Mold releases mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, ochratoxin, and deoxynivalenol that have been shown to damage the intestinal lining in species as different as humans, fish, and pigs, removing any remaining doubt of a key point of their attack on the gastrointestinal (GI)-barrier function, according to scientists at the Research Centre in Food Toxicology, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.

Once the gut is damaged, the immune system is too. Seventy-percent of the body’s immune cells reside in the gut. The most effective barrier to mytoxins should be the gut. But with an unbalanced population of bacteria, instead of being contained and neutralized, mold and fungi take over; mycotoxins colonize biofilms. They leak their toxins through the damaged GI tract, which mix into the bloodstream and become systemic poisons, traveling throughout the body, causing symptoms as diverse as brain fog, tingling, and arthritis. In fact, researchers now note that there is “Gut-Brain Axis” that affects neuro-biological health.

THE HEALER

It is because of this centralized attack on well-being that mold-recovery programs are based on bovine colostrum (BC), the first milk that all newborn mammals receive upon birth. BC’s necessity is exemplified by the plight of the newborn calf whose stomach lining is incomplete and immune system a bare cupboard. BC supplies growth factors, immunoglobulins, peptides, leukocytes and antifungals like lactoferrin.

Yet, BC is not strictly for newborns. Adults, too, have long used BC for protection against the flu, recovery from bacteria and viral conditions, and when taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). BC’s use with NSAIDS is due to its ability to protect the GI lining from their damaging effects when they inhibit a broad range of the body’s prostaglandins. BC’s growth factors facilitate recovery from toxic mold syndrome.

t was a few years after her own case of toxic-mold poisoning when the editor in chief of HealthyLivinG’s began daily use of BC, in fact, gulping it like it was a powder someone could lap up. When she began using BC it was like finding a missing link in her longevity and anti-aging program. She had become poisoned while living amidst sycamores and a damp creek in a coastal canyon in Malibu and required seven-days-a-week transfusions because her iron stores were so low. But at that dangerously low point, she vowed she would return only to be better, and BC is a daily necessity for her. She has gone onto excel in sports, including figure skating, the martial art called jeet kune do, and downhill skiing while achieving professional excellence as our creatively inclined and determined editor. We would say she has recovered well and provides a stellar example of what nutrition can do to aid recovery.

Other toxic-mold victims have also used BC. While improving one’s diet and removing mycotoxins are all important, BC provides needed additional support to repair the damage sustained by the digestive tract due to mold illness, says Jennifer Cannon at Surviving Toxic Mold. “The product I have found to be most effective for healing my gut is bovine colostrum… Colostrum also contains a substance called lactoferrin, which is an antifungal [and] antimicrobial peptides that target pathogenic microorganisms. I have personally found colostrum extremely useful for clearing up intestinal candida when used in conjunction with a low-mold diet and binders.”

In a published, peer-reviewed study, BC containing αs1-casein was found to have a robust stimulation effect on intestinal-cell proliferation in vitro.

In another study, a BC-supplemented diet “resulted in significantly increased gut microbiota diversity and stability in the test group. In conclusion, diets supplemented with BC significantly influence immune response…