Meghan Swidler: Are You Bloated Everyday? Signs of Toxins in the Body and What Detox is Best For You

Any processed or refined foods have chemicals, preservative, toxins that human beings were never meant to consume or digest. There are 10,000 chemicals within our food system and less than 1% have been rigorously tested for human safety.

Megan is a holistic health and detoxification coach. She recently released a book this year called From Deep within and it's a guide to deep cellular cleansing and detoxification.

47 million American women are on some form of hormonal contraception right now. Your menstrual cycle, as I say as a woman, is fifth vital sign. If you suppress your entire menstrual cycle, then you run the risk of really understanding your reproductive health. And your reproductive health is, as a woman, your overall health. Your body is a self healing, self regenerating organism under the right conditions, we just need to give it those conditions.

What tests should people be doing to find out what their toxic load is? I'm Radhi deblokia and on my podcast A really Good Cry, we embrace the real, the messy and the beautiful, providing a space for raw, unfiltered conversations that celebrate vulnerability and allow you to tune in to learn, connect and find comfort together. Hi everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of A really Good Cry. Today I have a really special guest on. We actually spoke on a panel together recently and I absolutely loved what you shared. I found it so fascinating and so I really wanted her to come and share her wisdom on A really Good Cry for all of you to learn and enhance your life in so many ways. Megan is a holistic health and detoxification coach. She focuses on gut hormonal imbalances and skin health. She recently released a book this year called From Deep within and it's a guide to deep cellular cleansing and detoxification. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for having me. It's such an honor.

And let me tell you, I was obsessed with your book. I told you this when you came in the door, but when I started read I was like, okay, great, I'm going to learn a few things and I'm sure it's going to be really useful. But I thought it was just so beautifully written and I love how in depth you went because I honestly feel these days a lot of information that we need more in depth information about we get on a surface level it's given to us, but just in the quantity that we kind of get it but don't quite understand the depths and the roots of it. And I find in your book what it's giving people is the ability to one take the health back into their own hands, which I'm a big advocate for, but also to understand that, wow, I can also learn about health. It doesn't have to be a doctor. It doesn't have to be someone who is a professional, has studied for years and years. I can learn about my body and I can understand it just as well as somebody else can that I've been relying on for my whole life. And so thank you for that. I think it's going to really empower so many people and I'm so excited to get stuck into it.

Thank you so, so much. Yeah, I think my goal with my brand and my book was to really take health and put it into a beautiful format. I always find health books are like, you know, they're just. They have no imagery, they have no colors, they're not inviting. And so I really wanted to take these health concepts and put them into like a beautiful coffee table format that someone could leave on their table and really, you know, and use and share with their friends and family and to

improve their health and learn something just by picking up a page of it. You don't have to go through it page by page. You can just open up a page and at least you learn something or you take away something that's going to change your life in some way. So I want to dive straight in because I feel like this is such a complex, yet such a vital topic to discuss. So you share so many things in the book. The whole book is around detoxing. And I wanted to start off by asking you, what are the signs that people can look for to really know that they have toxins in their body and that they need to detox, like on a daily basis? What can people look for?

Totally? Well, unfortunately, if you live a very typical life in America, you have to assume that you are being poisoned every single day, that you have a heavy toxic load that's burdening your system. You know, in. In the life that we live, there are toxins in our food, our water, our air, our household products, our oral care, our skin care, our makeup, our clothes, our furniture. Toxins are really everywhere. So toxins are permeating our bodies and creating cellular congestion and breakdown over time. And what that looks like physically are these symptoms that people have that they want so desperately to resolve. So gut issues, bloating, gas, irregular bowel movements, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, hormonal imbalances, you know, everything under the sun. Right. Skin issues, Such common issues? Yeah. Acne, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, rashes, immune system imbalances, brittle hair, brittle nails, dry skin, fatigue, excess weight. I can go on in infertility, like, I can go on and on and on. But I think most of the common issues that people are seeing at the surface are a physical manifestation of internal imbalances within the body. Your body, you know, let's talk about the skin, for example. The skin, you know, is a physical reaction to toxic overload within the body. So when your body is trying to detox but can't, and there's a toxic overload within the body that recirculates through the body and comes out through the skin. So that's when you see things like acne, eczema and psoriasis. So with these symptoms, your body's never trying to hurt you, it's only trying to help you. So it's giving you these symptoms to show you that there's something that needs to be addressed within the body and that you need to listen and dig deep and understand what that is.

Yeah. I always say that the moment something starts showing up externally, it is your body trying to scream at you. Because it's already told you once, twice, three times, maybe four times before through different means in your body. It's maybe told you through your digestion, it's maybe told you through the anxiety that you're feeling. It's maybe told you through your lack of sleep. There's been other signs before. It's got to the place where you can see it totally. And when you can see it, it's almost like the final straw where your body's like, you need to listen to me right now. And the only way you're going to listen is by me showing you when you're looking in the Mirro mirror.

Totally.

And I think that's really important. And I know in your book you mentioned that the skin is one of the four channels of elimination. Could you go into a little bit more detail about that and maybe explain the other three?

Yeah. So the body has four main channels of elimination that are responsible for basically eliminating waste out of the body. So the bowels, the urine, the lungs and the skin, the biggest channel of elimination is the bowel. So that's really the most fundamental and most important. And when you have a slow moving colon, when you're not going to the bathroom regularly, when you're constipated, which a lot of Americans and a large majority of people are, toxins are not flowing out of that main channel of elimination. So they're recirculating through the body, and they're coming up and out through potentially the skin, which is when you see acne, eczema, psoriasis, rashes, dermatitis, and so on and so forth. So these channels of elimination are so, so, so important. And you need to keep those detox pathways open for each of those four channels to allow for optimal health and vitality. So, again, these channels are so, so, so critical to optimal health.

Yeah, I know. I've written down this quote that you had in your book, and it said, your gut is your second brain. If you consistently experience debilitating gut or digestive issues every day, it is time to stop accepting this as normal, because it's not. And I think, you know, I think one, people are so used to ignoring their gut, ignoring, like, when they're eating something, and sometimes it's not even ignoring it. Sometimes it's not realizing the cues that you have to listen to in your body. I think we've become very disconnected from understanding what our body's trying to tell us, because I think there's also this difficulty of listening to health information that we're getting. And then you get this health information. You're like, oh, okay, so that means I should be doing this. You start doing this thing and. And your gut is telling you, no, this isn't working for me. This isn't working for me. And you're like, no, but this person has told me I should be doing this. So you keep listening to external resources and ignoring your internal resources. And so even if your gut is a little bit. Is not functioning properly, you might be like, yeah, but it'll be fine. Like, I'm doing the right things. It's going to be fine. Totally. But even for a day, like, I notice that if I eat at certain restaurants or if I eat certain oils when I'm out and about, and if I don't know what's in the food, my gut will tell me straight away, totally, immediately. And so if you're not able to. And that is probably such a great way to actually recognize whether something is either wrong in what you're eating or wrong internally. Like something's not working in your digestive tract. Totally. And the other. The second part to it is, I feel like some people don't even know what good bowel movement looks like because maybe they've been suffering from bad bowel movements for such a long time, understand what it actually looks like. So in your book, you do talk about this. But I wanted to ask for everybody listening, what does a healthy bowel movement look like? Like, what should it be? What is a good digestive system look like?

