REBUTTAL TO: “But mold is a natural part of life, and is in most buildings!”

While this statement is 100% true, this does not downplay the fact that mold illness, mold toxicity, CIRS, or whatever you desire to call it is 100% real, and impacting millions of people around the world.

Now let’s break down these arguments for the mold illness skeptics.

“But mold is a natural part of life!”

We all know that mold is a form of fungi that plays an important role in the environment by breaking down and digesting organic material. So in other words, mold is a grand decomposer, and it plays a very vital role on our planet. The problem is - mold doesn’t naturally belong in buildings. Mold is meant to thrive harmoniously OUTSIDE with nature. There are controls in nature (such as wind, open air, and the sun) that keep mold in check and from completely growing out of hand and invading Earth completely. Mother Nature is a witty expert at keeping everything in balance. This is why outdoor mold is generally harmless.

Now when we have mold growing inside building, there are no outdoor controls (such as wind, open air or the sun) to hinder it from growing out of control. A building is actually the perfect environment for mold to thrive in, even more so than outdoors. This is because mold can hide in wall cavities, crawlspaces, attics, HVACs and more, completely undisturbed for years and years, which gives it ample opportunity to grow so much more than it would be able to outdoors! This is why many abandoned buildings that are left unattended and un-air conditioned for years can be infested with mold everywhere.

Let’s not forget about the fact that in a building you aren’t getting fresh outdoor air unless you have your windows open 24/7. With that said, if there is a large enough amount of mold growing in your home, the mold spores and mycotoxins can absolutely have an impact on your health. Mold can ruin your indoor air quality and make you, your family, and pets very sick.

We, as human beings, are organic material, and mold does not discriminate! The sole objective of mold is to decompose organic material and WE ARE ORGANIC MATERIAL! This is why some people can look sickly and lose so much collagen while living a mold infested home. The mold is literally decomposing them from the inside out.

Lastly, many toxigenic molds produce a byproduct referred to as mycotoxins, which are solely utilized to defend and preserve their mold colony by maliciously attacking and suppressing the growth of competing microorganisms, insects, HUMAN BEINGS and animals. Some of these mycotoxins are even deadly if enough accumulate in the body.

Are you convinced yet?

“Mold is in most buildings!” or “I lived in a moldy home and I’m fine”

Yes. It’s true. The majority of buildings in the world have some degree of mold in them. A little bit of mold is not the problem. A mold-free building is actually unrealistic and unattainable for the most part. The problem is when the level of mold becomes so high in a building that the human body can longer tolerate it, nor efficiently detox the mold and mycotoxins from the body. The body becomes so overburdened with toxins, that is starts shutting down.

Everyone will have their own degree of tolerability, which is why one person could be deathly ill in a highly moldy building, another person may just have a runny nose, and the third person may not have any symptoms at all (or at least not be consciously aware of any health related problems). However, it may only be a matter of time before the other people start experiencing new health related issues.

Even if you did live in a moldy building and you say were “fine”, you may be surprised by how many different health symptoms are associated with mold illness. Some are just not as serious as others.

Factors that play into mold tolerability can include: genetics, gender, the type of mold you’re exposed to, the level of mold you’re exposed to, the length of time you’re exposed to the mold, pre-existing conditions, your lifestyle, diet, your toxic load, and current stressors in life.

We mention gender because Dr. Jill Crista stated that women tend to show signs of mold toxicity much earlier than men do. One of her theories is that because women’s bodies tend to carry more triglycerides than men, mycotoxins (which are fat soluble) accumulate in a women’s body much quicker.

Are you convinced now?

We’ve encountered our fair share of mold illness skeptics over the last few years, and many of them are unwilling to even try to comprehend the damage that mold is causing to people’s lives. So if you’ve gotten this far, we applaud you for your willingness to learn.

Curious about the health complications mold can cause? Read about them here.