Is “toxic mold syndrome” a real thing? What do we do about toxic mold contamination in food?
In recent years, mold has been blamed for all kinds of “mysterious and imaginary” symptoms, but there is little scientific evidence that mold should be affected. However, this idea of ”toxic fungal disease” has permeated the public consciousness, driven by the despicable predatory practices of those who make money from testing parlors for fungal infections or testing people’s urine or blood. But all these tests are said to “continue to spread false information and create unnecessary and often expensive costs for patients who want to diagnose, right or wrong, for their many diseases…. The continued belief in this myth is carried forward by those charlatans who believe that measles vaccines cause autism, that homeopathy for autism works, should be removed from the water.
Mycotoxin contamination of food, however, has emerged as a legitimate issue of concern, and mycotoxins are perhaps more important than other contaminants that may enter food. Hundreds of different types have been identified, but only one is classified as a known human carcinogen, and that is aflatoxin. The ochratoxin I’ve discussed before is it is possible A human carcinogen, but we know aflatoxin causes cancer in humans. In fact, aflatoxins are among the most well-known carcinogens.
It is estimated that about a fifth of all liver cancer cases may be caused by aflatoxins. “Since liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and death follows early diagnosis, the contribution of aflatoxins to this deadly cancer is significant.” And once aflatoxin gets into food, there’s almost nothing we can do to get rid of it. Cooking, for example, does not help. Indeed, as shown below and at 1: 50 in my video Should We Be Worried About Aflatoxin?if it has turned into plants or into the meat, milk, and eggs of animals that eat those plants, it is too late. Therefore, we must avoid pollution in the first place, which is what we have been doing for decades in the United States. Due to government regulations, “companies in developed countries… ‘regularly sample’ for aflatoxin,” resulting in losses of nearly $1 billion annually. That could get worse if climate change increases aflatoxin contamination in the Midwest Corn Belt.
Therefore, at the consumer level, it is a major public health problem in less developed countries, such as in African countries, where conditions are ripe and farmers cannot afford to throw away 1 billion dollars in contaminated crops. Aflatoxin remains a public health threat in Africa, Southeast Asia, and rural China, affecting more than half the population. This explains why the prevalence of liver cancer in those areas may be 30 times higher, yet it is not a major problem in the United States or Europe.
Only about 1% of Americans have detectable levels of aflatoxins in their blood. Why not 0%? The US Food and Drug Administration is working to ensure that levels of exposure to these toxins are kept as low as practical, not just as low. it is possible. For example, in California there has been an increase in “unacceptable levels of aflatoxin” in pistachios, almonds, and figs. It’s not acceptable in Europe, that is, so it affects our ability to export, but it’s not really acceptable to US consumers, as we allow double aflatoxin contamination.
Figs are different because they are “allowed to fully ripen and become semidry on the tree.” This makes them “highly susceptible to aflatoxin production.” It would be interesting to know about the fig eating habits of the 1% of Americans who were poisoned. If figs were to blame, I would encourage people to diversify their diet from dried fruit, but nuts are so good for us that we want to keep them in our diet. The cardiovascular health benefits we get from nuts outweigh their cancer-causing effects; the use of nuts prevents thousands of strokes and heart attacks in all cases of liver cancer. Therefore, the population health benefits provided by increased nut consumption clearly outweigh the risks associated with increased aflatoxin B1 exposure.
Thus, we are left with aflatoxin which is a major problem in the developing world, and, as a result, “remains a largely and shamefully neglected global health issue….” When attention has been paid, it has been motivated more by the need to meet stricter import regulations regarding mycotoxin contamination in the world’s rich countries, than to protect the billions of people who are exposed every day.
Doctor’s Note
This is the last video in a four-part series on fungal toxins. If you missed the others, check out the related posts below.
