you're feeling every day. Your energy, your focus, your mood. And here we are, especially now with things like hormones having their moment for women, which I'm so grateful for. But we cannot have a conversation around hormone optimization without talking about gut microbiome optimization or digestion optimization 100.

I mean, you know, when you have, as I said before, when you have a slow moving colon, it prevents all other organs and systems from functioning effectively. So then we start to get back up in the liver. When you have an overburdened liver. Yeah, your body can't metabolize and clear out excess hormones fast enough. So you get thyroid imbalances, you get hormonal imbalances. Like there's. Yeah, there's so. And all of that is probably likely connected to the fact like, why do you have the overburden liver in the first place? Well, your liver wasn't able to clear stuff out through the colon. So the constipation is directly going to be linked, as you said, to the hormonal imbalances, the thyroid imbalances. And yeah, everything is so interconnected. So you can't talk about hormones without talking about the gut at all.

So print out the Bristol stool chart. We talk about that a lot. I actually did that for my son when he was little. That's how I taught them about the impact of food. So I didn't label food as good or bad. I knew that they were going to go to birthday parties and have all the things, which is fine. But now my kids know the difference between a bowel movement that is loose, that is sticky, that is hard to get out, that feels incomplete. Right, Totally. Versus what I call the winners with my clients, where you feel like a sense of relief afterwards and you feel more energized. Stuff like that. It's so important.

Yeah, I have the bristle stool chart in my books too. And it's such an important, just people knowing, like you should have one to three bowel movements a day. You shouldn't have any significant bloating, gas or constipation on a day to day basis. Maybe once in a blue moon, but that shouldn't be a regular thing. And then, yeah, every bowel movement should feel, it should take one minute, it should feel complete, and it should like not require like a crazy amount of wiping, as you said, with the stickiness. And so yeah, educating clients and people on that reality is really important because then they can start to notice when things are out of balance.

Absolutely. To get to that second bowel movement today, I know for a lot of my clients it really supports, you know, when people are working with me because I put them on a lot of herbal teas and drinking a lot of warm or hot drinks throughout the day. And that typically will help them instigate a second bowel movement later on in the day. Might not be as big as the first one, but can you tell us some tips for really supporting the colon and having that second or third bowel movement also?

Yeah, I mean, for sure, for sure. The just like the high fiber foods, I think a really overlooked one is chewing your food. Yes, thank you. You pre digestion. It's like people are just in a state of fight or flight, eating on a zoom call, inhaling their food in 20 minutes. You're not supporting elimination at all. That chewing, that slowness, putting your fork down, chewing your food thoroughly, being in a parasympathetic state, rest or digest really supports digestion and really supports elimination. So I think people really need to just like slow down to their food.

Yeah.

Eat slowly, like be outside, not be on their phones. It does wonders. And people overlook that so much. I think hydration is also just incredibly important. Like people are so chronically dehydrated. You're tired, you're having three coffees a day, you're having green tea, matcha, whatever it is, and all those things. Yeah, maybe in moderation, but most people are just not getting enough water. And so just like actually drinking water, high quality, mineral rich spring water to make sure that it's actually hydrating the body at the cellular level actually has those electrolytes and minerals and all the things that you need. And I usually say like half your body weight in water a day as like a rule of thumb just for most people. Just. Yeah, getting like. For most people, I'd say like two liters. And there are. People are like what? Two liters? I'm like, yeah, you need to get into the habit of hydration. And then I think movement is really important as well. Just like going on walks, moving your body, like getting things moving. Most people are just like way too sedentary on sitting around. And so yeah, those, I think all of those things are really important for elimination. But yeah, it's wild. I think the gut microbiome is really responsive to changes in food. Like within two to five days. You know, your body can respond very quickly. And so it's really crazy to see, especially for some clients, like once they, it make. Make those changes, it's like, oh, my God, I went to the bathroom twice for the first time in like two years and it happens in like a week, you know, so the best text

message I get, it can happen so

quickly and it directly impacts the rest. Right. Like, I have a client who says that, and then I'm two weeks later says, oh, I just had my menstrual cycle and I had absolutely no symptoms, you know, and it's, it's all, it's all interconnected, for sure.

I love the focus on fiber. I say all the time on this podcast that the future has to be about fiber and your frequency. Yeah, the two go hand in hand. I think that the more that we're uncovering around the benefits, benefits of fiber and the communication that happens with the short chain fatty acids within our gut microbiome and elimination and stuff like that, and even around, you know, we often think about supporting our gut with a probiotic. Yeah, it's not often needed.

Right.

There are so many different types of probiotics out there. And we have to recognize that scientists are still uncovering the diversity that exists within our gut microbiome. And there are some really reputable supplement brands out there, but often just like, like focus on the diversity of the plant foods that you're eating and you're going to naturally repopulate the gut microbiome with those foods and you feel the difference, you feel more energized.

