Mold, do you ever think about it? If you see it growing somewhere do you clean it with bleach thinking that will get rid of it? Have you ever considered that mycotoxins from mold can be why you aren’t getting better even after trying everything?
In this article I will discuss symptoms of mycotoxin exposure, hidden mold sources, what you can do to detox your body and I will share my personal journey with mycotoxin exposure. The unfortunate thing about mycotoxin exposure is that it is not yet recognized as a possible root cause of neurological symptoms and disorders. It is recognized in a small community of health care practitioners when it comes to respiratory conditions such as asthma. We definitely need more attention and in depth studies to be performed on mycotoxin exposure when it comes to neurological and autoimmune disorders such as Alzheimer’s, MS. For now, the thousands of people that have gotten better (including myself), from implementing a mycotoxin protocol, will be my backbone for this article.
Mold is everywhere, it has been here much longer than we have and it’s not going anywhere. It is a brilliant little creature that is very good at adapting to its surroundings, waiting for the best time to expel its potent mycotoxins and VOC’s into the environment so that you can breathe it into your nasal passage and then allow it to travel to your brain and the rest of your body. It will weaken your immune system and destroy your mitochondria, it will make you crave simple carbohydrates and it won’t apologize for it.
Let’s be clear, not all mold is toxic to humans and not everyone will be affected the same way. We are all made up differently and our genetic capability to eliminate toxins plays a large role here. The dose and amount of time spent in the area makes a difference as well.
Most people think, I don’t see mold, it’s no problem or, oh it’s just a little mildew, I'll just use some bleach to clean it up. It is possible to clean a very small area of surface mold with a little bleach if it is caught quickly. The secret to your success is that it needs to be caught quickly and dried well. Mold penetrates into its surfaces when it is given the time to do so, it doesn’t take long, most experts say within 48 hrs. Whether it’s wood, *concrete (yes, concrete), cardboard or carpet, it will get deep into its chosen surface, so deep that you won’t see it growing. *Concrete and glass surfaces themselves do not feed mold but the dust, or moss or whatever else that is growing on the concrete or glass surface, will feed the mold
Mycotoxins started to peak my interest when I began looking at the root causes for Alzheimer’s. I read Dr. Bredesen’s book- End of Alzheimer’s and many more Functional Medicine doctors research who spoke about mycotoxins becoming more and more prevalent as a root cause for disease in their every day practice. Once I started investigating symptoms of mycotoxin exposure I realized that my chronic skin rash that began to form around my nose once I moved from Alberta to BC could possibly be from mycotoxins. Yes, that one little symptom piqued my interest enough to question, could this be from mold???
As I said above my personal symptoms started with just a little consistent rash on the sides of my nose but then quickly turned worse over the years. The rash would get worse in the winter months, I would go to bed and wake up with the whole lower part of my face coated in a white itchy film. Luckily I was able to hide it with frequent tea tree oil and coconut oil moisturizer. Through the years I also experienced heart palpitations, fatigue, worsening of period pain, insomnia, chronic anemia, dandruff, shocks in my feet and more.
“Toxic indoor mold rarely has an odour if it’s not exposed to air. If you smell a musty, mildewy, or moldy odour, there’s definitely a problem. Just know this; mold can be lurking without creating any scent at all”
- Dr.Jill Crista Crista, Dr. Jill. Break The Mold
What are mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are toxins secreted by certain types of mold, think of them as a mold fart if you will. They have NO scent and they cannot be detected by your sight alone. They are so brilliant that they encapsulate themselves with a biofilm, this biofilm is their protective armour, so before you can eliminate the mycotoxin you need to break down the biofilm around it. Interesting right?
