57: HomeBiotic thoughts... / Be the FIRST to see my new exclusive FREE training...

Hello again, everyone, and welcome to today's show. If you're one of the 130 million people that are dealing with Sirs Lyme disease, autoimmune disease, or other conditions that are impacted by mold on a daily basis, and you need to learn how to eliminate that exposure, then you're in the right place. My name is Brian Carr, and you're listening to Mold Finders Radio.

All right, everyone. So I got this question last week, I think, and I thought it was a really good question. And it's a question that is. It's just kind of, like, phrased in a way where we're really starting to grasp the idea of what happens when mold faces competition, and that's why mycotoxins are created and thinking about the idea of how to actually eliminate or remove the mold and toxin issue and not just relying on some magic wand potion to do it. Right. And so I'm really glad that the question came in, because I feel like some of the drum that I've been beating is.

Resonating a little bit, so it's good. So the question was, can using home probiotics. So there's this product that's called Homebiotic, and that's what they're referring to, actually trigger any competing mold to release more mycotoxins for existing mold issues? I just think it's such an awesome question.

I'm going to preface it by saying this. I don't have any data, any research on the product, so everything I'm going to be talking about is just theoretical. But I'm just going to talk through it, and then you guys could kind of, you know, take that for what it's worth and maybe do some of your own research and see if it's something that you'd be into. But before I get into this, I want to actually, let's do it this way. So let's start with what. What her specific question was. So she said, would basically using a product like this.

Make a mold think there's competition? And in doing so, mycotoxins are produced as a result of competition. It's a defense mechanism of the different mold types, meaning that if you have other organisms in the space that start kind of attacking it or coming after the mold, it's going to try to protect itself. And this is true. This is this. This part of it we know.

I mean, and then that's why the mycotoxins are protected or created. And then that's how it also kind of like, takes over new space as well. So it's all this kind of defense response. And that's why when we do testing in homes, we have a very large internal research on this study that shows that we're picking up mycotoxins about 55% of the time, which then kind of makes you think, oh, if I have, quote, toxic mold, it doesn't mean that you have the mycotoxins in the house necessarily, because we don't know if those mold types have actually been triggered to produce the mycotoxins. Right. So you kind of have the mold type, you have the chemical they create as a defense mechanism. Sometimes we refer to the mold type as toxic mold and then assume that we have mycotoxins in the house, which is not always true. So that's kind of, that's kind of the top line. And that's really where her question was coming from. And so then I started thinking more about probiotics in general. I started watching videos on this homebiotic product of people describing it and how it's supposed to work and stuff. And the concept is that they, they spray this spray, you know, into the air. And it looks like there's actually attachments that go to your, like you can attach to your heating and air conditioning system, which I personally would never in a million years do. And then they also have like individual room ones or stuff you could put in a crawl space or something like that. And it's, it's like, yes, spray this and all of a sudden the, the odors will be gone and this will. And the concept that they're pitching is that the good bacteria is going to go out and basically kill off the bad bacteria. That's kind of what they're talking about. There was one video in specific that said if you have a mold problem, you still need mold remediation. So I want to be like, from what I could tell, and I totally agree with that, like if there's, if you're spraying bacteria into the space, right. And you're kind of falling under that idea of like probiotics and what they're supposed to do. Because when we hear probiotics, we think our body, right? And so I think the way that they're like marketing it is kind of trying to leverage the familiarity that we have with probiotics that we would take orally for our gut and then trying to show that for an environment, like for the house. Right. And I think that's what they're doing.