Totally. Yeah. I think too many, you know, we're just in a world with the hyper digital world that we're living in and all the marketing, it's. We're really wired to want just a quick fix. It's like, oh, I've got issues. Okay, I'm going to take this probiotic and hopefully that helps things. When actually the answer lies in our daily routine and the fundamentals. And yeah, how are we nourishing our body? How are we hydrating our body? How are we sleeping? How are we regulating our nervous system? Who are we surrounding ourselves with? Just the basics. It's so profound, the impact that that has. And of course, a probiotic can be helpful in repopulating the gut microbiome. But there's so much diversity in plant foods. So much in fermented foods, too. There's a study by Dr. Sonnenberg at Stanford two years ago that showed that two to three tablespoons of fermented foods a day can materially impact the gut microbiome, keeping everything else the same. So even just like 2 tablespoons of sauerkraut a day. So there's a lot that you can do without probiotics for sure.

So literally, food is medicine, right? I don't love the taste of sauerkraut, but we'll typically put it out on our dinner table every night and just take, like, down it down a tablespoon.

Yeah, totally.

Yeah. All right, let's go upstream. October was liver health awareness month. I don't know if you know that the Liver has over 500 functions within the body. Do you notice specific symptoms when you're working with your clients that you understand to go to the liver and those detox pathways instead?

Yeah, I mean, you know, I would say, based on my experience with myself and my clients, that I would say like. Like, you know, I would say nine and a half of every 10 people, or pretty much everyone has an overburden liver, whether they're manifesting physical symptoms or not. Like, outwardly, I think most people do have an overburdened liver just because of the world that we live in. Again, your liver, as you said, has 500 different functions within the body, and it's really the body's filter. And so what happens is just like the colon, when it becomes inundated with toxins from our air and our food and our water and our. Our makeup and beauty and all the things, especially as women are, you know, the birth control, the antibiotics, the liver just cannot possibly keep up with that toxic load. And so it starts to slow down. And, yeah, there's a few key things that I see that people don't realize are connected to the liver, but very much are connected to the liver. I would say, yeah, hormonal imbalances is a big one. Like, the liver is responsible for metabolizing and clearing out excess hormones. And so if it can't do that properly because it's overburdened, that's when you start to see hormonal imbalances. That's when you start to see thyroid imbalances. Hypothyroidism is something I see a lot. Estrogen dominance is something I see a lot. Low testosterone for men. There's so many potential imbalances, but it's all related to the liver. Skin issues are massive and very much connected to the liver. So, you know, I had a client, you know, I've cleared, you know, full body psoriasis and rashes and hives and I mean, acne, I went through it myself. It's all very much related to the liver. And for me, that was the missing link for my skin because I had been pumping my body with synthetic hormones for a decade. When I came off of that, I had to clear all that out. And so the liver was really, really key for that. And then blood sugar imbalances. So yeah, it's very interesting in the world that we live in that everyone is so hyper fixated on like flatlining their blood sugar with all these devices. And I think what happens when people are trying to do that is they favor a high protein, high fat diet because they're trying to support their blood sugar, when in reality eating the tons of animal protein, tons of dairy, tons of whatever, and just avoiding fruit because it has sugar is actually further congesting your liver, which is further perpetuating your blood sugar imbalances and insulin resistance. And I think that's like so misunderstood. It's probably one of like the biggest nutrition health myths of all time. And yeah, I always see all these things in conjunction. Like I have a client now who, yeah, was diagnosed with pre diabetes and has hormonal and patahormon imbalances, had hypothyroidism. And I'm like, when I see that and then I, or I see, oh, I get eczema flare ups, I'm like, okay, you got, you got liver stuff.

Stuff, you got it.

So, yeah, and then a lot of deficiencies too. Like I think the liver, you know, the liver like processes and stores nutrients and so if your liver is not able to do that properly, then you cannot, like, you will have deficiencies. Yeah, and people think is a big one too, right? Vitamin D, iron, like all these things like, like, you know, why would someone be deficient in iron if they're eating animal protein three times a day?

You got it.

Because they, they can't absorb what they're consuming. And so the colon's blocked, the liver's overburdened, there might be parasites that are leaching the nutrients from your, the food that you're eating. So a lot of if, when I see a lot of deficiencies too, if someone's eating really well and I know that there's liver stuff going on. So I would say it's probably a lot of things. There's a lot of symptoms. Yeah, totally.

As you're speaking, thinking about a lot of the parents that I work with who also have children with eczema and it's becoming so prevalent, it's crazy. It's crazy. So we talked, we talked a lot about the food. I want to do an audit like how if you and I were to go into all of our listeners homes to do an audit of how to support these adults and children. Let's start with the bathroom. Let's start with the kitchen. We talked about fiber, we talked about processed foods.

It's funny, I just, yeah, I have a substack and I just wrote an article. I have like a weekly detox and I did 10 non toxic swaps for your kitchen. But yeah, I think just like, like getting rid of all, any and all plastic and just cooking with. Yeah. Bamboo. Yeah. Having ceramic cookware and using bamboo for cooking and having. Yeah like cast iron or ceramic cookware, dishware, using ceramics, having glass containers in the fridge. Like trying to do your best to eliminate any and all plastic. Like when you're shopping and going to the farmer's market, like all that stuff is so important.

A lot of parents will roll their eyes at to the plastics. Like Tupperware and stuff like that. No Tupperware. Get rid of all plastic, Tupperware and Ziplocs and stuff like that. If glass isn't ideal for your kids, get tin.

