Diet for Moldies

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Christa Upton

“Everything in moderation” literally IS the diet for moldies!!

Our Garden Produce, 2017

Our bodies get so damaged by mold that we need a lot of things, usually: magnesium, antioxidants, fiber, omega 3s, NAC, amino acids, and enzymes.

See my other posts for more information on some things,

Food for Health

and then here it is:

Many people can handle supplements, but many people cannot. There is also an awful lot of evidence that supplements can contain unwanted additives, are processed weird, and/or are ineffective.

During the Corona thingie, it appears real fruits were a much better source of resveratrol than supplements were. We had a bad flu, and I was very sick with an ME/CFS crash, but I had much milder symptoms than anyone else in my family and managed to “hang on” to what little energy I had. Why did I do so well? I haven’t had a single supplement or medication in years. Well, I had been doing Raw Fruitarian diet as much as possible in the 5 months before, and I continued it during the flu. (I still needed meat for protein and whole grains for binding, though, just to be clear.) I think it was the resveratrol, antioxidants, tannins, etc. that one gets from fruit. I’m not the only one, there was a great study about fruits and Corona.

Anyhow, whether you want to chance your money on supplements or not, another advantage of real foods is that they are often packed with “together nutrients.”

“Moldy” Foods

For those of you who have heard that certain foods are “moldy,” it is true they may test moldy, but many of us have found they do not make a bit of difference in actual mold illness (whether one eats them or not). They COULD make a difference in MCAS, but MCAS is only one possible symptom of mold illness (and often not the “main” one, depending on the person). MCAS is like “allergies” and person-specific, not specific to “mold illness.”

Anyhow, my current hypothesis is that the human stomach can take care of “moldy” foods MUCH better than the lungs or blood-brain barrier can deal with inhaled mycotoxins. But if you feel bad eating them, don’t eat them.

So what type of diet for moldies?

Garlic, onion, asparagus, etc. (for the glutathione. As long as your body produces the glutathione correctly.)

Strawberries, citrus etc. for the vitamin C.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-increase-glutathione

Fish, avocadoes and/or olives for the omegas which help the brain, skin, and probably other things.

Nuts for the magnesium for sleep. Right now I am needing to be slightly lower on oxylates, and I am doing well on these:

https://www.grove.co/catalog/product/calm-gummies/?v=7446&attrsrc=18&attrpg=catalog&attrpos=7

Whole grains to bind the mold toxins and take them out. (Nuts do this, too, and coconut binds some toxins–maybe mold as well.)

https://www.lucymailing.com/gluten-intolerance-or-gut-dysbiosis/

Beets for the bile release.

Chicken broth for the leaky gut.

Beef for the NAC, iron, etc.

Yogurt, fermented pickles (Bubbies), etc. for the probiotics which are a big help in detox.

Blueberries and cherries for the antioxidants.

My liver liked raw fruitarian (and my “hydration” did, too). But my muscles liked high meat/beef. AFTER some treatment, my body liked fermented foods more and more. When I was super sick, my stomach REAAAALLLY liked the chicken broth. My DDT symptoms “like” (go away with) whole grains, nuts, and coconut. My mold symptoms gradually got better with avoidance and a lot of whole wheat and oats.

Christa Upton Edgemont, SD 57735

Posted in Caregivers, Children, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), God's Grace/Encouragement, MCS/Chronic Illness, Mold/Mould, nutrition, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cleaning up DDT

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Christa Upton

We accidently got an old insecticide in our house, and all evidence points to DDT (Dangerous Doom Thing according to my son. 🙂 ) It’s really Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane but who can say that word?! LOL It was banned from use in the USA in 1972, but it remains in some soils and even worse in some buildings. It needs sunlight and soil microbes to break down, and even then it takes years and can remain in soil.

Trigger Warning (for poisons/sprays): (15) DDT Let’s Put It Everywhere 1946 – YouTube

this little-known article was published 3 years later but not soon enough to stop the use. 🙁

DDT Poisoning A New Syndrome With Neuropsychiatric Manifestations by Morton S. Biskind, M.D. and Irving Bieber, M.D. (whale.to)

Later, Rachel Carson wrote a book and almost single-handedly got DDT banned in the USA Rachel Carson: the Lady who Saved my Life ⋆ Black Hills Picture Books

Back to my story: so in 2017 after it came home accidently on my husband from his new job, I got a few minor symptoms, but I thought I should just endure the symptoms because we needed an income. At that point, we had no idea it was an insecticide. Then after I threw up violently every day for at least a month (and got other symptoms such as the extreme RLS mentioned in the Biskind article, violent coughing, prickling, neuropathy, tingling, zapping, massive insomnia, etc.), we realized we had a big problem.

