Meghan Swidler on Fixing Digestive Issues, Supporting Your Liver, and How to Properly Detox

The following podcast is a deer media production. Hi, I'm Siv Heider, the founder of For Right. I'm a wellness entrepreneur and digital creator, and this is my show, The Dream Bigger Podcast. Listen, I love dreaming big, but you know what I love more? Actually having the resources to make those big dreams happen. And hey, dreams can sometimes be private jets, but other times they can look a little something like having the best skin of your damn life, or starting a successful business, or delving into spirituality. So on this podcast, I chat with experts and thought leaders from different fields about their tips and tricks on doing exactly that. So let's get right into it. Hello, hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of The Dream Bigger Podcast. Today's episode is for anyone who wants to feel like the best version of themselves. I am chatting with Megan Swedler, who is a holistic health and detox coach. And we are talking all things, detoxes, cleanses, parasite, cleanses. It is a really interesting episode. And we essentially just do a deep dive into all things wellness. I'm really excited to bring you this episode because you know, I don't think that there are a lot of people I've had on who've talked about detoxes and you know, how sometimes the root cause of feeling sluggish, bloated foggy inflamed and just feeling off is, you know, sometimes to do with your body needing to detox. So this is a really interesting episode. Megan also has a great book out. So with that, let's welcome Megan to The Dream Bigger Podcast. Megan Swedler, are you ready to dream bigger? I am. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited. So I feel like 90% of people that I meet these days have some kind of digestive issue going on. Why is that? Yeah, good question. I feel like everyone is struggling with some sort of issue. Whether it's digestive or hormonal or thyroid or skin or inflammation. And again, usually when we see digestive issues, we see everything, right? We see all sorts of other issues because the body is a symphony. It's an orchestra. And we see one imbalance and one part of the body. We see imbalances and others. And you know, yeah, a lot of people have digestive issues. And your gut is really your second brain. And so it influences all other organs and systems in your body. And why do people have digestive issues? Well, you know, when you have months or years or decades of accumulated toxic waste in the colon, that basically builds up in the colon. Then, you know, you have blockage in the system, right? When you have blockage in your colon, then you can eat things. Those things may not pass through. They ferment, putrify and decompose. And that can lead to bloating, gas, digestive discomfort. There were obviously so many other deeper rooted gut issues as well that relate to, you know, Candida and yeast and markers of bacterial imbalance and tons of other things. But fundamentally at its core, like, why do people suffer from things like constipation and gas and bloating? It's because they may not be eating the right foods first and foremost. And then secondly, the foods that they are eating are not being released and are compounding within the system. And then that leads to everything that people are struggling with. So then why does that even happen? Like why, why is our body not being able to like release these things? Why are there all these blockages? What's going on? Totally. I mean, so, you know, we are meant to eat whole foods. We are meant to eat fiber rich, alkaline rich, enzyme rich whole foods that the body was meant to consume and digest, right? And, you know, we're just exposed to, it's not only just foods that were not meant to eat, but it's tons of other toxins and chemicals and preservatives and additives that the human body was never meant to consume and digest. And that's just food, but then we also have things like, you know, heavy metals and parasites and mold and yeast and all the things that were exposed to in our, you know, our air or water or environment. And yeah, the human body is just like completely, completely overwhelmed and cannot digest it, cannot assimilate it, cannot absorb it, cannot eliminate it. And then that waste, that toxicity builds up in our organs and systems and the colon is a, is a place where toxins can build up the human colon can carry up to five to 20 pounds of waste. And so, yeah, fundamentally, that's kind of what's happening. And then the body, yeah, the body can't release it. So then how often do you think someone should be going to the bathroom as an example? Yeah, so that's a really great question. There's a really incredible tool called the Bristol Swelchart. That's sort of a tool to show you what a healthy bowel movement looks like based on shape and consistency. And so ideally, you should be going to the bathroom two to three times a day, yes per day. A lot of people are like, I got one today. I'm like, well, if you're eating three times a day and you're going once a day, you might be viewing a little bit on the side of constipation. If you're going every other day, you're definitely constipated. It should pass very, very, very easily within one minute. You should not have to wipe a ton when you're done. You shouldn't have any type of strain or discomfort. And you, yeah, you shouldn't really