Yeah, totally.

Stainless steel is what we use in India everywhere.

Totally, yeah, stainless steel. I'd say bamboo, wood, ceramic, cast iron, like all those. And yeah, I mean that spends like yeah, just do an audit, right. Like look at your beauty products, your makeup products like your water, your air and just you don't have to do everything all at once. And I understand that for a lot of people that might be out of reach or not with. Yeah, not within their means necessarily all at once. But as you start to switch stuff out, just start to be mindful and look up. We have AI now you can look up what are the best, you know, what are the best non toxic alternatives to this and that.

Trust your gut. Like you probably know the area in your house that probably feels the most toxic based on the education that's out there. Start there, do one area and feel insanely proud about yourself for doing that one area. That's a great start.

Totally, totally. Yeah. And on the topic of eczema, so my nephew, he's two, he just turned three but he had crazy eczema. And anyway we, yeah, we, long story short, we identified that it was related to yes, some potential mold and heavy metal exposure in the house which we deduced and then I got him on like a sort of a baby detox protocol like giving him more fiber rich. I mean he Was eating a lot of fiber rich, but kind of eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, and then getting them on a little bit of, like, activated charcoal and a little baby dose of, like, NAC and some binders, and it all went away.

That's a great idea. Activated charcoal lemonade is such an easy one for the kiddos that you can incorporate.

Yeah. And we, we got. We, you know, we got him some liquid stuff, and then we also, like, put stuff in. We put stuff in, elderberry syrup so that he would eat it and kind of, like, figured out a little routine so that he would have his morning and nighttime supplements. And he actually, like, looked forward to them because they were. And he had a spoonful of elderberry syrup that was like binders crushed up in it, you know. But, yeah, it got worse before it got better, but then it all cleared, so. But yeah, the eczema thing with kids

is it's out of control.

It's out of control.

Yeah. And I had eczema as a kid and the doctors thought it was like oranges and eggs or something. But I think that you and I both know also from Eastern medicine, we can't talk about the liver without talking about stress also.

Totally, totally think about the kiddos, you

know, focus on the foods and the toxins within the house, of course, but like, like, understand. Did they go through something that was a stressful period? My daughter, after we moved, it was a big time of stress. New school and new everything. So she had a little bit of eczema too.

So totally.

It's full.

Yeah. Mind, body. And I think, you know, there are a lot of people that, you know, the high performers in la, New York or San Francisco that eat the healthiest foods and they work out seven days a week and they sleep well, but they're still dysregulated. And I will often turn those people away and say, what you actually really need and is not detox, not putting potentially more stress on your body, but actually focusing on your mind body connection and getting more into a regulated state. And yeah, it's so, so overlooked. And I think acupuncture, somatic healing, plant medicine, Reiki energy work, Kundalini, breath work, even just like breath work for 10 minutes a day can do. Do wonders, you know, and people overlook that a lot.

A lot. So powerful. And even rituals that you can have with your partner, with your family, make it at night or in the morning, but totally a lot of people have to schedule it. I know we're busy, but we have to schedule it.

Yeah. And Connection. Like, people are so lonely and they're so disconnected and we are not meant to live that way. And so, like, if you're doing all the right things or you're just working all day and then coming home and sitting at home all night by yourself, like, you know, like finding community and going and being in community, going to like a hike club or a run club or joining a gym or another third space where you can be connected to other people. I think that's. Yeah, I think we forget about connection and joy and laughter and play and all these things that are free but require intentionality and focus if you're lonely. So I think, yeah, that's another big one.

I will say that's one of the coolest things as a Canadian living in LA is, is going up for meetings or dates and like, it would be a hike or a juice date or a walk or going to the beach. It's like, ah, yeah, just sitting in a dark coffee shop.

I know, totally.

It's really special.

Yeah.

All right. A big area that I think we need to talk to is the lymphatic system. Yeah, I feel like the lymphatic system has this energy within the body that, you know, we're still uncovering. I think that. That it's this beautiful network of communication that ties into our mitochondrial health as well. I always ask my clients to treat themselves to a lymphatic drainage massage at least once a month to support them. Can you talk to us a little bit about what you've written about the lymphatic system and how to support it?

Yeah, I think the lymphatic system is often forgotten about because it's not, like, seen. I mean, when we think about the channels of elimination within the body, we think of, like, the liver, the kidneys, the colon, the skin, the lungs. And like, the lymphatic system is not. It works on pressure and movement. So it's a little bit different than a traditional detox pathway like the colon. And you don't really know about it as much because, like, with the colon, you have bowel movements, you pee. Like, those are more obvious. Lymphatic system maybe isn't as obvious to people and people don't even know that it exists. And yeah, it's really, really important to support. And, you know, of course, like a lymphatic drainage massage or, you know, that can be super, super supportive for the lymphatic system. But I think there's other things just like moving your body, hiking, walking. People are just way too Sedentary. The average American's walking like three to four thousand steps a day. Like we should be walking, you know, eight to 10 at least. And so movement, rebounding is so great. You know, getting a little mini trampoline and doing like five to seven minutes of rebounding a day. There's a lot of like at home tools that you can use too. Like those, you know, a dry brush is great. Or lymphatic drainage, like one of those paddles. And yeah, even like breath work can support the lymphatic system. So yeah, there's so many day to day things that you can do to support the lymphatic system. And then I also think that when you do detox and when you support the other drainage pathways within your body, the lymphatic system tends to start to like moving, like starts to move again when you hydrate and when you eat more fiber rich foods and all those things as well. But yeah, the you, I think movement, even if it's like dancing in your house, like that will support your lymphatic system, you know.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Yoga, like yoga is really built on that totally Tai chi, qigong, these like basic movements that support the body in liberation. Right?

