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Ever wondered why some people get sick in a moldy house and others don’t?

In this episode, I’m joined by Gracie Sanchez, a registered dietitian and one of our one-on-one practitioners here at Hormone Healing RD. Gracie’s known as our resident mold expert, her own experience with repeated exposures and years of functional training have given her a grounded, compassionate approach that takes the fear out of mold illness.

We unpack what mold actually is, how it affects the body, and why it’s showing up for so many women today. There are hidden ways it grows, reasons you can’t “detox” while you’re still living in it, and simple ways to make your home less mold-friendly. Because sometimes the smartest move isn’t adding another supplement, it’s changing the environment your body’s trying to heal in.

This is a part 1 of a 2-part series where Gracie and I cover everything about mold and how to prevent it.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction
[01:13] The early signs of mold exposure that first showed up in Gracie’s college dorm
[02:48] How mercury fillings, fertility struggles, and fatigue pointed toward deeper mold issues
[06:06] The surprising barrier she faced as an RD trying to get mold training, and what changed everything
[10:05] What mold actually is, and the three ways it spreads and harms the body
[16:28] Why mold illness can look like “random” health issues from sinus infections to hormone chaos
[20:39] How humidity, darkness, and even dust create the perfect environment for mold to thrive
[31:24] The reason you can’t detox mold while you’re still living in it, and what happens if you try
[36:40] Practical ways to prevent mold in everyday life, from humidity monitors to open windows

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. Jill Crista Mold Training Certification | Course
Intellipure Air Purifier | Website
Airfree Air Purifier | Website
IQAir Air Purifier | Website
ThermoPro Humidity Meter | Website
The Feminine Periodical Newsletter | Website

You can work 1:1 with Gracie here.

Master your minerals. Harmonize your hormones. Start your mineral journey here.

Find more from Amanda:

Hormone Healing RD | Instagram
Hormone Healing RD | Website
Hormone Healing RD | Facebook
Hormone Healing RD | YouTube
Hormone Healing RD | TikTok

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Hormone Healing RD podcast, where you’ll get clear, practical guidance for your healing journey. I’m Amanda Albo, women’s health, dietician and mineral expert. After helping thousands of women in navigating my own healing, I know how overwhelming the wellness world can be. And this show really aims to cut through the noise with simple research, researching clinical backed insights on hormones, minerals, and what your body truly needs to heal.

[00:00:24] And I am joined. For this episode with one of my amazing 1 0 1 practitioners, Gracie, and she is our mold expert, our resident mold expert at Hormone Healing rd. I have been begging her to do a mold podcast with me because I think that mold is very scary and we have a lot of clients that we work with that have mold is a concern.

[00:00:45] So I’m like, we gotta do a podcast. ’cause Gracie’s approach is so. It’s, it’s not stressful, it’s straightforward. You get lots of great steps and clarity, and so I’m like, we have to share this with everyone. So thank you so much for being here, Gracie. Yeah, thanks for [00:01:00] having me, Amanda. Excited. So let’s get into, um, your story with mold specifically and how, how did you come to gain so much knowledge when it comes to mold issues?

[00:01:13] Yeah, so I started, well, I was exposed to mold twice, I mean. Initially in the, my Dorm, in hindsight, I put that together. It, this, this wasn’t something I knew it’d be right off the bat, but in my college dormitory, I lived in a really old, I think it was an old convent, um, initially, and I started to have skin issues, some candida overgrowth in like oral thrush, like symptoms, multiple periods.

[00:01:40] And, um, I was given steroids for my, um, keratosis pilar, which I didn’t have before. And I was also put on birth control, which I didn’t tolerate. And of course in hindsight that was a blessing. But I remember the nurse saying to me that, you know, this thrush didn’t exist unless I had HIV or aids. [00:02:00] And I was like, oh my gosh, that’s so extreme.

[00:02:03] Definitely that’s not the issue. But, and you know, it was can overgrowth, it was chronic. Um, turned into chronic sinus infections where I was put on multiple antibiotics, had lots of postnasal drip headaches. On and off for years in college. And these symptoms were just really embarrassing. The, the oral issues were, to me, were concerning and embarrassing.

[00:02:23] Um, I did, of course I was in school for nutrition, so, uh, we’ve all been there and I’ve been learning about nutrition, so the signs are even more embarrassing, but I realized that diet played a huge role in some of the flareups with my candida overgrowth. And so I was on strict diets on and off those years.

[00:02:43] And then, um. So that was my first exposure. Then I was newly married. I went to the dentist and was just there for cleaning. She offered to get my amalgams removed ’cause they were loose. She removed them on the spot. And then I started to have severe GI issues, brain falls, fatigue. [00:03:00] I mean, I was intolerant to a ton of foods that I wasn’t normally intolerant to before.

[00:03:06] And then I also was having trouble conceiving and I, we have fertility issues, which is the normal what we hear a lot. But I worked with acupuncturists and Ayurvedic provider and naturopath doctors, naturopathic providers, and I would feel better, but um, I don’t think I nipped everything in the bud. I did end up conceiving twice.

[00:03:31] They have fraternal twins that are 13, the a boy and a girl, and then the little girl who’s 11. And I bought a home and that home had sat vacant for over six months. I had mold overgrowth in the kitchen area and in the upstairs restroom that we remediated at the time. Um, but by the time we realized there were issues like in the kitchen area, I already had noticed that my health issues had come back with a [00:04:00] vengeance.

[00:04:00] But on top of that, I was diagnosed with psoriasis and I looked like I was six months pregnant. I had cyst on my ovaries, I had cyst on my feet and my ha, my hands. That no one could really understand and give me a why I had arthritis like symptoms. Um, my sensitivities came back with a vengeance as well.

