Mold Illness from Water Damaged Buildings
While most western medical doctors are still overly focused on bacteria and viruses, our clinic is on the cutting edge of not only acknowledging but understanding mold and mycotoxin exposure from a scientific, evidence-based standpoint. Despite western medicine still not knowing what to do with the complex problems related to a mold toxicity case, there are in fact studies being done by the National Institute for health regarding mold toxicity. The problem is not necessarily the doctors, but most western doctors never learn about fungus in med school or thereafter. The kingdom of ‘fungi’, is a severe and destructive pathogen that was completely missed in medicine. There are only now a couple dozen of Functional Medicine practitioners in the US who are addressing and treating this issue.
Mold illness is due to being exposed to mold spores and mycotoxins in a water damaged building. This can be from water leaks from the roof, plumbing, underneath the house in the crawl space or slab, or from water intrusion from storms and floods. It can also be due to humidity and dampness in the HVAC system. All molds are allergenic, but the following five molds have been known to be toxigenic: Stachybotryus, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Cladosporium. Some individuals have more of an immunity to mold and mycotoxins than others. It has been said that 25 % of the population has an MTHFR gene mutation, which means that they do not make methyl folate, and have Vitamin B deficiencies. This leads to high levels of homocysteine in the blood, which can cause inflammation, and the liver’s inability to detox properly leading to an overload of toxins (especially when continuously living in a moldy home) as well as decreased levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps the body to detox. All of this can lead to blood vessel damage, systemic infections, pathogenic microbes in the blood stream and a toxic overload that moves to every organ and system. These individuals do not make the antibodies to attach to the mycotoxins and pull them out of the body. Therefore, the person’s liver has to process and pull the mycotoxins out, leading to a toxic overload that the liver cannot handle.
Mold illness has many symptoms affecting multiple organs and systems which include the cardiovascular (heart palpitations, arrhythmias, anxiety), the skin (red, itchy inflamed welts and papules), the brain (anxiety, depression, disassociation, suicidal thoughts, brain fog), the digestion (diarrhea, constipation, gas, pain, bloating), the nervous system (tremors, tics, numbness, tingling, pain), the hormones (thyroid disorders, adrenal disorders, Hashimoto’s, infertility). It interferes with many important bodily functions causing brain and hormone dysfunction, endocrine dysregulation, mood issues, fatigue, insomnia, migraines, UTI’s, and even cancer. Studies are showing that mold exposure may also be a contributing factor to dementia and Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis and many other chronic debilitating diseases that are often overlooked by Western Medicine and contributed to an unknown cause. Those with the MTHFR gene mutation have a higher susceptibility due to the inflammation caused by the homocysteine in the blood.
Our digestion is deeply affected which in turn affects every other system. The digestion is like the checking account. The food that goes in should pay for the body’s energy all day long, without ever having to tap into the adrenal glands for energy (the savings account). Our gut has its own gut bacteria made of good bacteria to help ward off pathogens. However, with mold exposure, fungus enters and throws off the gut’s ecosystem. These organisms can overgrow and cause an opportunistic environment for multiple pathogens (bacteria, fungus, parasites) to grow. Mycotoxins damage the intestinal villi which help the body to absorb nutrients. When mold and mycotoxins affect the digestive system in such a negative way, where the body gains its nutrients and energy, it systemically taxes the rest of the body. Fungus and mycotoxins can also move through the body affecting multiple organs and systems by way of the blood. When the body is in a state of inflammation and stress it then has to pull energy from the adrenal glands creating a fight or flight response. This keeps the body also in a further inflammatory response. Mycotoxins also block happy neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin in the brain because of a particular protein that allows it to cross the blood brain barrier, which many other pathogens do not have the ability to do. Fungus is a eukaryotic cell, like humans and mammals, which signifies it has a higher level of intelligence in its ability to not only survive, but to fool the host’s immune system by hiding in a biofilm protective cavern, in which other pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites can join to further wreak havoc on the body.
Being affected by mold illness is no joke. If it goes unchecked, it can lead to chronic and debilitating illness and even death. Fungus is the biggest cellulose decomposer on the planet, which means it destructs and decays all matter if left unchecked. It is what causes wood, homes, and any object that contains organic food (wood, dirt, paper, leaves) to decompose at its end of life. Fungus can feed on almost anything. It can use the material on a couch as its food. It can also begin decomposing the human body slowly. If you suspect you have mold illness, please give us a call so we can do the appropriate lab testing and get you back onto a pathway of healing. Our Acupuncturist, Amy Suplee is also a Functional Medicine Practitioner who specializes in Mold Illness. With years of study, after having mold illness herself, she has become one of the few specialists who know and understand this pathogen. Her father owned and operated a mold remediation company in south Florida where she gained a plethora of knowledge, but also besides studying the pathogenic components from a health perspective she became an OSHA trained and certified mold inspector so she could know and understand every angle of how it bred, fed, lived, survived and infected people. If you need a mold specialist to get your health back, please give us a call. We perform Functional medicine testing for mold illness and offer holistic healing for mold toxicity.