Yeah, totally. So it's, it's a really important one. Very overlooked but very important.

Yeah, I think a rebounder is probably one of the best investments people can make.

I know.

Especially for people who are like back to back zoom calls every single day. Hopping on what I'll do between client calls is like it's on the way to my bathroom.

Yeah.

So I'll hop on it for like a minute or 60 seconds, go to the bathroom, hop on it for 60 seconds, go back to, go back to my zooms.

I also think like a stand, a walking pad, like you're. Oh my God. If you're an executive or someone working and you're on zoom all day. Like I had a client who's actually in LA and he's the founder of a big CPG company. And yeah, he, yeah, he had like, he was walking three to 4,000 steps a day, got a walking pad and was started to walk like 15,000. And that can really transform like your health. And so I mean your mental health, your physical health, like everything all cause mortality. Yeah. I am, my boyfriend has a dog, a big husky and it's been really great. And I, I used to have a golden that passed away like three years ago. And we're back into, yeah, morning walks, nighttime walks and the dog kind of forces you into that because like we have to walk the dog. But I actually love it because I'm walking so much more, you know.

Yeah, that's so good.

Yeah.

All right, let's go upstream again. Let's talk about the kidneys.

Yeah.

So the kidneys have to filter 50 gallons of blood, is that it? 50 gallons of blood per day. It's a lot of work that they do constantly non stop. When we think about supporting your kidneys, I think a lot of people, we've gone through this craze of electrolyte intake.

Yeah,

there's so many people when you roll your eyes like that.

Yeah, we're clearly on the same page.

We're on the same page. Yeah. You know, it was something that got a lot of attention. CPG World caught onto it. Everyone and you know, so many brands just launched these really low quality electrolyte supports for a lot of people who didn't even need it to begin with. So you talked about minerals and the focus there. So can you walk through the difference between taking in hydration that has mineral support versus constant electrolyte support that a lot of people may or may not need?

Yeah, I mean, I think the electrolyte powder thing is wild because, yeah, people have been, I mean, overdoing it with electrolytes and people don't realize like if you have too much of that, it can actually create more harm than good. If you're, you know, if you're drinking, if you have like three electrolyte packets a day and you didn't sweat that day and you didn't do a high intensity workout or didn't do like an extreme sauna, a session, you're probably having too much. And then on top of that, these electrolyte powders have natural flavors and all of these things that are actually probably doing more harm than good in the body. A lot of them have a ton of sugar and yeah, mineral rich water is really what allows your body to hydrate. Like water in its, in and of itself is one thing, but if you have tap water that's like, you know, you have a ton of exposure to chlorine and, and you know, fluoride and all sorts of things that are very harmful to the body and strip the body of minerals and so that's not actually hydration, it's not like you might be drinking water, but it's not actually hydrating your body at the cellular level. So when you have water that's actually mineral rich, you know, spring water, if you can or if you're using a filter, then you want to remineralize after that's going to ensure that the know the water is actually like hydrating your cells and supporting your body. And yeah, I'm a big fan of like I wrote an article on my substack about hydration and I talked a lot about this and like what does that really mean? And I like what I call nature's Gatorade, which is just like spring like water putting in like a little bit of maybe Baja gold sea salts that has like really high quantity quantities of minerals. Putting a little bit, putting a lemon wedge. You don't need the electrolyte powders. That's like in and of itself. You know, when I wake up in the morning, I have a full like mason jar of water. I put a little Baja Gold sea salt, I put a lemon wedge and call it a day. And yeah, you don't need all those crazy packets. So. And I think that's so important and really important for the kidneys for sure. Because I think people have kidney issues because they're chronically dehydrated and they're eating waterless foods as well and they're drinking a lot of coffee and alcohol and they're putting a crazy amount of strain on their kidneys, eating way too much sodium from highly processed foods. And so yeah, like laying off the caffeine and alcohol and laying off the processed foods and just like hydrating green juice, water rich foods, mineral rich water, like that's going to really support your kidneys. And then yeah, I'm a big believer in herbs for the kidneys. It's. What's the brand? The homeopathic guy. And it's, it's in Marina del Rey. He has this like kidney T. Dr. Schultz. Yeah, it's A. Dr. Schultz. Yeah, he has, he has like a really great kidney kidney tincture and kidney tea. So if you're needing like additional support for the kidneys. Yeah. And then, But a lot of the time with the kidneys it's like again when you have a slow moving colon, it prevents all other organs and systems from functioning. And so like your kidneys and your liver start to back up when you're not eliminating anything. If your pathways are open, your kidneys and liver will function normally. And so a lot of the time supporting the kidneys can indirectly involve supporting. Supporting the colon too.

