Overcoming Infertility with guest Meg Richichi

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Episode Transcript

- It's once again time to get gutsy with Liz Hall and her expert guests on the Gutsy Bay Podcast. - Meg REI is an integrative women's health practitioner and board certified acupuncturist with nearly 30 years of clinical expertise. Meg's unique East meets West approach has helped thousands of women overcome a vast range of hormonal imbalances, including infertility, P-M-S-P-C-O-S, thyroid issues, weight loss resistance, digestive disorders, anxiety and depression. While Meg sounds like you've been a lifesaver to many, many women for years now Yeah, I'd love to hear some background. - Yeah. So I decided to mid thirties go back to school for acupuncture. And what led me down that path is that in my, uh, teens and my twenties, I was struggling with anorexia and bulimia. And I was very fortunate to have the most amazing, holistic, functional md. I worked with the nutritionist, I did really good therapy, I addressed parasites, a lot of underlying issues, and I learned how to have a healthy relationship with food. I learned how to be able to nurture me to be the best mother I could be to myself. And I felt this calling in my early thirties to do something in the field of help. So I was seeing an acupuncturist, he recommended a book. I read two sentences and I said, oh, this is what I wanna go to school for. So going ahead about five years into practice, I was suddenly getting a lot of referrals from personal trainers, people in the dance field. My partner of five years at the time had, was sending all her dance friends. So I was seeing a lot of people in modern dance and, uh, Broadway people, and also from personal trainers and all, you know, these were various women that were trying to get pregnant and they had failed IVFs cycles. So they came to see me. And I wasn't doing a lot of nutrition at that time, just a little bit, maybe some recommendations for herbs, but it was acupuncture. And I started seeing a pattern. And the pattern that started to emerge is that I went, Hmm, this is interesting. The women that are trying to have a child and having difficulty, I don't believe anyone is infertile. I believe there were reasons why a woman is having difficulty having a child, and we'll go into that. Yeah. But then I started looking at the group that had non fertility issues. They were coming to me because they had PMS, they had gut issues, they had headaches, they had stress. But I noticed that both groups were sharing a lot of the same lifestyle markers. And what were they sharing? Skipping meals, eating on the go. Not enough protein, not enough sleep, a lot of stress, too much coffee, little too many cocktails. Mm-Hmm. . And I knew that the women with the non-related fertility of issues, if they didn't start making lifestyle changes 'cause they weren't getting enough sleep and they were just, stress was just taking over, they'd be back in my office in a few years having these issues getting pregnant. And that's what I started to see. So I realized it five years into practice, I needed to focus more on nutrition, have a better understanding of hormones from a functional, holistic, western perspective. So I was able to combine that with that eastern, you know, Chinese medicine and that western perspective because both, uh, systems of of medicine, they look at root cause. And the first time I heard root cause was like 33, 34 years ago when I was in school for acupuncture. - Wow. - So it's not a new term for me. And that has been my jam. So over the years, I've just continued to study with some amazing functional medicine people and really take that deep dive. And, um, a lot of the issues that I see for women struggling struggl and men struggl Mm-Hmm. with fertility, are the same issues that I'm just seeing across the board for many women. So if you wanna take a deep dive and ask more questions, I'd be more than happy to answer. - Uh, no. I have so many questions. , I don't even know where to begin. Uh, but it sounds like you cured yourself, you educated yourself and went really strong into that career path. And now you're sharing the wealth of information and, and helping women and men, it sounds like. Um, - Well, men are 50% of fertility equation. I don't know why we, we, we put this onus, we put this burden, oh, it's up to the woman. Well, men, more and more studies are showing, I mean, right now it's, um, my gosh, how many is it? It's one out of five couples. It used to be one out of six that are having issues with fertility. - It's becoming more and more common. And I do believe that it is a, a whole like, holistic approach of the mind, the body, and the soul. It's everything. It's everything. Your whole body has to work in sync. Um, since we're talking about infertility at the moment, what is unexplained infertility and wellbeing of a problem for Well, - I mean the, the best way to, you know, um, to, to define that. It's, it's basically unexplained fertility is defined as the inability for a couple to conceive after one year of unprotected sex. So, or that's, that's, that's when a woman will go to the doctor and see what's going on and what happens. The, the issue with conventional medicine and the conventional approach, it doesn't get to the root causes. Mm-Hmm. of why a woman is having difficulty getting pregnant, doesn't get to the root causes, why women are having miscarriages all the time. Right. Yeah. So - Typically it's always too late. For my personal experience, I've ex I've experienced the unexplained infertility. Right. It's women don't find out until they're ready to have start a family. Right. And by then, it could be too late for me. It was unfortunately, um, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I didn't, I was misdiagnosed for over 30 years. Right. Which unbelievable - Unbel. And you probably had debilitating pain. - Extremely debilitating pain. I I mean, it started from, I hear this height, it's typical. It's, this story has been heard over and over again. And I'm one of the statistics, I, you