The Link Between Mold Exposure and Heightened Food Sensitivities

Multiple food sensitivities are a common symptom in cases of mycotoxin illness and mold-sensitive individuals, leaving clients and patients at a loss for what to eat. Food sensitivities can lead to frustration, restrictive eating habits, as well as social isolation–gathering around the table is an ancestral means of connection that we are wired for. Eating together brings more than nourishment; it is a medicine I like to call “soul food”.

But what happens when suddenly everything you eat leaves you breaking out in symptoms, like bloating, nausea, bowel changes, brain fog, headaches and migraines, anxiety or panic, rashes, hives, flushing, elevated blood pressure, heart palpitations, sinus congestion, fatigue, and joint pain, leaving you feeling frustrated and limited in your food choices and dietary experiences?

Elimination Doesn’t Always Bring Answers

Many clinicians and self-guided individuals choose to try out an elimination diet of sorts. This may include options such as,
● total elimination of certain food groups
● autoimmune protocol (AIP)
● paleo diet
● carnivore diet
● lion’s diet
Much success can be found in implementing these diets, due to their nature of removing common
“trigger or aggravating foods”, their interactions with the immune system, and their impact on the health of the epithelial lining of the gut. While these elimination diets may bring symptom relief, oftentimes, clients or patients find themselves lacking a variety of foods or continuing to have food
sensitivities develop suddenly. Others find themselves implementing an elimination diet with hopes of successful reintroduction, only to be disappointed when the reintroduction doesn’t go as planned, and they are back at square one.

You Need to Clear the Underlying Issue

The most common reason I see for an unsuccessful reintroduction phase to elimination diets is a lack of clearing the underlying issue. Rather than focusing on eliminating the foods alone, a root cause clinician will ask, “WHY is the body reacting to this food?”
In the context of mycotoxins, there are a few common mechanisms to look at with the development of food sensitivities:
1. Certain foods naturally contain higher levels of mycotoxins on the crops and farming processes that cater to the demand for mass production exacerbate the issue. An estimated 20-25% of harvested crops are disposed of due to contamination with mycotoxins, which commonly include aflatoxins, ochratoxin, patulin, gliotoxin, and deoxynivalenol. Some of the most common crops to naturally contain higher levels of mycotoxins include wheat, barley, corn, oat, rice, coffee beans, cocoa beans, and peanuts.
Another high-risk food category includes dairy and meat products from grain-fed cattle, as well as manufactured baby food, which is primarily made of grains. Contamination of mycotoxins is not as much of a concern in grass-fed and finished dairy and meat sources. Organic grain sources generally contain lower levels of mycotoxins than conventionally grown grains as well.
2. Increased intestinal permeability is another common driver for food sensitivities. Exposure to mycotoxins, either by means of contaminated foods or a contaminated environment, can lead to the compromise of the protective barrier around the intestines, called the epithelial lining. When the tight, protective junctures in the epithelial lining of the gut begin to separate, food and other microbial or toxin particles escape the route of waste elimination and begin circulating through the bloodstream. Because these particles don’t belong in the bloodstream, the immune system sees them as foreign invaders and begins an attack, in an attempt to protect the body. As the pro-inflammatory cytokine symphony orchestrates the increase of immune activation and inflammation, the food particles floating through the bloodstream look like danger to antigens, which signals immune activation and antibody production. This presentation often looks like a rapid onset of multiple food sensitivities and may extend beyond foods that are naturally higher in mycotoxins. The Layman’s term for this presentation is “leaky gut” and is often the predisposition of a similar process that occurs in the protective barrier around the brain, called the blood-brain barrier. These conditions commonly co-occur, with increased intestinal permeability often developing into blood-brain barrier permeability or “leaky brain”.
The brain is a susceptible target for mycotoxins and their effects on the immune system. The increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines weakens the blood-brain barrier, making it susceptible to the particles that have escaped the intestinal barrier. In addition, particular mycotoxins that are lipophilic, such as ochratoxin and gliotoxin, can easily permeate the blood-brain barrier, either via the bloodstream, or inhaled exposure.
3. Molecular mimicry is another element to consider in food sensitivities and their
relationship to mycotoxins. This process involves a structural similarity between particular foods and mycotoxins, which antigens cannot differentiate, and signal the activation of immune cells and antibody production. These similar structures of proteins, which are short sequences of amino acids, are called epitope structures. Common foods that present with similar epitope structures as mycotoxins include gluten, corn, casein, peanuts, soy, and yeast.

Achieving Better Outcomes

Knowing these underlying mechanisms can help clinicians and self-guided healers achieve better outcomes with therapeutic nutrition efforts. Why? -Because the food that the body is reacting to is information about what that food is cross-reacting with. When this is understood, the bottom line is that elimination diets are not enough to permanently heal food sensitivities. This is why reintroductions with nutrition-only interventions often fail. Root cause information helps point the arrow towards the real culprit that lies beyond or within the foods creating reactions. Are elimination diets still valuable? 1,000%. Elimination diets help to quiet down the immune system activation and remove triggers, allowing for gut, brain, and whole-body healing around the root cause to occur.

