According to Dr Crista, the numerous ways mycotoxins damage the body (remembering that mycotoxins are the poisons mold spits out; they’re not just 'mold spores', which are more relevant to simpler, allergic-type responses) include but are not limited to:
- Inflammation in sinuses, lungs, bladder and digestive tract. They can migrate across the lining of the respiratory and digestive tracts.
- Interference with vital cellular processes.
- Impairment in the synthesis of proteins, RNA and DNA.
- Depletion of the master cell antioxidant, glutathione.
- Acceleration of programmed cell death.
- Poisonous to nerves in body and brain.
- Toxic to liver and kidneys.
- Effects on medications metabolised by the cytochrome P450 system.
- Inhibition of immune defences.
- Causative of some cancers.
- Winnowing away of the lining of the intestines.
- Crossing into the brain and weakening the blood/brain barrier.
- Ride the olfactory nerve to the hippocampus and the brain's frontal lobe.
- Cross the placenta and become more active in the uterus.
- Detectable in breast milk.
This is not an exhaustive list; only some of the most common.
If you're suffering from mold toxicity / mycotoxicity, you'll generally have more than one symptom and in more than one area of your body, she points out.
Her website makes available a specific mold illness symptoms questionnaire, which you can work your way through and produce a score that indicates the likelihood of your currently being impacted by mycotoxicity.
It categorises the main groups of symptoms as follows:
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
- Sneezing, runny nose, hay fever and other allergies, post-nasal drip, chronic sinusitis, polyps, swollen lymph nodes, bumps at back of throat, ear popping, tinnitus, hearing loss, dry eyes and irritated eyes.
Respiratory System
- Shortness of breath, wheezing, asthma, chronic dry cough, blood-stained spit, burning lungs, heaviness in chest, sensitivity to fragrances, chronic respiratory illnesses, smoke and exhaust sensitivity, colds go to lungs.
Digestive System
- Appetite changes, weight loss or weight gain, nausea, diarrhoea and constipation, bloating, food sensitivities, irritable bowel, ulcers, sweet cravings, cyclical vomiting syndrome.
Circulatory System
- Many spider veins, cherry angiomas, easy bruising and easy bleeding, iron deficiency/anaemia, irregular heartbeat, varicose veins, low or reactive blood pressure, Reynauds phenomenon, atrial venous malformation.
Skin
- Sensitive skin, itchy skin, burning sensations, flushing, sensitivity to sunlight, peeling or sloughing skin, fungal infections.
Brain
- Brain fog, confusion, trouble finding right word, dementia, slow thinking, memory loss, anxiety, fatigue.
Nervous System
- Dysautonomia, tremors, seizures, twitching, difficulties with balance and walking, daytime sleepiness, anxiousness, depression, dizziness, slow reflexes, neuropathy, depression, lack of co-ordination, vertigo, headache, migraine, insomnia.
Urinary Bladder
- Overactive bladder, irritable bladder, kidney inflammation, blood in the urine, bladder infection symptoms with no identifiable infection.
Immune System
- Increased susceptibility to cancer, increased susceptibility to infection, long-lasting colds, chronic mono or Epstein Barr, viral infections become bacteria, frequent herpes outbreaks.
Reproductive System
- Changes in menstrual cycle, infertility in both genders, jock itch, vaginal yeast or bacterial infections.
Dr Crista has observed that a typical timeframe for a susceptible individual in a mold-infested environment to begin exhibiting their first symptoms is between three and six months.
Women, she says, are more readily and more severely affected. That's because mycotoxins both absorb and store themselves in fat, and women, in general terms, have a higher percentage of body fat. Thus, their total body burden of the toxin "gets higher, faster".
** Both mold and lyme are known for their propensity to imitate other conditions, as well as to exacerbate other existing conditions.
Lyme, however, has one distinction: The symptoms wander. Mold symptoms don’t. And mold affects the respiratory system more than lyme does.
Each condition makes a body more susceptible to the other. **