know, went to the emergency rooms over and over again with pains of cramping in high school. Yeah. Uh, I would go to so many specialists in my twenties and thirties, and finally I am ready to have a family and having trouble, you know, getting pregnant, went through every, every, you know, we did a round of IVF, we went and had everything checked and, - But nobody - Never, - They never checked. I - Got diagnosed properly, ever. And let me back up with my whole, like endometriosis. They all, I always had stomach issues. Right. Yeah. Severe stomach problems. And later I find out it's because most of the endometriosis was in my rectum area. - I was gonna say you probably had a lot in the rectal area. Yeah. - That caused a lot of severe pain to go to the bathroom for severe constipation. Um, I, you know, was a vegetarian for many years. Mm-Hmm. . I couldn't drink coffee ever, actually. Um, because it would really affect my stomach. Mm-Hmm. a lot of foods I had to stay away from forever. And it's upsetting. It, it, it's more common than you think with women to be misdiagnosed. I mean, I used to go to a gastrologist, you know, on the regular. I had my first, uh, colonoscopy at 25 years old. I mean, that's insane and crazy. Um, and then finally when I decide to start a family with my husband, of course went through many doctors. There's this one female doctor, she was called the doctor whisperer at the time. And she was like, oh, you have endometriosis. And I'm like, what's that? I've never heard of that. Wow. She's like, you need to go see. His name was Dr. Naza who lifesaver in my life. And, and to me. And he's actually one of the founding doctors to treat and teach other doctors about endometriosis and how to do, um, the laparoscopic surgery as many books. And he's out of the Bay Area. And I just Mm-Hmm. adore him. Well, I, of course, I've had two surgeries before to see if that would help. But mine was so severe that I had to have a full on hysterectomy. And I chose to go that route for myself. And I chose my life and my health instead of going through many more years of pain and issues. Um, - Did they also remove your ovaries? - Yes. Yeah. So - They were really covered with, - Yeah. No, my endometriosis is basically all over my intestines. They even - Had How are you now? How are you now? - It's night and day. I've been in full menopause now for eight years. And I am, I've been amazing. I have no more stomach issues. I could drink coffee, I could actually eat meats now. And I am on hormone therapy. - Good. I was gonna ask, are you doing bioidenticals? Yeah. 'cause bioidenticals, I'm gonna flip for a moment 'cause I've gone through menopause. Estrogen is so essential for women. Bone integrity, integrity, cardiovascular issues, cognitive function. I'm glad that you're, you're doing that. But what I, um, if I can just kind of tell, you know, um, what you're saying. A lot of times, a lot of, when women come to see me Mm-Hmm. , they've been to six or seven different doctors. Yeah. And I will have, and I will say to women, it sounds like endometriosis. Yeah. Or it'll sound like polycystic ovarian syndrome or we need to, um, you're having gut issues. You're, you're constipated. Mm-Hmm. and constipation is a very, very big problem because when women are constipated, uh, they can be recirculating estrogens that should be eliminated. Um, yeah. Through the bowels. And there's, there's a lot. So when I look at unexplained quote unquote fertility issues, I, I look at how I, I say that stress is an unintentional form of birth control. Mm-Hmm. , I look at gut health. I always say your, if your, if your gut isn't addressed, if you don't have optimal gut function, a healthy microbiome, your hormones will never be imbalanced. - Yeah. - And I, and then to another big area that I look at is sleep. Yeah. And environmental factors. I think what's happening with a lot of women, I mean now we're seeing one in, in five, it used to be one in six. We're seeing a rise in children born with autism and cognitive issues and cancer and allergies. And the big issue behind that is that we're seeing, I mean, there are so many studies that are being done right now that, um, in 1922, the environmental working group did analysis of 40 peer reviewed scientific studies published in the last five years, found that all 30,000 samples of umbilical cord blood contained PFAS toxins. We're finding a lot of those forever chemicals. And what that - It's in our, it's in our foods. - Well, it's in our food. It's in, uh, our cook non-stick cookware. It's in pizza boxes, it's in candy wrappers. I mean, a lot of times I will see in - Everything these days, - It's in everything. Mm-Hmm. I'm seeing, you know, a lot of women, when they get their thyroid checked, when they have fertility issues, the doctors are only checking TSH. Wow. Well, that's equivalent to you looking at the front door of somebody's house and say, Hey, that looks nice. I'm gonna buy the house. Right. You have to look at free T three, free T four. You have to look for antibodies. And a lot of women that have been through IVF cycles and, and failed, or they've had miscarriages and, uh, you know, chemical pregnancies, nobody checked for thyroid antibodies. So what contributes to thyroid antibodies? What contributes to autoimmune issues? Environmental chemicals like sate Mm-Hmm. pesticides contribute to autoimmune thyroid issues. So I, anytime I am working with women, I say to them, your follicles go on a 90 day journey. Mm-Hmm. . So whatever you do during those 90 days will influence the follicles or that, that egg that is chosen or selected for that cycle that you wanna get pregnant. But in my world, I would ideally like people to start thinking about preconception 12 months prior. Because a lot of times women will come in, and I have a few women recently, they're like, I wanna get pregnant right now, but I'm like, your labs came back. You have a lot of gut issues going on. You're depleted in B vitamins. You know, you're not digesting. Let us get you in a good place. Right. Because another big issue, and I know I'm