Free Resources for Mold Allergies

Are you struggling with mystery symptoms? Do you think you might be reacting to the mold in your bathroom? Even if you don’t see visible mold, you could still have symptoms that are indicative of mold exposure, especially if your body has trouble detoxifying.

Here are some free resources for mold allergies, that I have found valuable in my journey back to health after finding out I was very allergic to mold.

Please note that I am not a doctor, and I am not providing medical advice. Seek a trained professional before experimenting on yourself, or starting a protocol related to mold detoxification.

Symptoms you may experience with a mold allergy

The common symptoms of a mold allergy include:

• Typical allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and itchy throat
• Inflammation, such as headaches, joint pain and swelling
• Hives, eczema and other skin issues
• Weight gain
• Lightheadedness, dizziness
• Poor memory
• Gut symptoms such as poor digestion, diarrhea and constipation
• Fatigue, inability to function properly
• Nose bleeds
• Food allergies, especially dairy and gluten

With that being said, you could still experience symptoms outside of what is listed here. Everyone is different, and their symptoms can manifest in many different ways. It is always best to consult your doctor to get an official diagnosis.

Environmental warning signs that you might be dealing with mold

Here are some common household and environmental signs that mold could be an issue (even if you don’t see any visibly in your home)

• You have visible mold in your house or around the outside of your house
• You’ve had a flood, or there was one before you moved in, even if it was remediated.
• You have had a leak in the roof or walls, and there are wet spots on the walls or ceiling
• You had a dishwasher or washing machine leak
• Your home or office smells musty
• You live in a very wet and humid area, and the relative humidity routinely goes above 60% RH within your home
• Your bathroom is not properly ventilated, so it stays very humid after you shower
• You live in a dry environment, but have a swamp (evaporative) cooler, which humidify the air as part of the cooling process
• You prefer to run a fan rather than turn on the AC, so you often pull in humid air from outside
• Your symptoms are worse after lots of rain
• You feel better when you go away on vacation, or your symptoms are worse at home versus work, etc.

Why mold in the environment and mold in our food is bad news for everyone (but some people show more symptoms)

Some people are much more sensitive to mold than others, depending on genetics, epi-genetics and our bodies ability to detoxify from harmful substances.

If you know you have the MTHFR or HLA-DR gene mutations, you may be at an increased risk of mold sensitivity.

With that being said, mold impacts everyone’s health negatively, whether they display symptoms or not. This field of research is just now emerging, but there are studies to suggest that mold exposure can lead to autoimmune disease and even cancer, if the problem is not dealt with in a timely fashion.

Mold sensitivity is actually a blessing in my mind (I am battling it myself), because it means you are more likely to take action to mitigate it. If you never had any symptoms, you would not suspect anything is wrong.

Your body is trying to tell you there is a problem through your symptoms. If you ignore or supress the symptoms through medication, you will be unable to reverse the damage that the mold has already done, and your health will suffer in the long run.

How I self-diagnosed my food-related mold allergy

Foods to avoid if you know (or think) you have a mold allergy

Allergy testing

This is one area where I am not as well-versed, as I did not go the conventional allergy skin test route. However, based on discussions with other people battling the same problems, the skin, blood and urine testing can be incredibly helpful to understand whether you have a mold allergy or sensitivity.

Some testing is even specific enough to tell you which types of mold you are sensitive to, although it is best to avoid them all as much as possible.

There is also the Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) test, which can be done online for free or for a nominal cost. It is quite accurate at diagnosing mold issues. You can read more about it, or try it out yourself here.

If you do the VCS test and obtain a positive result, I definitely recommend seeing a health practitioner who can help with next steps.

Ok, I know I’m allergic to mold…now what?

This is definitely something I would not recommend tackling on your own. A healthcare professional is definitely best to help guide you through this process, especially if you have other health conditions that may impact your health journey.

Generally speaking, getting out of a moldy environment is definitely the first step to regaining your health. Next up is changing your diet to eliminate any foods that can harbor mold themselves (refer to my “Foods to avoid” post linked above).

There are lots of supplements that can help to mitigate from mold exposure. If you know you are in a moldy environment, you can take binders like activated charcoal and bentonite clay to help bind to the mold toxins (taken away from food and other supplements).

There are also some supplements that can help to clean and detoxify the body, such as chlorophyll, milk thistle, NAC, candida cleanses, Biocidin by Bio-Botanical Research, etc.

You also want to ensure that your detoxification pathways are open (that you are pooping regularly, are able to sweat, etc). I love the Kill, Bind, Sweat protocol by Dr. Jess, which I have linked below.

Other resources

If you suspect you have a mold allergy, you are likely sensitive to foods that are commonly moldy, as you will have noticed from the two posts linked above. Other great resources to look into are as follows:

• The Low Mold Diet by Dr Jill Carnahan
• The Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey. This article titled “Why Mycotoxins are Kryptonite” is also very eye-opening.
• Moldy documentary by Dave Asprey
• Kill Bind Sweat Protocol by Dr Jess

Food-related mold allergy support group

I decided to start a group on Facebook, for those who may be struggling alone with a mold allergy, and need some support or guidance. Feel free to join, if you are just getting started and could use some advice from those who are also going through the same thing!

If you give any of these resources for mold allergies a try, please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest so you don’t miss a future post!

Also, be sure to check out this 5 day mold-free diet meal plan!