But if you have a mold problem, like, probiotics don't do anything for Mold. Right. So. So I would just say this. I feel pretty good. Although again, I don't have research showing this, but I would feel pretty good saying that if you're going to spray a quote, home probiotic in your house, I really don't think it's going to have any effect on any mold issues that are going on. And again, I have no data, you know, I've found anything that shows studies on how it does it or anything like that. All I've really seen are kind of like top line statements of how it works, basically. So, so that's that. But I think I want to talk about how like the body and the whole probiotic thing, and then for me, that's how it started to crystallize and started to make more sense for me. So with all that said, I have recently learned that I have sibo, which is small intestine bacterial overgrowth. I talked about a little bit on episode 50 with Dr. Joe Christa, and then I met with my local doctor, who's Dr. Sunny Raleigh, who runs Restoration Healthcare out of Irvine. And we talked about it as well. And there was very. Both the opinions from Dr. Krista and Dr. Raleigh were basically the same. So I feel like I got two different sources, which is even better, talking about the same thing. And so here's how it kind of was explained to me on how it happened to me. Okay. And this is how it relates to mold. And this is Dr. Chris. And I talked a lot about this in episode 50 because I was kind of asking questions because I thought I had this problem. So basically I was trying to figure out, like, why would I have SIBO as a result of a mold problem? And what they both told me is mycotoxins are a neurotoxin. And so your body basically has a tube that goes from your throat all the way down into your gut. And there's like a small intestine and a large intestine. And naturally they both use the same analogy too. Think of it like a bottle of toothpaste, right? And so as you swallow, it's like you're squeezing the toothpaste to try to get it, you know, towards the tip. How you squeeze the bottom of the toothpaste up, you know, and you're trying to get it down and that's. And your body does that. So like inside your body, it's kind of like squeezing this line, you know. Think of it like a plumbing line from your throat all the way down into the drain, which is your gut, right? So think of it like that. And the. The water, let's say, in the plumbing line, should be flowing freely from your throat down to your gut. And when you're getting small intestine bacterial overgrowth, basically what that means is that it's not getting all the way down or it's coming up somehow. It's one of the two things. So, like, whatever you're trying to flush all the way down into your large intestine, which is kind of the bottom end of that line, it's not getting all the way there or it's getting pushed back up. And so the idea is that your body is not kind of pushing it and squeezing that toothpaste tube all the way down, and it's not getting it all the way there. And the reason that that's not happening is because the mycotoxins are affecting the nerves from the neurotoxin effect that they have. They're affecting the nerves that actually control that squeezing process of the different muscles and things that move that stuff down this plumbing line. Right? And I was like, oh, geez. Okay, so, so this is going on. And they both said to me, like, listen, SIBO is super common for people to have mold issues because the mycotoxins, being a neurotoxin, that's a common effect is that you end up with the small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Okay. And I was like, okay. So I'm kind of understanding the mechanism and, like, how it works and why I have it. And so we start talking about, okay, like, what's the plan, how do you address it, that sort of thing. And it's a pretty intense plan that I can't say I'm super excited to start on. It sounds like it's at minimum a 12 week process. And then talking with Dr. Crystal a little more, she. She told me to expect it to not just get fixed after the first round. She's like, you might have to do a couple rounds, which means that turns into 24 weeks or 36 weeks. So we're talking three, six, nine months maybe of being on a specific protocol and different things. But there's kind of like stages of it. Right? And the first is that you kind of have to, like, clear out the bacteria that's in the small intestine. It seems like that's kind of the first phase. I'm understanding it. And then once you kind of clear all that stuff out, then the next phase is that you introduce a probiotic after that. Okay, so let's just focus on that. So I have a bunch of like, bacteria where it's not supposed to be. Now, it's not necessarily bad bacteria, and this is what's really interesting about the body, is that it's not noticing it as like, incorrect bacteria and in doing so, then sending, you know, your. Your immune system army to go get rid of it. It's actually the bacteria I'm supposed to be having in my body, it's just in the wrong place, right? And you know, because of that, basically I'm like, much more gassy basically because, like, it's not going where it's supposed to go and, you know, to get into it, like, odors are probably not ideal for what you would want. And then just some different things, right? So. But it's because it's in the wrong space, all right? And so the thing is, is that it's not the necessarily the wrong b, but it's just in the wrong spot and it has to get. We basically have to clear it out of that spot and then you reintroduce kind of the good bacteria in. And so the reason that I say that is if you think about what they're doing, they're doing the same concept of mold remediation, except they're doing it in your body for this, right? So we talk so much about what mold remediation is about. It's about source removal, right? That's the big thing. It's about source removal. And. And a lot of times you may have heard me say, I'm like, you can't just fog a house and expect it to magically go away. There's not this one thing that you can do to cover it up. You actually have to go through this process to remove it, right? And in a house, it can take some time. It could take a few months. It could be really frustrating, it could be inconvenient. But if you're not removing it and you're trying to shortcut it and basically, well, we're just going to spray something or do whatever in the house, then it doesn't actually go away. And I've seen with just normal fogging techniques that a hundred. Like that happens all the time, right? It fails all the time because it's not actually doing what it's supposed to do or what they claim that it's going to do. And so the plan that is being put in place for me in terms of sibo is the same thing. It's source removal. It's phase one remediation. It's just happening inside my body, right? If we just started Saying, okay, we're just going to put a probiotic in here because this is good bacteria and good bacteria is just supposed to take care of stuff. I'd actually be overloading it even more. Right? And that's a big problem. So the reason I'm talking through that is because. So let's think of, like, what this home biotic, like home probiotic thing is, right? If you have. And it's a little different because they're actually claiming that if you have bad bacteria in the house, that this good bacteria is going to go attack it and do whatever.