jumping around the microbiome - Yes. - Of the mother is passed on to her child. So every generation passes on, thereby microbiome to the next generation. We have generations of women right now that do not have great microbiomes. That - Is key. That is key. Because the first, the, when the baby is born, when it's going through the room, that is the first time it touches the microbiome to start the baby off to be healthy. - Is that correct? Yeah. I mean, I always say that coming through the vaginal canal is a christening. Yes. And, you know, it's, it's, they're, they're getting covered with mucus. And also that fecal matter is like having a, a fecal implant. You're supposed to, babies are supposed to ingest that stuff. Yeah. We sterilize the environment. And then obviously, nursing. Nursing. So I always wanna make sure that if moms are nursing, sometimes I have women come to me with postpartum depression, or after the, while nursing, I'm like, I make sure that they're on a probiotic. But again, the microbiome is 70% of her immune system. Then you couple that with the fact are, are women having difficulty detoxing? I do a lot of testing where I check for heavy metals. I check for environmental chemicals. I check for parasites. I, I look at the gut. I don't wanna guess, - Is that your gut hormone reset? I did see - The gut hormone reset. I will do, um, I do a gut zoomer and that lets me see how well is somebody digesting. Um, it lets me look at the, you know, various types of, of, um, good and bad bacteria. It also, lets me see, does somebody have an elevation of an enzyme called beta glucuronidase? Mm-Hmm. . If that enzyme is elevated, women are not detoxing estrogen. - Right. - So there are a lot of factors because I just don't wanna throw stuff up on the wall and guess I wanna test. 'cause I wanna see, and I think it's really important for women to also be able to see, wow, I'm not detoxing plastics. I have high levels of, of metals. Where are those metals coming from? Water. So a Brita filter or refrigerated filters not gonna clear it out. This is why I say to people, in an ideal world Mm-Hmm. , we would be doing distilled water and adding minerals back to it. And that's actually what I drink. Because even a lot of, um, spring water that we're tested Yeah. Health chemicals, it's because it's, it's, - And it's missing all the minerals. They're bleaching 'em out, basically. Well, - The minerals that people really need isn't coming from water. It's coming from fruits and veggies. So if I can lead into something that I think is really important, and I feel that we will be hearing more and more about is fulvic and humic acid fulvic and humic acid is found in our soil. And it's, and we find it in that really deep, rich, dark soil. Mm-Hmm. , our soil's depleted. So fulvic and IC acid plants absorb it so they can absorb nutrients. We eat these plants, we absorb the fulvic and ic, which also carries minerals. Fulvic and IC are really powerful because fulvic acid is what helps to usher nutrients into the cells, usher toxins out of the cells, and give an electrical charge because they also carry, there's also minerals with that. Mm-Hmm. . Mm-Hmm. . And humic is kind of like a piece of Velcro. It takes those toxins and helps to eliminate them through the bowels. So every person I see right now, I put them on fulvic. Humic, they can continue to take that during their pregnancy. But what it does, it helps to drop and helps you detox heavy metals and chemicals. - Yeah. That's amazing. - This is, I mean, basic stuff, but we are at a point, I mean, when, when I was practic started practicing around 30 years ago, it was very different. We didn't have the heavy exposure, you know, we're, we're being, um, bombarded with Scotch guard. What a scotch guard. It's, it's a, it's like a water repellent in, in fabric and in in rugs and in our cars and in, you know, yoga pants, people don't even think about it. Sometimes I see these high levels of chemicals and it's coming from clothing. - Oh my gosh. Yeah. - So what I, what i, what I try to say to women in working with them, and, and I would say to women here, at the very least, cut out plastics. Don't wrap your food in saran wrap. Don't, you know, store things in Tupperware. Do not microwave stuff, particularly in plastic. And look at your cosmetics. Look at your household cleaners and cleansers, you know, and, and skincare. I mean, it's, so I love, um, there is, it's called the Environmental working group ewg.org. And they will, from a to, from a, to like f they will rate a product. - Okay. - And they, the environmental working group was the first group to actually do studies on umbilical cords and chemicals back in 2009 or five, and then 11. And they found, uh, like, I dunno, 260 chemicals. Well, at that time it's increased. And now we're finding, uh, you know, um, chemicals in, in all babies, babies are born with a toxic burden. How do we minimize that burden by detoxing women and men before they try to have children? - Wow. - Because we're up to, and the number may even be higher. It's almost one out of 30 children will be born with autism. Wow. That's not genetic. And learning disability and, and, and a DD and a DH, ADHD and all these things with there, this toxic burden is an epidemic. - You know, it really is. It really is. That, that was a lot to take in. But it's also necessary because it's true. Yep. Um, I, I have a water bottle that I use that's glass and, um, I, it's a hydro water where it infuses oxygen into the water. That's great. It helps. - That's wonderful. What kind of water is in that? - Um, it is, that's a whole other thing. Right? It's like spring water. It's not, - Is it Brita or is it a spring water? Is it a distilled water? - It's the spring water. Okay. That I, - Yeah. That's wonderful. - Good. I get it. Sprouts . - I love Sprouts. SPR is, sprouts is a, is is a, I was just there yesterday. . I'm trying to think if, um, so - What are many fertility experts missing or even doctors missing when it comes to diagnosing and treating this issue? - Everything that we're discussing. Yeah. - Right. - So