Did Mold Exposure Cause or Exacerbate Your Unintentional Weight Gain? Here’s How to Find Out & What to Do
Toxic indoor mold exposure impacts every human differently; this is due to a multitude of factors including genetics. Unintentional weight gain is one VERY common symptom of toxic indoor mold exposure.
People always think:
- “It would never be in my house,” (it’s actually statistically likely)
- “But we would all have the same health problems” (most family members in the same moldy home don’t have the same symptoms)
- “I would see it or smell it” (not valid methods of testing for mycotoxins – plus its rarely out in the open)
- “But my home is too new (water damage can happen in any home regardless of age)
I don’t recommend living in denial that mold is a possibility – until you have seen it through that it is not. Start with ordering an ERMI of your home and it will tell you what mold is in your home from water damage if you order kit #1 on the website.
A report issued by the Federal Facilities Council found an alarming 43% of buildings they inspected had current water damage and 85% had past water damage. Statistically speaking, indoor toxic mold is a huge, very common building problem….which can be at the root of common health problems (high cholesterol, reoccurring sinus infections, ADHD, anxiety, asthma, infertility, heart attacks, yeast infections, obesity, autoimmune conditions, SIBO, Etc.).
It doesn’t take much – one square inch of indoor mold puts off ~1 million spore PER DAY.
One prevalent thing I see in practice (and in medical literature) is toxic mold exposure cascading to unintentional weight/fat gain via multiple mechanisms of action. Why does this occur? Let’s discuss 3 ways this can happen:
- 1. Leptin Resistance
- 2. Inflammation
- 3. Oxidative Damage
1. Leptin Resistance:
Leptin is a hormone released from the fat cells. It sends signals to the brain and under normal functioning will appropriately influence appetite and energy regulation. Leptin is responsible for telling your body to burn fat for energy, but in cases of leptin resistance your body stops recognizing leptin leading to unnecessary fat storage and trouble losing weight.
Leptin resistance basically means leptin signals do not reach the brain, as the receptors in the hypothalamus stopped responding to the high levels of leptin.
Research has shown that exposure to mycotoxins can lead to leptin resistance as the leptin receptors are damaged from mold exposure. Check leptin levels (you can self order here and have drawn at any Quest). Normal Ranges for Leptin: Male: 0.5-13.8 ng/mL; Female: 1.1-27.5 ng/mL.
The key to reversing leptin when it is elevated from toxic indoor mold is the “take the toxins to the toliet” and intercept enterohepatic circulation. I explain this all in Healing from Mold Online Program
2. Chronic inflammation:
You can’t mention the words “mold” and “inflammation” in the same sentence without acknowledging CIRS. Chronic inflammatory response syndrome is a multisystem multi symptom illness triggered from exposure to mold (& other biotoxins too). Around 25% of the population have the genes (Can self order a HLA DR DQ panel here) which put them at risk of developing CIRS when exposed to toxic indoor mold. However, you don’t necessarily have to have this genetic predisposition to develop CIRS especially if there is consistent, high levels of mold exposure or another biotoxin.
75% of the population when exposed to mold is able to remove the mycotoxins from the body through the normal function of the immune system. The receptors on their immune system cells normally detect and identify a threat, stimulating production of cytokines. These cytokines signal your immune cells to attack and neutralize that threat (mold).
But when you’re genetically susceptible to CIRS, the mycotoxins from mold stay bound to the receptors. Your receptors continually tell your body there’s a threat of mold (even if you have left the moldy building) with then a continued production of cytokines, but your immune system is beaten down because it is constantly triggered. The repeated stimulation of your immune system leads to chronic inflammation and this is well documented in medical literature to be a causative factor of unintentional weight gain and obesity.
You can self order a CIRS panel here. Correcting CIRS via detox and remediating the moldy you are living in is the path forward to weight loss if it caused you to gain weight. I walk you through exactly what to do and explain the labwork in my Healing from Mold online program.
3. Oxidative Damage:
Oxidative damage occurs when the production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species exceeds the body’s ability to neutralize and detoxify reactive oxygen species thus damaging cells and tissues. It is well documented in medical literate that mycotoxins interfere with the production of glutathione and also reduce other antioxidants that protects cells from oxidative damage. Both cell culture and animal studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress can cause an increase in preadipocyte proliferation, adipocyte differentiation, and the size of mature adipocytes (fat cells).
Plus having lower levels of certain nutrients (which mold can deplete) makes it harder for the liver to run phase 1 and phase 2 liver detoxification (which is the innate bodily process of packaging up and shipping out toxins like mycotoxins).
Oxidative damage is a large umbrella term and there isn’t one test to check for it, but some simple things that can start to be checked via labwork that are pieces to the puzzle (often depleted from mold) are:
If any of these are deficient, it is wise to correct them with targeted supplementation.
Bottom Line:
Weight management is so much more than “calories in and calories out.” Mold is a sly contributor to wreaking havoc in the human body and as discussed above, these are three ways independent of food habits that mold can cause weight gain.
Many people I work with don’t need a better, more perfect set of food rules.
They need to get to the root cause of their bodily dysfunction – other attempts are often a Band-Aid and why some don’t work – because they are not targeting the true problem.
If mycotoxins have bioaccumulated in your body, then you are likely consistently breathing them in (and in most cases it is the indoor home air in your home. Check your home with an ERMI dust kit #1 and if the score is above a 5, then you need to hire a certified mold inspector and remediator as the higher the score, the most health hazardous the levels are).
Not sure where to start? Take this free VCS test which is a screening tool. If you have symptoms of mold illness and a positive test, then there is a high likelihood that mold could be causing an inflammatory process in your body. Test and don’t guess! And then do interventions specific to the problem instead of unnecessarily restrictive diets that aren’t fixing anything when mold is in circulation.
I help mold impacted people by providing medical nutrition therapy and I nutritionally intervene to deal with the sequelae mold has caused. Self schedule a consult package today or take my Healing from Mold Online Program.
References:
https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/UNDERSTANDING_CIRS_EDITV2A.PDF
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9263741
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444319
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8967417
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19793773
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34830149
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26010737
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31751617
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22498431
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20020900
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21954354
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34084149
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21538849
*This blog on the Dietetics with Driessens LLC website is maintained by Katie Driessens, Owner. All opinions are her own and for general educational purposes. Advertising, affiliate links or other forms of compensation are within this website and a small commission is earned for sales made through these links (with no extra cost to you) that help cover costs of running a small business. Products and services listed are prior carefully created and/or evaluated to ensure that they are accurate and supported by scientific evidence. Items or programs that are endorsed are based on Katie’s professional experience and expertise & are worthy of such endorsement. Dietetics with Driessens LLC assumes no responsibility or liability for damage or injury to persons arising from any use of any product, information, or opinion contained in the information of this blog, none of which is to be considered personal medical advice. By viewing, using, and shopping from this website, you agree to release Dietetics with Driessens LLC from full responsibility to the fullest extent allowed by law. Products & Services sold are not intended to diagnose or cure any disease. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise, supplement, meal plan or program. Thank you!
March 1, 2024
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