Detoxing was the last thing on my mind when we were moving. I thought that moving out of our home and getting rid of a lot of our belongings meant that I was good to go, and this may be the case for a lot of people. Here I am over a year removed from our moldy home and I have found that detoxing my body (and life, really) is absolutely crucial. Everyone will react differently to mold and toxic mold, and in turn mycotoxins. Even within my family we all reacted differently with few overlapping symptoms. That is the beauty of humans, we are all different. Whether you fall on the low or high end of symptoms, mycotoxins can stay in your body for months depending on how long you were exposed and the types of mold in your environment. Here are four ways that you can help your body detox after being exposed to a moldy environment.
Yes this is me. Yes we now live in an RV.
1. Removal
This means two things; either have the mold properly removed/remediated by a certified professional using the IICRC S520 standards, or it means move out. It just needs to be removed from your environment. When we moved out all of our health improved within three months. This was with no detoxing, simply being out of the home. As someone who has
never been medicated for chronic issues, I was particularly down about being on three medications for 18 months, including three rounds of antibiotics in a year. Five months after moving out I was able to quit my antidepressants (HUGE for someone who was suicidal) and soon after the other two prescriptions, which just goes to show how important it is to be removed from the contaminated areas/belongings as quickly as possible. My children bounced back the quickest (they were never medicated) and my husband has had improvements in some areas and decline in others since leaving. His case is a tough one. Still I felt like I needed to do more to come back to normal, not just be content in my new normal. At one year removed I started a supplement routine.
2. Supplements
DISCLAIMER I am not a doctor, any medical information I share is my own personal experience and I encourage you to speak to your own healthcare provider and continue to do your own research in to what works best for you. These are some of many routes and supplements, I am only sharing what I have experience with. *See legal disclaimer link below
In August 2019 I started detoxing by taking activated charcoal (binds to mycotoxins and pulls them out of your body), ashwagandha (stress/anxiety support), a liver support (combination capsule with lots of roots and herbs that all assist in detoxification), a probiotic (my issues left me with many repeated yeast infections), and vitamin D3 (a low D count is indicative of mold exposure). There are many protocols to mold/mycotoxin detoxification, that is something that may mean further research for you. Also with supplements I practice muscle testing to determine proper dosage. Many professionals offer this and could be something to look in to as well. I felt improvement within two weeks, the most obvious being in how well I was sleeping. I felt like my anxiety was being managed and my hormones were starting to regulate (I had had three week cycles before/after being on birth control, which I quit in May 2019). There are few local doctors here who believe in mold toxicity, so searching for an environmental doctor, holisitic doctor, or functional doctor may be in your future. Some doctors can prescribe binders as well, something to check on with your physician.
3. Diet/Lifestyle Changes
In September 2019 I began a diet change. I felt like I had lost control of my body ever since we moved in to our old home in 2017. I had gained weight/fat despite eating healthy and going to the gym almost everyday for a year. Literally had no results which is not typical of my body at all. After spending a year outside of the moldy environment I noticed I still hadn't lost any weight (stress also played a factor, lawsuits are indeed stressful. So is fixing an RV when something breaks). I decided I needed to partner my supplements with a low-mold diet to make the most of what I was trying to detox and fix. If you look up #lowmoldmeals on
instagram you will see all of the meals I have posted, but it is basically a diet (I hate that word...how about lifestyle change) that discourages excess fungus growth and inflammation inside your body. The closest would be a paleo diet, but there are some still some differences. Anyway, I have felt a lot of improvement since doing this. The days that I don't eat what I should (hello Halloween) I feel it within 24 hours. My skin breaks out and I get irritation...down there. My best advice is to look up low-mold diets and slowly start eating food that heals your body. I currently avoid dairy, sugar, wheat (all forms), white rice, and non-organic grains, high sugar fruits, certain nuts, canned food, vinegar, dried fruit, I moderately eat high-starch vegetables, aim for at least 100 oz of water a day, and have tried as much as financially possible to switch to organic meats/vegetables/fruits and lots of alternate unrefined flours/sugars (coconut sugar, almond flour, etc). Before making huge changes I recommend three things; first, talk to your doctor. Second, make the switch slowly so that it becomes habit and not a overnight shock. Last, focus on what you CAN eat.
4. Environmental Changes
When I moved out of my moldy home it made sense to have the most non-toxic home as possible. We tended to overlook all of the things we put ON our body (lotions/soaps/etc with 40+ ingredients each) or in our environment (air freshner, wax warmers, cleaning supplies, etc). Many companies that claim to be natural or good for you actually have tons of toxins still in them. The beauty/cosmetic/cleaning industry is extremely under regulated in the United States. That means they can sneak in lots of things like "fragrance" and "natural flavors" without actually telling you what that means. After all we went through this was a big eye opener for me. We switched to non-toxic (and I mean 100% actually non-toxic) dish soap, hand soaps, shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, toothpaste, etc. I share a lot of these on our instagram, but please be careful at
greenwashing, a claim that something is natural or non-toxic yet still contains toxins (even your favorite essential oil company does this, GASP). An absolutely amazing and eye-opening group is
Living Well Mama .
These four steps to start the detox process have helped me begin to come back to who I used to be. It is a lot to take in and we will write more in-depth articles down the road on each area but for now do not be discouraged. In your darkest and hardest of days remember that it is a small bit of your story. It feels awful, horrible, terrible, and the worst but you can fight back and be whole again.
Hope this helps,
B&R
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