Mycotoxins found in food and the air can be extremely detrimental to your overall health. Trust me, I know. It took going through several practitioners before realizing that this was one of the main culprits behind my libido and erection issues.
Mold is a tricky one because there is limited human data showing exactly how it effects the body but it is very well documented in animals. In Europe a LOT of work goes into making sure there animals are fed grains/feed without mycotoxins due to the impact it has on the animals health as well as the quality of the food. Yes, mycotoxins can leach into the milk from the cows diet…
Mycotoxins are a group xenoestrogenes known as mycoestrogens and thus act in the body very similar to estrogen. THIS fact alone is what led the way to solving a huge array of issues in my own body. My estradiol was never sky high but I had all the symptoms of estrogen dominance and my DUTCH test always came back with low androgen pool and estrogen dominance. This is classic in mold illness - blood work shows not much - but tissue levels show a bigger picture.
After getting a mycotoxin test back we discovered SKY HIGH ZEA! Which just so happens to be one of the most prevalent myoestrogens found in grains…
Between this, living in a moldy apartment, and a battle with SIBO that was feeding high levels of pseudomonas and other estrogenic bacteria - its no wonder I couldn’t get it up…
I started working on excreting, binding, and lowering aromatase activity. My brain and body began to come back online for the first time and I even started experiencing morning wood again!
I’ve recently just renovated my bedroom. Without knowing I found mold in hidden areas. I’ve also been feeling like trash and I always felt worse after a night sleeping in my room. That’s why I pulled everything out. We went on holiday and I noticed just how refreshed I felt. Especially when waking up. I would usually wake feeling fatigued and a low mood.
I’ve hopefully eliminated as much mold as possible.
Yeah the waking up feeing refreshed in other spaces is such a big indicator - its what first started making me realize something was wrong.
Honestly I’ve been through a lot of protocols (modifying the gut, lowering oxalates in the diet and lowering production from mold/microbes internally, binding endotoxin in the gut, lowering the TLR4 receptor, raising androgens for more resilience. etc etc. Hydration also is a HUGE overlooked treatment for people with mold issues. Seeking health electrolytes is an awesome one)
But testing your labs, gut, and OAT are great ways to get insights on what needs adjusting for YOU. I can’t be much help without first understanding your own physiology.
This is so interesting man. I’ve never looked into it.
I have high total testosterone 1000ng/dl but my free is only 4.
So my SHBG is sky high (66). I’ve heard a few experts on this that it could be due to mold.
I need to test for it. Which test would you recommend?
Also, how was your approach to solve this?
Pharmaceuticals or just supplements? or both?
Thanks for the info!
I was researching a bit more on this and I have a few other questions to add to this.
What do you think about the Visual Contrast Test that you can take online?
also, have you used intranasal VIP as Dr Shoemaker suggests? if so how was your experience?
I’m not sure how much weight I would put on the visual contrast test.
Many swear by Dr Shoemaker - others think its a bit too “cookie cutter”. Again, no one will have all the answers but if his work resonates with you and you have found some benefit in it - I won’t tell one to stop!