another thing too is checking thyroid, full thyroid, um, ruling out autoimmune issues. Um, looking at methylation, looking at for genetic snips. I had a, a client that had a miscarriage, and I feel that she's having a clotting factor issue. And I want her doctor to check her for antiphospholipid, uh, issues. You know, looking at vitamin DD is crucial to fertility. None of the gynecologists or very few. Yeah. And, and fertility docs check DD is essential. I mean, women run the risk of preeclampsia gestational diabetes. Mm-Hmm. Postpartum depression. If women are low in D that can actually impact their baby's teeth. And they children, I mean, we don't think about this. So we, we, I mean, it's very important to make sure that women have optimal levels of d and an optimal level is between 60 and 80, not 30. Right. And taking vitamin D with K two. Yeah. So what, you know, conventional medicine doesn't. It's just the training. It's, um, and hopefully, - Uh, it, it's the training I have just read. Did you not, did you know that they didn't start doing studies on women until the nineties? Yeah. It was Dr. Healy with the NIH. They started finally doing studies on women. So there's a whole entire generation of doctors that don't know these statistics about like, even estrogen. Right. How that's like, - Well, I mean, it's, what's coming to light is that when somebody specializes in gynecology, they get a very short period of time addressing menopause. - Yes. - So, So what is important and what doctors are missing, again, is looking for root cause. If a woman is stressed out Mm-Hmm. what happens? Your cycle is producing estrogen and progesterone. Mm-Hmm. When women are stressed, that progesterone from their cycle can get shunted down cortisol pathways. Yeah. To address stress. Again, you know, stress is in unintentional form of, of birth control. And when we're in a state of stress, we don't have proper blood flow to the uterus. We're not having proper digestion because the body's in a, in a sympathetic response. So making sure that people are getting enough sleep, making sure that when women go to bed, that they're not on this scrolling in their bed because that EMF, this light your body, it, it interferes with melatonin. Your body's looking at this and maybe 10 o'clock at night. But if you're seeing light, your body's thinking that's like nine o'clock in the morning. So that's gonna disrupt sleep and not allow somebody to get that real deep room sleep that they need. - Correct. Yeah. No, you're absolutely correct about that. It's, it's so frustrating that I hear this time and time again that women are being misdiagnosed. That they are not getting the kind of treatment that they need. Um, and they need to find someone like you Meg . - Well, I, I feel that, and I'm hoping that the, you know, and I have friends that are functional medicine MDs. I mean, they, they, they've gone down that path because I knew something was missing. Mm-Hmm. . But I'm conventional medicine. It's just, it's, and I'm not trying to make, you know, the, the profession wrong, but they don't look at why people are having issues. Why are women having heartburn? Well, maybe it's low stomach acid. Why are women constipated? Low stomach acid can be. Yes. And if you have low stomach acid, I always, I had women terrible constipation. I put them on hydrochloric acid because I wanna make sure before any woman's trying to get Kit C that they're having regular bowel movements and regular bowel movements in my world are having two to three a day. Yeah. Not two to three a week. Yeah. Which is considered normal, but two to three a day. - Yeah. No, I, - And so one - Of those severe constipation where I used to only, I was lucky to go once a week for a time. Yeah. - Well, you had all that obstruction with the, you know, with the endometriosis you had a lot going on. But there are basic things when, when women come in and they've been diagnosed with PCOS Mm-Hmm. Polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is a big issue. These are women that are not ovulating. They have elevated androgens. And, um, the only option that they are given is either injectables or IVF and or if they too address, uh, PCOS, they will put women on birth control. So they get a period every month. And I try to explain to women, birth control pill is keeping you from getting pregnant. You're having a withdrawal bleed, you're not ovulating, let's get you off the pill. Yeah. To regulate your cycle. So you do ovulate, let's reduce those androgens so your baby's not exposed to androgens during utero development, which can contribute to children with cognitive issues. So there again, I wanna clear the playing field so that when women, when couples go, or women on their own go into pregnancy, they're in at the best optimal health and doing things during pregnancy that will keep them in an optimal way. So they have healthy babies. - Yeah. That's beautiful. I do like that you focus on the gut. I mean, they do say it's the second brain. You have to That - Is, but the gut is the, it starts everything. It starts in the mouth and it works its way down. You have to start because how, what what allows the things that I, I focus on is I look at digestion, I look at bowel movement, I look at how well someone is detoxing, opening up drainage, what is drainage? Making sure that the lymphatic system is working well. Mm-Hmm. making sure that the kidneys are doing what they're supposed to do. That a woman has healthy bile flow, that the liver duct is open. All these areas, I call them, the filters in the pool, have to be open for proper drainage so people can detox. And that's what I look at first. That's why fulvic and humic acid, amongst other things, I wanna open up the drains. So whatever they're de detoxing gets out and they're not going into a toxic crisis. Um, 'cause sometimes people try to detox and I, I've said to people, you can't detox like in a week. It takes a while to, to detox. - Yeah. And it's a process. Um, let's go back to acid reflux. Right. It's very common in women. And you're saying it's because