Mold, Chronic Fatigue, and Chlorella

Mold exposure can wreak havoc on susceptible people. Recent studies have found that people with CFS often have evidence of mold exposure as measured by urine tests.

• One study  published in 2013, found that an astonishing 93% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome had mycotoxins present in their urine. 
• Another study, published in 2022 found similar results: over 92% of patients with CFS showed evidence of exposure to mold toxins. 

Ridding the body of mycotoxins can be difficult: it is hard to find a doctor who is "mycotoxin literate" and once you do, the process can be expensive. 

Obviously, the first step is reducing exposure. This itself is an expensive process. I lived in a water-damaged building because contractors had installed the plumbing and air conditioning in the wrong way. To add to my problems, a drug addict across the street took offense to my bumper stickers and decided to get even by plugging the condensation pipe that lead from my air conditioner to the outside of the house .This caused an incredible amount of mold in the side wall of my kitchen pantry, which meant that my food was also contaminated and I was sick, sick, sick. 

When I contacted a mold-removal company, I was told that my homeowners insurance would not cover the very expensive repairs. (After Hurricane Wilma, the company stopped providing homeowners insurance and I was forced into the state insurance pool, which did not cover mold remediation.)

I mention all of this to illustrate how difficult the process of mold remediation can be. 

If for some reason, you are stuck in a mold-infested building, your two choices are remediation and moving.  HEPA filters can help but are not foolproof. 

During and after the process of removing mold from your environment, you may also want to remove the mycotoxins from your body. 

A doctor's advice is invaluable here, especially of s/he knows about treating mycotoxin overload. 

If you can't find such a doctor and want to do it on your own, chlorella may help. 

First of all, what is chlorella? Chlorella is not one organism but a group of about 13 organisms in the same genus. They are single-celled blue-green algae that grow in colonies. Chlorella is  rich in nutrients and appears to be one of the very few vegan sources of vitamin B-12

The two most common ones in the West, at least, are Chlorella vulgaris--which is what most chlorella sold here is--and Chlorella sorokiniana, which is often used in research studies. 

One study found that Chlorella vulgaris helped lessen the effects of aflatoxin, one of the most harmful mytoxins and one with the potential to cause severe liver damage.  It also reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, which play key roles in chronic fatigue. 

Because humans can not digest the cellulos that forms chlorella's cell walls, the cells should be cracked. The company selling the chlorella will advertise that cells walls are cracked --if they are. 

Like any food or supplement, chlorella has risks:

• Scientists have not done enough research to determine its safety during pregnancy and lactation or for very young children.
• Some people may have an allergy to chlorella.
• Since chlorella contains iodine, people sensitive to iodine should avoid it.
• Chlorella may make it harder for blood-thinning drugs to work. 

While I doubt you will want to grow your own chlorella, YouTube has videos about how to do it.