Yeah. And just to answer that first point that you made, most people are so, unfortunately, so disconnected from their bodies, so they're struggling with these physical symptoms each and every day that they've accepted them as normal. I would say they're not normal, they're just common. So, yes, do you know what I mean? Like, 74% of Americans are overweight or obese. 50% of Americans are struggling with diabetes, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes. These issues are just so common that they've been normalized, but they're certainly not normal. A healthy bowel movement. We use something called the Bristol Stool chart to indicate what a healthy stool looks like. And if you look it up online, you can see that types 3 and 4 should be. Are considered to be normal bowel movements. You should be having two to three bowel movements a day. And people my clients will always be like, what, I thought it was once a day. But no, it's actually two or three times a day consistently. You shouldn't experience any strain or pain when passing a bowel movement. It should be of a normal color. And you shouldn't consistently experience any acid reflux, burping gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, irregular bowel movements. Those are all stomach signs that your body is giving you that something is wrong. And so, you know, I have clients coming to me all the time. They just live with bloating each and every day. They're gassy each and every day. But in reality, these symptoms are a sign that your body is giving you or cry for help, that your body is giving you that something is out of balance and needs to be addressed. So again, going back to, you know, the four channels of elimination that I mentioned earlier, when you have a slow moving colon, when you're not eliminating, if you're eating three meals a day and you're going to the bathroom once a day or once every other day, think of how much waste is accumulating in your body. And when you have a slow moving colon that prevents all other organs and systems from functioning effectively, it just creates like, you know, your body's like an orchestra. So if there's one organ that starts to malfunction, that'll affect every other organ and system within your body. And unfortunately, the gut, as I said, is the second brain. So if that second brain is not working properly, that will affect every other organ and system within the body. So, yeah, ideally aim for that two to three a day and you shouldn't experience any symptoms regularly.

Yeah. I remember when I was a dietitian in hospital, I used to go through this stool chart often with people, and I was shocked at how many people were not within the normal range of what bowel movement should look like. And also when you're mentioning the toxins, you know, building up when you don't actually use the toilet, like three times a day. When you were speaking about gas and bloating in Ayurveda, it talks about how when your food is not digested properly in your gut, it's when fermentation happens in the gut. And so actually the gas, the bloating, the burping, whatever it is that you're experiencing, is a product of the fermentation that's happening in your gut because it's not being broken down properly. When it's not broken down, it creates AMA or toxins in the the body that then manifest in that way. And so it is the greatest sign that your body is giving you that something isn't right.

100%. Yeah. When there is blockage, there's blockage in the colon, right? So think of it like a pipe or rusty pipe and your sink is clogged. Think of that. There's accumulated toxic waste we call mucoid plaque in your colon. And you're eating food and that food is coming in and you might be eating the right foods, but because you have that accumulated toxic waste, that food is getting blocked. It's fermenting and putrefying in your system, and that's what's leading to gas and bloating. So the people who come to me and they say every day, by the end of the day, I have gas and bloating. No matter what I eat, I can eat the healthiest. I can eat the healthiest food in the world, but by the end of the day, I have gas and bloating, there's blockage that's actually preventing the passage and creating again that fermentation, putrefaction, which leads to those symptoms. So again, it's all rooted again in that toxic waste that's sort of sitting within the system. And, you know, some people do have the physical symptoms that show at the surface, but a lot of people don't necessarily, like, they might have that toxicity, but they don't have the acne, they don't have hormonal imbalances or gut issues. But later in life, that cellular congestion and breakdown could lead to like long term chronic disease. So really important to address up front for me.

I find whenever I notice things like lethargy, feeling tired in the morning even though I've slept enough, those are actually two of my major signs that I've got toxic buildup in my body. Like that's usually when I'm noticing where I'm like okay, and bowel movements. But like as soon as I notice I'm more tired than I usually am, or I'm feeling that lethargic, heavy feeling, that's always been my sign that okay, I need to fast or I need to detox or I need to do something for this day. And usually if you do something even for like a day, it can shift it so fast you suddenly change what you're eating within a day, or you're a bit more conscious of the things that you're allowing into your body and you notice how much your body will adapt and shift to that change and how much it will appreciate and reward you for that change by, by changing your mood, your, the way that you're feeling, your lethargy, your tiredness. And you know, you mentioned toxic load earlier and you speak about it a lot in your book. What are the main things that you would say on a day to day basis are creating these toxins? I know you mention a whole line of things, but even within the first like few hours of someone waking up, what would you say that people are unaware of that is creating this toxicity in the body that is, that is so normal, as you said, but not good for you.

Yeah, I mean the most obvious is food and drink waste from refined carbs, refined grains, refined sugars, refined seed oils. Any process or refined foods have chemicals, preservative, toxins that human beings were never meant to consume or digest. So you know, we are, or I'm fortunate to eat organic plant based whole foods from the farmer's market the majority of the time. But the majority of Americans are not in this position. Nearly 60% of calories consumed by Americans come from ultra processed foods right now. And there are 10,000 chemicals within our food system, 40,000 chemicals within America, and less than 1% have been rigorously tested for human safety.

That is so scary.

You know, the average American is consuming an exorbitant amount of toxins through their food. Then tap water is another big one. Right? 52% of Americans are consuming tap water on a daily basis unknowingly. And they're consuming fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals Our air unfortunately is a huge source of toxicity as well. And then, yeah, there's, there's just so much heavy metals, mold, antibiotics, drugs, hormonal, contraception, synthetic hormones, environmental toxins, pollution. I could literally just keep rattling them. But it's just, it's crazy.

And so for people, obviously, like when, you know, when I was reading through your book and even when my team was, it was like, it's an overwhelming amount of. It's scary. Like it can be so scary. Especially if you're someone who's going from not really being conscious of it to then reading something like that. It can really overwhelm you. So I guess number one for people who cannot afford organic food all the time because unfortunately to eat well, it also costs a little bit more. Totally. If you're not able to, you know, even afford that, what would be, what would you say the top three things are? The top three things that if people are able to change in their daily lifestyle, would be the ideal things to spend their money on and to help reduce the toxic load in their body.