The First Clean-up

As I analyzed where in the house I kept getting sicker, we realized this stuff had spread all over and that many of our things were holding it. We started with what we already knew about mold contamination: paper and porous furniture capture and hold it the most. So we got out some trash bags and began trashing items. We started, sadly, with our bookshelves full of books. We also tossed any unneeded (outgrown) old toys, office supplies, etc. We had already lost most of our books and toys at the mold house back in Indiana, so we didn’t have a lot, but we knew better than to try to keep what few books we had at that time (2017). Thankfully we already have a few new books, and they are FINE–yahoo!!!!!

We’ve been through a lot so we make the most of funny things that happen: During our clean-up, one of the kids stepped on a trash bag and it talked!!!!! It turned out to be one of the kids’ R2D2 Bop It, so we had to demonstrate for Dad when he got home and came in to start taking stuff to the dump. LOL Then he took stuff, then we cried a little. Then we started loading up furniture to go to the dump. We emptied out literally everything we could (mattresses ended up having to go later 🙁 ) and left *ONLY* my husband’s grandma’s piano in hopes that we could keep it. Sadly, I reacted so badly to it (even after more house cleaning, etc. etc.) that it had to go, too. Of all the stuff we have lost through mold, DDT, and moving across the country, that was the one THING/possession (vs. job, relationship, etc.) I cried most over.

Partial Paralysis

Then one day I tried to stand up and couldn’t. I had partial paralysis, partial numbness, and partial neuropathy in my legs. I was scared silly. We ruled out a stroke and then later found our fridge had been leaking a chemical, and combined with the DDT, I could not walk! I had a Parkinson’s-like gait for 3 years after that. I could not sleep more than 5 hours a day no matter what combination of night and naps I tried.

Only Pesticides, Mold have been Bad Enough for Me to Pitch Stuff

Bad, toxic molds and DDT are the only substances which are bad enough in cross-contamination for me that warrant throwing items out, even though I have extremely severe Toxic Injury, ten conditions related to C 8 poisoning in utero, and signs of liver damage starting around age 10. We have rarely thrown out items other than mold-contaminated or DDT-contaminated. So I would call those “super-cross-contaminators.” Once we had to give away some herbicide-contaminated items, and another time some things a neighboring camper at a campground (when we were homeless) sprayed with fly spray.

The Second Clean-up

We had people come help, and they and my son and husband cleaned “like Monk” (TV show fictional character) (like spring cleaning) under everything, around everything, mostly with wet paper towels which were immediately pitched OUTSIDE. It would NOT have worked without our flooring being all ceramic tile. It also would not have worked if we had had HVAC or non-washable, cotton curtains (the curtains eventually washed clean). It also would not have worked if we had had drywall. We know this because I self-contaminated a cabin (where I was staying while they cleaned here at the house) and it got on the drywall at the cabin. I cannot explain why our plaster walls repelled it and have survived “beautifully.” (15) How to Create Walls Using Plain Plaster on Metal Lath – YouTube

The Washing Machine Mess

One day I started coughing in my room despite trying so hard to keep my room cleaned (my son mopped every day for about 8 months). I prayed for wisdom, suddenly heard the washing machine going, and realized the DDT was spinning out the top! We had to wash clothes outside for a long time.

The Metal Miracle

Because the stuff just goes everywhere (it’s crystalline…think snowflakes with a tiny puff of air, etc…… We realized we needed to “contain” it as we began replacing contaminated clothes, etc. I’ll tell you the miracle part in another blog post, another day; this post is already “too long” according to blogging gurus. 🙂

Milk that Stuff

One day I was chatting online with a friend. She said, “Isn’t DDT fat-soluble” (she was right) “Then why not try soaking things in milk; it worked!!!!!!! I could NOT believe it. A kitchen towel which had caused terrible symptoms, with whole milk poured over–suddenly didn’t! DO NOT soak anything longer than 1 hour and DO NOT wash in a washing machine without like a very, very long rinse in tub first (unless you want your washer to smell like old milk!)

