Natural Treatments for Mold Toxicity

Did you feel worse after starting a mold detox protocol?

If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Many patients reported feeling worse once they started mold toxicity treatment. This is an indication that the prescribed treatment wasn’t right for you.

While mold detox protocol has seen new developments, the way in which these treatments are administered is largely based on the practitioner’s experience.

As a patient, you need to determine your practitioner’s level of experience. Ask them to show you the latest research. It’s your right as a patient to ensure you are comfortable and familiar with the proposed treatment protocol.

Why the old mold toxicity treatment protocol doesn’t work

Before Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker’s work, we knew very little about mold toxicity. We have Dr. Shoemaker to thank for the breadth of knowledge we now have regarding mold sickness.

With Dr. Shoemaker’s groundbreaking research on mold illness and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, people were able to come up with treatment protocols to improve the lives of those experiencing symptoms of mold toxicity including respiratory symptoms.

The Shoemaker protocol proved to be effective for thousands of patients. However, as more people received treatment, the diversity of patients’ medical histories and the complexity of their health conditions made the treatment process less straightforward.

Cholestyramine (CSM) and Welchol demonstrated that they were not enough if the patient was still exposed to mold. The definition of mold exposure has also since expanded as we have identified new causes of CIRs.

Recent research suggests that actinomycetes bacteria are the most common cause of CIRS (not mold!) (source). Treatment protocols for actino-bacteria are slightly different than mold. If you didn’t feel any better after following the Shoemaker protocol, it may be because you were treated for mold when you should have been treated for actinomycetes.

Diagnosing mold toxicity – the old way vs the new way

Alongside outlines for treatment, the Shoemaker mold protocol outlines specific lab tests that measure levels of mold toxins or evidence of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. These lab tests, unfortunately, tend to be complicated and expensive.

When urinary mycotoxin testing came to the market, I was excited for a new easy way to test for mold illness and diagnose CIRS. I was sadly mistaken.

Urinary mycotoxin testing was not effective. Practitioners were quick to jump on the CIRS bandwagon, claiming they could treat the illness without the data to back this up. Regretfully, I was one of them.

Fortunately, Dr. Shoemaker has done his due diligence to end urinary mycotoxin testing for good. You can read his scathing report on this method of testing here.

I’ll summarize it for you below:

“21 studies covering 2756 controls from children to adults from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. One study showed positive urine mycotoxins of 60% of 15 patients; one showed 66% of 19 patients with the rest showing 80-100% positive. (source)

How to treat mold toxicity

People who suffer from mold illness today have weakened immune systems and are sicker and more sensitive. High doses of Cholestyramine (CSM) or Welchol tends to only make things worse. As practitioners, treatment for mold toxicity needs to be slow and gentle to accommodate for a compromised immune system.

As a patient, you need to inform your practitioner about all the side effects you’re experiencing from your mold detox protocol. Every side effect or symptom (i.e. brain fog or abdominal pain) you are experiencing is real and should be reported. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort, you should be taking it easy.. Decrease your dosage or limit the number of medication/supplements you’re using.

Treating CIRS is a marathon, not a sprint.

Start your mold toxicity treatment slowly. Increase your dose only when your symptoms are tolerable. If you find yourself reacting to just about everything, start high-dose fish oils a week before starting any binders. This combination often minimizes the adverse allergic reactions people have to binders.

Some patients also take Saccharomyces Boulardii – a beneficial yeast species that s improves your body’s ability to detox molds.

Below, I’velisted some of the newer and more natural treatments for mold toxicity. These mold toxicity treatments are far gentler than Welchol or CSM treatments for mold.

Glutathione

In many natural health circles, glutathione is known as the master antioxidant. Whether it is better than other antioxidants, I’m not entirely sure. Your body is capable of creating its own glutathione from the amino acids easily obtained in your diet.

Many patients have reported feeling better while taking it or N-acetyl Cystine (NAC – a precursor to glutathione). Dr. Shoemaker, however, doesn’t see it as necessary treatment step. Dr. Heyman uses it as an adjunct to the Shoemaker protocol. I do not use it at all.

While glutathione may help your immune system in the fight against molds and their mycotoxins, it won’t solve the problem. Remember, CIRS and mold illness occurs in people with a specific gene. This gene creates a chronic state of inflammation, and no amount of glutathione is going to stop this.

Nevertheless, glutathione can be a good supplement to start your detoxification protocol. Use glutathione as a barometer to how well you’ll tolerate the other natural supplements I list below.

Since glutathione is an antioxidant, it can degrade quickly. To avoid this, purchase your glutathione supplement in a liposomal form. Liposomal simply means that the glutathione is bound to fat. This prevents the degradation of the supplement and increases absorption rates.

Be sure you opt for capsules glutathione tastes awful.

Activated charcoal and other natural binders

Activated charcoal has been used to treat poisonings for more than 100 years. Because of this, the World Health Organization lists activated charcoal as an essential medicine.

Activated charcoal treats poisonings by binding with the toxin/poison and safely removing it from the body. This amazing binding ability is what has led many practitioners, including me, to reason that activated charcoal can ideally treat mold poisoning and bind with different types of mold.

