The IBS mold connection

Unfortunately after living in a moldy apartment for a year, I have added mold toxicity/illness to my knowledge bank. What I discovered in my research is that mold effects the immune system. And since the immune system mostly resides in the gut, it can effect on gut health.

While all mold negatively impacts health, black mold is the worst offender. It was growing in our bedroom closet, bathroom ceiling and the cracks underneath our sliding glass doors.

Because of this I experienced inflammation and daily rashes on my body and my face (sometimes quite severe).

Anti-inflammatory CBD oil subdued the rashes. But I finally understood what was causing them when I discovered the mold.

Symptoms of mold exposure vary and are caused by breathing in mold spores, also called mycotoxins. My symptoms were low energy, anxiety, depression, light body aches and forgetfulness.

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by fungal or mold colonies. They are neurotoxins, which can cause cancer, disrupt hormones and alter DNA. Mycotoxins can impair the function of the immune system, brain, kidneys, liver, and nervous system.

Mycotoxin exposure may directly increase your susceptibility to gut infections from bacteria, viruses, and parasites by decreasing immunity. Mycotoxins can also damage your intestinal villi, the small, finger-like projections that extend into the small intestine and govern nutrient absorption.

Because mycotoxins disrupt the biome and damage gut lining, they can increase intestinal permeability, interfere with nutrient absorption, create oxidative stress and inflammation, and increase likelihood of infections. This is likely why I developed a parasitic infection during this time. My defenses were challenged.

The effect of mycotoxins on the gut, immune system and microbiome can cause, trigger or inflame conditions like SIBO or IBS. For these conditions to be address or alleviated successfully mycotoxins need to be dealt with first.

Unfortunately mycotoxin exposure is not all that rare, and often overlooked by doctors because they’re not looking for it. It can be the missing link for some people, and the explanation for mysterious or worsening symptoms, or gut infections/overgrowths that don’t respond to treatment.

Below are symptoms of mold illness. I only had a few (symptoms are not a good way to diagnose, but for me the static shocks and rashes was the giveaway that this was a problem).

• Fatigue, weakness
• Rashes
• Post-exertional malaise
• Memory problems, difficulties with concentration and executive function
• Disorientation and confusion
• Headaches
• Vertigo, lightheadedness
• Muscle aches, cramping, joint pains without inflammatory arthritis
• Hypersensitivity to bright light, blurred vision, burning or red eyes, tearing
• Cough, asthma-like illness, shortness of breath, chronic sinus congestion
• Air hunger or unusual shortness of breath at rest
• Chronic abdominal problems including nausea, cramping, secretory diarrhea
• A propensity to experience static shocks
• Excessive thirst

Not everyone reacts to mold the same

Several factors may exacerbate the harmful effects of mycotoxins on your gut, including diet, antibiotic use, stress, exposure to other environmental toxins, and genetic background.

Genetics plays a huge role. Mold exposure affects people very differently. About 75 percent of the population can clear mycotoxins from their body quickly. If exposure is not severe they tend to recover quickly on their own.

About 25 percent of the population are more reactive to mold due to a genetic mutation that compromises mold detox. Within that 25 percent, two to four percent are extremely sensitive. They will immediately experience symptoms in a moldy environment and take longest to heal.

When mycotoxins are inhaled, they enter the body, suppress the immune system, inflame the brain and affect respiration if found in the lungs or sinuses. They are particularly irritating to the lungs and sinus cavities, and can cause congestion, sinusitis, allergies, coughing, thirst and shortness of bread.

If you’re in the 25 percent of susceptible people, have a compromised immune system, nutritional deficiencies or underlying gut imbalances, mold exposure can hit you harder and cause more severe symptoms.

What to do if you are exposed to mold

Don’t panic and follow a detox protocol.

First get out of the moldy situation. Either remediate (there’s lots of good info online about mold remediation) or find a new place to live. Wash any organic items like clothing, bedding, curtains. Mycotoxins can also live on paper. Wipe down non organic items well.

You can get exposed to mold without ever discovering the mold. It can live behind walls, under the floor, grow on wood, sheet rock or furniture.

Some clues for mold is a musty smell, bubbling wall paper, previous water damage or indoor humidity above 50 percent.

One thing that can help is buying a HEPA air filter and/or dehumidifier to clean the mycotoxins from the air and keep humidity down so new mold colonies can’t form.

There are tests for mycotoxin exposure that I offer through my practice but if you suspect that you have been exposed, simply do the detox protocol and if you feel better, you have your answer.

Blood tests are best. Urine test can produce false positives.

If your symptoms get worse before they get better that’s a clue that the protocol is working well.