Yeah, that's a really, really good point. So I would say eating seasonal plant based whole foods as much as possible. Fiber is the commonality in all of those foods. Fiber feeds your go get bacteria, it exits quickly and it acts as an intestinal broom that comes in and sweeps up all of this built up matter in your system and moves it out. So if you have a toxic load within your system and you can't afford to do all these cleanse, you can't afford colon cleansing and liver cleansing and some of these advanced cleansing modalities that we can talk about just simply eating more fiber and eating more plant based whole foods is a way to cleanse the body because the fiber serves as a vehicle to awaken that built up matter in your system. So, you know, I know that a lot of people can't eat organic food. So I say try to eat local and seasonal. If you have a farmer's market near you or a csa, oftentimes local food won't be. They won't have the certified organic seal, but because they can't afford it, but they will not use pesticides on their food.

A lot of people in my farmer's market tell me that too.

Yeah. And if you can buy organic, prioritize the Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen is a list of the top 12 foods that have the most pesticides. So prioritize those 12 foods. So that would be the first, I would say switching from tap water to filtered water and staying as hydrated throughout the day as possible. Our bodies are made of 50 to 75% water. And most Americans are chronically dehydrated. So drinking the right water, drinking, you know, water that doesn't enough water and the right type of water and sweating, moving your body, you know. So as I said before, there's four channels of elimination in the body. The bowels, the urine, the lungs, and the skin. The skin. A huge way to detox toxins from your body is through sweating. So just moving your body, being outside, sweating, if you do have access to hot yoga and infrared sauna, or you can be in the blistering heat in LA and you can get a good sweat in. I think those are three things that the average person can do to really reduce the toxic load on their body.

Such a. Such like, good. Those were good three things, I have to say. Like, even the sweating, I think about that whenever I've got like a cough or a cold or I feel groggy or that kind of feeling. As soon as I get moving and my body releases sweat, I honestly become a different person. And I feel it even in my congestion or if I have anything going on like that, you automatically feel your body has released something. You feel lighter after that.

Totally, totally.

And I know you mentioned water. And my friends always call me or like, have had jokes from when I was younger of being a water snob. And I always used to feel really embarrassed when I used to go to places because I've always been so particular about the water that I drink because I had read so much about it. So whether it's like not wanting to drink, I'm like, I'd rather just not drink water than drink water from a plastic bottle. Or I'd rather just not drink water if I have to drink tap water. And my friends used to joke about it. But as like, I've educated my friends on it, they completely understand to the extent that one of my friends, I'd go to their house and they always had plastic water bottles and I would tell them, I was like, I'm telling you. Like there is gonna. You're gonna realize that these plastic water bottles are just not. They just not good for you. Like, there's so many things in there. And it's gonna affect. Not just like, not just. It's gonna affect a lot more than you think. It's gonna affect your hormones. It's gonna affect everything about it. And I remember him being like, yeah, okay, whatever. And then he went to his doctor, and his doctor, he told him that he had some hormonal shifts that were unexpected. He had high like estrogen levels. And that actually showed up in his blood work. And he came back to me and he was like, I'm switching to glass water bottles, like Mountain Valley. And I was like, why? He said, because the first question my doctor asked me when I showed these hormonal shifts in my blood work was whether I was drinking from plastic bottles. And I was like, wow. Like so one. I'm so glad that a doctor even said that to him. But the reason I bring it up is because I think there's so many options of water filters, whether it's like reverse osmosis, the spring mineral, kangen water, purified, alkaline, and even trying to figure out what water you should buy is confusing.

It's crazy.

So what kind of water filter do you recommend? And if you are buying bottled water, it's also just so sad that we have to like pay for good quality water. That makes me so sad.

It's so wild.

It is, isn't it? When I was writing this question, I was like, that's so true. We have to pay to have good quality water, which is very sad. But if we have to buy bottled water and if we are buying a filter, what's the best ones to get that you recommend?

Yeah, I'll answer that. It is so ironic that we have to like pay extra to avoid poison and toxicity and within our society. It just makes no sense at all. But yeah, to prove your point about the plastic water bottles, the average water bottle has 240,000 nanoplastic particles.

Oh my goodness.

Which is 100 times more than they previously thought. And they've basically detected microplastics and nanoplastics in every single organ. They've, you know, testicles, ovaries. Pretty much, yeah. Every. Any test that they've done, they've detected microplastics and nanoplastics. And so to. To prove your point, plastic water bottles are an absolute. No, no. And yeah for water. So there's so many different types of water. I would say reverse osmosis is probably the best if you're looking for the one that removes the most contaminants. So it removes heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, chemicals in a very strong way. But the problem with reverse osmosis water is it does remove very important minerals from your water. So if you have a reverse osmosis filter, then you have to add a trace minerals and do kind of go through a step of remineralization. Because you really need minerals in your water. So the reverse osmosis filter I recommend and I'm partnered with is Aquatru. They also have an air filter called Air Doctor which is incredible. It's by this company, Ideal Living. So that's great for Reverse Osmosis Filter. If you're looking for just really, really high quality water that has, that's very mineral rich, you would want to go for like a spring water or a mineral water. But in that case you have to absolutely make sure that it's from a trusted and reliable source. So a really amazing company in LA is Alive Water. They have, they bring you beautiful big glass jugs to your house. They're I love Alive Water. And then you could do something like Mountain Valley spring water and in the glass bottles. And that's an option in terms of like the Kangen water, the alkaline water. Kangen is basically ionized alkaline water. I don't know, you know, I don't know much about if this alkaline water is actually better for you or not. Like, I don't know too much about the research behind those. I think it's more of like this cool trendy thing right now. So I would go for reverse osmosis or spring water.

I did get taken in by someone who recommended Kangen water to me. And I've been constantly asking people, I'm like, is Kangen water actually good? Like I need to know whether it's the good one to get. And I was like, I need to because people ask me when I come here what kind of water I have. And I have bought Kangen but every time I've been like trying to think of whether it's actually the right one. So I might change to Reverse Osmosis now.

You should check out a live water. I think you would love it. So it's incredible Spring water and they deliver it to your house and it's so, so good.

And other water filters that people have at home for people maybe who can't. Some of them can be quite expensive to get on tap. The tap ones. What about the ones that are pourable that they can put the tap water in that then filters it. How are they?

Yeah, so Aqua True is like they have an under sink filter but they have a glass carafe on the countertop and it's, I mean they'll, they'll have sales and it'll be between like $200 and $400. So I mean I think it's a better, it's maybe an upfront investment, but it's better than having to buy the glass bottles over and over again.