[00:04:22] And, um, I mean the list kept going on and on and I remember at the time also we had baby monitors and I was super sensitive to those. It couldn’t slate my jaw where hurt my teeth would, um, felt super uncomfortable that so that EMF intolerance was there too. Um. Middle of the day, I had three little babies under two and didn’t know why I was so exhausted.

[00:04:45] The primary care doctor came, uh, I went to see the primary care doctor. I mean, and I, labs were normal. There’s no explanation for my symptoms, and I was told that having children back to back can do this to you. So, [00:05:00] uh, common story. But, um, I sought out a functional medicine provider at the time, and I was diagnosed with, well.

[00:05:09] We know now that that’s not a root cause, but a symptom of something else. But I had several gut issues at the time, the same thing. Um, but I was going on abrupt protocols and those protocols just left me feeling, left me feeling super depressed. I started to have hot heart palpitations, tingling sensations down my neck and my arms, and I was so sick.

[00:05:32] Um. I remember also when I started that protocol, I was on my way to a nutrition conference, um, on, and I had to come home because I was so sick and depressed and so weak. And so that’s when I started to learn a little bit and educate myself and, you know, um, follow with certifications and function nutrition, um, um, herbalism and just.

[00:05:59] Learning about [00:06:00] sibo, learning about so many different things. Functional testing, I just kept going. It just didn’t stop until I felt better. And did you go through a mold program specifically? Didn’t you have a hard time doing that? ’cause you’re an RD and not an MD or something. Yeah, so a lot of the programs that I found from mold were more geared towards naturopathic doctors or MDs or PAs, and I didn’t pursue them.

[00:06:21] But then I realized, you know, the more I started seeing clients in my practice, I started seeing that. They just needed those simple foundations and, um, I think I just took the, took the course without trying to get CEUs, I think is what it was. And so I took the course and so glad I did, learned so much.

[00:06:40] Um, it’s all about foundations. It’s all about setting up that foundation and, you know, setting them up for healing process. But, um, yeah, love, love, love, love my certifications. I did the Dr. Jill Krista’s certification. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I’m sure people will ask. Yes. Um, and then I just started to [00:07:00] put the pic, the pieces together as I was seeing clients one-on-one.

[00:07:03] I felt like I was getting those clients that, um, had been chronically ill for such a long time and didn’t know where to go or what to do. They just wanted. Really someone to hear them out and validate your symptoms. Yeah, it’s different when you go through that experience yourself. You know? I mean, you were like for many years and sometimes we don’t always know when we’re in it, but it sounds like you had a feeling for a while and then it just got confirmed, you know, once you went through all that training and stuff.

[00:07:29] Um. And I’m sure it’s, it’s like there’s no one perfect program. It’s kind of like you get, you take what you learn and you’ll, it’s your tools in your toolkit and then you apply it with everything else that you know, like with clients. And that’s what I love about your approach with mold because it’s not a one size fits all.

[00:07:46] And we, I was like, we need a practitioner on our team that is very, very skilled in mold. And you’ve been doing this work for a very long time for like. How many two decades? Yeah. I’ve been a dietician for 23 years, but my, and I think I’ve always [00:08:00] done things differently. I’ve never really, like, I just didn’t understand the schooling that were taught in nutrition school.

[00:08:08] Um, and I didn’t know functional medicine was a thing back then, or, you know, CNS or all the other certifications that are out there. I didn’t know that that existed. So I just did a normal RD program, um, and I think it wasn’t. Um, maybe in 2007 is when I learned about functional medicine and started mm-hmm.

[00:08:27] Like confirming what I was already doing and I just continued to learn from there. I know, but that’s almost, that’s almost two decades. I know that it’s sometimes I’m like, that wasn’t that long ago in my head. And then I’m like, it’s 2025. Um, so, so funny. But you have a beautiful expertise. Gentle, very gentle approach.

[00:08:49] And that’s our goal this episode. ’cause mold is very stressful. I, most people they find out, they think maybe they suspect a mold exposure and they join like a [00:09:00] Facebook group or a Reddit thread and I’m like, you know, probably not the best for your nervous system if your already body’s already extremely, uh.

[00:09:09] Tired and stressed from like navigating and dealing with the mold if you’re not detoxing it well. So my goal is to have this resource in part one. It’s gonna be two parts. So this, in this episode, we are gonna be talking about, um, more of like your environment, right? We wanna talk, talk about what mold is, how it impacts the body, what creates an environment for it to grow.

[00:09:29] And then, you know why we like to focus on getting rid of the mold first before you’re like gonna try to dive into any. Mold protocols, which is usually the first thing people do, and then they feel worse. Um, so we’re gonna talk about that, how you, you don’t wanna do a mold or a gut protocol, anything like that?

[00:09:47] No, basically not too much detox, heavy anything. When you’re still living in mold, we’ll get into y. And then we’re gonna talk about tips for preventing mold growth. So that’s gonna be the focus this week. Next week [00:10:00] we’re gonna get into more of supporting your body and what that looks like when you’re dealing with the mold.

[00:10:05] So do you wanna talk about what is mold? So it’s a type of fungus and it’s not a part of our environment and grows indoors and outdoors. But when it grows indoors, it can become a health hazard. And, um, and that’s because it releases spores, fragments and mycotoxins. Um, and also microbial volatile organic compounds between those N VOCs.

[00:10:31] Um, and that’s sometimes where you’ll get that musty mildew smell. Not always, but sometimes. So those three types, mold spores are, they’re seed light particles that can float in the air. That’s how they reproduce. And, um, I get this question asked a lot, like whether it’s dormant or not. If it’s problematic and it is, whether it’s viable or non-viable, both can trigger health issues.

