The Mold Elimination Diet - Helping Those with Mold Allergies
Controlling Molds
For people who have mold allergies there is no way to avoid all contact with mold allergens. Mold particles are in the air we breathe, things we touch, and the foods we eat. Though we have very little control over environmental allergies, we can control what mold allergens we put in our bodies on a daily basis.
Tracking Mold Allergens
We do this by tracking foods that have mold and yeast ingredients and studying which of these trigger an allergic response. You do not follow a mold elimination diet for the rest of your life; you use it only as a tool to diagnose which foods cause a reaction. Once identified, these foods should be avoided for a set period of time (phase one). This will allow your body to repair itself, and will make reintroducing these foods a much easier task (phase two). You can also use this mold food list as a marker for foods to avoid.
You might also want to consider tracking environmental allergy levels in your journal also, to help you identify foods that have more of an effect on high mold count days. You can use internet resources like pollen.com to track the mold count in your area on a daily basis
You will find that a mold elimination diet will remove many of your favorite foods, and you will be left eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Generally the switch to a low carb, high protein diet will make you feel poor for the first week, as your body tries to deal with the removal of major allergens. It is much like a withdrawal response. After the withdrawal stage, you will begin to feel much better and have more energy.
Phase One of the Mold Elimination Diet
How long it takes your body to begin to recover depends on the severity of your symptoms, your age and how long you have been ill. Generally the first phase of the mold elimination diet lasts between two and six months. During this phase, you completely avoid all the foods on your list that caused any type of allergic response.
Allergic responses include:
- Shifts in mood that occur after eating
- Swollen eyes, burning eyes, matted eyelids
- Nasal congestion and sinusitis
- Feeling fatigue and spacey after eating
- Nausea or feeling sick
- Excess flatulence, burping and bloating
- Headache
- Depression
- Eczema
- Wet cough
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Phase Two of the Mold Elimination Diet
During this phase you slowly reintroduce foods on your allergy list. You will only introduce one allergy food per every three days. An allergen can stay in your system that long, so introducing a food in less than three days can give you tainted results. Try to reintroduce foods on days with low environmental mold counts. If you eat a food on the avoid list and have no symptoms, add it to your safe list. If you suffer any symptoms, add the food to your avoidance list and know that you will probably have to not eat that food for the rest of your life if you wish to remain symptom free. If it is a food that you just can’t live without, you will at least know what to expect, and understand why you feel the way you do.
This post is part of the series: Foods and Mold Allergies
There are many ways to prevent allergy symptoms for people who have mold allergies. This series covers the best food handling and storage techniques, as well as foods that should be avoided. These articles will help you stay healthy and feeling good.