Yeah, you mentioned hormonal contraception. Now, this is something I'm, like, very passionate about because I found from a really young age, so many of my friends were put on to birth control for just any reason, whether it was their skin, whether it was, oh, my periods are hurting a little bit too much. Okay, fine, go on to the pill. Just so many reasons that now my friends who are now in their 30s, have really come to somewhat regret having gone on the pill from a young age, whether it's trying to get their periods back, whether it's trying to get pregnant. You know, the list is endless of what the pill has unfortunately done to a lot of women. And I. But I still think there is a big misconception, lots of information unknown to what the pill really does, because it's still being recommended left, right and center. I. In your book, you say hormonal contraception doesn't balance your hormones, it silences them. And I really have a strong feeling about most medication when it comes to that. Like, I believe that most medication does exactly that. It doesn't go to the root cause of the problem. It will, you know, you take a paracetamol or Advil for your headache. Yeah, it's going to silence the headache. But why are you having that headache? Like, let's figure out why you're getting those headaches regularly rather than trying to just mute it or numb it. But I really wanted to get into the hormonal contraception part and female body, because I think that's a really important one. And I mean, people are struggling with fertility more than ever now. So could you share a little bit more about hormonal contraception, how it affects the body and what women can do to really avoid that?

Yeah, Hormonal contraception is a tough one for many women. It's being prescribed and has been prescribed by a doctor since it was invented to handle basically every single hormonal issue and PMS symptom under the sun. And at this Stage, I think 65% of American women are on it, which translates to 47 million Americans or on. Some American women are on some form of hormonal contraception right now, which is astounding. And yes, as I said, it doesn't balance your hormones, it silences them. Right. So your. Your menstrual cycle, as I say as a woman, is your fifth vital sign. So if you suppress your entire menstrual cycle, then you run the risk of Just not really understanding your reproductive health. And your reproductive health is, as a woman, your overall health. So you run the risk of just not really being connected to your body whatsoever and also not being able to see signs of internal imbalance. Right. You're just suppressing. You know, you might feel good temporarily, but you're just suppressing all of these issues that you might be experiencing, whether it's irregular period cycles or painful periods, heavy clots, acne, pcos, endometriosis, like all of these physical symptoms hormonally are a sign that something is wrong. And so hormonal contraception just suppresses all of these things. And what happens, as you said, is women are on the pill for 10 to 15 years, they come off the pill, and then they can't get pregnant

or even told to take breaks.

Yeah, totally. They're on it for 15 years. And, yeah, to answer your question, hormonal contraception significantly impacts the body in so many different ways. As I said before, with the toxic load, you're taking something every day that's pumping synthetic hormones into your body. These are not the same as the hormones that your bodies are body are producing. Hormonal contraception is actually known to be a group one carcinogen.

No way.

Yeah. Mm. So this is affecting your body in so many different ways. The most relevant to this conversation is the fact that it directly leads to vitamin, mineral, and nutrient deficiencies. So B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, among others. The vitamin, minerals and nutrients that it creates deficiencies for are the exact vitamins, minerals and nutrients that you need as a woman to get pregnant and have a healthy, healthy baby. So basically, what's happening is, yeah, someone's on the pill and all of these vitamins, minerals and nutrients that they need to get pregnant and have, you know, a healthy baby and to nourish their baby are the ones that are being suppressed. And then there's so many other potential implications from birth control and hormonal contraception that aren't necessarily. Women don't even know, are directly tied to birth control. So increase impaired liver function, increase gut dysbiosis, increase migraines, increase risk for chronic disease and obesity. I can go on and on and on, but it's really crazy. I have my own personal experience with hormonal contraception. I was on birth control through my teens, twenties, and then went. Switched to an iud and an IUD actually gave me cystic acne. So out of the blue, I started getting, you know, acne on my face, on my back, and part, it was part of my healing journey because I discovered through my own research that I, you know, through Reddit forums and stuff online, I was saying, oh my God, this IUD is what's giving me this acne. And went to the doctor, got it removed, and, you know, basically had to say, I'm not leaving this office until I get it removed, because they didn't want to remove it and, you know, slowly but surely healed myself through cleansing and detoxification, through colon cleansing, liver cleansing, and all the practices that I support my clients with today. So I'm, I'm very passionate about educating women about their cycle and teaching them that there is another way. And so, yeah, there is another way. I love Natural Cycles. Natural Cycles is the first FDA cleared birth control app, non hormonal birth control app. And basically you take your temperature every morning with a thermometer or if you have an oura ring that's integrated with Oura ring. So the oura ring will automatically take your temperature and that will actually predict ovulation and therefore show you your fertility windows when you're fertile, when you're not fertile, when you should use contraception or not. And having this non hormonal birth control just allows for you to be more connected to your body as a woman, to start to understand the different phases of your menstrual cycle, how you might feel in those different phases of your menstrual cycle, what activities you might want to do, what foods you might want to eat. When you're on hormonal contraception, you. And it's suppressing your entire menstrual cycle. You cannot be in tune with your body as a woman. It's just not possible.

It's also one of the, I mean, you know, you spoke about the four channels. I feel like it's the fifth channel of detoxing your body, like totally. It's really the other way that you're. As a woman, your body gets rid of things that it does not need. Like your body gets rid of the totally. That part of your body that is still. That is working in a specific way. It needs to also let go and release. And when you're on the pill, you don't experience that. You don't get to detox in that way. You don't get to release in that way.

Totally.

Thank you for sharing that. I feel like that's really useful information. I've heard of Natural Cycles actually, and I've had so many of my friends say it's been so useful. Once they came Came off the hill as well.

Yeah. I also love this documentary by Ricki Lake. I don't know if you know her. She's in Malibu. She's incredible. She has this documentary called the Business of Birth Control. It's actually not on any major platform, of course, because it's very controversial, but she talks. This documentary is incredible. It talks about the downstream impacts of birth control on the body and sheds light. And so for some of my clients or potential clients who are nervous about going off the pill, I really recommend this documentary because it's. It really kind of opens your eyes to, okay, how can this be affecting my body?

That's a great. Yeah, I'll definitely watch that documentary. I feel like so much of what you've spoken about has been about the food that we're eating. And so when people are going grocery shopping, what should they be looking out for? Are they like top five toxins or top five ingredients that people should be looking out for to really avoid? And you know, of course there's the processed and packaged foods, but if they are still buying processed and packaged foods, limiting them. But even so, what are the top ingredients that you recommend people fully avoid or at least limit when they're looking at their packaging?

