Understanding How Mould Affects Your Health
For those sensitive to mould, (which is most of us), once established in your system you can feel unwell on an ongoing basis. It poisons your energy (mitochondria), and creates ongoing immune responses and inflammation. How well you tolerate moulds or yeasts is largely determined by whether your gut's immune system gets upset, since this is where 70-80% of your body's immune tissue is found. Yet, remember that an immune response that starts in the gut doesn't necessarily produce gut symptoms. Rather it can go out into the circulation and manifest in countless inflammatory ways and locations throughout the body.
The Role of the Microbiome
Whether your gut response is reactive, or calm is in turn, largely determined by it's microbiome. In other words, which bacteria, yeasts, moulds, etc. are predominating, and what are they producing to either nourish or aggravate the gut? In the case of probiotics - the good guys - they ferment fiber to produce butyrate, which makes the cells of your gut lining super happy! On the other hand, if moulds, yeasts or negative bacteria are predominating, what gets produced, (eg. LPS or aflatoxins), is highly irritating and inflammatory, causing all manner of problems.
Synergy Holistics’ Approach
At Synergy Holistics we have been aware of relationships like these for decades, and designed our products around them. Not only are the ingredients within the formula synergistic, but the various formulas can be combined to produce a desired outcome. For example, yeast & mould overgrowth.
Hidden Mould in Digestive Enzymes
In our last newsletter we had an excellent response to informing people that many taking digestive enzymes are unknowingly consuming a source of mould. This is because so many of the enzymes on the market are derived from Aspergillus...a type of mould. Aspergillus enzymes are found not only in enzyme supplements, but also in commercial baked goods, where they are used as dough conditioners. Often, Aspergillus enzymes are not properly "washed" to remove surface markers, which are then recognized by the immune system, and can cause it to attack, creating problems like allergies, sinusitis, congestion, fatigue, brain fog, or poor immunity to bugs, such as colds/flu.
The responses can also involve bloating, gas, and worsened digestive problems, which is often what the person was trying to remedy in the first place. To complicate matters, they are often labelled as "Plant Enzymes". This is highly inaccurate.
Of course, Aspergillus is far from the only mould people have difficulty with. Many are in buildings where mould is a problem.
Related article - Digestion Synergy Is the Smarter Choice for Enzyme Support…No Mold-Based Ingredients!
So what can you do about it, and what protocol might you use?
A. Stop consuming sources of mould. This is why we formulated a mould-free digestive enzyme called Digestion Synergy, derived ONLY from true plant, herbal and animal sources to provide an alternative to the Aspergillus enzymes that dominate the market. (Probiotics Synergy is a perfect compliment to Digestion Synergy for improving digestion and gut / bowel function.)
B. Use selective antimicrobials and immune support that help kill-off the undesirable organisms, and that simultaneously provide useful food, such as butyrate, for your friendly bacteria (i.e. a prebiotic). This calms the gut and promotes an anti-inflammatory effect, often body-wide. This was one of the considerations when I formulated Immune Synergy, a multi-faceted immune support formula. It is not only effective for colds/flu, but also helps support the gut by combatting yeasts, moulds and dysbiosis, and to provide soluble fiber, i.e. Sunfiber®, which makes up 34% of the ingredient called Eldermune®, i.e the 65:1 elderberry complex in the formula.
C. When you combine Immune Synergy with our Probiotics Synergy formula, you get a dramatically enhanced effect. This is the same DDS-1® probiotics formula formerly used in the Yeast Buster's Kit. I have used it in myself and thousands of clients since the 1990's to combat the effects of yeasts, moulds, and dysbioisis and to promote gut health and comfort. It recently qualified for a claim to support IBS, attesting to its anti-inflammatory effects. Decades of successful use in clients and staff, as well as over 40 years of scientific studies are why we stand behind this formula. It absolutely works for the above mentioned difficulties, and is a very specific companion product for both the Immune Synergy, and Digestion Synergy.
Simple Protocol I Use For Mould/Yeast Overgrowth and Gut Problems
A protocol I use for the above mentioned challenges with mould / yeast or gut problems is simple: 2 Immune Synergy plus 2 Probiotics Synergy when you get up, repeated in the afternoon, and at bedtime. After about 3 weeks this could be reduced to twice per day. To get the desired results, you do need to take the Probiotics Synergy on an empty stomach, but you can take the Immune Synergy anytime! I originally suggested them together simply for the sake of ease and compliance. Some may find it counterintuitive to take them together, but the results reported back have been so good and consistent, that I kept doing it!
The Gut–Immunity–Inflammation Connection
Stay with us as we continue to explore the Gut, Immunity, Inflammation connection. Next newsletter I will discuss our More Than "C" Synergy (we will be launching this new product in November!), which in addition to providing broad spectrum Vitamin C support, also provides Arabinogalactans ... another prebiotic that can have profound influences on the gut, inflammation and immunity.
Until then, be well!
John Biggs BSc, NCP, OHP
Synergy Holistics, Founder and Formulator