How does mold affect the brain? The Toronto Functional Medicine Centre responds
POSTED BY TORONTO FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE CENTRE
For a good portion of the year, Canadians spend time indoors – and this can boost exposures to any accumulated mold. These exposures may be alarming because they can potentially influence your brain health. Functional medicine from our Toronto practice is available, though, to help you and/or loved ones overcome this.
In this article, the TFMC (Toronto Functional Medicine Centre) sheds light on facts about indoor mold toxicities, how the brain is affected, and the way functional medicine therapies can address your biology for healing.
Understanding mold toxicities
Indoor mold can sprout inside homes, schools, and offices. Sometimes it appears in different colors or it’s not noticeable at all. Excessive mold can cause a musty odour, which can eventually impair overall air quality. We list a few key points about excessive mold indoors for your education:
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- When there’s humidity or dampness inside a home or any other indoor setting, mold can grow. Excessive mold growth may form after a leak or flood, after a bath or shower, or on damp paper, fabrics, Drywall, and insulation. “In addition, the current practice of making homes more energy efficient, means that there is less ventilation with outside air, and toxic mold gasses can be trapped inside, potentiating their effect,” confirms Psychology Today.
- Some molds emit mycotoxins, harmful compounds that have been shown to thrive on food items (i.e. cereals, nuts, dried fruit). These exposures form in humid environments, and according to the World Health Organization, “Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and survive food processing.” Mycotoxins may be inhaled, absorbed into the skin, or ingested.
- The response to mycotoxin exposures is unique between individuals. If you have a household with four roommates, for example, only one roommate may become ill from mold due to genetic predispositions.
- These harmful exposures can instigate the following symptoms: feelings of weakness and fatigue; muscle and joint pain; blurry vision or light sensitivity; digestive issues (i.e. diarrhea); mood swings; irregular appetite; tingling; frequent urination; reduction in cognitive function (i.e. concentration, memory, disorientation); night sweats; coughing.
Suggested Reading: Lifestyle Modifications for Enriching Sperm Health: A Functional Medicine Toronto Info Sheet
4 Ways mold can harm your brain health
When we provide our patients with facts about mold, sometimes they’re surprised by how the brain can be affected. Some researchers have even suggested that harmful amounts of mold can cause effects that are similar to a concussion! So how exactly can mold affect the brain? Here are some other ways:
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- It may contribute to lowering mood: Findings have linked mold and damp living conditions with depression. One study found that “…older individuals, women, and unemployed respondents were more likely to report depressive symptoms than were younger individuals, men, and employed respondents, respectively,” confirms an American Journal of Public Health article.
- It can promote neuropsychiatric symptoms: Mold and mycotoxin toxicities can cause pain, delirium, or coordination issues. In fact, “Many of these clinical features can partly mimic or be similar to classic neurologic disorders,” says a Toxicology and Industrial Health article.
- May contribute to forming chronic fatigue: Scientists suspect that mold may have a role in the development of chronic fatigue syndrome. A study from Toxins found that a significant number of participants with chronic fatigue had mycotoxins in their urine samples.
- Mycotoxins may impede neuroplasticity: Neuroplasticity is how the brain “rewires” itself to adapt to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It was suggested in a Scientific Reports review that mycotoxins can fasten themselves to proteins used for synaptic signaling.
Access our functional medicine therapies for mold concerns
If you suspect that mold is affecting your cognition lately, a personalized medicine approach may be beneficial. Our functional medicine clinic may apply these practices to design your treatment plan:
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- First, we provide a comprehensive assessment: We delve into your medical history, genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors to scrutinize your biology.
- We can provide lab tests that may not be offered by some conventional medicine clinics: Functional medicine testing can reveal the quantities of mold in your body, as well as which types. This can help us decide on certain elements for your treatment, such as which nutrients to supplement with.
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- We can customize therapies for mold-related issues: We adapt our recommendations, doses of some modalities (i.e. IV therapy), and other treatment options to alleviate your reactions to mycotoxin exposures and promote natural healing. For example, along with removing yourself from the source and getting additional treatments, we may advise on supplementing with N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) (oral and/or intravenous). NAC may help with detoxifying the body because it’s a precursor to glutathione.
FUN FACT
Increasing glutathione levels in your body can promote brain health benefits! Click here to read more about this.
We believe in your potential to overcome chronic symptoms and issues with mycotoxins. Reach out to us for a tailored clinical experience today!