Replace Appliances

We kept trying to replace as little as possible, but when we found I would throw up after a meal made from food in the fridge, we had to replace the fridge… etc.

One Final Clean-up

After all this….four years later, we finally got rid of enough that I stopped having aphasia, opthalmic migraines, liver pain, etc. i am so thankful.

DDT 2748957

Upton Family: 2738958!!!

Upton Family declared winner after marginally edging out the DDT (by one point)!

Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735a

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Food Nutrient Benefits

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Christa Upton

Following up on my post titled “Food for Health,” the nutrients listed there usually include these benefits:

Magnesium (nuts): can help with sleep, sound sensitivity, binding toxins, and protein needs.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC): can help rebuild the body after toxic damage.

Probiotics: can help shut off mast cells, detox the body, rebuild the body, reduce heartburn and reflux, balance body biome, reduce burping, digest properly, increase digestive enzymes, reduce indigestion, and increase energy.

Fish oil and other good oils: can help protect the skin, hydrate the skin, and help the brain recover from mold and chemicals.

Monolaurin: mild antibacterial properties.

Antioxidants: repair damage caused by oxidative stress in the body.

Antioxidant-rich Fruit

Phytonutrients (in fruits, veggies, and whole grains): can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.

Curcumin: has anti-inflammatory properties. It can help arthritis in dogs and inflammatory problems in humans.

Citrus fruits: https://www.fao.org/3/x2650t/x2650t03.htm

Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

Posted in Caregivers, Children, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Homeschooling, MCS/Chronic Illness, Mold/Mould | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to create a “Pristine” Bedroom for MCS

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Christa Upton

If you can, replacing your flooring with tile is usually a huge help. This is because: Not only does ceramic tile NOT offgass, it also blocks whatever is below it pretty well (like subfloor with toxic glues or even apartments below yours although much will still come up from other residents through outlets), and it lets go of most accidentlal room contamination and is easy to clean with no chemicals.

Just be sure to get tile that has NOT been treated with Microban or other antimicrobial chemicals.

If you would like to use the old-fashioned mortar-bed method for tiling (fewer chemicals), check out my husband’s demonstration here:

You can also grout with just cement and sand, although it is harder to do well and dry well, and I do think a number of grouts off-gas fairly well (though I don’t know how fast).

You can also replace your bedroom door with a steel external door. We got our bedroom and bathroom doors at a local thrift store! Steel washes off fairly easily, even many chemicals (thus can be safe pre-owned).

To further help your bedroom and your nightly detox (and hopefully your sleep, too):

  • Remove everything from room that you can except glass, metal, ceramic, and cotton.
  • Never keep errand shoes in your bedroom, even in the closet.
  • Try to get metal storage for all your clothes, especially “errand clothes,” or foil your closet door and the opening at the bottom of the door.
  • Air out as often as possible, with a fan in another part of the house drawing good air in your window, as long as the outside air is good. Even if your room is very low-tox like mine, CO2 build-up can be a problem: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-sleep-idUKKBN1E12DK
  • Never charge your cell phone in your room while sleeping.
  • Try to turn off all electric items in the room while you sleep.
  • Put things like glasses, snacks, bedtime books, etc. in tins.

Potential replacements:

I use a piece of (cheap) cotton fabric to cover my windows. The last pieces were a bit more expensive to block the sun more as I developed trouble sleeping from a 4-year contaminent. We got dark-blue denim, thin but pretty effective as sun blocking, especially using two layers certain times of the year. I literally cut just an inch wider than the window (didn’t even hem any sides), about a foot longer than the window, and then hung it by two safety pins at the top corners on two nails at the sides of the windows. Easiest curtains ever. Easy to wash, replace, hang, everything. No flame retardants or other curtain chemicals. Obviously you can hem or add a rod pocket or cover with pretty print cotton or add embroidery etc. if you want.