of low acid majority of the time. Well, - This is what's interesting about acid reflux. Yeah. And this is one of the reasons I had, um, I was living in Charleston for seven years. Yeah. Moved to Atlanta three years ago. And I thought I was gonna kind of put acupuncture on a shelf, kind of retire from it, and just do completely do telehealth. But I realized something that there were people here in Atlanta that I was working with that had acid reflux. They were having gerd. Mm-Hmm. . But part of the issue with GERD is that the diaphragm is jammed. It's a stress response. It's a sympathetic - Response. That's the first time I've ever heard that about the diet. - And so I, I mean, I could, I I had a kid, a young gal when I was in Charleston, I used to treat a lot of, worked with a lot of young gals. I love them from the College of Charleston. Yeah. And this mom called me and said, my daughter is regurgitating, burping up food 20 times a day. She had jaw surgery. And after that, just, uh, she, I mean she had vomited in her mouth. And I think it just, for her, it's a long story, but her diaphragm, part of it was her diaphragm was jammed. So they were putting her on proton pump inhibitors to inhibit the production of acid. And it was getting worse. And she lost a lot of weight. So she came into my office and I said to her, I want you to take a deep breath. And I noticed that she couldn't take a deep breath. And I said, sweetie, your diaphragm's jammed. So I did one treatment. Guess what? Her diaphragm opened up. She could eat. She stopped throwing up. - Oh my God. - I had somebody else here. Same exact thing. 20 years. So I thought, you know, I wanna get back into acupuncture. So I'm doing acupuncture. Yeah. In, in Atlanta, which I'm really happy. I was glad I took the break, but I see a lot of people aside from stomach acid. So here's, here's a way of looking at it. Here's your stomach. Mm-Hmm. - . It's a cup - Of wax. Oh, I'm seeing my name. So here's your stomach. Food drops into your stomach. You have something called the LES. And think of it like a lid on the washer. So you eat food. The little, this, this little valve shuts like, just like the washer. 'cause you don't want all that soap spewing up. Why does it shut? Because it registers, there's enough hydrochloric acid in the stomach. - Yeah. - This is one of the, there are various reasons why the valve doesn't close. And also it can be restricted because a diaphragm's jammed pushing off. Mm-Hmm. . So a lot of times I start giving, I release the diaphragm. Um, and a lot of these people have been on proton pump inhibitors. Well, when you, when you actually, um, interfere or you obstruct or you reduce stomach acid, you're not digesting your food. Yeah. - Its also confusing. Sorry to interrupt you because like doctors will put you in it. Antiacid. Right. Antiacid. And it's confusing to people. - So let me, so what happens if I can explain Yeah. So if that valve doesn't shut Yeah. Any acid in the stomach is gonna spew up, which is gonna give you heart burns. So what we need to figure out, why is this person having that acid spew up? Mm-Hmm. , a lot of women, I put them, I start at a low dose and I titrate them up on hydrochloric acid. Mm-Hmm. - . - And if they're here, I will treat them and release the diaphragm. And if they're somewhere else in the country, I may also say, I want you to get some chiropractic adjustments or work with a, uh, acupuncturist that can release it. Mm-Hmm. . But hydrochloric acid is very cool because it does a couple of things. If you eat something that's a little funky that has bacteria, HCL kills bacteria before that, food before that can travel, that bacteria can travel any further down the GI tract, which can contribute to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth contribute to parasites. And it also breaks down meat protein. So a lot of times when I have vegetarians say, I don't eat meat, I can't digest it. I'm meant to be on a plant-based diet. I said, no, you have low stomach acid. - Yep. That's exactly it. That's key. So the acid is not breaking down the food properly. So then the food is going up into your - Yeah. - Rope. Yeah. - Yeah. It's kind of like, you know, as I said, the washer, the lids open. Yeah. And, and also, so what is causing that stress? Mm-Hmm. Eating at your desk when you're on a phone call. Yeah. When you should. I mean, we are meant to eat our food in a very calm state and a parasympathetic response. So I say to women, get away from your desk. Go sit outside, have lunch, chew your food. I can't even see . And, and when I get, uh, you know, the gut zoom or stool test back, it'll show this person's not chewing their food and take the time. And here's something very cool too. Taking a 15 minute walk after every meal can actually have, your body will have a more efficient response to insulin. Yeah. And your blood sugar and your and insulin will be more balanced. We need to digest food and then just move a little and go back to work. - Yeah. Slow it down. . - Slow it down. But we don't, and that's part of the issue. I, I find, um, the challenge sometimes with women that I work with is that their lives are incredibly busy. - Yeah. - And having a child is another thing on the plate, as opposed to what can you take off the plate? How do you right now become the best mother you can be to yourself? How do you get into that nurturing mode to prepare you? It's preconception to have a healthy pregnancy. Something's gotta give, something's gotta be taken off the plate. Getting good sleep, making sure that an hour and a half to two hours you are off of your phone. Right. Or any, which, any device hard, - Hard to do. People are so addicted to their phones and technology these days. - Well, that's, and I, and I, you know, we've got it. We have a lot of addiction. We can go through this. There's a lot of Yeah. We're addicted because we think we're gonna miss out. And I feel that what is important is breath, - Breath work. - The most intimate relationship that we will have with anything or anyone, is our breath. Mm-Hmm. It's the first