[00:10:54] We still see the same symptoms. Um, it can still trigger asthma, the flares, [00:11:00] immune dysregulation, um, in the long term especially. So it’s still problematic. Then mold fragments, um, are when mold gets disturbed, so those colonies are being built and then it gets disturbed whether we clean it or we’re doing a remodel.

[00:11:17] They break off into smaller fragments and those fragments are just to give you a visual, 500 to one spore, 500 fragments to one whole spore. So, um, sometimes that’s why it’s tricky to catch it, even if you’re testing in, if in if people are, um, doing, um, an investigation, if they have mold in their home, sometimes it’s hard to catch those mold fragments ’cause they’re so, so small.

[00:11:42] Mycotoxins is a third one. And that’s the byproducts. The chemical byproducts are secondary metabolites of mold and only certain species of mold make those under stress. And they can live on surfaces. They can live in the dust, in dust, and they can attach to fragments. Um, [00:12:00] always, always fragments. And, um, those are the ones that we’re commonly seeing in the test, like Ritoxin, aflatoxin, altheine.

[00:12:08] That’s what we typically, typically hear in a lot of the tests related to mycotoxins. Um, and, but not all molds can make mycotoxins. Um, only certain types do like statue bores, which is, um, an aspergillus in for, um, penicillin. Those are the most common. So like the black mold that you hear of, um, those are the ones that are typically producing these methin.

[00:12:33] Um, and as a rule of thumb, I like to tell people, um. That spores typically induce these symptoms. A lot of the symptoms that you hear spores can do those and mycotoxins tend to do the suppressing. So that’s why sometimes we see, um, a variety of symptoms and they’re still quite resilient or sometimes we see that they’re just really deplete and immune system is down and they’re chronically ill [00:13:00] and are unable to get better.

[00:13:02] But ultimately both will deplete the immune system if you’re exposed to mold long enough or needs to have a mold long enough. Okay. And then as far, so as far as like where mold grows, are there more common places that people are gonna see mold? Yeah, so, um, bathrooms, basements, kitchens, any, anywhere that there is moisture.

[00:13:26] Around windows and or leaks. We’ve had leaks like we’ve had, unfortunately, we’ve had two leaks in our roof since moot, since moving our home. Unfortunately. Um, carpets is big furniture, ry mold, um, HVAC systems, uh, humidifiers postal places. Um, medical devices like CPAP is notorious for growing mold and then, oh gosh, or know, and historic for older buildings tend to also be mold, um, written.

[00:13:56] I mentioned my situation of the dorms, and then I’ve had several [00:14:00] clients, young girls, young women who are just really impacted by mold. And because I, I suppose, ’cause it’s minimal, minimal ventilation, um, a co-sharing restrooms and dimes. My very first case was a cured, she was a newlywed. And, um, she came to me for acne and had severe, severe cystic acne and she couldn’t figure out why ate.

[00:14:22] A year into her journey, she came and saw me and we figured out that her pu egg had mold and she opened it. It was like super, um, oh gosh, black with mold. But, um, originally feeding basins. So our food source, our food, our grains, our animals are being exposed to mold through the basins. The food basins, that’s what they originally found, mold, and that’s where originally.

[00:14:44] Livestock were impacted. Yeah. So those are areas like that I think are worth kind of investigating, especially if someone, maybe they have a lot of symptoms. I feel like it’s usually, it’s like you’ve tried everything else or we, I have previously always found it with people [00:15:00] when they can’t tolerate a gut protocol or any sort of detox, they get super histamine, all the symptoms, and I’m like, what’s going on?

[00:15:08] Like, you don’t have anything in your history that would make me suspect that you’d have this reaction. And then. It turns out that there’s mold in their home and so like those are definitely like the areas that I think. Or anything anywhere with water, like, anything like that I think is so worth investigating.

[00:15:24] And I’m gonna have for, for Patreon members, I’m gonna put all this stuff with the show notes so that you guys have a nice little list, um, of everything that we’re going through. And so if you, if you wanna ever investigate, although I’m hoping no one needs to do that. Um, let’s get, so we know what it is.

[00:15:39] There’s the mold spores, the mycotoxins. Where it’s gonna be growing inside the house, where it’s more likely to grow, at least, and thrive. Um, what about, how does it impact the body? Why, why, especially, I just, I’m curious your thoughts too, of like, why do you feel like this has so come to the forefront now with mold?

[00:15:58] I feel like it’s just. [00:16:00] Blown up where I, I feel like everyone has mold illness now. Um, or some particular like exposure with mold. Uh, how does it impact the body and why do you think that we’re seeing this so much now? So it impacts the body in multiple ways. Um, it’s hard to list them all out, but it, and it’s not only, it’s not, it’s such an impact because it works at this, it impacts the body in a cell cellular level and molecular level.

[00:16:27] So. Tons of opportunity to wreak habit and trigger symptoms in the body. Um, it can trigger inflammation in sinuses, which was with me. Chronic sinus infections. And I see that often if they tell me that they’ve had chronic sinus infections, that’s a huge red flag for me sometimes. Lung issues, bladder issues, um, uh, digestive issues of course, um, interferes with cellular processes like, um.

[00:16:54] Impact our mitochondria. It can also impact her DNA and RNA. [00:17:00] Um, it depletes the master antioxidant glutathione, which is so key to, um, lowering inflammation healing. Um, it has also been known, it’s, it’s carcinogenic so it can trigger certain cancers. Um, it can break down hel lighting and the intestines. So that’s how we see the GI symptoms pop up.

[00:17:20] And, um, it can cause the brain, um, the brain barrier, blood brain barrier as well. And so we start seeing things like clients aren’t able to refine or remember things, memory. Um, one that’s concerning to me is like recently that I’ve learned about the most is the costing the placenta into the uterus where it’s more active.