Yeah, a lot of those products. You know, I understand people thinking that adding the electrolyte powder is going to make them drink more water, but if it's not going to support you, it's not worth it. A lot of those artificial colors or dyes or like really poor quality sodium that's going into it. And when you talked about like the beauty behind water and the energy of water and like the life force of water. When we think about water in nature, it's alive. Like it's being touched by minerals and stone and movement and air and sunshine and wind. Right. And we're so deficient of that or in that because we don't even think about like our piping, where the water comes from. I remember in Toronto, like I could smell the chlorine in the water, but it was normal, right?

Totally.

Yeah. I think this kind of water activation is something that really catches my attention. We have the same protocol in the morning that I recommend to my clients. Clients do Baja Gold sea salt is really great. If you want to invest in something that could be beneficial, adding minerals like beam minerals, I don't know if you've tried them, which doesn't add any flavor to your water but really beneficial for your kids too. I've got this trick. This sounds so woo woo. In my kids water bottles I'll actually talk to the water. Like I'll say you are healthy, you are love, you are healing, you are protection to just like give it energy for my kids to take on throughout that day.

Totally.

I love that's really powerful.

Yeah. And like what you said about being alive, like I drink, I, I used to, I used to use filter. I used to have a filter and I think it's great if you have a reverse osmosis filter. Great. And but a level up from that is mineral rich spring water. To me it's like comparing the sun to a light bulb. Like a light bulb is, you know, a reverse osmosis filter and the sun is living mineral rich spring water. So I drink alive water and it's expensive but for me it's worth it because water is like life and, and yeah, if you're going to use a reverse osmosis filter, you want to make sure to remineralize your water. So put the Baja Gold sea salt, put trace minerals because if you don't have minerals you're not actually getting hydrated. So you might be filtering out all the toxins but you're, you know, you're not, not coming full circle with that. So it's really, that's a really important

step and you'll feel it energizing. Like when you drink high quality water, you'll feel a difference in your focus and your energy throughout the day. Day you'll skip the afternoon caffeine. And if you're somebody who works in a big office space, like, be the advocate to move away from the plastic water bottles. Right. I just. It's like the.

You can even buy like, you can buy these water bottles that have little filters, like in them. Yeah, that's true as well. So, like, if you're on the road or on the move, and I actually have one that's for like hiking that you can like fill from a spring and it like filters is, you know, if I'm hiking and I can. I can fill from a spring or anywhere and then have it filter through and then I can drink it, which is cool.

I always, you know. Yeah. I think that having things like that, especially for when you're on the go, be that person, you're going to inspire somebody else that's watching you.

It was so funny. And when I was on the camper van, you know, I was in Wyoming and Colorado and Utah and kind of in the middle of nowhere sometimes, and I was going super out of my way to find Mountain Valley Spring because I couldn't find alive water. And I was, I was like, I will drive 30 minutes to go to a grocery store to get Mountain Valley Spring because I want my, you know, my water and glass bottles and stuff. And I had like cases. Every time I found it, I would buy cases of it because I didn't know when I was gonna find it next. So I had cases of it in the back of my van.

Yeah.

So funny.

I know. It's like, it's such a first world problem. That shouldn't be a first world problem. Like if we just invested in quality water for the nation.

Yeah, I know.

The impact is so special.

Totally.

I think when I get to do testing with a lot of my clients, it's a privilege. And for a lot of my people who are really busy or left brain and just like they understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, they don't actually get the impact of things like toxins and stuff like that for their physiology until they see those labs or the data. And heavy metal exposure is something that is also in this category of toxin exposure as well. I'm a big fan of using the total toxic burden test.

Me too.

There you go. Okay, there you go now too. Understanding if you have microplastics in your blood, if there's mold, if there's glyphosate also within you, it's really great awareness to just understand what you are exposed to today. So when we speak now to eliminating heavy metals, a lot of people come back with heavy metal exposure. When I lived at that place with mold, my heavy metals were also like through the roof. Everything on that lab came back elevated. It was crazy. And then I had Katherine Arnsten on from Energy Bits. We went deep on chlorella and spirulina. But let's talk about detoxifying from heavy metals from the body.