Such a good question. So I would say there's three big ones in America. There are so many. But I'll talk about the top three and then I'll say I'll talk about strategies for actually looking at navigating the grocery store and buying food. The top three, refined carbs and grains, refined sugars and refined seed oils. So refined carbs and grains. Anything white. Anything. Literally anything white. White rice, white pasta, white bread, bagels, cookies, cakes. Anything white is something that you should absolutely avoid. Refined sugars, unfortunately, are found in everything. And it's very hard because there's so many different names for sugar. I think there's something like 56 different types of names for sugar, but things like just, you know, sugar on the label, high fructose corn syrup. There's so many sugars that you just want to make sure that you avoid in everything. In everything.

In things that are so unnecessary, it's insane.

Like, I think I had a client be like, you know, what do you think about this bread? And it looked at the surface like a healthy, gluten free, gluten free bread.

Vegan, seeded. Yeah, totally. All the things that you want to be reading. Organic. All the things you want to read. And then you read the ingredients, and that's cane.

And then I read and I was like, oh, I've never heard of this. Let's check it out. Cane sugar on the ingredient, I'm like, why is there cane sugar in bread or in tomato sauce or like the craziest things. Another, and then the last category is seed oil. So seed oils, refined seed oils are in absolutely everything. Sunflower oil, safflower oil, rice bran oil, canola oil. This is especially an issue at restaurants. So you know, if you're going to a restaurant, deep fried foods, you know, even, even the healthiest restaurant is using often using canola oil because it's a lot cheaper to use than olive oil. So you have to be really in

a lot of LA places where you're paying a lot for healthy options.

Totally.

And then I've called them when I've been really strict with it and my husband's been on like a, where he really can't have seed oil. So I call them up and we ask and it's like they're all, it's all the healthy restaurants that we called, they were still cooking in those oils.

Totally.

So fascinating.

You should use the app Seed Oil Scout. It's amazing. So, yeah, they have, it's an incredible app they have. They basically have a map and you can search a restaurant and it'll say seed oil free or not. And it'll say dine fearlessly or dine shamelessly. And it's a really great app to just like navigate, you know, going to, going to restaurants and stuff, but also just ask, you know, if you're going to a restaurant and paying for food, you have the right to ask.

Yes.

So those are the top three, I would say that people should avoid. But then just put simply, just get curious. Like when you buy a food, don't just look at the label. If it says low sugar, high protein or healthy or vegan or gluten free, and just assume that it's healthy. Actually turn the package over, look at the ingredient label and go through the ingredients and look and see are these single ingredient whole foods that I actually recognize or is there something in here that I don't recognize? And if you don't recognize it, ask someone about it or look it up. We have Google, we have ChatGPT. Now you can look up anything. Just look up an ingredient and say, what is this? Before you buy something. And just get into the habit of doing that, getting curious, asking questions, reading labels. Because your body is your own home for the rest of your life. So you should take care of it as best as you can. And that involves Just really being careful about what you're eating. And the reality is in America, we have to just be extra careful. So those are some of the tips that I'd recommend.

What oils do you recommend people cook in at home?

Yeah, so olive oil, extra virgin olive oil for like raw or low heat cooking. So for any salad dressings or low heat cooking, I always recommend olive oil. It has a lower smoke point for any high heat cooking. So like if you're roasting vegetables in an oven, I recommend avocado oil because it has a higher smoke point. So it's better for high heat cooking.

That's what I use as well. They're my favorite too.

Yeah, but you just have to be careful again. Cause there's. There are again, unfortunately, olive oils that are mixed with canola oil. Even though they'll say olive oil on the surface, you turn over and it'll say mix between canola and olive oil. So recommend looking for things like extra virgin, raw, unrefined on the label. So you know, and look and see that it says 100% pure extra virgin olive oil. So that you know that that's really what it is.

Yeah. You know, I always, I noticed that my health changed when I became like an active participant in my health. And I think that's really what you're saying really hit me because I think had I not, my health could have gone in a completely different direction. But it takes work. It's like I think we're so used to putting our health into other people's hands that we become lazy with our own participation in our own health, in our own body, in our own recognition. And it's like, oh, if I feel unwell, I'll just go here and someone can tell me. And I think the moment you decide that you're going to invest your time in, you invest your energy into your own life, invest energy into reading labels. Of course, it takes longer at the beginning of like changing your health. It does take a little bit more time. You have to spend a little bit more time when you're shopping. You have to, you know, when I turn plant based, it took so much time having to read every single label, having to ask every single question when I go to restaurants, having to look at every label when I'm looking at clothing or whatever it was. It definitely takes way more energy. It still does. Even if though I've been plant based for like 10 years now, now it still involves me putting in a little bit more effort than I used to. But I think that investment is like the best investment that you can possibly make in time, in energy, in education is to improve your health. Because I mean, if you don't have your health, you can't do anything you want to do in your life. Your physical body isn't present and working. I remember when I got really deep into my spiritual practices, I focused completely on my spiritual practices and I was almost neglecting my physical health. And it made me realize that, well, if I have my spiritual practices, but I'm not able to embrace those spiritual practices to then physically help other people and be a better person for other people, then what is my physical body here for? So whatever else you're doing is directly impacting and impacted by your physical body 100%. And so even if you think of it as a vessel, well, do you want it to be a vessel that is well oiled, well looked after, well kept, or is it going to be a vessel that's going to cause you issues for the rest of your life and burden you and probably the people around you?

Totally. I always say to people, if you don't make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.

Yes, yes, exactly.

It's 100% true. Health is, in my view, a billion dollar asset. It's the most important thing that you have for the rest of your life. Your body is your home for the rest of your life. It's so, so, so important. And to address that point about spirituality, cleansing your physical vessel and you know, regenerating your cells at the cellular level and optimizing your health and vitality creates unlocks in the mental, emotional and spiritual realm. So, you know, oftentimes I see people who want to deepen their mental, emotional, spiritual practices and they, you know, feel an overwhelming amount of toxicity in their physical body. They're experiencing physical symptoms or too tired to get out of bed.

Exactly.

Bloating gas. And I'm like, like, you cannot, you cannot possibly optimize your mental, emotional, spiritual well being and really tap into a higher power or something greater than yourself if you are not even connected to yourself.

Yes. And I feel like energetic blocks intertwine with physical blocks in the body. And so if your physical channels are blocked, it also would be that your spiritual channels are blocked and your energetic channels are blocked and your lymphatic channels are blocked. And so I think it all really plays part in each other. When your energy channels are blocked, it impacts your physical body. You feel aches, you feel pains, you don't understand why they're there. Because you may not have even done anything to them, but energetically or whether it's anxiety, whether it's mood, whether it's whatever it is that is also impacting your physical body. So how can your physical body not then have an impact on your spiritual or energetic body?

Totally.

