Is Toxic Mold to Blame for Your Chronic Digestive Issues?

Chronic digestive problems can make life uncomfortable, and at times… embarrassing. 

Whether you’re dealing with bloating and heartburn or plagued by abdominal pains and loose stools – it disrupts your life. 

Unfortunately, many people struggle with chronic digestive issues for years and even decades before getting to the root cause of their issues.

While there are several causes of gut dysfunction, one is often overlooked: mold. 

Yes, that’s right, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – mold disrupts all bodily systems, including the gut.

This article breaks down how mold illness impacts your digestive system and the steps you can take to begin to heal your gut.

Mold & Digestive Complaints: What’s the Connection?

Almost everyone experiencing mold will have some digestive complaints. Even if you don’t have GI symptoms, you may still have an issue in this system, but it presents as brain fog, headaches, or skin rashes.

Digestive complaints can include:

• Loose stool

• Constipation (no bowel movement in more than 24 hours)

• Multiple food sensitivities

• Abdominal pain/discomfort

• Nausea

• Heartburn

• Poor appetite

• Weight loss or gain

• Bloating

• Brain fog

• Rashes

• Headaches/pain

Unfortunately, by the time you’ve discovered you have a mold problem your gut has likely become quite imbalanced. 

You have too much unfriendly bacteria and not enough friendly bacteria. You have a leaky gut lining and parasites. You have chronic inflammation, biofilms with mold inside, and overgrown yeast.

If that sounds awful, you’re right! This is why it usually takes testing, protocols, and time to recover your gut health. Be patient as you go through this process. 

It took me years, and gut protocols are my least favorite! I am very sensitive to any herbal or pharmaceutical bug killer. But now when I have consistent, formed bowel movements and my gut tests come back normal, I am so proud.

Since the digestive system is the site of nutrient absorption and production, it’s important to address. The intestinal tract can be quite the source of inflammation and infection (which makes more inflammation) when it’s not healthy, making you even sicker.

Got Food Sensitivities? It Could be Mold

An increasing list of food sensitivities could be a symptom of mold illness. I had a client recently who asked if she could be cured of her food sensitivities. But most of these foods were inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy, so it wasn’t so much of a sensitivity as an intolerance. 

Other foods could be true allergens for you. This can be discovered through IgE blood testing. Note that there can be false positives in these tests. Eggs and nuts are common in this category.

Still, more foods do cause sensitivities - inflammatory reactions that may not happen immediately. This can all get really confusing!

My main concern as a health practitioner is when my clients can’t tolerate a long list of nutritious foods. Some clients can only tolerate three things, like broccoli, rice and chicken. 

Like chemical avoidance, there may be a period of time when you have to honor these food sensitivities. Your goal is to heal your gut and other systems enough to add to your dietary list.

How to Get the Root of Chronic Digestive Issues

You can consider trying different diets, like the elimination diet or the low-histamine diet, and see how your body responds. Keep a food journal. You can test for food sensitivities (these can change over time) and allergies (these likely will not).

If your gut health is a constant struggle for you, I strongly recommend testing and customized protocol with a functional health practitioner. It’s easy to keep spinning your wheels for decades, wasting a lot of money in the process.

Possible Causes of Chronic Digestive Problems:

• Intestinal permeability

• Intestinal inflammation

• Candida overgrowth

• Small Intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

• Small Intestinal fungal overgrowth (SIFO)

• H Pylori overgrowth

• Deficiency of stomach acid or digestive enzymes

• Hypothyroidism

• Food sensitivities

• Insufficient chewing

• Stress

• Celiac disease and other autoimmune digestive disorders

• Neurological issues

• Parasites and worms

• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

• Loss of oral tolerance 

• Dysbiosis (imbalanced bacteria)

Testing Options:

Without accurate data, you’re flying blind. You could be throwing money away on unnecessary supplements or even treating the wrong thing.

Testing allows you to get to the root of your gut issues. While it’s an investment, it’s well worth it in the long run. Here are some possible tests to consider:

• Stool testing (we use the GI-MAP)

• Celiac and other autoimmunity testing

• Food allergy testing

• Food sensitivities

• Colonoscopy

• Endoscopy

• SPECT scan
  

Treatment Ideas:

Your unique testing data will guide your treatment plan and where to start. Here are some of our go-to’s for patients with chronic digestive issues:

• Megasporebiotic with MegaPre as directed with a protein meal (start at a lower dose)

• Biocidin tincture for infections

• Para 1-3 products by Cell Core (Cell Core Para 1 and Cell Core Para 2) for parasites

• Immunoglobulins such as Mega IgG 2000 (great for loose stool) & Mega Mucosa (great for inflamed gut) 

• MATH diet (see Chapter 7)

• Low FODMAP diet (see Chapter 8)

• Low histamine diet (see Chapter 8)

• Chew well

• Broad-spectrum digestive enzymes (I like Digest Gold - just one per large meal)

• Supplemental hydrochloric acid (HCl)

• Prokinetics like ginger, Iberogast, and MegaGuard (can help with nausea and constipation)

• Bitters like gentian tincture

• Essential oils such as frankincense, peppermint, and ginger topically (learn to use safely)

• Vitamin A - 5,000 IU/day for mucosal barrier

• Aloe vera juice

• Licorice tea

• Coffee enemas, gargling, singing, and laughing (good for the vagus nerve)

• Glutathione - 100 mg/2 times a day with food

• Clean fish and fish oil - 1-3 gm/day
  

Ready to Get to the Root of Your Digestive Problems?

While healing your gut can be daunting, it can be done. But you’ve got to know what’s going on in your gut before you start piling on supplements.

And the BEST way to get a big picture of what’s going on with your gut is with a comprehensive stool analysis. While several are available, my favorite by far is the GI-MAP test from Diagnostic Solutions. 

The GI-MAP tests for a wide variety of pathogens, including:

• Parasite and worm infections

• Candida & H pylori infections

• Bacterial health of the large intestine

• Markers of pancreatic health (enzymes) & fat digestion

• Markers of beta-glucuronidase (marker of estrogen & phase 2 liver detox)

• Zonulin* (marker of leaky gut & leaky brain)

You have an option for test analysis with one of our coaches, so you won’t be stuck figuring things out on your own. Here’s what one client had to say:

“So many things showed up! Micki helped me interpret the results and make a plan to get my stomach straightened out. Currently on week 4 of the protocol, and there is already a HUGE difference. My digestion has taken a full turnaround and I’m able to live normally without thinking of bathroom visits.”  -Kelci B.

If you’re ready to get to the root of your digestive problems and finally heal your gut for good, order your test kit here.

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Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and FunctionalDetoxProducts.com.

Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!

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