So, I am posting a picture of a flower from my garden, because who wants to see a picture of mold????
It’s crazy to learn that I have 16 types of elevated mold identified in my body and that 11 of them are considered at a high level. Out of the 16 mycotoxins, Gliotoxin is the ONLY one that is found in things besides food and it's in the medium category. The rest of the elevated mycotoxins in my body are all found in our food system.
Gliotoxin can be released into the air as spores from infected materials such as contaminated soil, indoor environments with moisture problems such as damp basements or crawl spaces, water damaged spaces in the home, lung or skin infections in animals, and some foods such as moldy grains, nuts and fruits.
The good news is that it’s not super high in my body, so it’s not a ROARING concern, but still something to look into and get my numbers in range. So, with that said we had a mold professional come into our home and run tests. Results should be sent to us on Tuesday, August 5. From there we will determine what needs to be done in our home with regard to remediation. We are praying for minimal and easy to do ourselves work.
ALL of the rest of the molds come from food such as… Well, I was going to list out the foods like grains, beans, coffee beans, milk of animals fed contaminated grains, cheeses, nuts, spices, fermented foods, fruit, etc… but then I realized the potential to be getting mold from food is in ALL of our food. So, where does that lead me?
Well, before I go there I want to mention something that feels significant to me. The very last mycotoxin on the above image is Zearalenone (ZEN). It’s not off the chart, but it’s pretty high. Dr. Cochran told me that THAT particular mold is estrogenic and connected to colon cancer. Well, it seems pretty clear that we need that particular mold out of my system ASAP! This reminds me of a friend who has been cancer free for many years now, I think nearing 20 years. They learned that his cancer stemmed from brown mold that was in their toilet tank under the floaty bulb, so that impressed me that it’s important to find the root cause of any cancer, any disease. Okay, so moving on to where realizing the potential to be getting mold from food is ALL our food leads me…
It leads me to deciding to relax and know that I can’t avoid mold. William, our mold specialist, told me that we cannot eradicate mold. Mold is like cancer cells, they are always there but, ideally, being kept in check by our immune system -- unless they aren’t. It’s when they aren’t that we get into trouble. So, that leads to my next thought.
Why isn’t my body detoxing the mold in my system? I don’t know the answer to that, but I can guess some things.
1. I have not been one to avidly exercise, I actually have to make myself move daily. Sweating from movement is a great way to detox.
2. I have eaten vegetables all my life, but compared to what I am learning we need for proper nutrition, I didn’t eat nearly enough. Organic cruciferous vegetables are really great for detoxing. Vegetables are a great way to detox.
Well, generally speaking my immune system has been compromised and it’s still something to determine why that is. In the meantime, there is probably more to the why. I have in mind to go into detoxing in another blog post and what I am suspecting is that my body has not done a great job of detoxing for a number of years, which is something I realize is so important for our health. With that said, something I have recently noticed about my system is that, with all the things I have been changing and ramping up this past year, I sweat differently now. I realize now I didn’t sweat a whole lot, and when I did I avoided it. Just the other day I was in the garden working and I noticed sweat pouring off my head and down my back in a way I never noticed in the past. In the past I would have hated it, but instead I welcomed it as a friend, because I knew toxins were being released from my body.
On another note, it’s interesting that when we go through something, all of a sudden we meet or hear of others going through similar things. As it turns out I now know of 4 people that are dealing with mold toxicity and each story is unique and individual. I am grateful for the sharing they have done with me of their story and how they have tackled things, some giving resources, and some offering ways of helping and making dealing with it cost a little less. Remediation is an expensive thing and it’s not something I wanted to ever have to deal with, but no one wants to deal with most of life’s challenges. I remember a number of years ago saying “I would never want to have to be gluten free, that would be too hard!” And now, here I am sometimes thinking about how simple the gluten free life is compared to where I am at now. It’s all perspective and we learn to deal with things, I hope I never say anything would be too hard ever again.
So, as we enter this next phase of this journey we are trusting the Lord for cleaning out my system, for healing me, and for financial provision to get back out of this medical debt that we now find ourselves in. He has given us a dream to be able to help others who are in our shoes when we are able to and we look forward to that. In the meantime, some prayer requests we have are:
- that my body would respond well to the detoxing and begin to heal in new ways,
- that mold remediation would be minimal and easy and
- that I won't have to leave our home for health purposes during remediation.
- for financial provision as we navigate this next phase of my healing journey
- and in the end be able to help and support others in multiple ways including financially.
We are continually grateful for those of you who have prayed for us and who have given us financial support personally and/or through our Go Fund Me, we remember you often and thank the Lord for you often, saying a prayer for you.
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