Mycotoxins are a secondary metabolite of mold spores; in other words, they are what mold spores produce to weaken and destroy your health. Mycotoxins are very strong and powerful and destructive to our organs and systems.

Mycotoxins can cause diverse and powerful toxic effects. They are:

• Carcinogenic: cause cancer
• Hepatoxic: toxic to the liver
• Immunotoxic: toxic to the immune system
• Dermatoxic: toxic to skin
• Teratogenic: cause fetal abnormalities
• Neurotoxic: toxic to the brain and nervous system
• Estrogenic: cause elevated levels of estrogen
• Hemorrhagic: cause internal bleeding and bruising
• Nephrotoxic: toxic to kidneys
• Mutagenic: cause genetic abnormalities

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A BLOOD ANTIBODY TEST FOR OCHRATOXIN

This mycotoxin’s major targets are: 

• Liver
• Kidney
• Brain
• Skeletal muscle
• Fat tissue
• Ochratoxin crosses the placenta.
• The highest Ochratoxin levels is found in breast milk

Studies have shown it causes leaky gut syndrome and changes what you absorb from the foods you eat. 

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: TRICHOTHECENE MYCOTOXINS

These mycotoxins are produced by the molds Stachybotrys chartarum, Fusarium, Trichoderma, and other molds. These mycotoxins are extremely toxic to humans and these are the most important ones:

• Satratoxin
• Verrucarin
• T-2 Toxin
• Vomitoxin

TESTING

Blood tests for mycotoxins have been used for the last 20 years and are highly accurate.  The specificity and sensitivity of blood serum testing for the presence of IgG and IgE antibodies to mycotoxins in the blood are very high.  

We test for IgG and IgE antibodies for 14 mycotoxins for a total of 28 test results.

Mycotoxins from:

• Penicillium (mycophenolic acid)
• Alternaria
• Aspergillus (gliotoxin)
• Stachybotrys
• Cladosporium
• Aspergillus auto-toxin
• Aspergillus/Penicillium neurotoxic mycotoxin
• Ochratoxin
• Satratoxin
• T-2 Toxin
• Vomitoxin
• Verrucarin and verrucarol
• Fumonisin
• Zearalenone

Penicillium produces mycophenolic acid, patulin, and gliotoxin.

Alternaria produces alternariol and gliotoxin

Vascular system (increased vascular fragility, hemorrhage into body tissues, or from lung: satratoxin.

Digestive system (diarrhea, vomiting, intestinal hemorrhage, liver effects, caustic effects on mucous membranes: T-2 toxin; anorexia: vomitoxin.

Respiratory system: respiratory distress, bleeding from lungs: trichothecenes.

The nervous system, tremors, incoordination, depression, headache, tremors, seizures: trichothecenes.

Cutaneous system (Skin): rash, burning sensation sloughing of skin, photosensitization: trichothecenes.

Reproductive system; infertility, changes in reproductive cycles: T-2 toxin.

Immune system: changes or suppression: many mycotoxins.

SYMPTOMS OF BEING AFFECTED BY MYCOTOXINS:

• Fatigue
• Short term memory loss
• Brain "fog"
  
• Headaches
• Easily confused
  
• Blurred vision or visual episodes
• Seizures
• Loss of equilibrium
• Feeling "spaced out"
• Muscles and joint aches and pains
  
• Intolerance of bright lights
• Decreased libido
• Sores that will not heal, rashes
• Shortness of breath
• Cardiac arrhythmias
  
• Mood swings, personality changes
• Tremors
  
• Abdominal pain and discomfort
• Hair Loss
• Numbness and Tingling in hands/feet
• Nosebleeds
• Chronic sinusitis, severe nasal allergies
  
• Sleep disturbance
• Painful lymph nodes
  
• Low-grade fever or feeling hot often
• Uncomfortable or frequent urination

And:… pets get sick too…

LYME DISEASE

Many patients suffering from chronic Lyme disease may actually have mycotoxicosis. The symptoms are very alike, and when the treatment for Lyme, which is a bacteria, fails to help a person the reason may be that it is actually mycotoxins causing the problem.

AUTISM (ASD)

Children with autism frequently have elevated mycotoxin antibody levels as reported in a recent study of 172 autistic children. These antibody levels are included in the mycotoxin serum blood test panel.  

MYCOTOXINS ARE LINKED TO MANY OTHER ILLNESSES:

Alzheimer's disease: exposure to molds and mycotoxins have been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Asthma: frequently asthma is a result of exposure to molds and mycotoxins, especially in children but also in adults.

Fungal sinusitis: it has been demonstrated in studies that molds cause sinusitis and are much more common than was believed.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS): studies have shown that exposure to molds and mycotoxins is a risk factor in MS.

Obesity: the effects of mycotoxins on the gut bacteria (gut microbiome) can and frequently results in obesity.

URINE TESTING FOR MOLD IS USELESS

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization has estimated that 25% of the world’s crops, such as nuts, cereals, and rice are contaminated by mold. Low levels of mycotoxins are found in many foods: cereals, meat, fruits, nuts, wine, beer, coffee, etc. For that reason, mycotoxins can be found in the urine in parts per billion in healthy people. Laboratories offering urine mycotoxin testing are measuring this minute amount. Furthermore, some mycotoxins cannot be measured in urine, such as Ochratoxin. Almost all of the Ochratoxin in your body is very tightly attached to your body’s main protein, albumin, so it can’t be excreted through the kidneys. Even so, there are laboratories offering urine testing for Ochratoxin, which is useless.

WHY TESTING FOR IgG MOLDS IS NOT HELPFUL

Testing for antibodies to molds does not help at all. Say a person is 45 years old and went to summer camp for a couple of weeks when they were 12 years old. Let’s say that the room that person slept in a summer camp that had mold. That person’s immune system will build antibodies to those molds and they will always be present in the blood. So doing blood tests for molds doesn’t help in WHEN the person was affected by molds, which could have been years ago. Mycotoxins, being toxins made by molds, is much more relevant in medicine to see if a person is affected by them.