I've never been a proponent of adding, like more microbiological stuff to try to get rid of other microbiological stuff. I feel like you actually have to remove what the problem is instead of trying to, like, be really cute and clever about it. And that's, to me, that's what this is like, oh, let's be really clever and just get these other guys in here to do it instead. And they'll do it at this level that nobody can see. And then we can claim that it's working in some sort of closed laboratory testing, which really doesn't have any sort of real life impact on it, at least from what I've seen. I haven't seen anything like that for studies. And then we'll claim that it works, and that's what it does. And again, I've tested this. I don't know. Right. This is all my theory, okay? So just to be like, you know, very clear about that, but if you're loading in more bacteria and then you're creating even more competition in the microbiological battlefield.

What'S that going to do for mold? First off, bacteria doesn't kill mold, all right? They're different things. And that's what I said at the top in one of the videos I watched was like, listen, if you have mold remediation or if you have mold, you need remediation, right? Like, this doesn't do that. So think about it. Like, if you have a mold issue and then you're introducing even more bacteria, you're putting even more soldiers onto the battleground for there to be a bigger war and more competition and you have to defend yourself even more, then conceptually, does it make sense that mycotoxins might be produced at a higher clip because you're introducing more soldiers into the battle? Like, kind of. I mean, it makes sense to me, right? And then here's the other thing. So let's say that the good bacteria is. Let's say it's killing some of the bad bacteria. Let's just say that some of that is happening, right? Well, what if the bacteria is gram negative bacteria that's there that it's killing? If it's killing some of that bacteria, part of the die off of that bacteria is releasing an endotoxin. So if you're killing the bacteria, then part of it dying is that the endotoxin load, if it's that type of bacteria, theoretically would increase in the space. And endotoxins are not a living organism. So it's not like this other bacteria is going to now also break down this non living organism. Right. The whole point, the whole pitch is that good bacteria is fighting bad bacteria. That's the pitch. But we start thinking about the byproducts and the different things that come off of those. And I actually think just from understanding how mold works, understanding how bacteria actually can trigger mold for the defense mechanism, right. It's not just a mold thing, like it's anything. If the mold is in our bodies, our internal immune system can trigger the mycotoxin response. So it's not just like mold is the only thing that can trigger it. Right. It's whatever is basically competing and coming after it. It's like trying to defend itself in a creature creates the toxic byproduct. And so if we think of again, like how we're addressing the body when you have a bacterial issue and how the first step is actually getting rid of the bacteria that's in the wrong place and not just flooding more bacteria into that spot to try to fight against it. Right. If we did that, it'd be even a bigger problem for me. So first we have to remove that. That's a long process. It sounds like it's going to be. And, and maybe I'll give you guys some updates on kind of what I'm doing as we go through it. But.

It'S not a shortcut. Fogging a house for mold remediation is a shortcut, the way that it looks to me. And again, I've done no testing. I've done pre and post testing on fogging houses. I know for 100% it doesn't work, but I've done no testing on this home biotic thing specifically for bacteria or mold or whatever. But conceptually it's very similar. Mold fogging products are the same thing. It's this product that goes out and it's supposed to deactivate and kill everything. It's supposed to do all this stuff and it never works. I Imagine that doing something like this would kind of be the same deal. But I don't know. But to me, understanding like what's happening in a water damaged building and all the different things that are in play, having one product, no matter what the product is, having a product that you think is a catch, all that's going to fight mold, it's going to fight bacteria, it's going to fight volatile organic compounds that break off of them, it's going to fight chemical byproducts like mycotoxins, it's going to fight other toxigenic byproducts like endotoxins. Look at all these different things that are not the same thing that you have to deal with. It's not like all of it is mold. You're like, okay, well, I'm only fighting mold, so let's create a product that specifically fights mold and it'll get rid of it. That's not what it is though. It's mold, it's bacteria, it's off gassing, it's alcohols, it's aldehydes, it's toxic byproducts, it's all these different things. And to think that one product is going to address all of that stuff, to me just makes absolutely no sense. And I'm sure that there is controlled laboratory testing where you have to validate the claims that you're making, but that is a laboratory setting, that's not a real life setting, you know, and again, I don't know what they did for testing. I'm just talking about how, you know, how I think it was probably done.