experience consistent like acid reflux burping, gas, bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, irregular bowel movements. And experiencing any of these things very, very consistently, there's something going on. Maybe once in a blue moon, if you get those symptoms, that's fine. But if you're having that consistently, it's usually a sign that there's kind of underlying toxicity within the body or underlying imbalance within the body that needs to be addressed. So then what can someone even do, like say they are dealing with all of these different symptoms and they're listening to you and being like, oh, well, shit, that kind of sounds like what, what are some things that they can do? Yeah, so, you know, we have five channels of elimination within the body. We have the colon, the lungs, the skin, the kidneys and the lymphatic system. We also have the liver that comes later. But we have to make sure that those channels of elimination are open. The colon, as you just said, is that, you know, it's one of the biggest channels in the most important because if things aren't flowing through the colon, then all other organs and systems can get backed up. And so to support the colon, there's a ton of different things that you can do eating fiber rich foods fiber, you know, poll foods, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, that fiber basically acts as an intestinal broom that helps to move and sweet belt up matter out of your system. So that's really, really important. Drinking cold past juices can be really great. Hydration is really important. Mineral rich spring water and making sure hydration is going into your cells. Most people are chronically dehydrated and are just have so much dry, deeply impacted waste within the colon that they need to support the body with hydration, moving your body can be really supportive. Of course, you know, there's specific supplements that can be helpful with supporting the body, whether it's digestive enzymes, whether it's magnesium to support in the elimination of waste. And then I'm a really big fan of, you know, in active cleansing phases, if you have really deeply impacted waste, and a must coffee and a must water and a must colonics, if you're someone who has a ton of accumulated waste within the system and you need to release that what these tools allow for is basically hydration of the colon. So it's basically like giving your colon a shower. And bringing water into the colon to get off that deeply impacted waste and release it. But again, if you're not comfortable going into those methods, that's okay. Still eating whole foods and hydration and juicing and moving your body can really help you with again releasing that waste from the colon and again, you want to support each organ and system within your body, but those are some great tips for the colon. How often do you recommend colonics? So it really depends, like really depends on the person, right? If someone's in an active really heavy detox phase, if you're, you know, a 50 year old person that has 50 years of buildup and you're struggling with, you know, metabolic dysfunction or, you know, thyroid issues or hormonal imbalances and tons of gut issues, it could be more frequent. And if you're in a maintenance phase and you have no health issues, there probably isn't really a necessity because your detox pathways are open and your body will detox naturally, you know, if your system is open and functioning properly, but for someone who's going through a more active detoxification, it can be more frequent. And it really depends on the person, but active detox can be like seven every seven to 14 days or something for someone that's more in maintenance mode, they may only want to go, you know, when they feel backed up or when they come back from travel or go on a long trip or yeah, it could be just kind of like a one off thing depending on what the body feels like. What is active cleansing, like you said, like if they're in the act of like actively cleansing. Yeah, so the active, you know, an active cleansing phase would be sort of the work that I do with my 101 clients, right? So like we're actively trying to like move waste out of the system and go through a sequential order for detox. And cleansing is misunderstood cleansing and detox is misunderstood at some time seen as a two day water faster or three day juice cleanse, but real true cellular cleansing and detox is about opening up those channels of elimination in a very sequential order over a longer period of time. be starting with the colon and then moving into the kidneys and the skin. in the lungs and the lymphatic system moving into the liver and then potentially later targeting like parasites mold and heavy metals. And so things have to have to happen in a very sequential order. But yeah, I think if someone's going through a period of needing to release a ton of accumulated waste from the body, colonics and enemas support in the release of that waste, right? So it's kind of like the analogy I like to do is if you deep clean your house, but you leave garbage bags all over your floor, your house isn't going to be clean. And the same thing applies to your body. You have to take the garbage out for your house to be clean. And so what can happen when you eat a ton of healthy foods and you eat a lot of fiber rich foods and start to juice and you have a lot of accumulation is basically it's like the