is mold at the root of your symptoms?
It was just a typical Wednesday evening as I walked through the door from picking up my boys, and all of a sudden, I went Gang Dusters.
I used every single microfiber cloth we own to dust every single surface in our home. You might say it was a bit of a dusting frenzy…
Before you question my sanity based on how I spend my Wednesday evenings, something you should know about me is that I'm not a clean freak.
In fact, my standards have to be set real low around here with 2 little Rugrats constantly negating my efforts to keep things tidy.
There was good reason behind this dusting frenzy. Lemme explain…
Have you ever had an inkling that something is wrong, but you keep brushing it under the rug because “ignorance is bliss” & you don't have the mental or financial bandwidth to actually address the potential problem?
That's exactly what I've been doing for years now with suspected mold-related symptoms.
I had an inkling that mold just maybeeee was playing a role in the acne, hair loss, & unexplained weight gain I experienced a couple of years ago.
But I was so busy having babies & building a business that I literally didn't have the bandwidth to even look at that can of worms, let alone open it up to see what was inside. Until now. 😏
What finally prompted me to open the dang can of worms was my recent cycles with severe PMS symptoms & sudden onset of significant hair loss.
Instead of accepting feeling like sh*t for 10 days out of the month (F that… not even an option in my book), I ordered some functional labs & found that my histamine level was real high. Like off the charts high.
Two big contributors to high histamine? Mold & gut imbalances.
So, I ordered 2 more functional lab tests to further investigate: A stool test + a urine mycotoxin panel (mold test).
The stool test was positive for H Pylori infection, low enzyme activity, & low gut immune function (full review here).
& my mycotoxin panel came back positive for Ochratoxin A – a toxin produced by molds often found in water damaged buildings. 😖
And now my ignorance is no longer bliss…
I'll spare you the whole can of worms, but basically, a positive mycotoxin result simply confirms exposure to mold & your body's inability to keep up with the toxic load.
The exposure could be from years ago OR current…which makes the whole thing kinda tricky & requires some deeper investigation to rule out current mold exposure (see what I mean now about it being a can of worms?)
You might think, “If I have mold in my home, wouldn't I see it?”
Not necessarily… mold can grow out of sight (behind walls, in subfloors, the attic, etc.), and it produces health-damaging mycotoxins, which are gases that can travel throughout your house. Mycotoxins are basically silent-but-deadly farts of the mold spore. 💨
Here are some signs/symptoms that mold investigation may be worth your time & money (esp if you check 8 or more of the symptoms):
Joint pain with morning stiffness
Brain fog/poor concentration
Anxiety/depression
Chronic fatigue
Muscle aches/pain
Unexplained weight gain
Weight loss resistance
Chronic throat clearing/unproductive cough
Light sensitivity
Chronic sinus congestion/infections
Skin rashes/acne (esp on scalp, nape of neck, around lymph nodes, around mouth, & hands)
Hair loss
Numbness/tingling
Dizziness
Headaches
Hot flashes
Excessive thirst & excessive urination
Heavy periods
Metallic taste in mouth
Chronic gastrointestinal symptoms
Food sensitivities
Frequent illness (>2x/year)
Athletes foot
Toenail fungus
Vaginal/UTI infections
Oral thrush (white coated tongue)
Itchy ears
Ringing in ears
Significant allergies
OMG I have 8+ symptoms, now what?!
Don't panic!
Consider screening your home for mold using an ERMI test, where you collect dust samples from around your home & send them to a lab for interpretation to see if mold is present (bc mold feeds on dust).
Consider applying for 1-1 work where we can do some root cause investigation into your symptoms, including a urine mycotoxin test to confirm or deny mold as an offender.
Don't fall into a Google trap.
If you search mold/mycotoxins on Google or social media, you're likely to become confused, overwhelmed, and probably even scared sh*tless.
There are practitioners out there who teach from a place of fear vs empowerment, who preach perfectionism, & push rigorous protocols to detox your body from mold.
Honestly, that's just not my vibe.
My goal is to empower you to take informed action in simple & sustainable ways; not scare you into a lifelong pursuit of unattainable perfectionism.
Let's be real, most don't have the financial resources to up and leave their home or workplace, spend hundreds to thousands on a quality inspector, and then fork over multiple thousands for remediation. 😵💫
Yeahhh…. that's just not feasible for most families, including mine.
I feel so fortunate in that my symptoms are mild to moderate. More rigorous action may actually be necessary for those with severe mycotoxin-related illness, but I find that most of my people tend to fall into the mild-moderate camp as well.
But if you're like me and your symptoms are persistent + annoying but not severe, here are some simple things you can do right now to reduce mold in your home + promote detox:
Reducing mold in your home:
This probably goes without saying butttt – if you have any leaks in your home (sinks, roof, basement), address them ASAP. Mold can grow in 24-48 hours. Quick action is the best action when it comes to water damage!
Go gang dusters. Mold feeds on dust. Dusting frequently helps to limit the food source for mold to grow. Don't skip those often-forgotten places like ceiling fans & tops of cabinets! Bonus if you use these EC3 Wipes.
Get a hygrometer & maintain a humidity level of 30-50%.
If your home is consistently >50% humidity, invest in a dehumidifier to suck moisture out of the air.
Consider getting your air ducts professionally cleaned. Your HVAC system is like the lungs of your house. It's important that the system that circulates your air is clean! Be sure that the company you hire uses negative air flow while cleaning to prevent the spread of toxins/debris into your air.
If you have a front-loading washing machine, keep it dry between loads and run a sanitizing cycle once/month – bonus if you use EC3 Laundry Additive.
Eeeep this is one I've been really bad about… clean your coffee machine! It's a dark, moist environment that harbors mold, then pours it right into your cup. Yikes. Run vinegar or EC3 Mold Solution Concentrate through your machine weekly to disinfect & kill any harbored mold.
You know those rubber gaskets on your Stanley lid that get that black residue? That's mold. Clean your water bottle at least weekly (don't forget the gasket & up inside the straw!). EC3 Wipes work wonderfully for cleaning water bottle lids.
K. Now for supporting your detox systems…
While it's true that it takes more than just owning a liver to detox, it doesn't have to be as complex and expensive as the internet can make it out to be.
Our body works hard to collect & package up toxins then sends those toxins out through our skin (sweat), urine, poop, & breath.
The simplest way to support detox is to support these exit pathways:
Poop daily. If this isn't happening for you, it's a low hanging fruit & something we can easily address.
Drink half your body weight in ounces of water and include a daily mineral mocktail (my fave is Cure Hydration - code JENNYMAHONEY for 20% off).
Sweat daily. Whatever this looks like for you – exercise, hot bath/shower, sauna. Get those toxins moving out through the skin to prevent stagnation!
Prioritize 7+ hours of sleep per night. Our liver does its heavy lifting at night, esp during the hours of 1-3AM.
Eat enough, esp adequate carbs + protein. Without adequate fuel, the liver will be limping along. And make sure to keep your blood sugars stable by eating protein + fat + carb every 4ish hours!
If you suspect mold to be contributing to your symptoms, it's important to take it seriously, but don't let yourself become overwhelmed by worry and fear… that's just as toxic, IMO.
It's impossible to achieve an entirely mold-free environment. Mold is everywhere and we can co-exist with it to a certain degree. Remember that your body is resilient, and symptoms ALWAYS have a root cause that's figureoutable.
And if you happen to need a little help figuring it out along the way, I've got your back.