The typical musty smell that we relate to mold is actually mycotoxins cousin; VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) , aldehydes and alcohols. These babies are detected by your nose when they are exposed to air, so typically, if they are burping behind walls, you won’t smell that musty scent, but they are there and can cause issues for you. Mycotoxins are 50 times smaller than mold spores and they hang out suspended in the air for much longer. So those babies can get into your lungs, intestinal tract, brain and nasal passage much deeper and efficiently than mold spores. It is interesting to note that dying mold is much more potent than living mold, meaning that once the mold starts to die, it feels threatened and begins to fart out more and more mycotoxins. More mycotoxins more problems. This is why it can be critical to have a professional remediate your home instead of doing it yourself if the job is more than just a little mildew on your shower curtain.
Good idea or Bad idea?
A couple of friends have told me that once they saw mold growing on their walls they hired someone to come in and use an electric sander to scrub off the visual mold, cleaned it with bleach and then painted it nice and new. Good idea or bad idea? I think you know my answer.
Where does mold grow
Anything that is organic
Water damaged homes that have not been properly dried- drywall, wood, cardboard, carpet….
Many grains and coffee, peanuts
Air conditioning units
Under the bathroom or kitchen sink
New homes and old homes
Crawl spaces
Dusty surfaces (yes, dust feeds mold spores)
Moldy shower curtains
Mold around the bathtub
Mold in your washing machine
Symptoms of mycotoxin exposure
Headaches
Brain fog
Chronic UTI
Post nasal drip
Clearing throat frequently
Thyroid issues
Chronic nasal congestion
Dandruff
Aches and pains
Vision problems
Chronic fatigue
Memory issues
Tremors
Pins and needles
Skin issues such as rashes, eczema
Sleep issues
Learning disabilities
Itchy eyes
Ringing in the ears
Vertigo
Anxiety
Frequent urination
Chronic yeast infections, candida.
Vertigo
Urine frequency
Chronic anemia
There is a long list, this is just some of the common symptoms.
Steps for having a healthy home. Prevention is KEY!
Get a dehumidifier and keep humidity below 50
Purchase an air purifier that is the appropriate size for your home and clean it often, be sure to get a 3 step filtration system that includes a charcoal filter and HEPA filter.
Seal any holes within your home that allows cold air to come in
Get mold testing done with air checks and Petri dishes (Never just do one test, get multiple forms of testing)
Get a thermo check done on your home inside
In the winter months keep your home above 18 degrees
Dust often
Ask your landlord if there has been water damage or mold issues in the past- it is their responsibility and by law they must tell you. If there has been, ask how it was taken care of.
Clean out your vacuum filter regularly and purchase one that has a HEPA filter
Remediate and Mold Testing
You can NOT get a blood test to confirm mycotoxins but you can get a blood test to see if you are allergic to mold. Having a negative allergy test for mold does not mean you do not have mycotoxins. The best way so far to test for mycotoxin exposure is to do a morning urine sample from companies like Great Plains Laboratory. This is who I used and it can be ordered by your functional practitioner or nurse practitioner.
When it comes to remediating your home here are some questions I would recommend asking
-How do you contain the area you remediate? They should use plastic confinement
-Do you use negative air when remediating? I hope so.
-Do you use protective gear, full hazmat suits with professional masks? I hope so
-Do you use bleach? I hope not.
-How long have you been in business?
When I got professional air quality testing done for inside and outside of the house, the mold was higher outside. GREAT! The key though was that the mold outside was not harmful, but many forms of mold that were found inside the home were molds that had the ability to give off mycotoxins, this is why it is very important to have a mold testing company tell you what type of molds are found.
Depending on how serious your mold issue is, the remediation company may recommend cutting out the infected area, this is good. It is always best to be out of the home when remediating. Please note this is just a Mold 101 article, there is so much more to know but I believe this is a good start. If you are feeling unwell and cannot seem to get to the root, don’t let anyone undermine you and make you feel like you are crazy. This may be the key to unlocking your optimal health.
How to detox from mold after being tested?