dust stirs up and like kind of in your house before the air clears and you have you need a method to release that. And so that's when those those modalities can be really helpful. So then if someone does start to work with you, how does it go? Because you're saying that all like these things need to be done sequentially. So you're kind of like doing one pathway after the next like explain it to me. Yeah. So it really depends on the person, you know, when we're where their starting point is it could be three months, it could be six, it could be longer, but you know, let's say on average three to six months. And so, you know, the first and port and most important goal of any cleansing journey is to open up your body's pathways of elimination first. That includes, yeah, the cool, the colon, the kidneys, the lung, the skin, the lymphatic system, especially the colon, like making sure that you're eliminating two to three times a day that you don't have any accumulated waste in your system. Then you can move to like, let's say the liver and kind of do targeted work there. A lot of people have an overburden liver right now. So it's very, very critical to target the liver. And that could be, you know, the colon can take two months, it could take one month, moving to the liver, it can take one or two months. And then from there, you can move into more targeted support for parasites and mold and heavy metals later. Those are very deeply stored within the cells and tissues. So they require a very well functioning detox system to release. A lot of people right now are just going into like, oh, I'm just going to buy this five day parasite cleanse, or I'm going to buy this thing. And it's like, if you're constipated and you're trying to do a parasite cleanse, you're actually doing your body more harm than good. And so all of these different cleanses that are being sold on social media by whoever can be actually really dangerous. And so, yeah, my process is very, very like, well, and, you know, requires a lot of intentionality and focus and just balance and also like, integration and hydration and rest in between. You don't want to do too much too fast when you're detoxing because it can make things worse instead of better. So is it certain foods that you're incorporating in like certain things are taking out like what happens? Yeah. So it's kind of a two pronged approach, what I like to call a wake in and release. So awakening is, yeah, using certain foods and having focusing on cleansing focused foods to really awaken and mobilize stored waste and stagnation within the cells and tissues. And again, there's certain foods that create flow within the body and there's certain foods that create blockage. I think that's pretty obvious. And I'm happy to talk through like the differences in those foods. And then, and then yeah, you know, the release of that waste through various cleansing modalities. So that can be targeted cleansing supplements or other methods. As I said, like, colonics, animus and other things as well. But yeah, it's really that two pronged approach of awakening release. And once you do those two things, you're basically giving your body the ability to do what it was designed to do, which is regenerate and regeneration isn't something you force. It's not something you control. It's something you allow. The body is self healing and self regenerating. And so once you awaken that waste and you release that waste, you're giving your body the right conditions to heal. And then it will heal itself and regenerate itself. And so my job as a practitioner is not to heal someone, but to actually just give the body the conditions for it to heal. So yeah, it's food to answer your question. It's food, it's targeted supplements, and it's other like deeper cleansing modalities as well. If you are looking for an easy way to up level your skincare routine, you need to try a red light face mask. So the one that I love is from bond charge. Now, for the longest time, a red light therapy was something that we could only get at our facialist's office. 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Certain foods create flow and other foods create blockers. So yeah, I'm happy to dive into that. Like there are very much certain foods that can support or hinder your vitality. Right? And really the goal of cleansing is you inherently have this life force energy and vitality that's flowing through your body, but the obstructions are what prevent that from flowing. And so how do we remove the obstruction to create flow? And it's kind of a range of foods. I like to call them different things. So quick exit or mucus mucus less foods are very light airy fresh. They move through your system very quickly. They give you a lot of vitamins minerals nutrients, you know, glucose, Bye bye. amino acids, like they just give you so much. They pass through the system very, very quickly, and they leave very little residue in the body. So fruits, vegetables, blended smoothies, cold pressed juices, like those give you a lot, but they don't deplete you and they don't leave or compound waste within the system. There are mucus lean foods, which are kind of middle of the road foods. They still have a lot of fiber. There's still whole foods, but and they're great for transition or grounding or balance, but they're not as quick exit as let's say a smoothie or a plate of fruit or a big salad. They'd be like, you know, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, avocado, just like a little bit heavier denser foods, star-chef vegetables, and then slow exit foods or mucus forming foods are very heavy. They're a devoid of life force energy. They often have very little nutritional value. They pass through the system very, very slowly and they leave a lot of residue in the body. So refined grains and anything white, white bread, pasta, tortillas, flour, cakes, cookies, bagels, refined sugars, refined oils, any highly processed and refined foods, that any kind of artificial anything, preservatives or chemicals or toxins that the body was never meant to consume or digest. Those will very much compound in the system. You know, giving it an example, I'm sure people listening have had the experience of eating a big lunch, like maybe you have a, you know, bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel and you get super tired after lunch. What's happening within your body is your body is like, there's your eating a bunch of slow exit foods. Your body is struggling to process and break down those foods and so that's taking up a lot of your body's energy and that leaves you with very little energy after. So then you hit an afternoon slump and you get tired. So the goal is to really optimize for those quicker exit foods to buffer the slight to meet the kind of moderate amount of middle of the road foods and the minimal amount of slow exit foods. And yeah, that's really going to support in kind of a cleansing, a cleansing process and the goal is not to deplete you or deprive you or make you feel any of that. It's to nourish you and to kind of return your body back to its original state. So where do animal proteins fall into these like the three buckets? Yeah, so animal protein can be very supportive to the body, of course. And again, it really depends on the person and where they're at and they're cleansing journey. What I'm seeing right now in the world is, yeah, we've seen that the pendulum has swung towards heavy amounts, eating heavy amounts of animal protein. You know, if you're doing it in moderation and you're also incorporating a lot of fiber rich foods and you're eating high quality animal protein, that can be great when combined with salads and vegetables and other things. But what has been happening as of late is there's this heavy push towards like a tremendous amount of protein. And some people are kind of overdoing it, eating a lot of like highly processed packaged foods just because they have protein and just kind of maybe overdoing it too much with animal protein in a way that can yeah, just create just a lot of a lot of waste within the system. If the body already has a lot of build up in the system and it's trying to process all of that and it can't. What happens is it just creates more about metabolic waste within the body that can actually make things worse instead of better. But again, it super depends on the person. If a person is struggling with a ton of gun issues, got issues, acne, hormonal imbalances, thyroid issues, and they have a ton of metabolic waste that's already within the system. Generally going more plant forward would be really helpful. But if someone's in like totally feeling good and in more of an optimization building phase and you know, working on muscle growth or something else, maybe having a little bit more animal protein could be good for that person. So it's very bio individual, but I would say for the majority of people who have very congested systems, they have backed up colon's, they have congested livers, backed up lymphatic systems, having too much animal protein and not having enough plants and not having enough fiber can actually make things worse instead of better. Well, I mean, I think the main thing here is that you can't skew one way or the other. You know, you can't just be having a plate of protein and like literally no greens or no vegetables whatsoever. Like I think that there's those, both of those things are important. Yeah, totally. And I think for everyone listening, instead of attaching yourself to a label of carnivore plant based or vegan or whatever it is, I encourage people to focus on the quality of their food or anything else. A term that I think I need to coin is being qualitative and I think you can be vegan and healthier unhealthy. You can be carnivore and healthier and healthy. It's really about the quality, right? So if you're having grass fed meat, that's very different than having antibiotic-filled hormone-filled conventional meat from a random grocery store. Same thing with peanut butter. Like you could have peanut butter that has seed oils and sugars. That's really highly processed and conventional or you can have an organic peanut butter, you know, without any additive. So I really encourage people to really focus on that and that's what's really important right now. Like food has is really devoid of nutrient density and I think that's what's harming people the most. And so encourage people to step away from labels and really focus on that. You said that nowadays people's livers are pretty heavily burdened. Why is that and what is the function of the liver? Oh yeah. Happy to dive into that. So one of my favorite topics. So what, you know, why is the liver overburdened in the first place? Well, you know, when you have a slow moving colon, as I said before, it prevents all other organs and