[00:17:42] And so how it impacts our fertility clients and fertility in, in and of itself. It’s also detectable in breast milk and, um. We also know that it irritates the bladder, which is sometimes mistaken for interstitial cystitis, and then they go down that rabbit hole. [00:18:00] I’ve seen recurrent UTIs in people with mold.

[00:18:02] It’s like cons. That’s a very, very common one I’ve seen. Yes, yes. Um, recurrent UTIs and just unexplainable. Um, even like, I have a clients who come to me and they’re, they say they’ve been to the doctor so many times. They don’t understand why they’re having bladder issues. There’s no UTI pep present sometimes, and that’s an immune suppression popping in there, right?

[00:18:23] Um, so it’s not detected in some of the typical labs, but it’s also an endocrine disruptor. So we see that thyroid suppression because mold blocks that iodine uptake and then impacts also that T four T three conversion. Um, it impacts your HIPAA access. So clients typically, um, feel wired but tired, you know, they’re in that state.

[00:18:46] And then it can also trigger estrogen dominance, which was also my case. Um, because the, of course, we, we love to talk about the liver, but the liver is one of those key organs that it’s overwhelmed, overburdened. Um, [00:19:00] we’re recycling mycotoxins, and then on top of that, we’re not able to recycle and get rid of estrogen properly, so that can trigger symptoms as well.

[00:19:09] And then, um, chemical sensitivities or EMF sensitivities. And I feel like, just like histamine issues in general, you know, I now, you know, I’ve done multiple podcast episodes on mast cell activation syndrome, and that is like, I don’t know, there’s. There’s always, I feel like there’s always a mold component there, or maybe not a current one, but like a previous one.

[00:19:34] Um, and that’s usually a part of the story for a lot of those clients as well. Absolutely. I what, I don’t know if, if I’m throwing this out there, but I think if it’s more than 75% of people with MCA or histamine issues tend to have mold. I’m not sure where I picked that up, but, um, it’s, it’s a big, it’s a big amount of people.

[00:19:52] Yeah. And it’s, so, it’s like, and it’s kind of like histamines where it can affect. All different parts of your body so you can, the symptoms can [00:20:00] seem so random. That’s why whenever someone, like they’ve had these random symptoms, like they’ve tried all the things, it hasn’t resolved, they don’t tolerate a lot of supplements.

[00:20:08] Usually my head goes to like, yeah, you might have MCOs and histamine issues, but do you have a previous or current mold exposure? ’cause that tends to make a lot of that worse. Yeah, absolutely is. Mm-hmm. And what about what be, how can mold like really grow and thrive? Like what creates. An environment for mold to grow.

[00:20:29] Um, and let’s get into that a little bit more so that people, I think this will, yes. Symptoms, but also like, so people kind of know, could this have been a possibility for me? Yeah. Moisture’s huge. That’s the number one. So a moist environment, um, relative humidity of, you know, uh, 50 to 70% is what we’re seeing in the studies.

[00:20:48] Like on some of these pretty, um, popular mold. Um. Mold toxins that they’re growing in that 50 to 70% range. And, um, so once again, [00:21:00] leaks, flooding, condensation, those are perfect storms for mold to germinate and become a problem. Um, they also thrive in the same temperatures that we like to live in. So 60 to 80 per 80 degree Fahrenheit is where they thrive and they’re comfortable.

[00:21:17] Um. So it doesn’t, once again, it doesn’t mean that when it’s colder or when it’s hotter, that mold will not be a problem. It can still be a problem at any temperature, but they thrive in that 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. And so when you see big temperature swings, um, that can trigger con issues like condensation and um, more sport love.

[00:21:39] Um, food sources are huge, um, for mold. So building materials, household items. Dust and debris. So skin cell mold, feeds on skin cells, lint, dirt, um, all of those are food for mold. So it can, it can thrive quite easily in a home environment. I feel like it’s always like [00:22:00] remediation, like people always focus on that and I’m like, you have to also keep your house pretty clear of dust.

[00:22:07] Like that’s also, I feel like that’s a huge part of prevention as well. Oh, huge. Yeah. Dusting regularly is huge. Washing your curtains, changing on your bedsheets. Um, dusting under and behind your bed. I, I probably am notorious for making my kids and myself move our furniture. We’re constantly moving our furniture, um, just to clean up and get rid of dust.

[00:22:30] Um, yeah, and pour airflow or for ventilation. So still stagnant air, which was a case of this home, um, was vacant for months and months. And we moved in, put all that moisture traps in. Um. In corners behind walls and can trigger a mold issue. Darkness is big, so that’s why we see basements is already always an issue.

[00:22:55] Attics, HVAC systems, um, mold will survive [00:23:00] in dark, um, but UV light inhibits it. Um, I clearly remember when I had my mold exposure here. I just wanted to be outside like I would sunbathe all day long. Or as long as I could, you know, and I felt so much better outside, I could not be in my home. Oh, that’s so interesting.

[00:23:18] I know whenever we have clients work on the circadian rhythm support, I feel like that makes a big difference. And I’m like, oh, maybe it’s the light. It is. Yeah. It inhibits its growth and I would just soak it in, soak it in. Um, and then time, time is huge. Like it just takes 24 to 48 hours for, um, the right conditions that moisture, um.

[00:23:41] That leak, whatever, to have mold become a problem. And so you obviously you’ve been through this yourself with having leaks and stuff in your house. What do you do when is there, ’cause like what if you don’t notice a leak right away? I don’t want everyone to like feel like, oh my gosh, so like I can grow.

[00:23:58] So it’s like you hear the [00:24:00] information, you’re like, oh, a mold is in my house. Like, what would you do if you found something? Um, well we, when we had our, our, um. Ceiling. We had, uh, two leaks in the same spot. One was AC related and one was roof to eight through AC related. We just called the professionals to come out and clear, clean it.