I have something like this for my “bedside stand”:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/mDesign-Metal-Glass-3-Tier-Storage-Tower-Narrow-Shelving-Display-Unit-Open-Glass-Shelves-Multi-Use-Stand-Living-Room-Bathroom-Home-Office-Hallway-Bed/746537601

Only mine has pretty blue glass which they don’t seem to make anymore. 🙁

I have all my clothes, bedding, and towels in lockers like this and a white one they don’t make anymore:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0987HM4JQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Baskets like these help organize things that might otherwise go in a dresser: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JX4T9TP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 If the contents are “stinky,” the size baskets I got will fit in a locker cube. It keeps linking to the bronze color, but mine are chrome, which I think means just metal with no “finish” which is usually safer.

Once the bedroom is “safe” and you are sure not moldy, I DO recommend investing in some kind of lower-chemical mattress, since you spend so many hours on it, detox tends to happen at night, and sleep is so important. If you are self-contaminating, I would definitely recommend to cover it with at least one layer of this (and wash often):

https://organiccottonplus.com/products/barrier-cloth-6-oz-100

I found my safer mattress here: https://paradigmchange.me/lc/mattress/

I ended up with this one and LOVE it:

https://www.mygreenmattress.com/latex-free-mattresses/

I’m hoping to do a video tour of my bedroom (and maybe our main room, too) and post it on my YouTube channel. Check back or subscribe to my blog for an announcement of when that’s posted.

Christa Upton Edgemont, SD 57735

Posted in Caregivers, Children, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Low-Tox House, MCS/Chronic Illness | Leave a comment

My Liver Treatment

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Christa Upton

(AKA: detox)

A little background:

In 2010 in the moldy house, I could only eat 5 foods. I had a long list of symptoms. I was bedridden and could hardly get a bath once every 10 days even with massive help. One thing that is key for people with chronic illness who want to detox is environment/avoiding mold and chemicals. I had to move 1000 miles to get away from pesticides (agriculture), outdoor mold, and pollution.

We got help building our low-tox house, and I started to get MUCH better (2016/2017). The things that helped the most besides avoidance and living in this house were heat/exercise and toxin-binding foods: mostly whole grains, nuts, some kidney beans. I don’t have access to a sauna, so I use a space heater (be careful of course). Watch your niacin, electrolytes, etc.

But then we accidently got a toxicant in here (Dec. 2017) (all signs point to DDT from old buildings).

Symptoms:

In 2021, I eventually ended up with liver pain, very low appetite, many DDT symptoms, and could hardly get out of bed even for the restroom. After we cleaned up “most” of the DDT (Sept/Oct 2021), I crashed and ended up flat on my face on liquids only for 10 days (November 2021). I threw up three times in one bath, and these experiences also put me in a longer but still fairly severe ME/CFS crash which lasted 5 months.

But I doubt that that big of a crash is going to happen for most people detoxing, who did not have the exposure I did. These include: Ohio River Valley Du Pont/PFAS in utero to age 7, DDT in utero to age 18 every summer at Grandpa’s greenhouse, dioxin from age 7 to 15–living 20 miles from worst-civilian-exposure town in USA history, living between 3 pesticide fields age 7 to 22, and DDT for 4 years here.

We believe my body finally felt safe enough to begin detoxing, because it’s extremely hard to detox a thing if you are still living in the thing (DDT). Plus I’m old LOL (52), and I think my liver damage was more than most my age.

Interestingly, just previous to this:

Around August 2021 I felt led to do as much Raw Fruitarian diet as I could. I went a little fast, lost weight too quickly, and got some really bad DDT symptoms, likely from too much DDT coming out of fat stores at once. But I was back on track within a couple weeks. Keeping up with binders (whole grains etc.) is key here.

After the crash:

After about 10 days, I could sit up again, and my husband started juicing veggies for my liver. Mostly veg, some fruit like cranberries. Don’t laugh–I could only choke down 4 oz. a day! (texture, not taste) But I also continued the Raw Fruitarian as much as I could (but I needed beef etc. and had to force myself to eat it), and I stopped self-contaminating!!!! I’ll do a post on self-contamination another day, but it’s a big deal that this stopped. When I was self-contaminating, a milk pour over skin (since many toxins are fat-soluble including DDT) and then normal bath was essential every night for a while so I could sleep. My liver pain went away, and my appetite started to increase.