thing we take in. And it's the last thing we let go of. So when we focus on the breath, even just taking five breaths through the nose, exhaling through the mouth, you can actually lower cortisol. You can actually drop into a parasympathetic response. Mm-Hmm. . So I work with women and I'm like, let's just bring breathing in. Let's take a little stickum and have it on your desk that you take every few hours, sit at your desk, close your eyes, do 10 simple inhalations in through the nose and 10 exhalations through the mouth. And that, I've done that during sessions when people are like, and it makes a big difference because we live in a world of constant doing. And having a child is, is a time of yin. It's a time of nurturing. It's a time of going within. It's restorative time. Sleep is time of yin. And when we're on this, we're in young mode. Y is, you know, this, it's what are we putting out in the world? What, what am I gonna do today? What have I accomplished? - Mm-Hmm. - skin is that time of I chew my food, I get the nutrients that I need. I'm gonna go for a little walk. I'm gonna go back to work. Actually, people will be way more productive if they do that. Yeah. - That, that makes sense. The whole mind, body and spirit that you connect with as a whole. And your practice is beautiful. - Well, here's something I think you may appreciate, Liz, in Chinese medicine. Mm-Hmm. . We have the big heart. Our heart, and the small heart is the uterus. So how is the heart connecting with the small heart? And it's, if you look at the fallopian tubes in the uterus, it looks like, it looks like a heart. Because all healing, all healing has to take place through the heart. All healing has to take place. You know, I can give somebody all the supplements and I can tell them what to do, but it's really going within Mm-Hmm. And honoring what they need and taking, taking it down a few notches. - I, - Or a lot of notches. - Yeah. I had to heal my, um, I guess my, my body. Um, I know that after my hysterectomy, I know we're talking about fertility, but, um, it's all related. I, I had to go through, um, I guess years I recall I had a, an experience where I was playing a sport and I already had my hysterectomy years. Um, and I tripped, actually, it was, well, should not have been playing the game, but we were playing kick kickball with some friends. Mm-Hmm. I'm like, okay, we're way too old for this game. But I tripped, I fell right on my stomach. And, um, I held it in because I was like embarrassed. But then I, you know, was fried by myself afterwards. And, uh, I ended up going to a, um, reiki doctor and afterwards to get some healing. And I experienced the most, um, amazing, I guess experience where my stomach, your muscle has muscle memory, right? Mm-Hmm. . And I experienced the old cramps and pains that I had experienced for forever and years ago from my endometriosis. Yeah. And it brought it all back. And I had to forgive my body, um, of what it gave me, what I went through, what I experienced for so long. And I released all of it. And it was just so cathartic. It was so beautiful. But it was so crazy that I had all of those old cramps and pains and that my, I just started bawling that it just, the muscles remembered all of that. And that I had to release it and forgive my body. And that was a beautiful experience for me. - Good for you. - Yeah. Um, and I'm so, so I guess having to, that experience of falling on my stomach, I guess also helped me go and try to heal and focus on that. 'cause I never gave it any time to just say, okay, I understand I'm better now. And - So what do you do that's like that, that you are taking care of you? What do you do that brings you joy and, and peace? - You know, I do a variety of things. I have shifted my lifestyle into eating healthier. Now I did, you know, that eating, you have, apparently you're supposed to eat 20 to 30 vegetables a week, A variety of vegetables. And I never did that in the past. Right. I now make sure that I eat my vegetables first. I never used to eat protein. Uh, yeah. I ate tofu and, uh, that, but now I've incorporated eating meat and I've noticed for my body it needed that. Um, - Well, I think we, we all benefit. I mean, I, with my clients, I aim for protein in terms of grams, in terms of what is their ideal ways. I, I try to say to women no less than 30 grams with each meal. So I do 30, 40 grams. - Yeah. That's a big deal. That's a big deal. I've noticed a huge difference in my body, the way I feel energy wise. Mm-Hmm. , uh, I've been incorporating drinking way more water, but like a, a good water, like my hydro water that I, my mind, it brings me a little bit of happiness. Uh, I go on daily walks. Um, it's really hard to incorporate exercise for, for me it was anyway, Mm-Hmm. . I, um, got into it during covid called gy, which is like a dance tai chi kind of exercise. I actually absolutely loved it, but recently I had to take a break from it because I've experienced a stitch muscle. Right. Not a cramp, but like a stitch muscle. So I feel like I'm a pulled muscle from a repetitive movement. I'm trying to let that heal. And now I'm just walking a lot more. So that's what brings me calm and clarity. That's great. And listening to podcasts. Right. To constantly feel like I'm educating and learning. Uh, I currently have, I wasn't have able to have like a real physical baby, but I have, uh, I birth a new baby called, uh, travele. It's a health supplement that I created for myself. And that was to help with constipation. Mm-Hmm. . And I guess be, it also gave me peace of mind, knowing now that I suffered, my body suffered with pain for so many years. But now I know the reason why I suffered it was because I had to experience it and birth and create the supplement that helped me. I actually made it for myself. Um, and now I get to share it with the world, uh, and women that it are, can I ask what ingredients are in it? Yes. Uh, so it is a powdered supplement that, um, is in stick packets. And the ingredients are all pure natural vitamins and minerals. It is not a probiotic or prebiotic. Mm-Hmm. , I