[00:24:19] My husband is handy. I remember he did cut out quite a bit of it and sealed it. And then, um, we had the professionals come out and fix the, the leak and then repair, repair the wall. Um. I just, I mean, I’m not into remediation, but I definitely call the experts. He had them remediate right away. Yeah.

[00:24:41] Basically, as soon as you find it, you just don’t wanna wait. Yeah. Yeah. If there is mold growth, then that’s when you can call the mold experts to come in and remediate properly at that point. But just, just, um, fixing that leak. As soon as you find it is what we did. Yeah. [00:25:00] Just ’cause there so that there’s not like more time to grow.

[00:25:02] I think we, one thing when we, we had to get a new hvac. We just moved at like our old house and they had an option to get like a UV light in there and stuff. It was more expensive, but I was like, yes, because we were in North Carolina and obviously it’s like very humid and stuff there. I’m sure there’s like so much mold.

[00:25:20] I don’t know if that house had mold. I was like, I don’t wanna know, honestly. Um, I didn’t have any health issues or anything there, but it was, you know, it’s just like, I just don’t wanna know. And that’s a question I have for you is how come some people don’t? React mold and some do. But um, like little things like that, I’m like, they should just make all like ac units have the UV light in it, you know, it’s crazy that you have to like pay extra to have it in there.

[00:25:46] I’m like, okay. Um, but little things like that, I’m like, okay, so like we, we took that thing out and then brought it to this one ’cause we could, and we put it in our current one. But it like little things like that dusting, just being mindful of the [00:26:00] temperature shifts and stuff. Um. Leaks and like, just like looking like just moving your stuff around.

[00:26:06] This is like the also a huge reason why it’s helpful to like, declutter, declutter your home, don’t have too much stuff because it, I just think it makes it unmanageable, you know? Um, so I, I am curious ’cause We’ll, we’ll talk about, uh, why you have to get rid of the mold first. If you feel like, if, if you feel like this is a part of your health story, um, but how come some people.

[00:26:31] We’ll have all these symptoms in a moldy environment and then some won’t. Like were you the only one in your house that had symptoms? Yeah. Yeah. I was surprised my kids didn’t get sick, but I, I was the one in the kitchen. I was the one, um, washing dishes and loading the dishwasher. Our dishwasher was a main issue.

[00:26:48] Um, I think, I think genetics plays a huge role for me. Um, and I think it does play for, play a huge role for a lot of, um, more chronically ill clients. Um. We’re the ones at home, [00:27:00] typically, we’re the ones breathing in that toxic mold. Um, or we’re the ones in the work environment if it’s, if it was a work building that made you sick.

[00:27:08] Oh yeah, we gotta talk about that too. Work. I think it was just, I was there, I was breathing it in and um, I think genetics plays a huge role for me too. Yeah, genetics. I think the, um, I’m not sure what the statistic is exactly, but there are some, um, mold genes that you can look at to see how well you tolerated or not.

[00:27:29] If it’s an issue, then that’s when we start to see more symptoms. But I also think everybody’s exposure to toxins is different as well. Like the foods that we’re eating and drinking and. Exposing ourselves to is, is different for everyone. And I always feel like the moms have so much on their plate, you know, to, so it’s kind of, it’s also like how resilient is your body?

[00:27:49] Are you, and like you, I don’t think the re, I don’t think you having two kids back to back is the number, like, you know, but it’s like, or three kids, sorry, the twins and then your [00:28:00] middle one. But, um, it is something where it’s like, that does put small children, you know? It’s a lot more. It’s, it’s a lot. I mean, I think it’s like the fun ages, but it’s also like they, their needs are so high and you’re still, you’re also like learning how to, like the fir initial, like I’m, I’m guess I’m only like three and a half years into motherhood, but I’m like, I’m, I’m gonna go ahead and guess the first like five years, you’re just like, Ugh, this is, you’re still learning with every new baby you’re learning.

[00:28:29] So it’s definitely like depletion stress. Like I feel like a mom is gonna be much more. Likely, like maybe they’re a little less resilient, especially if they don’t know how to take care of themselves or have like a previous history of like gut issues their whole life or chronic stress their whole life, or maybe they don’t have good foundations in place, they’re gonna be much more likely to have, like, your body can’t tolerate this, it can’t processes out on its own.

[00:28:55] Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I think we do have a loan on our Clayton. It [00:29:00] definitely made me, um, take a step back. Do lots of self-care. I do. I think I did. I was doing the best I could. But yeah, I think we do take one a lot and it makes us more vulnerable to, to a lot of issues like health issues. Yeah. And a twin, twin pregnancy and postpartum is also very different from single, although all my friends that have twins are like, I don’t know.

[00:29:24] The twins were like almost easier than the single babies for some reason. Well, I, for me, being a first time mom and having twins, I call it, it was hard when I had my third baby Lily, when I had Lily, she’s 11 now. I thought, this is so easy. Like, she’s such a, she was such a good baby, and like I just exclusively nursed her with the twins.

[00:29:44] I was like, nursing and bottle feeding nurse. I mean, it was just a lot. But yeah, it was fun. Sometimes you never know. Um, but, okay, so I, that’s just. Aside, but, ’cause it’s kind [00:30:00] of like, why do some people react? Some people don’t. And I’m sure you can get like genetic testing. One of my clients did that and I was like, well, we already, even if the, even if the test tells us that you’re more susceptible, like we already know that you are currently have a mold exposure that we’re, you’re dealing with and that we’re trying to like support your body in processing that.

