chronic fatigue | Mold Free Living

Exercise Is a Very Valuable Treatment Tool for Mold Illness Suffers

I can’t believe that I have been blogging for more than three years now and haven’t addressed the topic of exercise and mold illness yet. Admittedly, I love exercise, so everything I present in today’s post is coming through my somewhat biased filter. You see, I danced classical ballet from age 2 all the way through college, even minoring in dance at my university. I have continued to be very active in my adult life. Today, I am an avid runner, mountain biker, hiker, and weight-lifter—honestly, I will do and try anything that involves physical activity and adventure. So, I am sure that it will come as no surprise that one of the most difficult things about getting so sick from the mold for me was having to slow down and be sidelined, because my body could no longer handle or recover from exertion. I longed to return to activity almost as much as I longed to find a safe, mold-free place for my family to live in during that time. Luckily, my doctor and naturopath were both very well-versed in ways to implement exercise as part of my treatment. Realizing that I could return to movement gradually and could regain that part of my life and my identity was a HUGE milestone in my recovery. Honestly, the day I started moving my body again was the day I started truly recovering. That is why a physical exercise practice is, in my opinion and experience, of profound importance for those recovering from mold- and environmentally-triggered illness.

Learning how to properly utilize a regular exercise practice can boost not only your resilience and response to treatment, but your entire outlook on life. I know all too well the worth of a natural mood lifter. Sometimes just getting outside for a slow walk sustained my body and mind and kept me going for another day. When I look back on each piece of my individual treatment protocol and that of my children, I believe wholeheartedly that the exercise piece was one that fundamentally helped us to heal our bodies from mold toxicity.

Mold in Your Environment May Be at the Root of Your Digestive Issues

My “Why Am I STILL Sick” post generated LOTS of reader questions. Each reader wanted specific answers about a particular piece of their personal illness puzzle. Unfortunately, I am not able to give individual medical advice to anyone about their symptoms or health struggles, because I am not a licensed medical doctor or health practitioner. While I do have my own experience and our success story to back what I write about and share on the blog, I am still not qualified to weigh in on the symptoms of others. What I CAN do to continue to help, though, is to dive a little deeper into some of the main categories that readers wrote to me about that seem to be hindering their treatment progress.

Since GI and digestive issues seem to be a large pain point for many mold illness sufferers, I thought I could start there. (I am definitely versed and familiar with GI symptoms as I suffered greatly with ulcerative colitis as one of my main health fallout pieces from the mold.) In order to do that, I have to address the main culprit for most digestive issues as they relate to mold and mold illness: Candida (yeast) overgrowth.

Let me start by saying that I know that fungus in the gut is different from fungus in the air and on your things. I also know that you do not necessarily get Candida overgrowth by living in a moldy home. In other words, by inhaling mold spores, you do not acquire Candida overgrowth, leaky gut, etc. But, the two are DEFINITELY linked (the Mold/Candida connection) and related. Here is why:

First, we ALL have Candida living in our bodies to some degree. It is confined to our mouths and digestive systems to help break down food and aid in digestion. Usually, the “good” bacteria also living in our gut keep Candida levels in check, maintaining a balanced, diverse, and healthy microbiome. But, when our immune systems become compromised, like when we are exposed to mold in our indoor environments, or have had chronic infections and have been taking too many courses of antibiotics that kill off all of the good bacteria, or when we drink too much alcohol or eat the typical Western diet, high in sugars and carbohydrates that feed the sugar-loving Candida, or when we drink chlorinated water than kills the good bacteria, but not the yeast, the level of Candida gets higher and higher until it takes over and migrates beyond our digestive systems.