But if they're really focusing on like how bacteria is fighting bacteria, that's great. Cool. But bacteria is not the only thing that's in an environment, right? Like when you have water damage and if bacteria is growing, there's a pretty good chance that there's going to be mold in other places. And if you're introducing something that's actually going to piss off the mold in a way to try to get rid of some of the bacteria, then are you really fixing your problem? And you know, to me the answer is no, not necessarily. Right. And so anyways, that was, I, you know, I thought that question was really good. And again, the reason that I love the question and you know, I don't necessarily have the answer right, because I don't know 100%, but the thought process of how we're starting to think about this stuff now, we can see how it's clicking in, right? It's not just this magic thing we're going to put out there and it's going to fix everything. It's like, okay, if we do this, then what's the side effect of this? Right? If I spray this thing in the house, what's it going to do to the other stuff in my house? What's it going to do, the mold, what's it going to do, the other things? And not just assuming that it's going to work, right? But really trying to understand the mechanisms of how they work. And the interesting thing with this whole, like, home probiotic thing is that we know a lot about probiotics for bodies. And so it's similar. Like if you're talking about a probiotic and the fact that it's fighting off bad bacteria and all that stuff, I mean, that same concept is happening when you're dealing with bodies. Now, SIBO is a little different from other types of bacterial issues in the body because SIBO actually isn't bad bacteria. Like I was saying, it's just bacteria. It's in the wrong place, so you have to get rid of it. But specifically, when I was talking to Dr. Raleigh about this stuff, who's my local functional doctor that I'm working with, she basically said she's like, listen, there is a probiotic element to this protocol, but it happens later. If you do it sooner, it's going to be a problem. And that's the same thing that I talk about with remediation, right? Like there's a fogging component to remediation, but you have to do it later. If you do it sooner, it doesn't work. It was like, when I was talking to her about it in my head, I'm like, this is like exactly the same conceptual process, right? Remove the source, get all of that out, and then use a kind of broad scope, fogging probiotic, whatever, as a secondary piece of, again, a larger plan, right? It's not the only thing, but it's part of a larger plan. There is a benefit to it. It's not the only thing that you do. And if it's the only thing that you do, then it's probably not going to work. And like I said, in my case, it would probably make things a lot worse if I just started with a probiotic. Right? So anyways, that was really good question. So I just wanted to talk about that and think through it with you guys. So, yeah, hope you found it interesting.

So one more thing before I wrap it up today. So those of you who've been listening to the past few episodes or maybe even heard me on a couple of the other podcasts that I've been on recently. I've been talking about this program that I've been working on and I just finished up the core of it on Friday. So I'm really, really excited that it's done. Just got some tweaks and some different things to make. And I'm actually going to be doing a free training webinar with the program. So I want to kind of share it with everyone. So I'm going to be putting together, I'm working on it now. I'm going to be doing a free training. Literally all you have to do is sign up and you can come in there and listen to it for free and take whatever you want to take out of it. And I'm going to be doing it probably in a couple weeks is when I'm going to, is when we're going to do it. And so those of you that are listening obviously to the show, I'm very grateful for you guys and I want to give you guys first dibs of being into those, into that training session. So it's going to be limited space to get into the session. So I set up a pre registration place for all of you listeners to be able to go and kind of get on the waiting list for the training. If you're interested in listening to it, it's moldfindersmethod.com if you go to moldfindersmethod.com all you gotta do is click on the pre register button and then you can get in the system. And then when I'm actually ready to do the webinar, I'm gonna give you guys a heads up. It's about a couple weeks out now for me to kind of get it all put together now that I have the information all locked up. And I'm gonna be doing a webinar that's probably gonna be 45 minutes to an hour maybe of just, just a free training for whoever wants to show up. So if you guys are interested in that, it's going to talk about kind of the whole process of how we go through a house and how we look for what we look for and different things that I keep in mind when I'm doing inspections. And it's going to give you guys a lot of good information if you're trying to figure out, you know, what's going on in your home or if you're maybe thinking of buying a new home or if you're renting a place and want to get a feel if there's things going on. This can give you so much actionable, like, information and different things that you can use to actually look through your own home. So I'm really, really excited about it. I think you guys are going to love it. So go pre register. Moldfindersmethod.com it's super easy. Just click the pre register button, stick in your email and I'll get you the update when it is ready to go. And you will be one of the first people to hear this training that I'm putting together. So I'm excited to share it with you guys. I hope you guys are excited to listen to it again. Moldfindersmethod.com, go pre register for it and in a couple weeks, hopefully I will be seeing you in the free training room and we could interact a little bit there and I could share with you what I've been working on for the last almost year or so. So I'm really excited about it. All right, guys, hope you have a good one. We'll talk to you soon.

So that's it for today's show, everyone. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment and subscribe and give a rating wherever you get your podcasts. It'll help spread the word to those who really need it the most.