systems from functioning effectively. So when the colon is backed up, when the lymph is stagnant, and when the kidneys aren't functioning properly, what happens is that toxins back up. The liver is basically your central processing hub. It's basically the master filter of the body. It filters everything that you eat, that you drink, that you inhale, that you absorb. And what happens when you just like the colon, when you have way too much toxicity, that's coming into your body. You know, if we think of, you know, I mean, it's men and women, but just being a woman, it's food, it's water, it's air, it's, you know, toxic makeup, skin care, personal care, oral care products, it's household products, it's, there's birth control, it's antibiotics, there's so much that we're exposed to. And so the liver is basically trying to process all of that. But what happens is that it can't, it can't do so effectively. And so when it becomes overwhelmed or overburdened with toxins, it stops to perform its detoxification functions properly. And then, yeah, we start to see a lot of issues with the liver. So, you know, functions of a liver, the liver is, it does everything. It has like 500 functions. It, again, it filters or neutralizes toxins from the blood and releases those from the body. It processes, stores and releases nutrients, vitamins and minerals to the body when you need them. So if you're deficient in a lot of things, probably means that your liver is not working properly. It processes and stores glucose. So helping to, you know, regulate blood sugar balance. It metabolizes hormones and clears out and removes excess hormones. And so if your liver is overburdened, I mean, I can't do that properly. You might experience like hormonal imbalance or thyroid imbalance. So, you know, it does so much more than that. But that's kind of a handful of things. But yeah, like when the liver is overburdened, we start to see things like hormonal imbalances, thyroid imbalances, blood sugar issues, insulin resistance, a lot of skin issues. If you have like dry itchy skin or you have dermatitis or rosacea or hives or acne or eczema, any of those types of things or you have any of the symptoms that I mentioned combined, likely there's some liver issues. And I would say right now, the majority of people have an overburdened liver in some capacity. And that's just because of the world that we live in today. It's just very hard to escape that overwhelming toxic load. That's kind of being put on the liver. So if someone is wanting to kind of, because it's hard to overhaul your entire life, right? Totally. So say they listen to this and they're like, okay, I want to make some positive changes. What are like the, what are a few things that they can start doing right, right away? And yeah, for the liver specifically or just in general. Let's do for the liver and then like just in general. Yeah. So the liver, I mean, there's, there's a ton of things. I mean cruciferous vegetables and bitter greens are really helpful for the liver. So like dandelion, arugula, kale broccoli, liver loving foods. And juice is like beat, carrot, ginger, turmeric, lemon. There's just a lot of like very liver supporting foods. Yeah, hydration, again, is super, super important. And yeah, just like making, thinking about looking at your life and thinking about all the different inputs of toxicity in your life, right? Like, and again, you don't need to do everything all at once. And that can feel overwhelming for a lot of people. But yeah, looking at your skincare and your makeup and your personal care and the food and package foods that you're eating and your water quality or air quality and just trying to make positive changes to basically reduce that toxic burden. And yes, that includes hormonal contraception and antibiotics and drugs and other things, right? Those are putting a lot of of pressure on the liver, reducing caffeine and alcohol is really helpful for the liver. Alcohol is a big one for the liver. The liver really struggles with alcohol. And then yeah, reducing processed foods, like super high fat foods, processed meats, things like that, very difficult for the liver to process. So yeah, those are some things for the liver. And I think just generally, just the basics, right? You know, like with the body, the body is meant to be self-healing and self-regulating. So it's just about supporting the body and opening up. It's detox pathways. So again, going back to what I said before, eating high fiber, you know, nutrient-dense foods, drinking a lot of water, making sure you're hydrated with the right water that has electrolytes. - Okay, what right water? Like what are you drinking? - Oh yeah, great question. So hydration is not just about water. People think like, oh, I can drink tap water and be hydrated. No, that water isn't going into your cells unless it has, you know, electrolytes and minerals and other co-factors. So I personally drink mineral rich water. I drink alive water. You can buy a mountain valley spring water in glass bottles or you can get the delivery as well. And mineral rich water is really great. I personally like spring water more than filtered water. For me, it's like comparing the sun to a light bulb. It's living water. And so it's really important for me to have mineral rich water. That's just from a spring. But for filtering, a reverse osmosis filter is great. Like an aquatrude or others. But if you filter your water, you are taking out all the minerals and minerals electrolytes are really, really important to actually make sure that you're hydrating your cells. And so, remineralizing your water with like trace minerals or like a pinch of sea salt or something like that is really great for water. And then, yeah, like movement is super important. Sweating is really important. Whether it's through infrared sauna or baths or just moving your body, jumping around rebounding is really good for the limp. So if you're doing things to open up your channels of elimination, your body will naturally get rid of those toxins. 