Totally. So we talked about groceries, and then the next thing I wanted to ask you was household products, because it's not just what you eat, it's what you put onto your body. And I remember reading this book. It's called Fatal Conveniences. Have you heard it?

Heard of it?

Or Fatal Inconveniences? It's a really great book. I feel like you really like it as well. It's all the things about the things that have made life more convenient but are actually fatal to our health.

Oh, totally.

It's like Daniel Orion. I went on his podcast. He was really brilliant. I feel like you two should definitely connect.

Oh, totally.

Let me look it up so I can find it.

Oh, Darian. Yeah, I know him. Darren. Is it Darren?

Yes.

Yeah.

Facial Conveniences by Darren Orian.

Is it Olean? Olean, Yeah, I know him.

Darren Olian. And we had such a great conversation. And then I read his book and it was just brilliant. Like, it's the toxic products and harmful habits that are making you sick, and it's simple things that people just have no idea about. Yeah, but that can make such a difference to your daily habits.

Yeah. My first book, from within, that's before the one you read. It has a section called Clean Better for you brands. Obviously, these change and evolve over time, so it's.

We need to read your first book.

A little bit outdated. It's more about gut health, that book. But it has a list of Clean Better for you brands by category. I'm actually planning on making and launching an updated list because I think it's just so helpful for people who are. You know, this is second nature to me, but the average person is so inundated and overwhelmed that these lists. Lists make such a difference in navigating the grocery store.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I would love.

Just like you gave those top three for food, what are the top three things for people to look out for in household products to avoid?

Yeah, so household products, I would say. I mean, there's so many different chemicals and toxins and preservatives. I would say in household products specifically would be chlorine, formaldehyde, parabens, and phthalates. So oftentimes things with fragrances have a lot of these chemicals that I'm talking About so for household products specifically there's a few that I recommend. I love Branch Basics. They're you know, phthalate, paraben, chlorine, formaldehyde free. They have these beautiful reusable glass bottles and you actually make your own mixture. So you buy this concentrate.

Yeah.

And then you mix that concentrate with water and it actually, you know, the, the package up front because you're buying the glass bottles, you're investing but when you have that concentrate it actually lasts you a really, really long time. Another one is Blueland, I love their products. And then another one is Koala Eco. I love their products. But yeah, I think also with these products, you know, you are benefiting the environment too. So they have, they, you know, have, have glass bottles that you can buy and then you refill them on your own. And so you're, you're reducing plastic waste of course by using those products. So that's what I would recommend for, for household. And honestly you can make your own stuff like go on chat GPT and be like how do I make a, you know, use vinegar and water and make your own cleaner at home. Like if, if you can't afford some of these products, which I totally understand, you can DIY and make your own product at home.

I love that you gave. I know this wasn't your detox formula. You talk about it from an old scientist that came up with a detox formula. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Because I really appreciated the way you explained it.

Yeah, yeah. So Arnold Ehret is one of the, you know, the founders of this sort of cleansing lifestyle. He wrote a book in 1922 called Mucusless Diet Healing System and I've read that. But it's so funny, it's in like super old English, like you can barely understand it. But it's one of my favorites and I've read it probably five or six times. But he has a formula in there called Vitality equals power minus obstruction. And in essence, and what I talk about so much over and over again is the majority of people think that the inputs, like what food you eat, what supplements you take, what treatments you do, what products you put on your skin will give you the physical results looking for. But that simply isn't true. It's way more about the outputs than the inputs. So in essence what this formula is saying is you need to remove the obstruction, remove the built up accumulated toxic waste matter within your body. And when you do so you get to the place of increasing your vitality, your life force energy and vitality that you want and very much deserve as a person living in this world. And so. So again, it's really about the outputs more than the inputs. It's about removing that obstruction that allows for you to achieve your greatest physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual potential. And that's really the key. And if someone doesn't remember anything from this podcast, that's what I want them to remember, is that it's way more about the outputs than the inputs. And that's really the core sort of philosophy and approach of my work.

I. I completely agree with you because I noticed for myself that when I am eating better, when I am doing my workouts, when I'm making sure that I'm getting all those outputs, like detoxing my body on a regular basis in that way, in very subtle ways, it changes the things that I want to do. So actually, the more healthy habits you start and start to incorporate the healthier habits you want to create. Or if I end up eating better for a week, I start craving better things. For me, I don't crave sugar as much. I don't crave my refined carbohydrate. I don't crave the pizzas. And if I do, then I'm like, oh, let me make it myself at home. I don't crave junk food as much. So as soon as you start outputting and taking those things out of your body, the more you end up wanting the things that your body actually needs. And I think it's because when you also have a lot of toxins in your body, it kind of of. It's almost like having a covering over the real things that your body wants. And so you end up having all these toxins that are covering up your senses, all the things on your tongue that are telling you what you want to eat, your digestive system is all confused. And so actually what your body is craving, the signals are all confused. And so as soon as you start taking it out of your body, your body's like, oh, actually I do want a soup. Actually, I do really want to eat some vegetables. And oh, I'm lacking these vitamins. And your body will start telling you what to eat for that. It starts recognizing it and it starts telling you that, this is what I want, this is what I definitely don't need in my body. And I think those cues are almost lost. The greater and greater the toxin toxic load is in your body totally.

This toxic load is creating mitochondrial dysfunction. So cells are just damaged and just not. Not functioning properly. And when your Cells are not functioning properly. You are not connected to your body and its signals. When you start cleansing your body, it's again, it's not about deprivation. It's your coming back to your original state, your original true essence, and really coming back to the foods that nature has given us, that your body is meant to eat. Your body is meant to consume and digest. When you cleanse, when you cleanse at the cellular level, your taste buds, your cravings, your appetite starts to change.

Yeah, I've experienced that.

Right. It's so true. And it happens with my clients. And people always come to me and they're like, don't you ever want, like a pizza or this or that? And I'm like, honestly, no. Like, don't you. Do you have a cheat meal? And I'm like, I genuinely love my produce, my fresh fruits, my smoothies, my vegetables, my. Obviously, I'll go out to eat and maybe have something once in a while, but. But I'm so. My cells genuinely want the food that nature has given us because that's what's meant for us. And so cleansing is about coming back to that original state.

I love what you said about it's not deprivation because I find with society being, you know, all of us, we're so used to instant gratification and instantly satisfying our senses that you see removing as being depriving. And, and, but actually, I always see most of the time, for me, removing has meant freeing. Like, it's freed me from being controlled by my senses, it's freed me from being controlled by my environment. And so what looks like deprivation and sometimes discipline can look like deprivation, but actually it is so freeing and expandive, expanding or expansive, then actually being controlled by your senses, being controlled by the food that you're eating, that's. That's addicting you to that food over and over again.