Suggested reading: Lifestyle Modifications for Enriching Sperm Health: A Functional Medicine Toronto Info Sheet
Experience our integrative and functional medicine approach to health
Our goal is to help tackle your biological needs with personalized treatment plans, while supporting optimal wellness for long-term health goals.
As we adhere to the functional medicine model, we treat each patient as an individual – patients are not compared to other groups or people. We also set aside ample time for consultations, during which we provide additional education to patients regarding their needs – feel free to ask us anything related to your wellness!
We place value on our integrative medicine strategies because they can help patients manage their current symptoms. Our personalized treatment modalities can merge conventional medicine practices with naturopathic medicine, holistic nutrition, psychotherapy, nutrition injection therapies, and more.
Intravenous therapy (i.e. glutathione, post-exercise amino acids, NAD+ IV therapy, etc.) is also available in our Toronto IV Lounge – these must be prescribed by our IV therapy providers and are administered for supportive measures only. All of our IV drips contain customized doses and are freshly blended without preservatives. When IV therapy is integrated with healthy lifestyle factors and other treatment modalities, they may contribute to health improvements.
Have you been exposed to indoor mold? Then why not get functional medicine testing done? We can offer this with a tailored treatment plan. It’s easy to begin – just send us a message to request your visit for functional medicine in Toronto.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media.
References
Al horr, Y., Arif, M., Katafygiotou, M., Mazroei, A., Kaushik, A., & Elsarrag, E. (2016). Impact of indoor environmental quality on occupant well-being and comfort: A review of the literature. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2016.03.006
Andersen BFrisvad JC, Søndergaard I, Rasmussen IS, Larsen LS.2011.Associations between Fungal Species and Water-Damaged Building Materials . Appl Environ Microbiol77:.https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02513-10
Brewer, J. H., Thrasher, J. D., & Hooper, D. (2014). Chronic Illness Associated with Mold and Mycotoxins: Is Naso-Sinus Fungal Biofilm the Culprit? Toxins, 6(1), 66-80. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins6010066
Crago, B. R., Gray, M. R., Nelson, L. A., Davis, M., Arnold, L., & Thrasher, J. D. (2003). Psychological, Neuropsychological, and Electrocortical Effects of Mixed Mold Exposure. Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal, 58(8), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.3200/AEOH.58.8.452-463
Empting LD. Neurologic and neuropsychiatric syndrome features of mold and mycotoxin exposure. Toxicol Ind Health. 2009 Oct-Nov;25(9-10):577-81. doi: 10.1177/0748233709348393. PMID: 19854819.
Jedrychowski, W., Maugeri, U., Perera, F., Stigter, L., Jankowski, J., Butscher, M., Mroz, E., Flak, E., Skarupa, A., & Sowa, A. (2011). Cognitive function of 6-year old children exposed to mold-contaminated homes in early postnatal period. Prospective birth cohort study in Poland. Physiology & Behavior, 104(5), 989-995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.019
Mojtaba Ehsanifar, Reihane Rajati, Akram Gholami, Joseph P Reiss. Mold and Mycotoxin Exposure and Brain Disorders. J. Integr. Neurosci. 2023, 22(6), 137. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2206137
“Mold Toxicity: A Common Cause of Psychiatric Symptoms” from Psychology Today, posted on August 3, 2017, viewed on August 30, 2024.
“Mould” from the Government of Canada, modified on February 13, 2023, viewed on August 30, 2024.
Optis M, Shaw K, Stephenson P, Wild P. Mold growth in on-reserve homes in Canada: the need for research, education, policy, and funding. J Environ Health. 2012 Jan-Feb;74(6):14-21. PMID: 22329204.
Scafuri, B., Varriale, A., Facchiano, A., Raggi, M. E., & Marabotti, A. (2017). Binding of mycotoxins to proteins involved in neuronal plasticity: A combined in silico/wet investigation. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15148-4
Sun, L., Miller, J. D., Ryswyk, K. V., Wheeler, A. J., Héroux, E., Goldberg, M. S., & Mallach, G. (2022). Household determinants of biocontaminant exposures in Canadian homes. Indoor Air, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12933
“The facts on mold” by Adam Carter for CBC News, posted February 27, 2012, viewed on August 30, 2024.
Thrasher, J. D., & Crawley, S. (2009). The biocontaminants and complexity of damp indoor spaces: More than what meets the eyes. Toxicology and Industrial Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233709348386
WHO Mycotoxins. [(accessed on 9 August 2021)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mycotoxins