[00:30:18] So I don’t know, I think it could be cur if someone likes. Data and that sort of thing, or wants to kind of like a why, you know, it’s, I don’t think it’s the whole why, but I’m like, you know, it’s not gonna change anything that we’re gonna do. No, it’s not gonna change. I was about to say that. It’s not gonna change anything we do at all.

[00:30:35] Um, we’re gonna support, support you the same way. So yeah, I did do some genetic testing and I don’t recall that it had any of those molds, snips on there, but, um, I’m, I’m not gonna spend money on figuring that out ’cause I would just work with it the same way. Yeah, for sure. Um, so just wanted to point that out in case people wanna, uh, you know, just don’t run off and get a test if you, if it’s not gonna change what you [00:31:00] do.

[00:31:00] So we talked about what mold is, how it can impact the body, the areas that it can, like the conditions, the areas that it can more likely be to grow in. Um, now the big thing that I see a lot is people, they have a mold exposure. They find mold. And they’re like, okay, I’m gonna start this mold detox and stuff.

[00:31:24] Why do we have to get rid of the exposure first before we do anything else? Yeah. So you, if you’re, you can’t heal. If you’re in that same environment that made you sit, you just can’t do it. It’s gonna set you back significantly. And, um, it you, even if you, you are not just exposed at one time, most likely if you’re in mold, you’re constantly having this.

[00:31:48] Input of toxins, and it’s co it’s constantly making you sick. So you’re breathing in and your skin is exposed to mold toxins. You’re breathing in air 24 7, [00:32:00] and every time you take a breath, you reintroduce those toxins. And so it’s a little bucket. You’re filling up the bucket. The bucket’s already been full, but now, um, it’s taxed even further and your body can’t keep up with it and can’t detox properly.

[00:32:17] So even if you’re taking. Um, certain nutrients to support those nutrient deficiencies that you found in your blood work or your whatever test you took, or binders, um, or just any detox protocol that you’re on. Even if you’re on those things, it’s still gonna be a setback. Um, and it’s still gonna impact your, your healing journey.

[00:32:37] I just find that if it, um, sometimes it can deter you from moving forward with working with somebody who. Knows how to, you know, manage mold or support you in mold because you’re nervous and you’re scared from these experiences of like starting these protocols and then you’re not, you’re still in mold.

[00:32:58] I know we always [00:33:00] ask that. We’re like, are you current? Do you know if you’re currently living in mold? It’s one of our top questions. It’s on our client application because we will tell you that we can support you, but we can’t do any detox stuff until you’re not. It anymore. So why should someone not do a mold detox?

[00:33:19] They’re so trendy now. Like I can’t even, it’s like it’s good in some ways. Like, I’ve definitely seen some good things come of it. It’s getting talked about more, but I, I’ve seen way more people that are, they try to do like, I’m not gonna say any names of brands, but they go through a mold detox, trendy, just like a kit that you can buy.

[00:33:39] ’cause they’re like, I have this mold exposure, or I used to live in mold and they feel absolutely terrible. Which obviously we’re gonna get into more of that stuff next week. But when you’re physically living in it. Why should you not take supplements to detox a mold? You’re constantly ex, um, exposed to [00:34:00] these, um, toxins once again, and you are outpacing your detox ability.

[00:34:05] So, um, you’re constantly exposed to those mold toxins and you are not able to keep up with it. Um, and it overwhelms your detox pathways and sometimes mobilizing toxins can. Recirculate them. And then you start to feel, once again, you reabsorb them and you have increasing symptom. You have an increasing your symptoms.

[00:34:26] Or sometimes clients will have a hurts reaction where um, they just feel worse. And it can make, you can have new symptoms, even like rashes or, um, feel super nauseated. Um, so you have that constant exposure to it and you can’t keep up with the detox and then you’re mobilizing them. And so. You’re recirculating those same, um, mold toxins and then the immune system is constantly activated and not able to, um, [00:35:00] calm down and respond to even your protocol.

[00:35:04] So it stays on a high alert in that inflammatory state. And there’s not really any supplement that can. That can combat inflammation down completely because your immune system is on high alert. So I feel like you just make a mess. Like it just creates this like crazy inflammatory reaction in the body.

[00:35:24] It’s just stirring it all up. And if you’re not de, if you already weren’t detoxing well, which is what the symptoms are showing you, then adding more detox on top of that. I’m like, and you’re still exposed to it. It’s just, I’ve seen. Just people, like you said, new symptoms pop up. They’re kind of like, oh my gosh, I thought I was doing the right thing.

[00:35:45] Which makes sense. You’re like, oh, I have a mold exposure. I’m gonna give my body some extra support. But in, in reality, that’s not the support that it needs in that time. It’s like you gotta get out of the mold first. Absolutely. So they end up more inflamed. [00:36:00] And in my case, I was just super depleted. Like I just couldn’t.

[00:36:05] I honestly dunno how I got home from my conference that day. Um, but yeah, I was super depleted and a lot of, um, the protocols, they just, yeah, they make the symptoms worse and deplete you further and we’ll deplete them even more. So let’s go through some tips for preventing mold and just kind of, we, I think these will be obvious based on everything we talked about, but I think it’ll be helpful to kind of go through them and then we’ll finish with.

[00:36:33] Because I know a lot of people are like, how do you find a place without mold? Um, now how do you find a place to live? So we can finish with that, but let’s go through what are some tips for preventing mold if people wanna do that? Yeah, so, um, quantify the humidity in each room. There’s a simple meter that I use with my, in my home, and you can move the meters around, but I have a few in restrooms, kitchens, um, they’re [00:37:00] nine to $15 on Amazon.

[00:37:02] You can measure the humidity. So for instance, in my restroom, after I got outta my shower, I kind of monitored humidity, open up the doors. I know I have to open up the doors, open up the shower doors to kind of make sure that mold isn’t set into that room. So monitoring, quantifying the humidity in your rooms is gonna be huge.

