Episode 297

Is Mold the Root Cause of Your Symptoms? (feat. Jenn Malecha)

Published on: 9th April, 2025

Are you feeling off but can’t pinpoint the cause of your frustrating symptoms? Have you considered that mold could be the culprit? Today’s guest shares insights into the symptoms of hidden mold exposure and mold remediation to heal and improve your overall health. 

This week on Salad with a Side of Fries, Jenn Trepeck welcomes functional health coach Jenn Malecha to share her personal journey with hidden mold exposure and the profound impact it had on her health. Jenn M. opens up about her skin cancer diagnosis, unexplained symptoms, and the shocking discovery of black mold in her home office. Together, they uncover why mold often goes undetected, the dangers of mycotoxins, and how symptoms like brain fog, vertigo, and digestive issues can easily be misdiagnosed. From mold sabbaticals and testing methods like VCS and urine analysis to the importance of professional remediation, this episode is packed with crucial insights. Plus, Jenn M. shares her toxic checklist to help you identify hidden hazards in your environment. Don’t miss this eye-opening conversation—your health might depend on it!

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, who discusses wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

  • (04:56)  Jenn M. shares her professional background and discusses her skin cancer diagnosis
  • (07:33) Jenn M. experienced health problems, leading her to discover black mold in her home 
  • (15:17) Why mold exposure can often be overlooked and what about mycotoxins
  • (22:06) Symptoms associated with mold exposure in your home and taking a mold sabbatical
  • (27:46) Visual contrast screening (VCS) and urine testing
  • (33:03) Get a professional to do mold remediation
  • (39:16) Jenn M.’s toxic checklist available to members and EMF radiation

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • While not all mold is dangerous, certain types release toxic compounds called mycotoxins, which can cause significant health problems. These toxins often go unnoticed in homes, especially in water-damaged buildings.
  • The symptoms of mold exposure, such as ear ringing, vertigo, teeth grinding, brain fog, and digestive problems, often resemble those of other conditions. This can lead to a misdiagnosis, as traditional medicine treats symptoms individually rather than considering an underlying cause like mold or mycotoxins.
  • If you suspect mold exposure, go on a "mold sabbatical" by leaving your home for a few days, ideally staying in nature. If symptoms improve outside your usual environment, this could indicate a mold issue in your home.
  • Visual contrast screening (VCS) and urine tests can help detect mold exposure, but they are not foolproof. Proper mold remediation should include sealing off affected areas, using air scrubbers, and treating mold with appropriate solutions (not bleach). Additionally, diet and detox protocols should be personalized to support recovery.

QUOTES: 

(13:18) “That innocent mildew in the shower, you think nothing of it, but it could be a sign of moisture accumulation in your home. That mildew can further burden the body if you're already dealing with a moldy situation.”  - Jenn Malecha

(19:45) “The body will encapsulate toxins and mold in the fat, and we start putting on weight that we can't lose because it's the body's protective mechanism. So it's brilliant, it's frustrating, but it's a brilliant mechanism.”  - Jenn Malecha

(21:14) “The confusing piece is that the symptoms connected to mold or mycotoxins look like symptoms of many other things. And so as our western medicine system does, we address all of those symptoms individually rather than saying, well, what else could be going on here?”  - Jenn Trepeck

(36:06) “I want everybody to hear it, but it bears emphasis that we remove these foods for a while to support healing. That allows us to add those foods back in eventually.” -  Jenn Trepeck

(43:34) “Take the steps that we're willing and able to take when we're willing and able to take them versus feeling like you have to do everything all at once and then are totally overwhelmed.” - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

What Your Thyroid Says About the Rest of Your Health (feat. Reed Davis)

Metabolic Health is Overall Health (feat. Dr. Casey Means)                     

GUEST RESOURCES:

Jenn Malecha - Instagram

Wholistic Health Boss - Facebook

Wholistic Health Boss - YouTube

GUEST BIOGRAPHY:

Jenn Malecha supports busy, health-mind professionals in taking back control of their health by giving them access to the proper lab tests and resources to find the missing pieces of their health puzzle, fix what is wrong, and get back to feeling like themselves again.

Using over a decade of personal training experience, training in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®, Transformational Coaching, and a B.S. in Kinesiology, she creates personalized health-rebuilding programs for clients that are realistic and sustainable for long-lasting results and that empowers clients to be the boss of their health.

If you’re ready to look at the “big picture” of your health (not just one disconnected piece at a time), to embrace healthy as a way of being, and to stop settling for anything less than you deserve when it comes to your health and happiness then Jenn is exactly who you’ve been looking for!

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss

About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
What to eat and when to cheat! Let's decipher between all the “diets” out there. You know what to do but it itsn't working. In fact, your diet could be making you fatter.

Ever wondered if cryo-freezing your fat cells would really work? Should you try acupuncture? A hypnotist? If you do, how do you know if someone’s good?

Salad with a Side of Fries is the podcast that will answer all these questions and more! Talking wellness and weight loss for real life, because most of us are going to drink, eat out, skip the grocery store and who wants a life without fries or dessert?! Host Jenn Trepeck’s expertise as an optimal health coach, in practice for over a decade, along with experts in various modalities will clear up the myths, mis-information, bad science and marketing to reveal the truth of HOW TO EAT and HOW TO CHEAT!*



*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast, its content and guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

Profile picture for Jennifer Trepeck

Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!