There are, however, no published, peer-reviewed scientific studies demonstrating the benefit of CSM substitutes.

Let’s revisit high school science class. You probably remember the magnet lesson. Positive charges attract or form the strongest bonds with negative charges. Positive – positive, and negative – negative charges repel each other.

The reason CSM works so well is because it has a positive charge (+). Biotoxins have a negative (-) charge.

Limited findings show that substitutes such as charcoal, corella, chitosan and Bentonite clay have the same (-) charge as the biotoxins. This means a strong binding bond is substantially less effective or not likely.

One option for natural treatment for mold toxicity is okra and beets. Okra and beets have a similar ionic structure and charge to CSM and welchol. A study has shown that their binding capacity for bile acids is like that of CSM (source).It takes a very large amount of okra and beets to produce a noticeable difference, however. .

This is why I have created a compound using extracts of beet and okra, in a high amount, for binding called mycobind, which I’ve observed consistent success with in my clinic.

Saunas

Sweating in saunas is a popular choice as a means to rid the body of toxins. Sauna therapy has shown to benefit those with high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, post-heart attack, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic pain, rheumatologic disease, chronic fatigue, and addictions.

Mycotoxins found in water-damaged buildings were found human sweat. However, this has not been backed up by many other studies.Much like activated charcoal, there are a lot of anecdotal reports that saunas improve the symptoms of mold toxicity.

I love saunas and use one regularly. I have not seen CIRS patients improve their health problems alone because of sauna therapy. The only thing I’ve seen help CIRS effectively is the Shoemaker protocol.

Saunas can be used as an adjunct therapy to the Shoemaker Protocol. But again, you must take it easy. . Saunas trigger a stress response – activating your HPA axis like exercise does. Many CIRS patients have complete intolerance to exercise. The same intolerance can occur in sauna sessions.

With that being said, the use of saunas provides other well-documented benefits. You can excrete other toxins like bisphenol A and heavy metals . It is likely that sauna therapy will reduce the overall toxic burden in your body. Whether that includes molds and their mycotoxins remains to be seen.

Probiotics for mold exposure

Many CIRS patients have gut issues, and beneficial bacteria and yeast species can help settle gastrointestinal symptoms.

Specific strains of Lactobacillus probiotics can help your body. These strains include:

• Lactobacillus rhamnosus
•  Lactobacillus plantarum
•  Lactobacillus casei

This will improve your body’s detox abilities. With a healthy gut, you’ll be better able to expel mold toxins.

Saccharomyces Boulardii is a beneficial yeast species that acts like a tolerable probiotic.

Still, it’s important to remember that these supplements will only provide symptomatic benefits. The real solution to gut issues in CIRS is improving MSH levels!

The most important point about natural treatment for mold toxicity

Do what you can to avoid adverse reactions.

Do not push through. Do not tough it out. Go slow. Take your time. Find a dose that your body can tolerate. Slowly increase your dosage from there.

Let go of the assumption that you must suffer to get better.

If you start to experience negative symptoms, you’ve exceeded your body’s ability to detox. Slow down. Increase your dose only after you’ve tolerated the lower dosage for at least one week without symptoms.

If you find that you’re unable to find a low enough dose or that you react to absolutely everything, you may be dealing with a condition known as mast cell activation syndrome. You’ll need to calm your mast cells before continuing treatment.

Mast cell activation syndrome and mold toxicity

Mast cells are one of the most important types of white blood cells in your body. They coordinate your immune system’s response to harmful invaders like toxic mold.

The highest concentration of mast cells is in parts of your body that come in frequent contact with the outside world: your GI tract, sinuses and respiratory tract, skin, and genitourinary tract. Notice how toxic mold symptoms affect those parts of your body in particular!

New research suggests that mast cell activation may be a symptom of CIRS.

If your mast cells encounter mold, they sound the alarm bells by releasing histamine, serotonin, or tryptase.

When you start a natural treatment for mold toxicity with binders, you may trigger a response from your mast cells. When this occurs, your symptoms are aggravated even more, which is why many patients can feel worse when taking cholestyramine (CSM).

Mast cell activation syndrome could prevent you from treating and overcoming mold toxicity.

If your mast cells are hyperactive, you need to manage them before treating mold toxicity. To do this, start with 500mg of quercetin thirty minutes before your meals. Quercetin is even more effective than prescription medication when calming down your mast cells.

If you can tolerate 500mg of quercetin, increase your dose up to 2000mg thirty minutes before each meal. Taking quercetin before eating is extremely important because this gives the supplement time to work.

Once your mast cells are less reactive, you treat your mold toxicity levels. Just remember to go slowly. Start with a very small dose of natural binders. Make sure you aren’t experiencing any adverse or Herxheimer reactions. Only then can you increase your dose.

Research on CIRS and mold illness changes rapidly. Don’t get too comfortable with the information that is available and instead always keep discovering new information.

Flourish Clinic specializes in mold sickness and CIRS – learn more!