Welcome back to More Than Healthy. This week we are talking about Tip #88, what to do if you have mold and spores on your hair analysis report. You can watch the Weekly Video Tip by clicking this link.
It’s the first week of the month, which means we always dive a little deeper into a topic of hair analysis results. We want to help you understand the wealth of information in your report. This is a question I get all the time: What does it mean if my hair analysis shows mold and spores on my report?
Where does mold come from?
If mold shows up in your hair analysis results, you will probably wonder where the mold is coming from. Mold is a natural part of the environment. It is found almost anywhere that moisture and oxygen are present.
Mold belongs to the Fungi kingdom and lives in moist places such as soil, plants, and dead or decaying matter. (We did a post on fungi, so if you want to learn more about that, check out Tip #84). Outdoor mold is great for breaking down dead organic matter, such as fallen leaves, dead trees, and other debris; however, indoor mold growth should be avoided.
Since we live in Utah, we figured we wouldn’t have much of a mold problem since it’s so dry here. Once we learned about mold, however, we checked out our home and found it in several places. We have an ice machine, and there was mold in the tubes that drain the water from the system. Additionally, we found mold in our electrical room where the water drains. And, we found a leak in one of our windows where the water had been quietly dripping onto the wall and carpet and growing mold.
How does mold spread?
It turns out we had mold in many places because mold produces tiny reproductive cells called spores that waft through the air. This means we were being exposed to mold daily. You can’t see these mold spores with the naked eye, but so many times, we are being exposed to them without our knowledge.
Mold begins to grow indoors when these mold spores land on wet surfaces. There are many types of mold, but none of them will grow without water or moisture.
What are symptoms of mold exposure?
The most common symptoms that indicate you’re being exposed to mold are respiratory problems. Mold is tricky because of the nature of mold itself – it thrives in a moist environment. Our respiratory system makes for the perfect environment! Mold likes to take residence in nasal passages and lungs.
Signs of mold might include allergy-type symptoms, like sneezing, runny nose, and red itchy eyes. But mold exposure can also present as skin rashes, dizziness, headaches, and even asthma attacks.
Mold is especially harmful to children, elderly people, and those with pre-existing respiratory illnesses. I’ve even seen cases where the mold is so bad and they have such trouble breathing that they have to leave the home until it is mitigated.
Can you get rid of mold in a house?
In our case, David cleaned out every one of those pipes that had mold, and now he cleans them regularly so it doesn’t come back. Mold can be removed from hard surfaces with household products, soap, and water, or a bleach solution of 1 cup of household bleach to 1 gallon of water.
In the case of the wall and carpet, we had to get a company that specializes in mold removal to take care of the problem. One group had to fix how the water was leaking, while another had to remove the mold from our home. Now we’re much more aware of how mold grows and what to look out for so it doesn’t return.
Can you get rid of mold spores in your body?
When my clients have mold and spores on their hair analysis report, I first recommend doing a cleanse. We like the half-day organ cleanse with OHS.
At the same time, if you are experiencing respiratory issues (as long as they’re mild), I recommend flushing the nasal passages with a Neti Pot Solution. I like to have them add warm water and then therapeutic-grade essential oils. I add one drop each of wild orange peel, clove bud, cinnamon leaf, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus leaf, and rosemary. Mix it well and run it through the nasal passage. I’ve found this solution to be very effective, providing relief within hours.
The good news is that with proper treatment, many of my clients’ follow-up hair analysis results no longer have mold and spores flagged.
What is the best solution for mold and spores?
The most important thing you can do is help strengthen your immune system to fight off mold and any other invaders. There are many things we recommend to help build a strong and robust immune system.
We like to use OHS Optimal Defense and Flora Blitz 100 to help build up the good bacteria in your gut. We also recommend extra doses of Vitamin C and D3 to help the immune system fight the mold.
If you’re fighting something like mold and spores, it’s essential to support your adrenal function too. Ashwagandha root is effective in giving energy and helping the adrenal glands to function better.
You also need to reduce cortisol levels at the same time. I like the product Optimal Cort-Adrena because it supports the adrenal glands while reducing cortisol levels. Most of our clients’ energy returns when they get on this product.
How can you get a More Than Healthy hair analysis?
We hope this helps you understand some of the data in your hair analysis. If you haven’t got one yet, go to our website and schedule your hair analysis today. With just a few strands of your hair, you’ll receive a full report that looks at the information we discussed today and so much more.
As always, we enjoy hearing from you. If you have health questions on anything we’ve discussed or really any issue, you can go to our social media pages on Facebook or Instagram (@morethanhealthyliving). We try to respond to all questions.
We’d love to become your health coaches as you work to become “more than healthy” and achieve optimal health. Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you next week.
Note: Remember, we’re not doctors. We’re sharing what’s worked for us on our health journey. You will want to consult your doctor before significantly changing your diet and supplementation.