After those 10 days of a liquid diet “dictated” by my body, my body wanted me to do intermittent fasting–mostly just skipping breakfast. Body-led, not “determined by me”!!!!! So I didn’t follow numbers (16, 8 or anything).

Sunlight on closed eyes for 2 minutes a day when I was at my worst was also essential. For the winter, I did it with window WIDE open, real sun hitting my face (not through glass). Thankfully the sun angle was perfect, for open window and sunlight on my bed.

I stopped juicing after 2 months, but I continued eating veggies like spinach, beets, and peas, now whole vs. juiced.

I also VERY much had to keep up with my binders (mentioned above), but this time they seemed to be even more effective with some kind of fat (eggs, butter). DDT is fat-soluble, so maybe it’s that?

I could often tell because I was getting DDT symptoms (level 8 leg pain) from detoxing internally instead of the dust in the house (and dusting the house no longer helped), and these foods would usually make it go away if I ate enough of them. I also ate a lot of asparagus and dark chocolate which I THINK both also bind! Didn’t eat together. LOL

Cautions:

If anyone tries stuff like this, Just GO SLOW and DON”T DO IT without including binders (foods I listed or other binders), or you can get some scary symptoms. Don’t lose weight too fast, either. You may need supervision of a doctor for electrolytes, potassium levels, etc.

For severe moldies/MCSers, I don’t know if this will work in a bad environment!!!!!!

Your detox journey might need a different scope, different order of events, etc. Feel free to email me (steveandchrista@yahoo.com) or comment with questions.

I should mention that prior to all this, fermented foods and bone broth helped heal my gut, keep me away from MCAS, and get me to where I could even TOLERATE all those whole, raw fruits!!!!! And NOW, fermenting our own veggies etc. is helping me continue the detox process.

Fermented Lemons

Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

Posted in Caregivers, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Low-Tox House, MCS/Chronic Illness, Mold/Mould | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Guest Post, On Wildflowers

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Christa Upton

By Alice Johnson Kennison

“There is something so brave and sweet about wildflowers. They spring up in difficult places without even having to be planted. Their cheerful unexpectedness gives me pleasure. I love the Tiny Bluets that carpet the ground here in the spring. The smallest of flowers, but they are so special to me. God’s tiny bouquets.”

I agree, Alice!!! May we all have more wildflowers in our lives!!!

Surprise outside kitchen door

Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

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Food for Health

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Christa Upton

Here are some foods that have helped me a lot since getting sick:

Magnesium in nuts. (Couldn’t sleep without my night cashews at one point.)

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in beef. Had to force myself to eat beef for a while even though my body wanted mostly fruit and binders, but I’d get too weak. Probably needed the protein and iron too?

Probiotics in Bubbies pickles, yogurt, home-fermented fruits and vegetables, etc.

Homemade Salsa

Fish oil in kippers, sardines, wild salmon, and sometimes “pickled” herring.

Monolaurin in coconut.

Antioxidants in garlic.

Polysaccharides, terpenoids, and sterols in shiitake mushrooms (I eat the powder form of shiitake in Bare Bones beef broth but I don’t know how much of those nutrients the powder has).

Fruits: Antioxidants, resveratrol (such as dark berries), quercetin (such as grapes), anthocyanins, carotenoids, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, ellagitannins, proanthocyanidins, enzymes (pineapple and papaya), lycopene (watermelon), and healthy fats (avocado and olives).

Sulforaphane in broccoli.

Curcumin in turmeric.

When the body encounters mold or chemicals or a xenobiotic compound [a chemical compound (such as a drug, pesticide, or carcinogen) that is foreign to a living organism], the body has to figure out a way to remove it from the body. One way the human body does this is through fiber in the diet. However, fruit fiber is not very efficient at binding toxins, especially certain specific toxins. More efficient binders include whole grains, nuts, and coconut.

Stay tuned (subscribe to my blog) if you would like to know how some of these nutrients benefit the human body.

Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

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Managing Air Conditioning for Moldies

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Christa Upton

Condensation (and resulting mold growth on the inevitable dust on coils/drip pan etc.) is such a problem with most air conditioning units or systems that many of us moldies just go without. Especially when we are so sick that even “lesser molds” impact us negatively. (Stachybotrys is not usually going to grow on a/c window units, although *I cannot guarantee this.*) However, I’ve found a way to beat even the lesser molds on a/c window units!!!! (For the most part. I can’t guarantee this either.)