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Again, that's dreambigger 15 for $15 off your first purchase at thirdlove.com. Guys, this is one of my personal favorite shopping sites. I think that they have really done it right. And so I hope you guys love it as much as I do. I want to talk about brain fog as well because I feel like a lot of people deal with brain fog. It takes them longer to get work done. I think people just generally have more trouble paying attention these days. Why is that? Is that also linked to the detox pathways? 100%. I would say pretty much every and any physical symptom that someone is struggling with, especially, yeah, the, you know, the anything related to the brain, brain fog, lack of mental clarity, lack of focus is often related to that, yeah, that overwhelming toxic load within the system, right? It could come from so many different things, but yeah, the gut brain axis is real. Like 95% of your neurotransmitters are produced in your gut. So if you have imbalances in your gut, that will affect your brain. You know, it could lead to that. It could even lead to mood imbalances and anxiety and depression. A lot of people think that mental health is just related to your brain, but it's actually not. It's very much related to the gut. And yeah, I mean, when you have that overwhelming toxic load within your system, it's just literally weighing you down. You're, it's weighing down your entire energetic frequency, right? And so when you clear the toxicity from the body, you are not only elevating your body in the physical realm because you're freeing your body from what's weighing it down, but by way of the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic bodies all being connected, you are elevating your mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic frequencies as well. And so whenever I do a detox with my clients, automatically right away, it's, I have more energy. My brain fog's going away. I'm so much more focused. I'm so much more clear. I'm so much more attentive. I'm have better memory. And it's all related to just, yeah, that frequency upgrade because it cascades into the mental emotional realm as well. OK, I want to move on to audience questions. Yeah. OK. My first one is, what can I do after the holidays to detox? That's a great question. Yeah. I mean, you know, as I mentioned, I think, first of all, don't feel just enjoy the holidays. Like, I think people tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves. And I think if you're in a state of stress in the holidays and you're feeling a lot of guilt and shame, that's actually going to be worse for you. I love that you say that because I think that the stress portion of things, it like slows everything down. Yeah, totally. I'm like, your body, you know, you digest when you're in a parasympathetic state. And so, you know, when it comes to the holiday, is the question I always like to say is, are am I making this choice from a place of expansion or contraction? Like if you're eating like a Christmas log during Christmas and you're feeling guilt or shame about it, you're in a state of contraction until your body's not gonna digest it properly. If you're making it from a place of expansion, which is like, I'm with my family, I'm with my partner, it's Christmas, I'm really gonna enjoy this. Then it's my belief that you will actually like fully digest it better 'cause you're gonna be in a parasympathetic state. So yeah, first and foremost, encourage people to just, you know, don't be extreme but just be moderate but actually just enjoy yourself and be present to being with your friends and your family and your community. But yeah, after the holidays, again, I don't think people should be extreme by any means because being extreme can actually put a lot of stress on your metabolism, on your body. And so yeah, just gentle things like opening up sweating and moving your body, hydrating really well, leaning more towards fiber rich and zymr rich alkaline rich whole foods and really getting a lot of fiber in your system to help move things out, you know, getting colonics or doing at home enemas after like if you're feeling a ecosystem is clogged can be really helpful. And I have a series, I mean, I work with people one on one but I have a series of digital cleanses. One's a beginner cleanse at seven days, one's an intermediate cleanse. That's more advanced for the colon and then I have a seven day liver cleanse. So if you want like something to hand hold you through the process, I have some very clear guidelines there but it's also really important to not do something that's too extreme for the body. So just kind of easing into it, the body can rebalance like pretty quickly if you're eating eating the right foods, hydrating, sweating, moving