When you learn you have mold toxicity, the process to get rid of it is a bear. It’s incredibly stubborn and goes down with a fight. Along with liver supporting supplements, binders, and nutrients, a mold savvy doctor will also prescribe a low mold diet. Revamping your diet for 3-6 months to reduce the amount of mold and mold feeding foods you consume is an essential step but is usually quite different from our norm. That alone is overwhelming. However, there is more that happens we typically aren’t really prepared for. That’s what I’m walking you through today and solutions so that you feel confident moving forward.
You Might Feel Worse At First
Mold goes down shooting. It wants to take you down with it. When you are starving it from its food source, it will release mycotoxins into your body. These get into your bloodstream and have to get filtered out by your kidneys and liver. Obviously, the body doesn’t feel good being bombarded by toxins and you start feeling pretty crappy. This shouldn’t last more than about a week. However, you aren’t just doomed to feel crappy. There are things you can do to help ease the symptoms thankfully.
First is make sure you’re taking a small dose of a binder like activated charcoal or bentonite clay tablets (NOT both). The amount of the dose will vary, so be sure to keep in touch with your doctor. Sometimes it’s as little as 1/8th of a normal dose paired with a lot of liquids.
The second thing to do is to make sure your liver is getting the support it needs. Milk thistle is a great option but be sure to talk with your doctor to see if there aren’t other options for you. People with mold toxicity often have other health issues going on so I always recommend discussing supplements and symptoms with your doctor to get the best care.
When it comes to recovering from mold, slow and steady wins the race. You often start off with very small doses of herbs and medications and slowly work up to a full dose. Sometimes this takes many months. Being patient is difficult but it’ll be worth it in the long run.
There Is Conflicting Information Out There
One website will tell you one food is okay, another will tell you it’s not. You want to feel better and consistent “rules” would be really nice. When I was developing my low-mold meal planning program, I ran into this with even the limited number of resources that are out there. What I learned from my research is that you will never eliminate all mold from coming into your body via food, the goal is to minimize.
In a way, this is freeing.
As long as you follow the basic principles, having a “questionable” food every now and then means it won’t completely derail your recovery. Knowing a basic formula that allows for real-life to happen is freeing too. Perfection isn’t required, just consistency.
It Does Work
Following a low mold diet does work. It helps your medications and binders work more effectively, and it helps with the die-off. Recovering is not an overnight process and this is where people start to question if they’re doing the right thing. For most people, you’re looking at 12-18 months of recovery time with supplements, medications, and diet. In our microwave, instant gratification society, this is painfully slow. However, when you go into this with the right expectations, it makes a world of difference in the experience of the journey.
Learn more about what a low mold diet looks like here.
Learn more about the low mold meal planning program here.
