Mold & Anemia
There IS a connection between mold exposure and iron-deficiency anemia. (🔎 even in the scientific literature!)*
Mold mycotoxins mess with proteins that drive all kinds of metabolic processes. One way they do this is to slow down our ability to make proteins. This “slow down” shows up quickest in the proteins that get used up and replaced the most often. One of those proteins is heme – the base protein of hemoglobin found in red blood cells – and what carries oxygen around in our blood.
If you’re slow at making heme, you’re slow at making hemoglobin.
If you’re slow at making hemoglobin, you’re slow at making red blood cells.
If you’re slow at making red blood cells, you become anemic.
That means less oxygen is available to drive the “fires of metabolism”. 🔥💪🏻
BRILLIANT move by mold! Because if you’re low on iron and oxygen, you won’t have as much energy to move, and then you’ll be more sedentary, and then you’ll spend more time in the moldy space – – – and then mold can compost YOU! 👎🏻
The first step at winning against mold is to GET UP🕴and GET OUT ↪️ of the moldy environment, so you can conquer mold and take back your health!
🔎*Huff WE, Chang CF, Warren MF, Hamilton PB. Ochratoxin A-induced iron deficiency anemia. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Mar;37(3):601-4. doi: 10.1128/AEM.37.3.601-604.1979. PMID: 453831; PMCID: PMC243261.
🔎*Shuaib FM, Jolly PE, Ehiri JE, Jiang Y, Ellis WO, Stiles JK, Yatich NJ, Funkhouser E, Person SD, Wilson C, Williams JH. Association between anemia and aflatoxin B1 biomarker levels among pregnant women in Kumasi, Ghana. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Nov;83(5):1077-83. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0772. PMID: 21036841; PMCID: PMC2963973.
TRANSCRIPT
Can mold cause iron-deficiency anemia? Yeah!
Actually, it’s the mycotoxins that do it.
Certain mycotoxins get in the way of synthesizing something called heme; which makes up our hemoglobin which is what carries oxygen around in our blood. It’s really kind of a smart Jedi move of the mold because then if you have low oxygen, you feel wiped out and you don’t move as much and then it can compost you.
So, yes, that is definitely one of the things we see with mold sickness with certain mycotoxin exposure that you get iron-deficiency anemia and that’s the connection.
But, you can break the mold and take back your health.
This content is health information and not intended as personal medical advice. Viewing will not establish a doctor-patient relationship. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or medical condition. The information discussed is not intended to replace the advice of your healthcare provider. Reliance on information provided by Dr. Jill Crista, employees, or others appearing at the invitation of Dr. Crista is solely at your own risk.