A: I'm really glad that you figured out that you have issues with mycotoxins and oxalates. This is something I've been studying for a few years, and there's a lot of emerging information on this. One thing is that the mycotoxins are produced by mold. When mold colonizes your body because of a current or past exposure, your body actually becomes a mycotoxin producing machine. The other thing that happens is that mold within your body produces oxalates. Therefore, if you have them in your body, yeast and mold are going to be producing oxalates. Then you can become sensitive to oxalates. The more accurate term that I've recently learned is actually “oxalate toxicity”.
We didn't realize that oxalates, molds, and yeasts were so closely connected. However, in the last few years, the Great Plains Lab that runs Organic Acids Testing has discovered a huge connection.
It's a really big deal in the functional medicine world. I don't think many practitioners are aware, but the challenge here is that you're also going to be more likely to have blood sugar swings. When you have issues with mold in your body and exposure to mold, the few ways to treat mold are going to be the following:
First you want to make sure that you eliminate the source of the mold. It could be somewhere where you're living, which is a very challenging situation. In that case, unless you are able to move and/or remediate, it will not be possible to get one hundred percent well. However, you can improve the situation.
The second thing you need to do is start utilizing binders. Binders can help bind the mycotoxins in your body and carry them out.
Then the third thing you need to do is take mold killing protocols that address the mold and yeast growing in your body.
I recommend doing all three of the above simultaneously. If you take just the killing protocols, the mycotoxins can be released, and that can cause a lot of symptoms. Doing the binders is really important to help bind up some of those mycotoxins and take them away. Depending on the type of mycotoxin you have in your body, there are different types of binders that are going to be specific to it and helpful for it. I will be working on this more in depth in the upcoming gut program.
The thing that I would recommend for you today is doing the low-oxalate diet. That's going to be really helpful because you already have a burden of oxalates in your system. Therefore, it would help to avoid things that you already know you're sensitive to, such as spinach, chard, beets, and almonds. You can modify your recipes with a low-oxalate approach. I have an article about oxalates that you can read, and that has more information about which foods are high in oxalates. You can have things like butternut squash, which is a safe food, carrots are also going to be low in oxalates.
The other thing you want to do is take some calcium supplements and also P5P to bind up some of the oxalates in your body.
As I said, you could also utilize binders. There's a variety of binders throughout the program. We're utilizing Saccharomyces Boulardii, which is a binder for certain types of mycotoxins, there are also things like bentonite clay, which might be an option, GI Detox by Bio Botanical Research, different types of fiber, like psyllium, can be helpful for some types of mycotoxins. Again, it depends on which one you have inside of your body.
I have an article by Great Plains Lab that can include some of the most common mycotoxin binders.
This is going to be something that you're going to have to work on for a while. I would encourage you to work with a practitioner to order the Organic Acid Test from Great Plains Lab, as well as potentially a mycotoxin test that can tell you a little bit more specific information on the protocols you need to use.
Generally, I have used something like activated charcoal, Saccharomyces boulardii, along with oil of oregano. It’s like a broad-spectrum treatment for people with mold issues, and many people do well with that. However, if you've done a lot of things and have been struggling a lot, you might benefit from working with a practitioner on this.
As far as your diet goes, focusing a lot on proteins and fats is going to be very helpful for you. That is going to be great for you to keep your blood sugar balanced. Some people with mold issues might even do better on a carnivore type of diet. I don't know if you want to go that far. I would also look into your liver and gallbladder function. People with mycotoxin issues end up having problems with their liver and gallbladder, where they don’t work as well. Oftentimes, this leads to fat malabsorption issues. They may benefit from things like digestive enzymes, pancreatic enzymes, liver gallbladder support. And sometimes, because the bile is so slow, this can lead to an overgrowth of H. pylori, which then produces additional food sensitivities.
Look into all of the things I mentioned. I have articles about mold, oxalates, and blood sugar issues on my website, along with the article about binders from Great Plains Lab linked above will offer much more insight.