Yeah, for sure. So I think what's really important for people to understand before you dive into parasites or mold or heavy metals, you need to have a well functioning detox system. And so I think a lot of people, especially with all these products that are on the market by this heavy metal cleanse, by this parasite cleanse, it actually can be really, really harmful. If your channels of elimination are not open, your body's already stressed. Yeah. So like if your colon, to give you an example, if your colon is blocked, heavy metals are very deeply stored within the tissue and they require really a well functioning system to eliminate. And so if you have a congested colon and you're trying to, let's say detox, heavy metals and parasites doing this crazy cleanse with these herbs and your channels of elimination are blocked. Those basically like parasites can die off and have nowhere to go. It can recirculate through the body. That can create die off herxheimer reactions and actually create a crazy amount of die off symptoms because they're not being eliminated. And so yeah, I think it's really important for people to understand that there's very much a sequential order for detox that needs to happen for it to work. And so heavy metals are kind of like you do colon first and livers and lymphatic and then, then like, then you can go into like parasites, mold, heavy metals. And I think a lot of people forget that because they're just like, oh, I need to do heavy metal detox. But yeah, I agree. I think chlorella, spirulina, cilantro, like heavy, heavy doses of cilantro, all of those things are like really, really powerful for heavy metals. And yeah, I mean all the things, right, that we've already talked about, right, like, you know, the sauna, the sweating, the hydration, making sure again, your channels of elimination are open, that you're going to the bathroom multiple times a day, that you're peeing, like all of that is going to really support the body in releasing those toxins. Right. Binders are really important for heavy metals as well. So. Yeah, but again, I think people jump too far Ahead like too quickly and detox to me, as I said before, is not a quick fix. It's a three month process at minimum, ideally six, ideally longer if you're 40 years old and you have 40 years of buildup that doesn't happen in five days.

Exactly. Right.

So I encourage people to just like really understand that this is like a process, not a one time event. It's supposed to take time, break up with quick fixes.

Yeah, it's all about the foundation.

Totally.

Yeah, yeah. I'm on the fence too. You know, there's a lot of practitioners and like really fantastic doctors even who are prescribing parasite cleanses.

Oh my God.

For everyone, without addressing the foundations. And you said an important word called, you said die off. A lot of people don't even understand die off. A lot of people after doing a really intense protocol like a parasite cleanse will often have symptoms for months. And they aren't somebody who has addressed the heavy metals. They haven't addressed their liver, their kidney, their spleen, their detox pathways. So when we live in this world where we're being sold these parasite cleanse in a world where we all experience this systemic inflammation as well. How do you approach cleansing parasites?

Yeah, so parasites, I mean, so yeah, usually first of all with parasites. Yes. You have to like, you cannot start trying to kill parasites before you're addressing the foundation. So making sure those channels of elimination are open, especially the colon. Right. So if you're trying to kill parasites, then you're. Yeah, like. And they have nowhere to go. They will recirculate. Another important thing to call out is people think of parasites as this is the root of the issue. But parasites are often a sign of actually something deeper within the body that's going on because like in my, my, I have a healthy system, let's say I have had ingested a parasite, most likely that parasite would just flow through my body because it's not going to cling to an unhealthy or a healthy, you know, toxin free system. When you have underlying candida or yeast or fungus or other kind of bacterial imbalances, mucus overload within the body. The parasite comes in and says, I want to stay here. Like there's a lot to feed on here, so it will stay within the body. So I think parasites are usually a sign of something underlying that. And so I think it's important to address that first and foremost because usually the parasites can just die off by way of you addressing kind of the root of the issue. And there's always something underlying parasites. I would say so first and foremost. And I usually think that's related to the colon. You know, it's candida or yeast or any of those imbalances are really important to address first. And then yeah, once you have the channels of elimination open and the body is free of obstruction, you're eliminating two to three times a day. Then you can go into like parasitic herbs, you know, like clove and black walnut. And I typically use the cellcore parakeet. But again I'm not doing, I'm not like coming in and doing that with a client on day one. Like that'll be month later in month two or maybe even month three when I actually know that the body, body can support that. And yeah, I think it's important, but it's not necessarily relevant for everyone. It really depends on the person. I think if you're practicing good hygiene and eating good foods and filtering your water and you didn't travel to a foreign country and get sick. Yeah, generally speaking I think you're probably fine and don't need to necessarily go deep into that. So yeah, I think it really depends on the person. It's very bio individual as well.

I agree.

Yeah.

And I wish those cell core kits, and maybe they do, but I know that you can get them on full script. I wish they came with a disclaimer that like that's the type of a product that you should work with a practitioner on.

Oh, totally.

To really understand what's happening literally day to day. If you're doing an intense cleanse like that, it's so important.

Yeah, I mean that's the thing that I really struggle with. Like I have people reach out like have you done, have you heard of this 10 day parasite cleanse? Have you heard about this? Have you heard about that? And I'm like, I can't give you guidance on whether this is appropriate because I have no idea like what your body can handle. And I would say the large majority of people, if they're asking me about this, the answer is a no because their system probably can't handle it. And yeah, it's just really important to do the like focus on the fundamentals first before diving into that stuff. I would say yeah.

Aren't you amazed looking at other countries in the world where hospitals even they support detoxification or doctors are aware, I think about clients who have a lot of clients that live overseas where things like ozone therapy or EBOO or something like that, it's pretty mainstream and it's Pretty affordable also. And here it's not. I'm always skeptical. I've even tried tpe, therapeutic plasma exchange also, these kind of very privileged modalities to be able to detoxify the body. I cannot wait for a day where we just recognize that this is like a fundamental for existing in today's world so that they do become more accessible even in places like India where they do Panchakarma, where it's like, accessible for so many more people.