Yeah.

And so, yeah, I actually think once you, what you said, it's like, if it feels so good, like when you eat fruits and vegetables, it actually does feel good. So how are we confusing that with being something that's bad for you? Or like, that isn't. That isn't something that you would want.

Totally.

But I think it is the mixing of signals in our body. Once you end up just having things which. Which eventually throw your body off so much.

Yeah. And I think there's an easy mindset shift. I think we live in a world of diet called toxic diet culture. Right. That really permeates this contractive scarcity mindset. So counting calories, counting macros, focusing on what you can't eat, focusing on what you are not allowed to have. And when you're in that mindset, it's contractive, it's very restrictive and it's a scarcity mindset. So when you switch into an abundance mindset, what I can have, what will nourish my body, the beautiful abundance of fruits and vegetables that are on my plate right now, it's going to make the experience so much more enjoyable. Right. Because it's like, do you want to live in a state of contraction and approach life in a contractive way, or do you want to live life from a place of expansion? And this doesn't just apply to food food. This applies to literally every area of life. But it's especially important for people who are going on this journey. Focus on your why, what is your why? It's not to don't. Weight loss is such a contractive. Why is it to wake up early with energy and be able to bring your kids to school and, you know, be present for them? Is it to like, be able to run a marathon in six months, like, focus on something that is expansive versus just on something that is contractive, like weight loss? Because the weight will be a byproduct of, you know, the journey, just by way of you coming home to yourself.

That's so true. You also, you know, you've been speaking about the different types of detoxing that we can do. Now we want to get onto that because I'm sure many people are wondering, but, like, how do I detox and what can I do to get these toxins out of my body?

Yeah.

So could you break down the different methods of detox, detoxing that exist and the easy ways to do it maybe for people at home, and also the complex ones where maybe you need a professional to do it with you?

Yeah, yeah. I think when a lot of people hear the word cleansing cleanses, they think of like juice cleanses. Right. And again, that's a focus on the inputs, not the output. So when I talk about cleansing, I'm talking about cleansing that helps to release waste from the body. So starting with colon cleansing modalities, colonics enemas, colon cleansing supplements, liver cleansing, liver cleansing supplements, liver flushes, and then modalities, you know, that are more advanced, like parasite cleansing, mold detoxification, heavy metal detoxification, additional potential metabolic support or mitochondrial support or whatever else, Candida detoxification. These are all modalities that I use in my practice. But what I will say, first and foremost, what I said before is a slow moving colon prevents all other organs and systems from functioning effectively. So the first and utmost importance should be to get to eliminating two to three times a day and clearing your colon. I think a lot of people right now with TikTok and Instagram are like, oh, I want to do this parasite cleanse or this liver flush or whatever. They're you know, finding things and trying to do these things. But that, that can actually be really harmful to the body if your colon is blocked. And so the first and most important thing you need to do on your cleansing journey is to focus on the colon, to focus on getting that waste out of your colon and eliminating two to three times a day before you move on to other organs and systems within the body. So are there supplements for that that you recommend?

Like do you recommend pre and probiotics? Do you like, what are the gut friendly things that one can do to improve that?

Yeah, totally. So just basic things that I talk about in my book actually has very specific beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert food and eating protocols. So eating, as I mentioned before, more fiber, eating more plant based whole foods. Fiber is supporting, not only are you getting vitamins, minerals, nutrients, antioxidants, live enzymes from these foods, but fiber is actually acting as an intestinal broom that sweeps up all of this built up matter in your system. So getting more Fiber, you know, 97% of Americans are not getting the recommended amount of fiber. So that's just like the easiest thing ever to really start that colon cleansing process, staying super hydrated. And then, you know, I, I recommend supplements. In my book I have a chapter called colon cleansing supplements. Magnesium oxide is a really good supplement. Not only helps with sleep, but helps with col cleansing and elimination. So if you're looking for something at home to really like help with sort of, you don't want to, you don't want to, you know, take it forever, but it's a really good thing to help with sort of the release of waste. And then I have some other products in there that I recommend. You have to be a little bit careful with some of them. But in the book I talk through those and then things like colonics and enemas. So I, you know, recommend colonics for anyone who has access to them and then enemas if you don't have access to colonics. But those are some colon cleansing modalities that I do recommend. And then you know, through my practice I go into much deeper work, whether it's liver or parasites or mold or heavy metals. But before you do the targeted cleanses, like let's say someone has mold toxicity. If we're trying to do a mold detox, but their colon is blocked and we're trying to detox, it just gets stuck and gets recirculated through the body, which can actually do more harm than good. Same thing with parasite cleanses. Parasite cleanses are all the rage. I see all these girls on social media doing parasite cleansing. But if you're constipated and you're trying to do a parasite cleanse and you kill a parasite and it's dying off and it has nowhere to go, it's going to recirculate through your body. So you really have to do cleansing in the right order.

Definitely.

And the first and most important thing is to open up your detoxification pathways, your colon, your liver, your lymphatic system before you go into anything more targeted for the body.

So much sense. Yeah, I, even with Ayurveda, when people go and do like crash panchakarmas, I know it's, it's almost like your body may not even be ready for that detox. You have to, you have to prepare for it to be able to have it. So it's actually usually at least a month long of a process where you're slowly making your way through that detox.

Totally.

But people will be like, okay, I want a five day crash Panchakarma. And then you're taking all these things and like Panchakarma, you have to take a lot of things because that's exactly what it's doing, doing, it's getting the chat. So you have like two to three massages a day. You drink certain like oils and stuff to move things through your body. And if you're doing that within five days, one, you then go back to the normal lifestyle that you were in straight after those five days and your body's still detoxing and then you're filling it back up with things. But also your body's not prepared for it. It's not ready to actually, you haven't opened those channels up for the toxins to actually be released. And so for a lot of people, I've noticed that they get actually really bad digestive issues after coming back from doing a detox. And it's because their body was just not ready for it.

Totally. So something to be aware of with detoxification is detox symptoms. So I always say the symptoms are the cure. When your body is releasing waste through all these channels, sometimes things get worse before they get better. So you Will experience more digestive issues, more acne, you know, like more fatigue, more. And it's because waste is literally being expelled from the channels within your body. And so if you try to detox too fast. So an example is if you're eating three cheeseburgers a day and then you become a raw vegan, your body is, you're gonna get. I've had clients literally get sick because they're trying to do too much too fast. And so you have to be really careful. But also know that if you do see symptoms, if you are trying to gent detox, know that the symptoms are the cure. And oftentimes this means that you are opening up your detox pathways and that you're on the right track. I hear a lot of people, they'll be like, oh, I can't eat raw vegetables. Like I get, you know, stomach aches.

