My Unfortunate (and Accidental) Exposure to Mold

One of the joys of home ownership is the regular maintenance required to keep your living space in a livable condition. As a 24 year old student, I remain fairly unacquainted with this joy, but I sometimes experience it by proxy with my parents.

While their 17 year old house is in remarkable condition, some of the older appliances are reaching the end of their conscription and are being replaced with newer, cleaner, greener recruits. Last summer saw the replacement of the downstairs air conditioner, and while summer isn’t quite upon us, my parents decided it was time to preemptively replace the upstairs unit; being stranded even for a day in a house unprotected from Texas heat can be deadly.

The workmen replacing the upstairs unit fortunately made an unfortunate discovery; some of the ducting in the attic had burst, accounting for the astronomical electric bills my parents had been subjected to last summer and allowing a virulent colonizer to gain footing – mold. When I stay with my parents (which is often) the upstairs becomes my space, and because I usually keep the temperature fairly cool, I’m reasonably convinced that I’ve been subjected to either the spores or byproducts of this mold.

So what to do now? So much of Doug’s work focuses on how we get exposed to molds and mycotoxins. Antibiotics, contaminated food and sick buildings are all fairly common ways people are exposed to fungi, and it is safe to say that no one will go through life unexposed. Fungi are, after all, ubiquitous, and as some of the primary decomposers on earth, we would be living in a world littered with dead organic matter if they weren’t so good at their job. But the other part of Doug’s work is perhaps the most important part – what to do if you know you’ve been exposed.

Fortunately, my parents got the unit and the ducting replaced, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore. I know that I have a few things on my side. I’m younger and have a fairly strong, functioning immune system. I try to eat Kaufmann 1 as often as possible. I supplement. These are all things I know have helped prevent me from getting ill, but as someone very well acquainted with Doug’s work, I know how dangerous this stuff can be. So I want to take steps to prevent any long term damage. For a while, I want to discuss on the blog the ways that I’m going to ensure that I stay healthy, because I think that it can help some of you who also know or suspect that you have been exposed to mold. Here are a couple of the first steps that I’m going to take.

Anti-fungals
Oregano (in the form of Oregano Oil) and raw Garlic are two of my favorites. Any fungi that may have gained a footing in my body I want gone. Rotating is key. There are a number of resources on this site that can help you figure out which one to take.

Detox
Chlorophyll and Psyllium Hulls are key here. These help cleanse toxins (specifically mycotoxins in the case of psyllium) out of the body. I’ll be juicing lots of greens, including cilantro, which is also a chelator. I don’t know enough about all the different kinds of cleanses to comment on them, and by detox I don’t mean doing nothing but juicing for days – I simply mean adding lots of these substances into my diet. Which will be this:

Strict Kaufmann 1
Lean meats, veggies, limited fruits, nuts, seeds and plenty of water – give Fungi no food of their choice (sugar). Avoid at all costs grain, corn, starches, alcohol and most processed and packaged foods.

More to come on this later!