Most experts say the first thing you need to do in order to heal from mycotoxins is to remove yourself from the source. If your mold problem is really bad or you are really sick, I agree. This can be extremely stressful if you are renting and your landlord does not believe it is a problem. It can also be financially stressful to do a proper remediation and find an expert that will do the work properly. I personally stayed in the home I was in but I remediated what I could, bought air purifiers, dehumidifiers and much more to keep the house as healthy as possible. This could be a whole article in itself so I recommend looking into things much more in depth before committing to anything.
As for detoxing mold from your body, let me say from experience, like any relationship, it’s complicated. I highly recommend using a qualified practitioner who has created protocols in the past for this and who has done their research. Run the other direction if your practitioner puts you on antifungals right away.
You must prepare the body's detox organs first before adding in anti-fungals and binders. It must be done slowly so as to not overload the system and just cause more damage to your body. What I can say from personal experience is that it is possible to detox from mycotoxins, patience is necessary and you will most likely go through setbacks, but keep focused, be gentle. The first time I tried to detox from mycotoxins I went too hard too soon and I paid the consequences with heightened anxiety, diarrhea and extreme fatigue.
Once I felt my liver, bowels, gut and lymphatic system was ready, it was time to start anti-fungals. I used a 2 -3 week pulse method, so every two to three weeks I changed anti-fungals. I used olive leaf extract, oregano oil, Pau D’arco and Biocidin. Binders in conjunction with antifungals are extremely important. They help remove the mycotoxins once you have killed them from the antifungals. My favourite binders are Zeolite, bentonite clay and activated charcoal. I also really liked broken cell chlorella and silver nasal spray as part of my protocol.
If you begin killing mold without doing any preparation, you will get sicker. I guarantee it.
Crista, Dr. Jill. Break The Mold
I also implemented many other tools to help support my body while detoxing, I bought myself a sauna, I started dry brushing, I started exercising, I would diffuse thyme essential oils and I implemented a proper sleep routine, stopped smoking weed and so much more. I must stress, I did not do all of these things at once, I have learned from the best and I know when to add these powerful agents in and when to chill out, please do not start a protocol on your own.
It took me 6 months to detox 95% of the mycotoxins from my body. I spent thousands of dollars on tests to confirm mycotoxin exposure in my body and on remediating the house I was living in at the time. All of this while going off of a suspicion (gut feeling) even though I didn’t see actual mold growing anywhere in the house I was living in. The only time I saw mold was when we were renovating and a wall got torn down that exposed hidden mold. Seeing that visual mold along with positive test results from in-home mold testing was proof that my gut was right, I’m not crazy.
After a year I recently tested again (3rd time testing). I was surprised to see that I had a new form of mycotoxin in my body. The good news is that there were not as many types and not as “bad” as the first time. So with those results I will begin another detox protocol.
Above results 6 photos in total: The first two photos are my first results, you will notice I have three high mycotoxins. The third and fourth photo are after a 6 1/2 month detox protocol I created for myself, you will notice I was able to get rid of 95% of the mycotoxins but Ochratoxin A is the worst and very hard to detox, so I still had some work ahead of me. The 5th and 6th photo is of my most recent test results which shows even lower ochratoxin A toxicity, but a new mycotoxin Enniatin. I will continue a mycotoxin detox with antifungals and binders for these specific mycotoxins.
Resources
In home Mold Testing Company I used https://www.canadamoldtestkits.com/contact/
I highly recommend getting Dr.Jill Crista’s book Breaking the Mold.
I used many of her protocols to create my personal protocol.
Dr.Neil Nathan, Dr. Jill Carnahan and Dr.klinghardt
These Doctors are great resources as well, I used part of their mold protocol to mine
Air purifiers that are recommended Air Doctor, Coway (I ordered my Coway off of Amazon Canada)
*I also used a comprehensive mold testing company who is no longer in service unfortunately but depending where you live I would encourage you to look for one in your area. Be sure they are certified, they wear protective gear and give you a very detailed protocol. They should use a combination of air testing, thermo testing and tape lift testing. They should be able to tell you what type of mold you have as well.