Yeah, yeah. I'm a really, you know, I'm. I have potential, like a couple of more like regenerative medicine, like doctors in my network. And if I see someone who has like something really extreme, right, like Lyme or, or just some really crazy autoimmune issue or something that requires, yeah, really intense heavy metals, like, I think. Yeah, I think ozone therapy. And I think, like, all of these advanced treatments can be really, really powerful in certain contexts as well. So for sure agree with that. And luckily, I think we're entering into an era where longevity is really going mainstream. And yeah, I'm. I may have mentioned this with you personally, but yeah, I'm an active angel investor and I'm a scout for two venture capital funds and really passionate about, like, helping to bring, you know, healthcare 3.0 mainstream. And I'm just, I. It just kind of happened naturally, very full circle because I quit a venture capital job to pursue my passion and now we're here doing this again. But yeah, I think it's. It's like I really am passionate about investing in companies that are trying to help bring a lot of this technology and work to the mainstream because I think it's so important and I think we're going to see a massive, like, we're continuing to see a massive decentralization of health and we'll continue to do so because we need to take our health into our own hands now.

You got it. I love that. I'm with you, sister. Let's make it happen. Seriously, it shouldn't be something that's reserved for the privileged.

Right? Totally.

It impacts everyone. Especially now that we're talking so much about lifespan and longevity. We. It's what we do in the here and the now and today that's going to impact our physiology in the future.

Yeah, and totally, totally.

You got it.

Yeah. I think. And that's why I'm so passionate about detox is, I think, you know, in the biohacking world, like, a lot of these, there's a lot of things that are just like, completely out of reach for a lot of people, like Peptides being an example. And I don't want people to think that they need to biohack their way into true health and vitality. Like you don't need to do all of these advanced treatments to be healthy. And I think the great thing about detox is you're just focusing on the fundamentals and you're clearing waste from the body to allow your body to heal and regenerate. And that's why it's like my, I feel like my life's work to bring this mainstream because it's actually so, so much more simple than people think to heal the body. But. And yeah, it's about less is more and less is more means that it's accessible to more people, you know? You know, because you don't need all the crazy supplements.

We talked about this yesterday in my rooted community, like the amount of people that have joined my community who still are getting the reflection from media and social media and society saying that they need a two hour protocol every single day or you know, the massive list of supplements. And we talked about the power of 20, 20 minutes to focus on yourself, internal hydration, mastering your energy and your emotions, focusing on something green that you're going to intake. You will feel so much ownership over your wellness in 20 minutes.

Totally.

Yeah, totally. That's all it takes.

Totally.

All right, let's give some people some tangible nutrition tools. Okay. We talked about your green juices. You and I love spending the most of our time in the produce section of the grocery store. Yeah, I know you agree with me. Organic is something that should not be. Be something that's not affordable for everyone. But talk to us about some of your favorite kitchen staples that everyone should have for optimal detoxification.

Kitchen staples?

Cruciferous veggies. We'll start there, baby.

Yeah, yeah. Cruciferous. I'd say like any and all. Yeah, any and all greens or just fibrous non starchy vegetables. Like I call it the all star. I call them the all star cleansers. So like leafy greens and herbs and microgreens. Beets for the liver, carrots for the liver. Cruciferous vegetables because of the sulforaphane for the body, fennel. All of these like high fiber foods are really just all star cleansers. And then fruit as well. Like fruit is one of the most healing and cleansing foods available to us. I know we're in this super high protein era and everyone's scared of fruit because of the sugar. But. But yeah, it's One of the most detoxifying foods, like, you know, pineapple, grapefruit, berries, citrus fruit. We're entering into winter. Citrus is like so healing and so cleansing. So I would say those foods for sure.

Kiwi. Yeah, citrus, kiwi, dragon fruit, all of those.

Totally, totally. I love having like frozen fruit in the freezer.

Yeah, let's talk about that. Yeah, like such an easy, affordable way.

Totally. Like, I don't, you know, especially if you have kids and you can't buy a ton of, you know, you can go to Whole Foods and buy like big bags of organic, like 32 ounce bags of fruit. Like I buy wild blueberries and I can just like, even if I have no food in the fridge, like, let's say I come home from a trip and I wake up and I hadn't gotten groceries. I can do like, you know, the tropical fruit blend, the wild blueberries. I can do water and there we go. I have a smoothie and it's kind of, you know, I think like seeds and nuts. Just like having them for me, like in glass Tupperware in the fridge. I just have like ground flax, ground hemp. I have pumpkin, I have sunflower. I have like raw sprouted almonds and cashews. Like just having that. I can always put them on a salad. I can always put them in a smoothie. Getting like, especially ground flax and stuff is really good for fiber. And then, yeah, I'm, I, I love spirulina and like, yeah, chlorella. I actually buy raw spirulina at the farmer's market. It's like the best thing in the world.

I know the guy. Yeah, it's just the best.

Like, I'm so addicted to it. They see me at every market. I'm like, hey, I want another one. So, yeah, spirulina. And then, yeah, water. Just like.

Yeah, get.

Getting the right water. Water is so, so important. Mineral rich. Ideally just like in glass bottles or you know, some sort of water system that gives you that life force energy I think is so important too.

Can we go back just for the listeners who I know, their ears perked up at your smoothie.

Oh, yeah.

What do you mean there's fruit? Just fruit in your smoothie? Or can we just hover on that? And the power of fiber and glucose stabilization that comes with that, that we just, we need to unlearn the fear around fruit.