[00:37:19] So those monitors are, those meters are available online. Um, if you need a de humid dehumidifier, I have a few clients who use those. Um. My, um, one of my clients right now, she uses one. She’s on the coast, so that has been super helpful for her. She noticed like her towels weren’t moist anymore, and now she could, they can dry and we can reuse those towels.

[00:37:42] Um, water from refrigerator, the filters in the refrigerator aren’t enough, and I, we tend to see the same thing happen like with cure eggs, the, the mold sets in and becomes problematic. Then coils on the back of the fridge need to be that the refrigerator needs to be pulled out [00:38:00] and maintenance every once in a while.

[00:38:02] Um, your washing machine needs to be maintenance, reducing carpeting. That was one of the first things we did is we got rid of a lot of the carpet carpeting in our first floor. We still have a lot in our second floor, but reducing carpeting significantly helped me in my healing journey. Um, no finished basements.

[00:38:21] It’s hard to hide. I mean, it’s easy to hide mold when you finish a basement. Um, yeah, it didn’t make sense to me at first, but yeah, you don’t wanna seal, it’s a dark area and mold can grow behind the walls, even on concrete. So no finished basements. Uh um, and we don’t have a basement issue down south, but I know it’s pretty prevalent up north.

[00:38:45] I haven’t seen a basement since I lived in Connecticut. Yeah. Yeah. Same New York. Yeah. I don’t remember seeing a, um. Everyone had a finished basement. I know. Yeah. It’s tricky. But there are ways to get people in there to [00:39:00] investigate and to really, um, the experts will know how to, how to, how to find it and remediate properly.

[00:39:08] Um, air movement is important. So propping doors open, windows open as often as you can when the weather’s nice. Um, that’s gonna be super important. Um, airing out your closets. I love, we love essential oils in our home, and so we use essential oils on cotton balls and just put ’em in our closets. Um, certain essential oils like clove, tea tree, cinnamon, thy, all those are antifungal and amazing and so, and some of ’em smell nice.

[00:39:36] So cinnamon is great. Enclosed. Um, those are gonna be fantastic for closets or just small enclosed places. Avoid c clutter, like you mentioned. That’s huge. Um, shower windows, you can wipe showers and windows. You can wipe those with vinegar to clean ’em up. Um, managing grout everywhere in your kitchen and bathrooms around your home.

[00:39:58] Checking for leaky [00:40:00] toilets. That was another issue with us upstairs. We had leaky toilets that were sitting there, and so we had to take those out, fix them or replace them, and then checking your attic after big storms. We constantly have, um, tornadoes. We don’t have big nose, but tornadoes for sure, and installing hyper HEPA filters are, are fantastic.

[00:40:21] Um, they, some of them have sanitizing and incinerating properties that can be really helpful. And then also one that I kind of overlook to myself as a young, young adult changing out my, our air filters. Um, I rarely did that. Oh, my dad was a mechanic. He would never let me not do that. That’s the only any cars stuff I, I’m definitely like, but I’ve had people have mold in their cars.

[00:40:46] Yeah. Yeah. I live in Texas, Houston. I get a lot of, um, people from the coast there, down there in Gouts, in Houston area and, um, humidity. Humidity and moldy cars. Moldy [00:41:00] homes can be a problem for sure. Even in, I’ve had a lot of Louisiana clients too. Yeah, the same issue. Um, mold overgrowth in your cars. Um, and then just also from flooding, if it’s not remediated properly, that can be a red flag.

[00:41:13] Oh yeah, that makes sense. Um, and then your work. Of course, I’ve seen a lot of clients where it wasn’t in their home. A lot of my teachers, a lot of my teachers in their schools, a lot of like the old buildings and stuff like that. So like that is obviously difficult. Absolutely. Yeah. I think, um. Those are hard places to have.

[00:41:34] You know, it’s, it’s, it’s a matter of choosing whether you continue to work there or not really. In some, in most cases. A lot of people aren’t familiar with mold or mold remediation and how that works. And for a big building, like a business building or a school, that’s pretty tricky. Um, but yeah, the biggest ones are just regularly, lots of movement, lots of air movement in your home and lots of sunlight.

[00:41:56] Open up windows, open up the curtains and let the [00:42:00] sunlight in, um, spend time outside. And, um, those are super important. And then if someone is looking, so whether they’re gonna rent or buy a home, um, or an apartment or whatever, condo, what are some things that they can like, look for to make sure that they are?

[00:42:18] We had a mold test done on our house in Florida. I was terrified. I was like, oh my God, please don’t have malt. You know? Um, but yeah. So it, what are some things people can look for? Ask about questions they could ask. I dunno if you have any of those for people, I would say is, um, hire someone to do, um, to test and see if your home has mold or if your apartment has mold.

[00:42:42] If you’re, um, thinking about staying for a long time. Um, but I would ask for, I would hire somebody to, to properly investigate to see if there’s mold in the home. And, um, because mold is, mold can hide, it hides in dark, hide behind the drywall. Um, sometimes you can’t, it [00:43:00] hides under the floorboards.

[00:43:01] Sometimes you can’t find it, um, when you, when you’re visually looking for it. So having some, excuse me, having a professional that can really help with that I think would be the best way to go. Yeah. That’s what we did. Because I’m like, I mean, if we’re gonna invest in the house, obviously we’re gonna spend that much money.

[00:43:17] Like you might as well like get a good mold person, um, company in there. And I do think that’s worth it. And I, one of our nutritionists was looking, has been looking at apartments like forever and she went to one and kind of had a little bit of a musty smell. It was like a red flag and then they looked.