Yeah, I've heard that so much.

That's because there's tons of fiber in that food. The fiber's coming in and acting as an intestinal broom and sweeping up the buildup in your system. And you feel sick because your body is detoxing. So people stay away from those foods and say, oh no, I feel better when I eat pasta and bagels.

I've heard that so much.

Totally, yeah. So when in reality those foods are actually cleansing the body. And another thing I'll say is cleansing is a process, it's a lifestyle, it's not a one time event. So we live in a world in which it's like, okay, let me do this five day juice cleanse or this,

and I'm gonna be cured of everything

and then I'll be cured this liver flush and I'll be cured of everything. And it doesn't work that way. The goal is not to, to implement all these cleansing modalities, all that all at once. It's to do so in a way that feels realistic and attainable to you, but also allow ample time for hydration, rest, restoration. You shouldn't be doing all this stuff all at once. I have clients that work with me, minimum three months, sometimes up to six months, sometimes longer. Because this is a journey, right? If you're a 40 year old person, you have 40 years of waste accumulation in your body. That doesn't just happen in a week. You need, that needs, needs time. You need time to, you know, decompress and rest and hydrate and restore and all these things.

So I feel that way after lymphatic massages sometimes totally. Where you end up feeling a little bit like you're getting under the weather or you feel congested. But then a couple of days later, if I've been drinking enough water, eating good, I feel the benefits. But I definitely feel that initial, like, oh, after I've been traveling too much, maybe had late nights, whatever, there's been toxic buildup, then I end up having a lymphatic massage and I'm like, oh, I actually feel worse the next day. And then I feel better.

It's like getting the flu. Like, people, people are always like, oh, I'm sick. And I'm like, it's actually a good thing. Your body is like having basically a spiritual, like physical, mental, emotional, spiritual upgrade. Your body's ridding itself of all of these toxins. You're not hungry because your body's focusing on waste elimination. And then after, you feel incredible because your body just went through basically a natural detoxify process. So.

So everyone, enjoy your flus again.

Enjoy your flu season.

The last question I want to ask you is what tests should people be doing to find out what their toxic load is, what toxins they have in their body? Is there specific ones to ask for? What should people be doing?

Yeah. So first and foremost, what I'll say with testing is we live in a world right now where I feel like functional medicine is a bit like pharma 2.0. And what I mean, what do I mean by that is like, like a lot of time there's an over index on testing and then, you know, people will spend thousands of dollars on tests. Functional medicine Doctors will prescribe 10 to 15 supplements and these people just don't really feel any better. And so, yeah, I think, you know, focus on the symptoms first and foremost from a qualitative perspective. Focus on your physical symptoms that you're experiencing and definitely focus on cleansing because that's the most important thing, not inundating you with more supplements, more products, more things. From a testing perspective, there are so many different types of tests that can help with determining whether you have different types of toxins within the body. So to give you an example, Function Health is an incredible direct to consumer comprehensive lab testing company. I'm actually an investor. It's Markheim Company. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm an investor. I love Markheimer. Yeah, he's great. And it's a really incredible company. And they test like 150 biomarkers for, I think 4.99 a year, which is very, very reasonable for the amount of tests that they do, the biomarkers they test for. So you'll be able to see elevated liver enzymes like bilirubin, et cetera, which can dictate that you have a malfunctioning liver. They test for some heavy metals in there. They test, you know, metabolic. Now this is all blood, so you're, you know, you're, you're not getting everything through a blood panel. But this is definitely a really good start because you can check for some, a lot of what you need to know. And then if you have very specific things that you want to test for, like, you know, parasites, you do probably a stool test. The unfortunate thing with stool tests is that they only test for a certain number of parasites when in reality there are like, like hundreds. Right. So they're not, it's not fully going to give you an answer of whether or not you have a parasite. But stool tests will check for candida parasites and then mold. You can do like a mycotoxin test, which is for your body. And then you can also get someone to come into your home and do a test for your home. So if anyone's listening and they have questions, you could always DM me. But yeah, there's so many different types of tests. And in my practice, if I feel like, like people need to get specific tests to check for certain things, then we will do so. But the reality is the majority of physical symptoms are resolved through cleansing. So what I've seen in my practice is people have come to me spending thousands of dollars on tests and they haven't seen any results. And then in our work together, even though we might not do any testing, they all their physical symptoms go away. And that's because your body is its own healer. Your body is a self healing, self regenerating organism. Under the right conditions, we just need to give it those conditions. So when we cleanse the body, we are giving your body the capacity to heal on its own and it has the capacity to do so once we allow for it to heal. And so while testing does play a role, I think, you know, oftentimes it might not even be necessary when you're doing the right cleansing in the right way.

Yeah. When you're tuning back in and listening to your body, this is a complete, well, not completely unrelated question because your skin is a reflection of what you're eating and how are you looking after yourself? But what's your favorite clean skin care and what do you do for your skin? Because it looks amazing.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I always appreciate this because as I said, like, why I started my health journey when I was in my twenties. Why I discovered colonics and cleansing was I had acne. So I had. And the IUD gave me acne. So whenever someone tells me I've glowing

amazing, I'm like, it's all.

It's possible. I had. I had horrible skin. So, yeah, I actually use very little, so I'm pretty minimal. I use a company called Clear Stem Skincare. They. I'm friends with the founders, Danielle and Kaylee. Kaylee's actually in Venice as well, and I'm a partner of theirs. And it's no hormone disruptors, no toxins, no preservatives, no chemicals. And it's acne safe, which is cool because they don't use any pore clogging ingredients. So things like coconut oil, shea butter, et cetera are very pore clogging for someone who's acne prone. So Clear Stem doesn't use any of those. And then. Yeah, I just don't really use that much. Like, I use maybe three products. I really believe that less is more, honestly. And that, you know, when people come to me and they ask me, ask me these questions. I actually had someone the other day stop me on a hike.

I'm not surprised. This one's very glovey. Like, what do you use?

And I was like, like, nothing. Not much. But yeah, again, it's a. It's a reminder. Again, Clearest Time is an incredible product line, but good skin comes from within, right? It's really a reflection of your internal state and that will reflect outward. So. So, yeah, amazing. Thank you.

Thank you so much. This was such an informative session and podcast. I really appreciate it. I learned so much through it and I'm sure everyone listening has too. So thank you so much for being here. And everybody go get Megan's book. It is incredible. And it's available everywhere, right?

Yeah, it's available on Amazon.

Amazing. Amazing. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. It was such a. I could have talked for hours.

I know. I mean, we have to do another one of these.

I know, we totally do. Thank you so much.