VBB 321 Melissa Hall Klepacki

Intro [00:00:01]:

Virgin Beauty Podcast: Inspiring women to overcome social stereotypes and share unique life experiences without fear of being defiantly different. Your hosts, Christopher and Heather. Let's talk, shall we?

Christopher [00:00:20]:

Heather and I believe that one of the strongest qualities that make the Virgin Beauty Podcast unique is our eagerness to talk about taboo or uncomfortable topics. It's a quality people say they appreciate. So today, we get to the bottom of the uncomfortable as we welcome functional gut health expert Melissa Hall Klepacki to Virgin Beauty Bitch. Melissa, welcome.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:00:47]:

Thank you. You got my name right. Good job.

Christopher [00:00:50]:

Thank you so much. It always makes me sweat. So, Melissa, your clients, lovingly, and I emphasize lovingly, call you the poop whisperer. But how did bowel movements, toilet camping, bloating, and gas, topics that most people are ashamed to discuss even when they're suffering symptoms, how did the gut become your profession?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:01:15]:

Wow, that's a really good question, Christopher, because if you had told the girl who graduated from acupuncture school back in 1996 that I would talk about poop, that I would say the word poop, you would never have been able to convince me. But it took me getting very, very sick in my 40s. I was sick with Lyme disease and co-infections complicated by parasites and mold and was on a bunch of antibiotics that took down my gut health and left me feeling almost as sick with gut problems as I was sick with Lyme disease. And it wasn't until I got to the root of the gut health issues and all the damage that I had done with the drugs that I had been on and was able to repair it, that I was able to continue healing. Because if we're not moving our bowels every day and we're trying to do anything, kill anything in our bodies, whether it's a virus, whether it's a bacteria, we're going to get sicker because they're going to sit in our intestines and leak toxins as they sit there. So I did a lot of work, and I still continue to do a lot of work with chronically ill people, a lot of people who are undiagnosed and suffering with multiple symptoms and no diagnosis, and almost all of them don't poop. And so I can't do anything for them.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:02:31]:

I can't help them. I can't eradicate anything from their body until they're what we call drainage pathways are open. Right? How we get things out of our bodies, which is with our breath, with our sweat, with our urine, and with our poop. Poop being the biggest one. And it's a big deal for a lot of people. A lot of America is constipated. I define constipation as not moving your bowels daily. There needs to be a good daily bowel movement, preferably in the morning. Every other day? That counts as a little constipated.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:03:04]:

You know, the docs will tell you as long as you're moving your bowels three times a week, it's not enough. It's really not enough for optimal and ultimate health.

Christopher [00:03:12]:

Does modern medicine actually understand what is going on in there?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:03:19]:

I wish because then all the people wouldn't be calling me, saying, my doctor told me he doesn't know what causes constipation and to just take Miralax, drink more water, and eat more fiber. That's what I was told in 2016 when I went to the gastroenterologist with tons of problems. I was handed some medicine and said, come back in a couple of months. We'll see how it goes. I actually asked how long I would be on this medicine, and he said until you're better. And I said, well, what's going to make it better? And he just made a little note and walked out the door. And that's the care a lot of people are getting, you know, because Miralax does work.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:03:55]:

Miralax does work. If you take it every day for the rest of your life. But you are also doing tons of damage. You're getting a lazy bowel. You're dumping all of your minerals, vitamins, and amino acids into the toilet. You know, talk about wasting away. It's just not. It's not doable. It really isn't.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:04:14]:

If you've ever been there, if you've ever had to do that, if you're listening to this and you're like, oh, my God, that's my life. I do that every day. Got to get off that roller coaster. We've got to figure out the root problem. And that's what my job is. That's what I do with people every day. We figure out the root cause, we heal it, and then people move on.