your body. Yeah. Yeah, I also think that during the holidays, like I agree, I think putting that pressure on yourself is insane because it really is about being present and enjoying yourself. And also there's small things that people can do like if they are having like a big meal, just add a little bit of vegetables. That's what I mean. Like how's the vegetables too? Totally, totally, exactly. I always tell my clients when they're going to a restaurant or having a big group dinner at a wedding, I'm just like put a let you know, have a little small salad with olive oil and lemon just to start your meal. Yeah. Or put some microgreens in your dish or put, you know, just it's so easy. And it's just about balance. And if you're worried about being in an environment where like you're not making the food choices, just contribute. You be like, hey, I'm going to, there's a gathering. I'm going to make a salad or I'm going to contribute this vegetable dish or I'm so that you know that you can incorporate some of that stuff. Same thing goes for a restaurant. Like you can always get veggie sides. You can always get a little side salad and just kind of find that balance and that will support your body. And yeah, like listen to your body. Right? If you wake up the next morning and you feel that heaviness, lean towards lighter foods, you know, and just kind of listen to your body. It's so bio individual. And so you have to kind of tune in and listen to like what does my body need in this moment? Okay. Next question is how can you tell if you've had mold exposure? Oh man. Yeah. This is a big one. I mean, there's kind of two things at play. There's like the physical body and the home, right? So the home, I mean, I, there's so many different signals of mold but mold can be very obvious within the home just based on like smells and also just, you know, you can physically see it within the home. But if you think that you might have mold within your home, like definitely recommend some sort of mold test at home to check for mold. And then within the body physically, there are so many different signals that can correspond to a lot of other issues as well, right? But, you know, brain fog or like difficulty breathing or a lot of sinus congestion or mucus congestion, tiredness, like lethargy, and it could be, it could be skin issues. It could be, you know, kids get eczema, it could be tons of other imbalance gut issues, it could be tons of other imbalances within the body. But again, those can correspond to a lot of other issues, right? And so, you know, you know, you can't really have any problems with your body. But you know, you can't really have any problems with your body. And so, you know, you can't really have any problems with your body. And yeah, I hate to say it, but yeah, the majority of my clients do pass parasites. Really? Wow, that is so interesting. Yeah, it's honestly wild. And it's crazy because, you know, functional medicine doctors and doctors will say, if you do a stool test and they don't show up, they show up negative for parasites, you don't have parasites. But that actually isn't really true. Because, you know, these some a lot of these stool tests don't actually test the full spectrum of parasites that exist. Also, parasites can kind of be stored in different biofilm and mucus within the colon. They can be stored in the liver. And so, a stool test, you know, yeah, like liver flukes live in the liver. So, they may a stool test might not actually just pick up on them properly because of those issues of them being kind of like stored within these biofilm and mucus. So yeah, I have had clients that have had stool tests that have showed negative for parasites and pests. like a lot of parasites. So they are, I would say more common than people think, but again, it shouldn't be something that if you're struggling with gut issues and you're constipated and you go on Instagram and you see an ad for a five day parasite cleanse, that's not something I would recommend unless your system is actually ready for it. So definitely recommend like working with a practitioner who knows what they're doing. This has been amazing. Tell everyone where they can find you. Yeah, you can find me everywhere if you want to kind of join my world's Instagram, LinkedIn, substalk and very active across those platforms. And it's just Megan Swidler. Yeah, Megan Swidler on all platforms. And then yeah, booking like a one-on-one coaching session or consultation with me. You could do that at any time. I also have my digital cleanses that you can access. And I also have my two books on Amazon too. And then yeah, if you've listened to this podcast and you just want to DM me, just hit me up on any platform and would love to hear what you thought and happy to help. Thank you for being here. Thanks. Thank you so much for listening. If you love the episode and feel like it brought you value, don't forget to rate the show and leave a review. It takes five seconds and really helps the show grow so I can keep bringing on awesome guests. If you want to follow me behind the scenes, you can find me on Instagram @sifhider. And don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss a thing. I drop new episodes every Tuesday, so come hang with me and shoot the shit with some really smart people. Learn and unlearn and have a lot of fun. See you next week. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.