specifically have just vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, uh, magnesium citrate, black seed powder, raspberry powder. Do you know, like a cup of raspberries has over eight grams of fiber in it. Mm-Hmm. and, um, cascara, which is an North American bark that naturally stimulates the bowels. Yeah. Right. So all natural vitamins and minerals that your body, uh, it helps your body flow naturally. Right? Mm-Hmm. , nothing harsh. Uh, no side effects, no cramping, no urgency, uh, no issues. Just helps it, you know, stay regular when you need that extra push. Uh, and it's, uh, and it's tasty and it's a really pretty pink color . - That's great. Good. No, that's, that's really wonderful. Yeah. I think anything that supports, uh, daily regular bowel movement, because as I mentioned to you before, we've recorded like 70% of the women I work with have some level of constipation, and they don't even know it. Yes. And, um, so if people are going once a day, I want them to get up to twice a day. And, you know, the diversity of fruits and vegetables, it's, it acts as, um, it's like a prebiotic to the probiotics. Yes. And it's, we need diversity. We do in, in our, you know, it helps to support the production of short chain fatty acids in the gut. Short chain fatty acids help reduce inflammation. They help to keep a very healthy, um, mucosal lining. We need that. Mm-Hmm. . And so I, when, when, when people go shopping, I always say to them, think of a rainbow. Aim for something purple, orange, red. And that goes for me too, because, you know, all of us, we kind of get stuck into like three different veggies or four. So to create the diversity and think, well, let me get some radishes in there. Lemme get purple and red radishes. Let me get some orange peppers and purple cabbage and, and just different, you know, mushrooms or brown. I mean, it goes on and on. So mother nature has truly provided us with an apothecary that really should, I, I don't like to use the word should, but our kitchen is the apothecary. Yeah. A lot of times people say, give me supplements. And I think it's so important to support co you know, having regular movement, bowel movement. Yeah. But it's what we're eating. It's making sure we digest the food, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep. True. And gratitude. - Gratitude. - I wanted to bring that up. Gratitude to me is what creates joy. - Yeah. - I'm gonna get choked up. It creates abundance. It opens up possibilities. Even the little things, you know, you, I mean, your journey through endometriosis is like, but the blessing is you, you finally met a doctor that's like, this is what you have, and now you're not living in that debilitating pain. I can only imagine. So all the little things I, I, you know, a lot of times when I'm working with clients and there's no joy, it's very difficult for them to heal. You can't heal if there is no joy. That's where the heart comes in - And agree with you. Is that, - Does that make sense? - It makes total sense. And just to even get diagnosed properly is a huge relief for many women. - Absolutely. I mean, if I can just share a story. So, um, I went to a biologic dentist who sent me to a biologic surgeon because I was having problems. This is just now and about five weeks ago, so a biologic dentist, she sent me to an endodontist. He's like, and I had old root canals. These are not new. Yeah. And he's like, your root canals are fine. There's something wrong with your teeth. And I'm like, but my gum is swollen and I'm in pain. Yeah. So I went back to see her and she said, oh, you probably need it pulled. So she sent me to a biologic dentist, and they're supposed to be holistic. Mm-Hmm. . And he pulled the tooth and the tooth. I had a raging infection, and I was, I had all this Novocaine, and when he pulled it, I was in pain. I went, oh, this is not good. So I've been in pain for close to four weeks. Debilitating pain. There's a good line to the, he was putting me all this stuff. I said, I have an infection. I have an infection. And you're just, yeah, - You do. - And so, and I'm not one for antibiotics, but when you need one, you need one. Yeah. So I went on that, but I called my friend who's a naturopath, and I was in tears, it's just a few days ago. I said, I have pain that is off the charts. She put me on three homeopathic formulas, and in three days, my pain has dropped by 80%, and I'm gonna see her this week. Just went to Sprout, picked up the three. He's a holistic surgeon. He didn't, he was like, well, if your pain doesn't go away, we're gonna give her gabapentin. And I'm like, oh, I'm outta here. Yeah. Gabapentin is, is to address your pain and can make you feel like a zombie. And it's just awful. Yeah. Horrible. So, um, it was, I, I hear you. I never knew I could ex and it impacted my, my work with clients and I So you having endometriosis for years, I can only imagine how that just impacted your life. - It's weird how, you know, your brain blocks out these, you know, pain right. In your life. Yeah. Um, but if I were to actually go back, it's like I was, uh, in the ER so many times about it. Oh my God. No one ever would ever take me serious. Like, oh, it's all in your head. Or, oh, you need to be on, I was on, uh, I guess birth control forever. That didn't even help anything. It was, it was, - That's - Ridiculous. It could go over and over and over - Again. Yeah. You know what, I'm, I'm sorry that the, our healthcare system failed you so, so terribly. Yeah. Because this is, this is how I look at a doctor, a gynecologist would, how would you feel if you went to Joey, the mechanic and you said, Joey, my car's clunking. He's like, you need a new transmission, but Joey, you didn't check my car. Now we're gonna give you a transmission. Well, what does Joey do? Joey pops the hood. He tools it around the, you know, the parking lot. He says, wanna figure out what's going on with your car? Yeah. Surgeons and doctors and gynecologists need to be like, Joey, the mechanic. Get to the root cause of why you're having a problem. Because if that surgeon was an