Those who say "Mold is everywhere" are correct. The fungal world makes up 1/3 of the biomass of the planet. Those who suggest this means that mold can't harm you are misinformed. Mold may be a necessary part of the outdoor ecosystem, but when undetected or left untreated in an indoor environment, it becomes a serious health hazard.
Internist and toxicology specialist Dr. Michael Gray has seen hundreds of patients with a wide-ranging list of symptoms, all of whom lived, worked, or studied in a water-damaged building.
In the following 6-minute video, Dr. Gray explains why the mycotoxins associated with toxic mold are hazardous. According to Dr. Gray, these toxins have the potential to alter our DNA, an astounding fact given that the DNA molecule is one of the most stable molecules on Earth.
You do not have to be a microbiologist to follow this explanation. Dr. Gray uses layman's terms to explain why proper understanding is crucial to the health of future generations.
For another interesting perspective on the potential of mycotoxins (specifically aflatoxins) to cause DNA mutations, see the Inside Cancer Teacher website.
About Andrea Fabry
I am a former journalist and the mother of nine children ranging in age from 28 to 12. My husband Chris, myself, and our children find ourselves in the desert of Arizona attempting to rebuild our health and our lives following a massive toxic mold exposure. The organization momsAWARE comes out of this crisis as a means to help educate and empower others on the subject of environmental health. Our family has also launched a natural line of personal care products called Just So, available at our Online Store.
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Andrea,
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I was just reading about mold and genetic mutations last night. Lots of people in the autism community are finding that their kids have genetic mutations--which they of course think were there from birth. :(
Have you read "The China Study" and the author's work with molds as they relate to cancer, especially liver cancer? He has found that the toxic action of the aflatoxin is STOPPED is the diet contains less than 6% of its protein from animal sources. I have wondered, of course, if other types of damage that are caused by molds can be stopped and reversed by a vegetarian diet. Very popular book--available is bookstores everywhere, and not expensive. Definitely worth a read. Instead of the Doug Kaufmann diet, which has a pretty high emphasis on meat, we follow the "Feast Without Yeast" diet (Dr. Bruce Semon) here, which restricts meat but allows cooked rice products instead. It also restricts a variety of foods that Dr. Semon found contain high levels of neurotoxic substances. We have had excellent luck with it--and do not do well when we try to add meat back in. We really kicked the systemic mold with this diet in our whole household about three years ago or so; it worked much better for us than a high meat diet.
Just thought I'd bring this up as an option for those who are having a hard time with the Kaufmann diet. Great post!
I have the China Study book! To back up what you're saying here is what the author says,
ReplyDelete"These findings - the contents of Part II of this book - show that heart disease, diabetes and obesity can be reversed by a healthy diet. Other research shows that various cancers, autoimmune diseases, bone health, kidney health, vision and brain disorders in old age are convincingly influenced by diet. Most importantly, the diet that has time and again been shown to reverse and/or prevent these diseases is the same whole foods, plant-based diet that I had found to promote optimal health in my laboratory research and in the China Study."
Thanks for the info, Amanda.
Andrea
Thank you Andrea and Amanda! What great info!
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