MOLD: The Invisible Health Crisis

by Dr. David Minkoff March 13, 2019 5 min read

Experts Estimate Nearly 50% of ALL U.S. Buildings are Contaminated by Mold

Let’s be honest, mold is far from headline news.

It’s not sexy or dramatic. It’s not going to get thousands of people to raise money. There is no “mold awareness month” campaign with black mold-colored ribbons.

And yet, it is a looming toxic crisis we are only just beginning to comprehend, once considered the domain of alternative medicine but now becoming mainstream.

Mycotoxins, the poisons produced by mold, slowly wear you down, sap your energy, destroy mitochondria, wreck performance, cloud your mind, and poison your immune system.

Millions of people are exposed every day. Most will never know and spend years and thousands of dollars chasing mystery symptoms.

And experts estimate that nearly 50% of ALL buildings in the US have some level of contamination.

However, with the right knowledge, you can heal and protect yourself.

But before we get there, let’s take a deeper look at what mold is and why it’s so harmful to our health.

The Ancient Arch-Enemy of Bacteria

Mold is an ancient lifeform.

It’s only slightly younger than it’s arch-enemy, bacteria. Over the course of billions of years, bacteria and mold have been engaged in advanced chemical warfare.

They have gotten extremely good at it, and as a result, mold creates some of the most toxic compounds on the planet.

Penicillin is perhaps the most famous product of this war of microorganisms –– this single mold-made antibiotic became the foundation of modern pharmaceutical medicine.

However, because we have a deep co-evolutionary history with bacteria, mycotoxins (the poisons produced by mold) affect much more than petri dishes and bacterial infections.

The Mitochondria Connection

We humans are, in fact, powered by bacteria.

Not just the microflora in our gut (which are definitely important and also destroyed by mycotoxins), but inside every single one of our cells are dozens, if not thousands, of ancient bacteria.

We call them mitochondria.

They are the little energy factories of our cells.

The firing of neurons, the contracting of muscle, the healing of wounds… all of it depends on the energy produced by your mitochondria.

And what mold makes is the equivalent of kryptonite to mitochondria. Mold poisons your ability to make basic biochemical energy.

But it doesn’t stop there. Mold affects virtually everything in your body.

Mycotoxin Fun Facts

Mycotoxins damage DNA, leading to cancer [1,3-5].

They can rip apart the myelin sheath protecting your neurons [6], creating and exacerbating neurodegenerative disease [8]. They attack your immune system and deplete your antioxidant capacity [1,2], leaving you vulnerable to other stresses and disease.

Mycotoxins can cause birth defects or cause a pregnancy to abort.

They are toxic to your liver and kidneys and take at least 35 days to flush out [7].

But most importantly, they cause a breakdown in the membrane and electron transport chain in mitochondria that produce all your vital energy [8-10].

Symptoms of Mold Toxicity

As you might expect, something that can affect your entire bioenergy production can have a huge range of symptoms that may manifest. Here is just a partial list of possible symptoms from mold toxicity:

Chronic sinus infections or strep throat
Poor memory
Headaches and/or migraines
Acceleration of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases
Frequent nosebleeds and unexplained bruising
Inexplicable weight gain.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Tingling feelings and restless legs
Lightheadedness and vertigo or balance issues
Insatiable thirst
Excessively stiff joints and muscle pain
Hashimoto’s Disease
Abdominal pain
Metallic taste in the mouth
Muscle weakness
New food allergies (especially to gluten and dairy)

The tricky thing with mold is that everyone has a different susceptibility. The symptoms of mold toxicity will look different for each person. This makes it incredibly difficult to diagnose, and it is far from a high priority for most doctors.

How To Recover From Mold Toxicity

Fortunately, recovering from mold exposure is relatively simple, though it may take some time.

The first and most important step is to immediately remove yourself from the moldy environment.

Unfortunately, this is also often the most difficult step. If the moldy environment is your house or your workplace, removing the mold can be extraordinarily difficult. Especially because it can often hide in ventilation systems, between walls, or in other hidden places.

You can get a home mold test kit to see if you have mold in your home. For a more accurate diagnosis of the exact source and guidance on remediation, consult a mold-elimination professional.

The next step is to detox your body.

Here are 6 Steps you can take to detox from mold exposure and heal your mitochondria:

Flush your system with lots of Water: Your body needs to flush out toxins and this requires plenty of clean water (i.e. not tap water).

Boost Your Detox System: Your detox system runs on glutathione, which is made from amino acids. You can boost your detox system by taking liposomal glutathione, which is included in BodyHealth’s detox formula, Body Detox, or using an essential amino acid formula like Perfect Amino. Or better yet, use both for best results.

Activated Charcoal: Use activated charcoal immediately after mold exposure to limit its effects on your body. This is part of the military’s own protocol for mold exposure. Activated charcoal is negatively charged and has an immense surface area. Just 500mg contains roughly an entire football field of surface area with which to bind positively charged toxins like mycotoxins. (Note: don’t take activated charcoal at the same time as other medicines or supplements or it may bind them as well).

Phosphatidylserine: Your mitochondria take a massive hit with exposure to mold toxins. Phosphatidylserine is an essential component of mitochondrial membranes. By giving your mitochondria the supplies they need to function properly, you may accelerate your recovery. You can find supplements with phosphatidylserine at a quality health food store or you can get it naturally from soft-cooked eggs, (as long as the yolk is runny).

Infrared Sauna: Saunas are a powerful way to stimulate full-body detoxification. Infrared light penetrates deep into your tissues to stimulate the release of mycotoxins that may be sequestered in fat cells.

Ozone Therapy: This has not been studied in relation to mold exposure, but Ozone Therapy has been shown to help in mitochondrial recovery from other debilitating conditions such as Lyme disease. Be sure to consult a qualified professional.

There is No Safe Level of Mold Exposure

Mold exposure is a serious threat to your health. It can be misdiagnosed as Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, an autoimmune disease, a degenerative condition, anxiety or any number of possible “diagnoses” that can be misinterpreted and mistreated by a well-intentioned doctor.

If you know you have been exposed, take immediate action. Get yourself out of the environment and begin a detox protocol as soon as possible.

References:

Dr. David Minkoff

Dr. Minkoff graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1974 and was elected to the “Phi Beta Kappa” of medical schools, the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Medical Fraternity for very high academic achievement. He then worked as an attending physician in infectious disease, co-directed a neo-natal intensive care unit and worked in emergency medicine until 1995. In 1997, his interest in alternative and complementary medicine led him to open LifeWorks Wellness Center, which has become one of the foremost alternative medicine clinics in the U.S. His search to find a source of the highest quality nutritional supplements led him to establish BodyHealth in 2000, a resource that could provide doctors with the best possible supplementation and education for their patients. Today, the BodyHealth products are used by hundreds of practitioners and individual consumers who seek all-natural wellness and detoxification supplements with a demonstrated high level of quality and effectiveness. In addition to their use by patients looking to heal disease, the BodyHealth products are also used by sports enthusiasts interested in achieving and maintaining optimal performance. As a 42-time Ironman triathlon finisher, (including 8 appearances at the Ironman World Championships) Dr. Minkoff has first-hand experience to help athletes achieve optimum conditioning. His expertise in protein synthesis, detoxification, and nutrition allow them to run, swim, and bike faster and longer. Today, Dr. Minkoff is an alternative healthcare expert, guest lecturer, writer, tv and radio show guest. He also authors two weekly newsletters, the BodyHealth Fitness Newsletter and the Optimum Health Report.

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