Mycotoxins and Healing Food Intolerances

In the context of mycotoxins, this translates into the removal of toxin exposure and accumulation, both in the environment and from contaminated food sources, as well as addressing the internal load that has built up from exposure to toxic molds and their metabolites. While implementing an elimination diet for mycotoxin illness, such as the low histamine diet, autoimmune paleo diet, carnivore diet, or other indicated diets that your clinician may advise for your unique needs, it is vital to be addressing any poor air quality present in the home, car, or workspace, as well as to be binding and eliminating internally colonized metabolites. This may include the use of binders, herbal support, limbic brain retraining, and detoxification therapies such as infrared sauna use, nasal irrigation, and ozone therapy. Working 1:1 with a healthcare professional who is mold literate is a vital step in permanent healing. The custom support that a mold-literate clinician can offer to mold cases can rapidly accelerate their healing processes.
With the right approach, that is unique to your body, and the adherence to some form of nutritional therapy (i.e., one of the previously mentioned elimination diets, or a variation that is individualized for you), here are some tips for successful reintroductions to previously triggering foods:
1. Wait until the body is ready. This is vital to the success of the reintroduction, as well as building confidence in the optimism bias of the client or patient. The majority of mold detoxification should be complete, as well as repair to the intestinal lining and the blood-brain barrier. Mast cells should also be stabilized before reintroductions, especially to higher histamine-containing foods.
2. Take it one food at a time. Food reintroductions are exciting! Oftentimes, clients are eager to get some of their favorite foods back in their diets. However, this may lead to a lack of clarity on the body’s tolerance, because of the nature of food sensitivities versus food allergies. Food allergies create reactions in a matter of minutes, whereas food sensitivities can occur over 1-5 days on the food item. One food every week, or every 5 days, if the food introduced previously did not cause a reaction, is a good, generalized timeline for success. It is vital to track any symptoms and write down the days that certain foods were reintroduced, to stay aware of patterns or triggers.
3. Consider quantities and frequency of consumption. Sometimes a little is good, but more is not always better. The body often has a threshold tolerance for particular foods, especially if they are common culprits of cross-reactivity. Dairy, for example, a common food that cross-reacts with fungal issues, one may be able to tolerate a small serving of goat cheese once or twice a week, but consuming goat dairy daily is too much. This is another aspect of food reintroductions that makes tracking symptoms and reintroductions so valuable. Being in tune with the body is key.
4. Start with low histamine and/or low cross-reactivity foods. Going from a low histamine diet to introducing a high histamine-containing food is not a setup for success. Choose low-reactivity foods in small quantities and be patient with the body. Remember, true healing is about playing the long game, not rapid results.
5. Consider sourcing as a way to lower exposure to cross-reactive foods, once
reintroductions are worked up to moderate or small amounts of higher histamine-containing foods. For example, choosing a tested, mycotoxin-free coffee brand, and brewing it in a pour-over or French press, as opposed to a coffee maker or Keurig machine, lowers your chances of getting exposed to rapidly growing mold and its metabolites, either on the beans, or in the brewing machine. The same principle applies to the sourcing of grains, meats, and dairy products.
6. Brain retraining can also be a valuable tool for food reintroductions. Remember, the body’s previously hypersensitive food reactions occur to protect the body. Retraining the limbic system to not perceive particular foods, especially those with higher molecular mimicry to mycotoxins, may be required for a successful reintroduction. Consider placing a tiny bit of the food that is being reintroduced on the tongue, while practicing some EFT tapping and affirmations, reminding your body that the food no longer needs to be a perceived threat. If the pulse elevates during this exercise, it is likely best not to swallow the food, but to try again in a few days, and wait for the pulse to remain stable before swallowing or consuming a full serving of that food. Elevation of pulse can indicate stress,
barring that this food is not naturally stimulating, as would be the case for high glycemic or caffeinated foods.
7. Focus on diet variation. Once a food is successfully reintroduced, be mindful to rotate it with a variety of other safe, non-reactive foods, in order to mindfully build the body’s tolerance and avoid a reactivation of the sensitivity. Many individuals become over-eager to consume successful reintroductions daily (and rightfully so, this is exciting!). However, mindful consumption and diet variation are a recipe for success in achieving permanent results. Remind your body that food supply is not scarce, as the elimination of particular foods will likely trigger a primal scarcity response to those foods, especially after successful reintroduction occurs. Be patient with yourself and remember the healing potential of self-compassion.
Navigating food sensitivities can be a challenge, both logistically, socially, and emotionally. If you’re unsure of where to begin, when it comes to healing from food sensitivities, working 1:1 with a clinician is a great first step. Prioritize being inquisitive about the root-cause information that the foods creating reactions are offering. Address and eliminate the root cause, both in the internal and external environments, in addition to compliance with an appropriate nutritional therapy. Focus on gut, immune, and limbic system repair, prior to reintroduction. Approach food reintroductions with patience and strategy. Remember that deeper healing takes time, and that the body is wired for it, when we slow down enough to listen and ask the right questions.
Author Bio:
Krista Kill is an integrative health practitioner and owner of Somasonder Wellness. She practices in the belief that the body was designed to heal, when given the proper tools. She’s been practicing integrative medicine for 5 years in her private practice and specializes in facilitating healing in cases of mystery or complex illnesses, as well as health optimization. Leveraging unique DNA bioresonance testing, advanced applied kinesiology & brain retraining techniques, Krista is passionate about using these tools, and her own pain to purpose story, to facilitate the conditions for her clients to choose into a healing process, and step into a state of optimal health. 

Find more information on working with Krista at https://www.somasonderwellness.com/

Follow Krista on Instagram SomaSonder Wellness (@somasonderwellness)

Questions? Comments? Write to us here or reach out to Krista for more information.
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