We all know that toxins come from the water we drink, the air we breathe, things that touch our skin, and food that we eat.

Environmental toxins include lead found in drinking water and pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables. They also include smoke from forest fires and the cleaners in many of our household products.

Toxins that adversely affect our heath include chemicals, heavy metals, and biotoxins that are produced by living organisms.

Mold is considered a biotoxin. When mold spores get inhaled they typically are quickly removed from the upper respiratory system before reaching our lungs. They then get deposited into our gut for removal through our stool.

Thus most mold is effectively eaten rather than inhaled. The toxin exposure that results is predominantly through the digestive track and not our respiratory system.

Our natural detox systems, including our liver and kidneys, are pretty capable at cleaning out toxins from the body quick enough before there is any damage. But gut related problems from mold toxin exposure are common. Especially in those that have too high a burden of toxins.

This is because gut microflora are sensitive to the mycotoxins found in mold. Think penicillin and the anti-bacterial affects it has. Good gut bacteria can get damaged from chronic exposure and this results in an imbalance, called dysbiosis, in our digestive track.

A shift towards intestinal aerobic bacteria can lead to inflammatory bowel disease, obesity and overgrowth of yeast or Candida. Aerobic bacteria are tiny, single-celled creatures that require oxygen to live and grow.

Aerobic bacteria can reproduce simply by splitting themselves and thus grow rapidly. They are responsible for many dreadful infections.

Keep in mind that not all bacteria are harmful, even aerobic ones. Many species can actually promote health and prevent disease. What we typically call beneficial bacteria tend to defend against more generally harmful ones. They also are responsible for the constant breakdown of food and waste, helping to provide us with vitamins and minerals.

Overgrowth of yeast, which is fungus, in our digestive system can take over the gut and not go away simply. Yeast will secrete a substance that suppresses our immune response. They also release proteins that allow themselves to firmly attach to the intestinal lining. This makes yeast hard to get rid of.

We don’t only ingest mold from the air, it can also be found in our foods. Keeping mold from growing on grains before we eat them is important. Even the grains we feed to animals must be kept free from mold as much as possible. But this can be challenging.

Weather conditions during growing and harvesting seasons may increase the amount of moldy feed and mycotoxin problems. You can’t just look at feed and tell it is free of mycotoxins. The FDA does set standards for maximum levels of aflatoxins, a type of mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus species of mold.

Mold toxicity symptoms can actually mimic gluten reactions. This includes headaches and migraines, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, anxiety, depression, bloating. Even asthma symptoms and elevated blood pressure have been associated with mold exposure.

We don’t always want to blame one thing though, like mold. Sometimes it’s just important to look at our overall toxin burden. This means considering the levels of toxic chemicals and microorganisms that we’re exposed to, as well as our bodies ability to detoxify itself.

When the exposure is too high or our ability to respond is too low, then we can have a problem. Removal from exposure is always the first step in a successful plan.

Sometimes getting away may stop them from building up, but not remove them. In that case you may need to look at ways to bind toxins and get them out.

Anti-fungals and probiotics, along with a clean and proper diet, can possibly help restore the balance to gut micro flora and support our bodies ability to keep these toxins out. This is important to overall optimal health.

Scott Porter, a functional medicine pharmacist, is the director of the Center for Functional Nutrition at Sandpoint Super Drug.