Mold Diet

With mold toxicity it’s a good idea to reduce exposure to mycotoxin– containing foods, processed foods and refined sugar.

The biggest food offender are peanuts, coffee beans and corn. Grains can be sources of mycotoxins if they are stored for a long time. It’s important to buy coffee that’s tested for mold or to give it up. Cheese, especially aged or moldy cheeses like blue cheese or Parmesan, should be avoided.

Mold mycotoxins are fungal in nature, and just like candida and yeast, they thrive on carbohydrates. It’s a good idea to lower carbs but not eliminate them.

A mold diet is similar to candida diet. Fungal overgrowth is a condition that typically accompanies mold illness. It did for me. Lowering but not eliminating sugar/carbs is advised to manage symptoms and make eradication more successful.

Supplement protocol

A binder and liver support are the two main components of a supplement mold detox.

The most common mold binder is activated charcoal. One of my favorite herb blends contains charcoal with the addition to zeolite clay, apple pectin, humic/fuvic acid and aloe vera. Bentonite clay is another good binder.

I took 2 charcoal capsules in the morning and 2 right before bed away from food. The downside of charcoal is it may be constipating. But adding a liver support and/or magnesium citrate can help move things along.

For liver support I used liposomal glutathione, 1 teaspoon a day. Chlorella, is both a binder and an amazing liver support. I took it once a day. Chlorella can be a good binder to use for people with severe constipation.

I’ve also added phosphatidylcholine,  which gets into the cell walls for deep detox and helps ease the cognitive symptoms of mold. For me it has helped with feelings of depression.

Mycotoxins can also form biofilms which make them harder for your immune cells to find, kill and remove. One or two NAC capsules a day, with food, serves as both a good biofilm buster as well as supporting liver detox pathways.

I did the protocol for 2 months and my static shocks increased. Another indication it was working. Die-off symptoms typically mimic actual symptoms.

The role of the biome & probiotics in fighting mycotoxins

Research shows that mycotoxins interact with the gut microbiota. Beneficial bacteria can bind and metabolize ingested mycotoxins. But mycotoxins can also alter the biome and reduce its detox powers.

People with an imbalanced biome and reduced detox capacity can be more impacted by mycotoxin exposure, as is the case with people who have SIBO And IBS.

Because good gut bacteria can help bind and detox mycotoxins and prevent absorption in the small intestine, a broad spectrum probiotic is recommended to support this effort.

Saccharomyces boulardii is a particularly supportive strain, with immuno-modulating activity and is safe for people with SIBO.

If you don’t have SIBO a broad spectrum probiotic with the following strains can be helpful: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. plantarum, L. casei, and Propionibacterium freudenreichii.

Other ways to detox from mold

Supplements are the primary way to detox from mold but there are other ways to assist and support the process. I wrote a blog post on liver support here. Liver support will assist your detox process and you will feel more comfortable as it happens.

Sauna is a particular stand out on the liver support list. Castor oil packs are a close second.

Time outside in nature and breathing fresh air is an amazing remedy for congested lungs and sinuses. And will help calm the nervous system and lower cortisol. Walking or hiking outdoors will help stimulate lymphatic flow (the body’s “garbage collector”).

The hardest part of my mold experience was….

My experience with mold was triggering and traumatic for me. I was in the middle of working on a cookbook and feeling run down from mold symptom when all of the sudden we discovered the mold and had to move.

Dealing with this in another country threw another form of stress into the equation. They don’t consider mold a health hazard here.

The silver lining is that things have settled down. I am feeling better and have now added mold detox to my coaching tool belt.

Of course it’s good to connect the dots and know what’s been happening to my body. It’s grounding to have answers. The tiredness, depression, rashes, red puffy eyes, sore throat, parasites/candida, trouble sleeping and not being able to breath deeply, all make sense now. And have slowly gone away.

I am grateful for a well functioning immune system, that’s now taking care of business, with help and support from the supplements above.

Managing stress was an important piece of the puzzle for me. When I began to calm down, I started feeling a lot better. The mind body connection is no joke.

Also, the parasite protocol I did a few month back was very supportive for mold detox, though I didn’t know it at the time. That is probably why I felt so good during that protocol.

That protocol included a binder that contains fulvic acid, humic acid, broccoli sprouts & molybdenum. All great for clearing mold.

I was also on liver support daily (NAC, milk thistle, marshmallow, beet root) which was extremely helpful.

Now that I understand the signs and symptoms of mold toxicity I can better spot it in a client or in myself in the future.

Now that I am on the other side of mold toxicity, I am still enjoying detox beverages like the charcoal lemonade above. Because Buenos Aires is a very humid city.

The recipe for this lemonade is coming soon in Treats That Heal.