[00:43:35] She, you know, she’s looking under the sink anywhere at like kitchen where there’s water. Like we looked very thoroughly through this house, but like you said, like you’re not, it’s not always gonna be obvious. My husband did look in the attic. There’s no. Basement or anything. Um, and we were lucky that the owner was here when we went to look at the house, which is not always possible.

[00:43:54] Um, and so we did get to like, talk, like with him and everything. So, [00:44:00] um, okay. Last thing. ’cause it’s an environment topic and then we’ll we’re gonna switch our gears and we’re gonna get into we’re what people do wrong when it comes to dealing with like the physical stuff with mold. Um. What about air filters?

[00:44:13] So like, say we get a client, they have a mold exposure, they’re gonna get it remediated. What can they do in the meantime? Like is there an air filter or something they can get? Yes. I love, um, Intelli Pure is my favorite. Intelli Pure had an incinerator, which is the one I have upstairs in the carpet where the carpet is.

[00:44:33] Um, they no longer have it. But air free has an incinerator like, um, air filter. So Intelli, pure Air free and IQ Air are three of the top, um, air filters that I love to recommend. There’s a few, there may be a few more that I can add to that list. Intere Air Cure, air Free, and IQ Air. Okay. I’ll put these in that document and we’ll put the, we’ll put ’em in [00:45:00] the show notes too.

[00:45:01] Yeah, see I. We have a ton of in inte viewers, um, air filters in our home. In almost every room we have a air anelli gear, but, um, I really loved they got rid of the incinerator type. I love the incinerator type because um, even if you’re past due on your filter, that incinerator will kill off essentially all of those toxins.

[00:45:25] And they’re not gonna be recirculated if your filter’s full. So that’s why I like the incinerator types. They can be pretty pricey. I think those three were the most reasonably priced. I always hear about the air doctor, do you like Air Doctors? I don’t use an air doctor. I think I saw more. Um, I, I tried one years back.

[00:45:44] I think I saw more results with the Intelli Pure, as far as like dust in my home and in my room. Um, so I have noticed with those, with two of those brands, I have noticed a difference in the dust in my home. Um, that’s one way I can gauge it, but honestly, [00:46:00] uh. I’m not the, I’m not an expert when it comes to like home mediation or I wasn’t, I wasn’t sure like, ’cause I, I’m like, I’m sure clients have asked you about should I get, because that’s the one you see online the most, I feel like is the air doc.

[00:46:13] It is, yeah. I think one thing that we, um, one thing that I did notice is, um, mold and fungal overgrowth can, the microns are so small. I think the ones that I mentioned have an even smaller threshold. So. Capture quite a bit of mold toxins. So that’s what’s you, what’s what you’re looking for? Is that, um, that threshold?

[00:46:37] I think, um, I don’t know the measurements right now off the top of the head, but yeah, the ones I can, because sometimes it’s like, okay, well I can’t get it remedied immediately. Also, it’s a process ’cause you have to have someone come out and look at it. That would be like the first step, right? And then a separate company remediates it.

[00:46:54] Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Um. Yes. You don’t want the, [00:47:00] the same person to do the work. You want to have two, two separate professionals. They can, um, yeah. The investigators tend to do, tend to investigate totally different than, um, you know, just want have, what’s the word? I’m, I’m at a loss for words right now with the investigators.

[00:47:19] It’s like a conflict of interest if they’re doing both right. Yeah. And I’ve seen some companies do that. I know it’s very easy. And I think our first question is gonna be, you know, who can help me remediate? And so they have a guy, but, um, we have resources available that we can give our clients, um, so that they know who to look out for and who to ask for, and what credentials you’re looking for.

[00:47:45] And we can definitely provide that. Yeah. I’ll put some of the, I’ll put some of that stuff in the notes for, uh, the Patreon people too, so that when with like, here’s what to look out for, all that stuff. And then it’s like remediation. Consider, like inspector considerations. Remediation [00:48:00] considerations. And it’s gonna be different for everyone based on where they live anyway, just like things you might wanna consider.

[00:48:07] Um, but I think that’s it. It’s, hopefully this gave a little insight into like. Mold in a physical environment, why it grows certain places, how could you shift things like I am, I’m in Florida now and I mean, I was in North Carolina before, but I’m like very, very close to the beach and so. This is something that has been top of my mind with like, all right, I’m gonna get those little humidity, uh, meters, put them, especially in the older, we have like a new addition to this house.

[00:48:34] And then the old part, it was built in 1979, I think. Um, and so like, it, it’s not as cold in. Part of the house. So there’s like little things and like being mindful of clutter, dust, sunlight, opening your windows, all those basic things. And I think a lot of people will find like there’s a lot that you can do, especially if, if you go, if you have to go through the remediation process, obviously it’s expensive, it’s stressful, but then it’s like, okay, what could I do differently after?

[00:48:59] [00:49:00] Sometimes it’s has nothing. It’s a leak. You couldn’t control it, but it’s like, what could I just do? On a regular basis to reduce, you know, the mold spores and like, possibility for like, growth in my home. Absolutely. Awesome. Well, thank you Gracie for being so helpful. This episode, we’re actually gonna go record part two right now.

[00:49:19] Um, you guys will get it next week, so hopefully if you wanna, if you wanna access to the resources, make sure you join Patreon. Um, they will get those the week that this episode comes out. As far as like. What to look out for all, basically all like the notes from the episode and links to everything that we mentioned.[00:49:37] And that’s just patreon.com/hormone healing Rd. If you guys wanna keep up with me, make sure you’re on my newsletter. Feminine Periodical goes out every Sunday at 6:00 PM Eastern time. They’ll link to enrolls in the show notes as well. Um, and I think that’s it. I’ll see you guys in the next episode.