Is mold smart? Oh, mold is not just smart, mold is wicked smaht!  I'm actually using the word wicked for a reason. Wicked meaning nefarious, wicked as in evil! On a basic level, do the terms "smart" or "intelligent" apply to mold? Does mold have a brain? Can mold actually learn? Do they have calculated behavior? Be prepared to be amazed by how "smart" mold can be. I'm just going to briefly touch upon a few instances found in nature. Additional information easily be found by using your search engine. Zombie Ants  Zombie Ants are victims of a parasitic fungus which controls their actions and ultimately leads to their death. * Once infected the fungus will force the ant to migrate to areas where temperature and humidity are suitable for the fungal growth. * Once in the proper location, the fungus will force the ant to climb up a plant onto a leaf. The fungus will then force the ant to close it’s mandibles biting onto the leaf. Now the mandible will...

    FREE MOLD & RADON EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS Happy 2022 everyone! As many of you know, we perform free mold and radon seminars to groups around the metro Boston and southern NH area. Those of you who have attended know they are fun and most of all informative! As I always state, my goal is to educate, not scare. Due to COVID, we paused our seminars in 2020. I know a lot of us are still practicing social distancing and want to be mindful of everyone's personal considerations not to mention local government mandates. That being said I'd like everyone know we are still offering and ready to perform seminars when you are! Both seminars consist of a visual slide show presentation with live narration. We go over the basics and how mold and radon play a role in our lives. We discuss ways to protect ourselves. Mold - Usually the Mold seminar is approximately 45 minutes depending on how many questions and attendee participation.  Radon - The radon seminar is approximately 35 min...

As you know I try to keep things simple in this blog. However, this post contains an actual scientific article which may be hard for some to follow. You are always welcome to ask questions. The study/science of mold (mycology) is an ever evolving, advancing knowledge every year. We know mold can be beneficial in basic ways such as the fermentation of libations and cheese. However, most of us don't think of mold being beneficial in any way in regards to our health. That mindset is changing. What if we can make beneficial drugs using mold. One of the leaders in drug research is Netherlands based Hubrecht Institute.  From Their Article Zebrafish Researchers from the group of Jeroen den Hertog at the Hubrecht Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the Westerdijk Institute and Utrecht University, have set up this library and screened it for biologically active compounds. They tested the biological activity of these fungal products first using zebrafish embryos. The resea...

  But, but, but..... I am often asked by people if they should avoid certain foods when they have or believe they may have mold-related health issues. Most of the time I get push-back on my suggestions due to their own food misconceptions. Often these misconceptions are based on learned information taken from mainstream consumer media. Want to have your cake and eat it to, you can't. Don't feed the monster inside of you!  If you do not believe in the phrase "you are what you eat", you should not read any further. If you do not think your diet directly reflects in your health status, you should not read any further.  I'm not going to get technical with this post and cite studies. Processed / Refined Sugars - If you go to the supermarket you will find aisle after aisle of products containing sugar in some variation (refined, corn syrup). Sugar manufacturing sales are over 10 billion dollars a year. Every year more studies are published linking health issues relate...

  Back in May I posted information about the hazards of chlorine in our drinking water and swimming water. I would like to revisit the water topic with the following post. Although the other posts relay more to health issues related to chlorine, this post includes other contaminants and our aging water system.     In a time when we scrutinize the ingredients of our food and insist on pesticide-free fruit, why are we still mixing carcinogens into our children’s lemonade?     The Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for only a handful of different chemicals, specifying how much should be allowed in our drinking water. However, no regulations exist for the thousands of other contaminants in our drinking water.    Unregulated contaminants include cleaning products and solvents, industrial byproducts, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs and even most of the toxic compounds that are formed when we add chlorine for disinfection. Unfortunately, the ...

    I know I'm going to catch some flack for this statement, but here it goes.  Is it possible mold is behind some of our food cravings? There, I wrote it... I've had this idea for a while and even posed my hypothesis to a medical doctor in my cycling group back in 2017. So why say something now in a public forum? Why not? Given everything I have seen, read and experienced over the last 20 years of dealing with mold issues has lead me to this point. I could be right, I could be wrong, I could have mold on the brain. Let me break it down. We know mold and humans have lived together since day one.  We know these relationships can be situational, parasitic or coexistent.  Examples of each: Situational - We use mold/yeast to make beer, cheese and wine. Parasitic - Yeast infections left untreated can become invasive. Invasive candidiasis occurs                               wh...

 Is Neti Pot Use Dangerous?  How about Navage system or the NeilMed Sinus Rinse or Any Nasal Irrigation System?  The original post was written back in 2008 which only addressed Neti Pots. At the time Neti Pots were gaining in popularity. I was prompted to write the post when I noticed a client's neti pot on the kitchen counter next to a bowl of fruit and a dish of wet cat food. The bowl of fruit had a few overripe bananas which in turn attracted flies. I'm sure the wet cat food also attributed to the fly population. I promptly addressed my concerns with my client, now I'll share them with you. Anytime you put anything up into your sinus cavity there are potentially health risks, mainly the risk of an infection. When used properly, these products can be relatively safe. I know people that swear by their neti pots. Some of these products definitely have a higher potential for risks. Let's go over a few things. Why use them? Most nasal irrigation systems use a saline solut...