Also, if your window unit does go bad despite your efforts, it is easy to replace (and at a fairly reasonable cost depending on size).

Here are the tricks:

1. Never use “energy saver.” This stops air circulation, and therefore things stay wetter.

2. If you run the window unit on fan only for at least some hours after running the compressor (on “cool” vs. “fan,”) this running of the fan will dry out the coils and the drip pan. Please check your drip pan for your climate and how MANY hours it takes to dry it all out. Obviously this can vary depending on humidity levels outside, rain, etc.

If it takes too many hours for what you want, then you can use a shop vac set to blow, to get rid of the majority of the water in the pan. Your goal is to have the pan/coils dry for at least an hour out of every 24 hours.

In my climate it happens to be easy, because our temps drop 30 degrees at night usually even on the hottest days. So I run the air off and on during the day, then run on fan only for 8 hours at night.

We are also semi-arid, so 8 hours is usually enough and overkill sometimes.)

3. To help the dry pan dry quicker, either drill a drain hole in it WHICH WILL VOID THE WARRANTY on the a/c unit or use this cool (no pun intended) wicking method, but as a moldie, you will probably want to change this cloth more often than once a month, although we are not going to have to (because our unit is on the south side of the house, gets a lot of wind and sun, and we get only around 18 inches of rain a year). (We are using a small strip of washcloth instead of gauze, and it works great.)

Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

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A Tip for “Detox Diet”

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Christa Upton

If there is a food you feel you should add for helping detox, keep a jar handy and add it to “all things.”

For me right now it’s nuts. Nuts seem to be very high on the list of bindery foods helping me detox from insecticide. So I have a few jars, and nuts can go in/on: stir-frys, sweet and sour chicken, curries, casseroles, oatmeal, ice cream, 🙂 and more.

For you it might be dry oats, which can go in almost anything, including sprinkling a little on a sandwich. Put it on the bread (not on the tomato or ham lol) if you want to “disguise” the texture a little. If you toast dry oats in butter, they are good on wet things like ice cream or fruit salad, too.

Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

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Overcoming Barriers to Healing from ME/CFS, Mold Illness, MCS, and Other Chronic Illness

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Christa Upton

There are a number of key factors involved in healing that some may be prevented from doing, for a while.

Sweating. Some of us just don’t sweat well UNTIL IN GOOD ENOUGH AIR. (It usually takes me 2 months in good air to begin sweating again.)

Exercising. Some of us have extremely high PEM, and exercising can be injurious UNTIL IN GOOD ENOUGH AIR. My air had to be nearly pristine (mold AND chem) for me to overcome PEM. Then when my house got contaminated with powdered/crystalline insecticide, it had to be cleaned before I could exercise again. We ended up doing at least five MAJOR cleans as well as normal keep-up, AND treating my liver. I do not know how effective liver treatments are in “bad” air, but it might be worth a try. Likely most won’t have to do as much as I did to my environment (because my MCS was just so bad), and hopefully most won’t get such a bad, accidental contamination.

Eating. Some of us cannot tolerate the good foods our bodies might need (fruit, fiber, veggies, a variety of fermented foods, whole grains, etc.) UNTIL IN GOOD ENOUGH AIR. Although it is true I was able to have both yogurt (probiotics) and whole grains in the mold house, and I think that prevented me from getting Mast Cell Activation Syndrome along with my MCS and ME/CFS. My variety of fermented foods is much greater now, though, and I notice (in a bad way) if I reduce them.

Sleeping. Some of us have terrible issues with insomnia. I have had sleep trouble since I was 7 years old, but I also already had symptoms of Du Pont poisoning and pesticide poisoning by then and more symptoms by age 27. Sleep got even worse in the mold house. I had to have nearly pristine environment/outside air/low-tox house for good sleep following the mold house for this to get any better. But this issue can resolve also, for deep, restorative sleep, IN GOOD ENOUGH AIR.

Get the drift? LOL

Don’t give up, friends! Keep trying. Hang in there. I know how hard this is for some of us.

Let me know if you want tips on getting better air. There are three major components: outside air/location, house air, and bedroom/sleeping air which is needed for overnight detox.

Black Hills Picture Books Edgemont, SD 57735

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