auto mechanic, he'd be out of business in a week. - Exactly. - Common sense. Look at, figure out why someone's having pain, and stop having it dictated by what pharmaceuticals are available to you as a physician. Mm-Hmm. , get off your butt, open your journals and start researching this stuff. Because that's how my friends who are functional medicine docs got into doing what they're doing. So I feel a lot of conventional docs are lazy. - 100%. I couldn't agree with you more after that entire experience of most of my life, or half my life. Feel like I became my own advocate. Yes. And had to go do my deep dive research and find my naturopathic doctor who has been a lifesaver. That's wonderful. The treatment and alternative routes that I needed also at least meets west kind of a method as well for myself. Um, in fact, I literally just had, um, blood work done by my primary doctor who, um, she was a new doctor and a female. And I had given her my history. I had told her, uh, my appointment that, you know, I have, you know, I'm in menopause full. Yeah. Hysterectomy, everything. Right. And then I get a voice message literally from the other day, which still infuriates me. She is like, oh, by looking at your, um, levels from your blood work, it looks like you're in pre menopause. I was so upset. You didn't - she didn't hear anything you said. - She didn't hear anything. Or I, - Oh my gosh. Not - Even, not even that. She didn't hear. It's like, okay, I understand you, you - Had a hysterectomy. - Other doctors, I mean, it's tell other patients and you forget, but at least go back into your notes. Right. Go back in your notes before you make that call of what you know the patient's history is. Instead of saying that and the, and left that in a voicemail, I was just like, there's another doctor that failed me. I was so furious. - I know. I mean, I'm sorry. But it's true today that what I find in this generation, that the kids in their, in their twenties Mm-Hmm. , they are more informed. Yes. They wanna make health. I love, I love this generation of kids. Yes. I'm working with the most wonderful women in their twenties that really wanna make changes in their lifestyle and diet. Do not wanna go on the pill for birth control. Yeah. I could go into that birth control pill if we have a couple of minutes. The issue I have with the birth control pill, it can con, it just, it flattens people because it impacts their testosterone. Yeah. A lot of women lose libido. Yeah. They get vaginal dryness, depression, and anxiety. And it depletes the body of B vitamins and magnesium and zinc and minerals. And it contributes to trashing your microbiome. - Yeah. Mm-Hmm. , it's just saying It's so true. Yeah. I mean, I know, I, I do know now that my microbiome was trashed forever and I had to go and heal it on my own. And, and now I could proudly say that I'm going and having bowel movements on the regular. And I also know that travel ease has been a contributing factor as well. Good for you. - Good for you. Good for you. - Well, Meg, we could go on and on. This has just been so beautiful. Is there? Well, thank you. Any last notes you'd like to share? - Well, um, I say to women, and if I can, I'll include my contact information. Of course. If you do not feel as if you are being heard, find a doctor that will hear you. I would encourage women, work with somebody who has a holistic approach. If you're not getting the results that you need, if you're trying to get pregnant and you're having difficulty work with someone like myself or work with me, um, I'm sure you'll put my contact information in the notes, but you can reach [email protected]. You can do an, you can get my, uh, email information there. You can find out about my podcast. But just go to meg reichi.com, click on a link. You'll be able to send me an email and, um, would love to, if you have questions, reach out. But, you know, I wanna help women bring the healthiest children into this world because they are, this is the generation that is part of the change too. And I want to have healthy, young, beautiful babies, boys and girls, and just vibrant lives and not little kids that are having, you know, tubes put in their ears and, and having a lot of, uh, you know, respiratory sinus issues and, and cognitive and learning disabilities and those challenges. So that is always my focus when I work with women and I wanna celebrate them in having a beautiful, happy pregnancy. - That's beautiful. I also know that you have a podcast called The Hormone. - Oh, I forgot about that. Yes. Which - I love, I love the title . - Yeah. I have, um, I have a podcast called The Hormone Lifestyle Zone, and you can, um, go to Spotify or iTunes and it's about helping women demystify their hormonal issues and struggles. And I also say, and all the little dust balls that dance in between. So, um, I really enjoy providing women with that information so they can make better choices in their lives. And choose the right practitioners. - Exactly. Well, if anyone wants to book a service or an appointment with you, you, that is meg ricci.com. That's M-E-G-R-I-C-H-I-C-H i.com. Thank you again, Meg. It was such a pleasure. I loved convers. - Oh, thank you, Liz. - Conversation. I truly loved our conversation. It was, it was raw, it was organic, and it was a wealth of information. For sure. - It's real. - It was the real talk . - It's the real. It's the real. It's the real girl. Talk . Thank you so much, Liz. I really appreciate being here today. - Thank you. Well, thanks for tuning in Gutsy Babes. And tell next time, move with Lebanese and stay bold. - Is it hard to go when you are on the go? Well, you're not alone travelers. Constipation affects millions daily. Don't let irregularity ruin your next trip. Try travel Ease, especially formulated to keep you going on your next vacation or business trip. Unlike common over the counter therapies for constipation, travel ease is all natural. Doesn't produce cramping and won't dehydrate. You wanna find out more? Go to Easy natural health.com. That's ee ZE natural health.com. Now also [email protected].