Heather [00:04:32]:

Can you go over with us what some of, and I don't know if this is even a thing, but the common root causes are, and how do you help people identify that and maybe even help them heal?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:04:44]:

Yes. So it's very exciting for me because I wrote a very short little ebook. It's@startpoopingbetter.com. and it lists all of these. And I'm actually getting into a larger book this summer, hoping to publish by the end of the year about this so that people who have been told that that they don't understand why they're constipated actually can find out the reason. And so we start with probably the number one reason for Americans, which is lack of water, lack of hydration.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:05:13]:

Sometimes, we're doing it right; we're drinking lots of water, but we're still not really hydrating ourselves because that water needs to get into the cell. And in order to get into the cell, it needs electrolytes. I'm sure you've heard about them. They're all over social media. Everybody's got a newfangled flavor, a new color, and a new way to take them. But my biggest advice would be to get some electrolytes every morning. It'll help you hold water in your body especially if you're one of those people that's on the toilet all the time peeing because they're trying to drink more and more water.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:05:42]:

If it's going right through you, it's not doing its job. So we address that. Number one, with all of my clients making sure they're drinking enough water, drinking the right kind of water. I don't recommend any carbonated beverages for people who are constipated because you're putting more gas into your system. You probably already have some backed-up gas. So it's about drinking the right water and the right amount. That's a big one for people.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:06:05]:

Number two is nutrition. It's another really big one. And it really is more than just eating fiber. Otherwise, people would be fine. If you take a constipated system and you add more fiber, you are going to create a giant problem. Until that superhighway is open and moving regularly, we really cannot introduce more fiber. So what do we do for diet? Lots of things. But number one, the number one thing I do for most people, and if you're listening to this and you're constipated, take dairy out of your diet. Cow dairy.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:06:38]:

Most people do okay with sheep and goats, but cow dairy, which is yogurt, butter, cheese, and milk, really can constipate people. I have so many people come through that say, I don't have any problems with dairy. And I say, yeah, but you can't poop. That's your symptom right there. So, sure enough, they take out dairy, and they do better. You know, it's usually not, and let me say this: take it all with a grain of salt. There are eight root causes, but usually, you have a few, if not all of them, right? So hydration and nutrition. Stress and anxiety are another really big one at the top of my list for us in this country. You know, we are trying to set a rhythm so that we're moving our bowels in the morning.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:07:23]:

That's how it's meant to be. You get up, you move your bowels, you take a shower, and then you start filling your body back up throughout the day, right? Then, the next morning, you release it again and start filling your body back up. However, if you set your alarm for 6:30, jump out of bed, turn on the shower, brush your teeth real quick, shower, shave, put on some makeup, blow dry your hair, put on your clothes, feed your dogs, grab your cup of coffee and run out the door by 6:55, there was no time to poop. We're not giving ourselves ample morning routines that really do the job to allow us to wake up in a parasympathetic, relaxed state and get the job done. So we talk a lot about mindfulness, we talk a lot about morning routines slowing things down, which, of course, starts with going to bed earlier. If we want to have a really good morning routine, we've got to get a good night's sleep. And I talk a lot about sleep, even though it's not a root cause of constipation.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:08:29]:

If we have the best intentions and we set out our water pitcher and we have this great fiber-rich, beautiful breakfast there for us, and we wake up and we're not rested and we're feeling miserable, that other stuff is out the door. You know, it's really hard to go for it when you're exhausted. So stress and anxiety are another big one. Kind of along the lines of that with Americans and our busy, busy ways and our poor diets and the excess alcohol is liver fatigue. Once we start getting a fatty liver or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the bile isn't flowing properly, and that really impacts digestion. So we take a good look at if someone comes in with blood work, we'll look at liver enzymes, we'll talk about liver function and how they're doing, what their alcohol intake and diet looks like. Around that there are beautiful herbs that can help to repair and stimulate the liver that we can also use in the beginning stages of remedying constipation. Let's see, that was four.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:09:28]:

Mold and parasites are big ones for a lot of people. Mold is a big deal. So, if you are living in a house that smells moldy, if you are concerned you have mold, I suggest you go into your bathroom right now and lift up the back. You know where that back plate is on your toilet? Take a look in there. If it smells funky, you have a mold problem. Because mold grows where water is dormant and water sits, that's a great place for water to sit. The best one to check is the toilet you use the least.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:09:56]:

However, if you've got a problem there, you've got a problem in your air. I mean, if you've got a problem in there and your air, you got a problem in your body. And mold loves to shut down everything for us. It shuts down your immune system; it shuts down you mentally. I mean, it really does exist. Number on your bowels. And the same with parasites. You know, parasites that are living in your digestive tract.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:10:16]:

Reminder. Don't just live in the hollow tube of your intestine. That's why when you go for a colonoscopy, like I did. When I asked, did you see any worms? And he just shook his head and laughed at me. However, a few months after my colonoscopy, I passed a tapeworm. Yeah, so they don't live in the tube; they live in your tissues. But they also do affect your constipation and your bowel movements.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:10:50]:

Low mineral content is another one. I really work hard with people to replace minerals. There was a campaign in this country for a very long time, one a day. Take your vitamins. Everybody needs a vitamin. In fact, we were probably doing a pretty decent job at getting our vitamins. That's if we had a well-rounded diet. But what we were missing all along was the minerals. Our soil isn't what it used to be. Our vegetables don't contain the same content.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:11:13]:

It's very hard for us. And we are burning up minerals, especially magnesium, and magnesium in our bowels. You know, magnesium, there's many forms, but it can help to relax tissues which can help with bowel movements. Magnesium citrate, in particular, helps to pull water into the bowels and can help with bowel movements. If you're one of those people that has hard, dry stools and you feel like you're drinking a ton of water, maybe it's because you don't have enough minerals on board and you're not holding onto that water, as we talked about with electrolytes, it goes a little bit further than that, but so we really look at minerals. Another place that I really look, and seems so basic, but when people come in on four and five medications, which most Americans over the age of 50 are on a few meds, a lot of those meds are slowing bowels down, and they never were counseled about it. So we just go over any meds that people were on, and then they go back to their doctors and say, I'm on xyz meds. I need something else. Because I believe it's constipating me.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:12:15]:

And sometimes that can help to make a big difference, too. So, that's it in a nutshell. Those are really the root causes. And it's just about exploring all of those and coming up with new routines. Some new diet strategies and making sure you're getting your water. Movement comes into play as well. For not moving our bodies, a lot of us are sitting at desks all day, and if we're not moving our bodies, we're not moving our bowels. So a simple 10-minute walk after a meal does so much for your blood sugar, but also for your bowels and your digestion.

Heather [00:12:47]:

Thank you so much. Honestly, that is so helpful. And I think that it just creates such a bigger picture of all of these elements that we can think about to improve our gut health, which is such a hot topic. I would say for the last, you know, three years, it's really been skyrocketing and just how important it is for overall health and how it can affect your brain and how all these other cells function in your body. So, it really is the root cause or the common denominator for so many other issues. I would love to hear your thoughts because I know another element that people have heard about a lot lately is fungi or tinctures with different types of fungi. Have you dove into that in your research and practice?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:13:35]:

So, two things. Fungi. When you say fungi, I automatically think mold. But do you mean like mushrooms? Medicinal mushrooms like reishi and lion's mane. I don't work with too many because I really am highlighting working with constipation. And there really isn't a role for those, especially because without knowing specific lab work, and I wanna talk about that for a second, you don't know if someone already has a fungal problem.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:13:58]:

And so you don't wanna add fungus to an already fungal situation. Somebody could have Sibo. Somebody could have Candida. I do run a lot of labs for my clients. There's a lab that I prefer out there called the GI map test. You can run it in the privacy of your own Home. It's a simple stool test. FedEx delivers it, and FedEx comes and picks it up, and that's it.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:14:21]:

It gives you so many digestive health markers. It tells me how you're processing gluten, talks about your immune system, talks about your levels of inflammation. You no longer have to guess what probiotics you need because it gives you a list of the hallmark probiotics that are supposed to be in your gut and the levels of them. I can tell a lot about people's diets by looking at the phyla and the bacterial phyla in their guts. And then, you know, the whole host of the bad things that we do not want there. It picks all of those up. And so from those, we get to make a protocol to eradicate them. Once people start pooping better and we can start killing things in their body, then we can rebalance their microbiome.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:15:05]:

So, the first part is really understanding the root causes. For a lot of people, one of the root causes is what we call dysbiosis. A lot of times, it's because I'm seeing this more and more; it's because people have really weak digestive capacity. They don't have strong enough acid in their stomach, so their food's not breaking down properly.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:15:28]:

It's slowing down once it hits their intestines, but it is not properly digested. It's still trying to digest as it goes through their intestines, sometimes leaving them with sabo, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, depending on what kind of organisms made it to the small intestine, but definitely causing constipation. When you don't have the acid to break your food down, that's a big problem. So I'm seeing more and more with clients, just very weak digestive capacity.

Christopher [00:15:54]:

There was a quote that is several hundred years old by the Greek physician Hippocrates.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:16:05]:

All health begins in the gut. Yeah.

Christopher [00:16:07]:

Yes.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:16:08]:

Imagine that. So many years ago to have known that. And I think we are like what you said. Research is coming fast and furiously about the gut that's new. I have a whole host of books that I'm pouring through and research every day. And I listen to webinars and they're talking about amazing things like looking at the gut microbiome of heart disease patients. They all have similarities.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:16:32]:

What about a microbiome transplant? Right. We know fecal transplants are really effective for people who have something called C. Diff, which is a really toxic bacteria. You can actually transplant the stool from a healthy person, done in a hospital setting, of course, into somebody who's sick and reverse their symptoms. Now, imagine if you could replace someone's microbiome who's ailing with something hearty and strong and bring them back to life with that. That's. That's future medicine, and that's not that far off.

Christopher [00:17:03]:

Yeah. There was a Netflix documentary about that recently, and one of the people featured was actually doing the feces trade with her brother. It was not in a medical facility that this was being done. However, she did see differences. I believe her brother had acne. She didn't, but after starting to use his feces, as, you know, as medicine, she developed acne.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:17:35]:

Yeah.

Christopher [00:17:35]:

So it is that powerful.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:17:36]:

Yeah. The research is coming pretty furiously. Like, they're always discovering new strains. I mean, I had a gut test in 2016, which was nine years ago, and it's night and day. I have so much more information for my clients today, you know, and in 2016, it helped me immensely. But what we do now is just much more powerful.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:17:56]:

And I actually created a website called DigestiveDiscovery.com. You can go there and order your own test. You don't need an expensive doctor's appointment. You can take a look at what's happening in your own gut. You can get a breakdown of your own probiotics. You can take a look at whether or not you're sensitive to gluten. I have so many people who say, I don't have any problems with gluten, and then their numbers are off the chart, and their inflammation sky high. You know, people don't want to change their diet.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:18:23]:

On my intake form, for every single client, it's like, how willing are you to exercise? People are like, yes. And it's like, you know, meditate or do some mindfulness. Okay, change your diet. Ooh, it is. But, you know, the reason you're constipated is because you're not eating the right foods, and you haven't been for so long that your microbiome has changed.

Christopher [00:18:47]:

I think we have a very ignorant understanding of the stomach. It's like a furnace. We throw things down there. It burns it up, and on we go. We don't really understand how much impact it has on all.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:18:59]:

I think we don't understand the impact that food has. We don't understand food as medicine yet in this society. We don't. It always goes back to what you're putting in your system. If you drove a Lamborghini, would you put cheap gas in it? You wouldn't. You just wouldn't. Right.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:19:15]:

I love car analogies because people get it right. People don't understand cars, but I know this about my car. When the red light comes on, I take it to the shop. What if your red light came on, and you put a little piece of duct tape over it and just kept driving? That's what we do.

