When people hear the word mycotoxin, they often think of contaminated grains, coffee beans, nuts, or dried fruits. Indeed, foodborne mycotoxins such as aflatoxins and ochratoxins are well-documented hazards in the global food supply.
But here’s what most don’t realize: mycotoxins are also produced by mold that grows in your home. In my experience and in the literature, EVERY mycotoxin may be from water damage in your home.
Mycotoxins are the toxic byproducts of certain mold species that thrive in water-damaged buildings—homes, schools, offices, and even hospitals. These airborne toxins can pose just as much—if not more—of a health risk than dietary exposure.
How Mold Mycotoxins Enter Your Living Space
Mold spores are everywhere, but in a dry, well-ventilated environment, they typically remain dormant and harmless. The game changes when water enters the equation. Leaky roofs, burst pipes, poorly ventilated bathrooms, and even high indoor humidity can create the perfect storm for toxic mold to grow.
Species like Stachybotrys chartarum (black mold), Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Chaetomium can take root behind walls, under floors, in HVAC systems, and on wood or drywall. These molds don’t just release spores—they emit mycotoxins as part of their survival strategy.
And once released, these microscopic toxins don’t stay contained. They hitch a ride on dust particles and circulate through the air you breathe.
Food or Environment: Where Are Your Mycotoxins Really Coming From?
If you’ve tested positive for mycotoxins in your urine, it’s natural to assume the source is your diet. In some cases, that’s true—especially with poorly stored or imported foods. But more and more patients with elevated mycotoxins are discovering that the true culprit is not what they’re eating, but where they’re living.
Water-damaged buildings can continuously expose you to mold and mycotoxins without any visible signs. There doesn’t need to be a musty smell or black spots on the wall for your environment to be toxic.
Many mycotoxins like aflatoxin and ochratoxin have been linked to food. But, they could also be coming from your house!!! Don’t blame it on food when the house is MORE likely the source.
Why Every Mold Illness Investigation Must Include the Home
If you’ve been struggling with unexplained symptoms or have detected mycotoxins in testing, don’t just clean up your pantry. You must consider the possibility of hidden mold growth in your home or workplace.
Ignoring this possibility means missing a major source of ongoing exposure. Food may introduce a small load of mycotoxins—but a moldy home can bathe your body in them daily, through your skin, lungs, and bloodstream.
Even if your diet is clean, organic, and well-sourced, your home could be poisoning you.