Yeah, yeah. I have a substack on this, actually. It's called. It's not the fruit. It's like the overwhelm in your liver and it goes into all of that. But yeah, like, fruit is seen as the devil for whatever reason because of the fruit. But natural sugars are significantly different than refined sugars. When you have fiber, it actually slows the release of sugar into your bloodstream, and so it prevents crazy blood sugar spikes, bites. And again, a spike, a small spike after a meal is actually normal. You don't need to flatline your blood sugar. Like, that's not actually normal. So if you have a small spike. Okay. If you have a huge spike and you feel really dysregulated from having fruit, that's actually a sign that there's toxicity and overwhelm in your liver that needs to be addressed. It's actually, yeah. Excess fat in your adipose tissue and the liver overwhelm that's creating the insulin resistance. It's not the whole. It's not like the sweet potato and the fruit and the carrots. Carrots, you know. So I'm a big believer in fruit. I think it's one of the most healing and cleansing foods. It's so detoxifying. Like, I think for someone who has a lot of overwhelm in the system, over indexing on fruit can be really, for a period of time, can be really powerful. And it's just full of like, vitamins and minerals and nutrients and biophotons and live enzymes and phytochemicals and it's just like one of the most healing foods. I actually have a friend who was like super high protein and keto for a while. While. And yeah, she actually reached out and she's like, by the way, I finally started eating fruit and I'm like, feel so much better in a week. Yeah. And I was like, I knew this would happen eventually because I kept telling her to eat more fruit and vegetables and like, try to veer off, like the protein and stuff. And even in a week, like, she's feeling so much life for us. So I'm a big believer in fruit. I love fruit.

I love it.

Yeah.

Yeah. And I do want to call out parents. You don't have to put. Put protein powder into your kids smoothies.

No.

Okay. It's not necessary.

Yeah.

Add in a table spoon of hemp seeds or flax meal. Sometimes I'll put a teaspoon of olive oil in for my kiddos also.

Totally. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, I get asked about protein powder all the time. And I'm always telling my clients, like, either just do greens, water, fruits, and if you need like a little bit of extra stability, especially as we're trying to re, like detox the liver if there are blood sugar issues. Yeah. Get in a tablespoon of raw sprouted nut butter or ground flax and hemp, or put in half an avocado or put in a little bit of coconut milk. Like, you know, there's so many alternatives. But yeah, I love just like a. Just like a straight up fruit veg smoothie. It's so good.

Yeah. All right, my love. Where can people find you? You've mentioned the substack. Is it your name on it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm fairly active on Instagram. LinkedIn substack. LinkedIn is by far my most active at this point, which is kind of wild to think about because three years ago I started posting and now I'm bigger on LinkedIn than I am on Instagram, which is crazy. So LinkedIn is like where I post every single day on LinkedIn and then, yeah, substack, it's the Detox with Megan Swidler. And yeah, I usually write articles twice a week. One is about detox and one is about just like health in general. And yeah, I have two books that are on Amazon.

Yeah. And they are beautiful. So something that I, And I just know you personally, you wanted to create something beautiful because it's not an ugly textbook on health and wellness. Yeah, it's like, it's something. This is something you want to keep out for. For your friends to see. I think that this is also an amazing gift for someone that you love in your life.

Yeah, totally.

There's so many tangible tools in this, which is why I recommend it to my clients, especially for detoxification.

Thank you. That's so sweet. Yeah, my two books are on Amazon and then I have digital cleanses as well. So. So like a. Basically there's a quiz on my website where you can put in your symptoms and it redirects you to, like, where you're at in your detox journey. And then you can start with the cleanse, which is seven days. The colon cleanse, which is intermediate seven days, and the liver cleanse, which is seven days. But you have to go through them in a sequential order and they're all, again, focused on like, you know, balanced whole meals and nourishment and all the things. And yeah, in my link tree you'll see, like, other ways to connect with me. And if you listen to the pod, definitely reach out and let me know how you found it. And yeah, I'm just so grateful to you for having me. It was so fun. We clearly. I've real. I already knew we saw eye to eye, but now I'm like, okay, we definitely. Yeah, we're, like, both rolling our eyes at the same thing. I'm like, we definitely see health and healing in the same way, which is pretty rare, I think, like, in today's world. I think just people. Yeah. Just. It's just. I think hopefully we can come back to this fundamental truth, which is the stuff we were talking about today, so.

We will. Let's get into a kitchen together. Yeah, that'd be fun.

Yeah, totally. Yeah.

I'm so grateful that you're here. In closing, I want you to tell me what your favorite ancient healing remedy is.

My favorite. Probably oil pulling, maybe. Yeah. I love oil pulling.

You seal the deal. Something that I do every week, too.

Yeah, I love. I love a good oil pull. Yeah, it's powerful.

It's really powerful.

Yeah. I mean, for the mouth, like, for the oral microbiome. Just, like, so overlooked how simple that can be to support your gums, to support. Yeah. Anything in your mouth. So, yeah, I'm a big believer in. In that.

I love it. Same.

Yeah.

I can't wait to have you back.

Yeah, me too.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Thanks so much.