Christopher [00:19:35]:

Yeah.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:19:36]:

Our body throws us signals all the time, and we're like, yeah, but, oh, I had a headache, but I'm okay today. Oh, that stomach pain was really, really bad. But it's gone now, and we just ignore it. Those are symptoms. Those are little knocks on the door before you get your diagnosis.

Christopher [00:19:53]:

Or we go to the doctor, and often he puts a little tape over it.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:19:56]:

Right. With a band-aid, or with medication that just takes the pain away. Yeah, you're right, Christopher. You're right.

Christopher [00:20:05]:

We didn't want to get into big pharma. However, like, what chances? I mean, it takes a specialist like you who, with an open mind, what chances do people have going to their regular process of doctors have of actually coming up with solutions to these issues?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:20:26]:

I don't, I don't have a great answer for you on that one. You know, we've given away our power, and we look to doctors with our hands out for the medication. We go in, and the commercial tells you, ask your doctor, ask your doctor for this great pink pill that will make everything go away. They trained us. That's TV programming. And so that's what we do.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:20:50]:

We don't go to the doctor and say, I have had a string of headaches so bad. What can I do? What should I look for? If you, even if you did ask, you know, should I look at my diet? Could it be my exercise? What would your doctor say? Mine would say, like, you have four minutes left. You know, like, do you want aspirin or aleve? Right. I mean, you just don't have the time. So I think we need to be our own sleuths. We need to take care of ourselves like we were nurturing young children.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:21:21]:

I tell my clients all the time today's a healing day. You are three. Feed yourself like you are three. Put yourself to bed like you are three. And be gentle with yourself like you are three. You know, if we as adults took care of ourselves half as well as we would have taken care of a three-year-old today, you know, we would have made time. We would have stopped and played in the puddle. We would have had a little extra time for lunch, and we wouldn't have just had a sandwich for lunch, right? We would have had three cut-up strawberries and four carrot sticks, which a little bit of that goes a long way.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:21:56]:

We just need to take better care of ourselves and we need to not give our power away. We need to do our own research and we need to ask and take a look at the foundations. We call it foundational medicine, which is how we sleep, how we eat, how our mindset is, and what our exercise looks like. And how are we hydrating? And for me, how are we pooping every day? Those are the things that need to be in the forefront of our minds because that's what's going to make our bodies run the best. And when our body runs great, we feel great. We can do it all.

Heather [00:22:32]:

I mean, that is helpful because sometimes I think this big world of gut health feels overwhelming for folks. And, as you said, when you're in chronic pain, and we live in a world that is just all about suppressing symptoms rather than looking at root causes, sometimes it's hard to look at those things. So how you captured it there to make little adjustments in how we care for ourselves really goes a long way. We would love to ask our guest, Melissa, if there's one of the archetypes that speaks to you in the name of the show. The Virgin, the Beauty, or the Bitch.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:23:10]:

Yes, for sure. I'm going to choose Virgin time and time again. You know, when I think of the Virgin, I think of whole and pure and untouched. I think of the ways I counsel my clients to always choose a whole food. You know, twice this week, I had two different clients. One sent me a picture of a bottle of lemon juice in a glass and the other, some packets that she got, these little tiny packets of lemon juice. And they were like, how about this? And I said, how about a lemon? Like, why? Right? Like virgin whole food. Take it back to nature. Go get some sunshine. Take a walk.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:23:44]:

I don't need you to join a million-dollar gym. You don't need a private Pilates instructor, right? You don't need a private chef. You don't need a food service. You need whole foods. You need clean water. You need good bedtime rituals, right? So take it back. Like pare it down. Simple changes; better choices is what I say.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:24:06]:

We all, as I said the other day, we all wind up at Wendy's. It Happens, I have kids, right? Like I'm in a carpool. I get stuff going on. But I'll tell you, I don't choose the double cheeseburger, French fries and Coke. I try to make the best choice that I can for myself. And I will tell you that sometimes I do have the cheeseburger. I rarely finish it, but sometimes I'll look at what I ate for the day, what I have coming up, how many calories do I really need, and am I going to burn off, and what time of day it is, and then I make a good choice for myself, and I don't beat myself up, and then I move on to the next choice. But if we keep it virgin, if we keep it clean, if we always go back to nature and whole, I think we'd all be a lot better.

Heather [00:24:49]:

I so love what you had to say there because we, with our guests, like the word Virgin, have meant so many things to so many people. So what you had to say there really, really adds to that conversation that we have going on in our show. And I love one of the things you said because you touched on morning routines, but for nighttime, you said, like a nighttime or a bedtime ritual. Could you leave us with a little wisdom on what you find to be a healthy nighttime ritual?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:25:17]:

Yes. Let's all be three tonight. Let's all be three tonight. That is my wish for us all. Book, bath, book in bed. That's it. A nice hot bath, some Epsom salt, a little baking soda for 20 minutes until you start to sweat.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:25:32]:

Rinse off in the shower. Put something gentle on your body, like jojoba oil. Something virgin, like coconut oil. Right? Something clean. Put on your pajamas. Don't go to bed in what you wore during the day. It should be sacred. You should be setting yourself up for sleep.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:25:48]:

Close your blinds. No lights. Temperature cold 65, 66 degrees. Melatonin. I'm a huge fan of Dr. Russell Rider. R E I T E R. Thank you.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:26:02]:

He has so much wonderful information to share about the beauty of melatonin. That's my bedtime ritual every night. And then I'll read a little bit, whether it's for pleasure or something for work. But I usually don't get too far because, after that bath and coming into a cold room, it's like, lights out.

Heather [00:26:20]:

That's beautiful.

Christopher [00:26:22]:

Love that. We want people to seek you out. You have so much knowledge and valuable information to share. So tell us, where can people find you?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:26:34]:

Well, my name is my website, Melissa Hall Klepacki.com, It's hard to spell, but if you Google I think it'll come up. DigestiveDiscovery.com is the website you can go to to download your own labs, get your own labs ordered and startpoopingbetter.com is my ebook where you'll find those eight root causes of constipation along with an interesting at-home gut transit test you can do and the recipe for my good poop vegetable soup that I love.

Heather [00:27:04]:

Nice. Beautiful.

Christopher [00:27:08]:

Oh my goodness. Do you have a license plate Poop?

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:27:11]:

No, but I really should probably consider it. That would probably be great on a brown car. Right?

Heather [00:27:17]:

Right. Like just branding Done.

Christopher [00:27:23]:

Melissa, this has been, I think when we first spoke a while back, I mentioned that this is something that I personally have been dealing with for quite a long time. So I was very excited to have this conversation with you and learn from someone with your experience, especially what you have gone through yourself and have taken yourself beyond those issues. So I cannot thank you enough and appreciate your information enough. We cannot say it from the heart deep enough to say thank you.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:27:58]:

So welcome. It was my honor.

Heather [00:28:01]:

It's been such a pleasure to have you, Melissa. Thank you so so much. A true joy.

Melissa Hall Klepacki [00:28:07]:

Stay well, get a good night's sleep.

Christopher [00:28:10]:

We will after your instructions. You have been listening to the Virgin, the Beauty, and the Bitch. Find us like us. Share us. Come on back. We'll go into places that you actually want to go to but may not go to on your own. So come on back.

To become a partner in the VBB community. We invite you to find us@virginbeautybitch.com Like us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and share us with people who are defiantly different like you.

Until next time, thanks for listening.