There’s No Place Like Home… And That’s What Makes It Dangerous

Introduction and guest background 0:00

We live in a world today that we have to supplement with certain supplements that are right for our bodies. And we can't get our supplements from Amazon or Costco. We can't because there's fake stuff or they've got fillers or they're not quite for people who have sensitive guts. We should get our supplements from trusted practitioners who know where to get them from. What if aging isn't about slowing down but leveling up? I'm Dr. Isaac Jones. This is the Longevity Leaders Podcast. Welcome, everybody, to the Longevity Leaders Podcast.

My host, Dr. Rudy Mueller, and today I have Paulina Ferrari with us. I love your name, Ferrari. Please give me a little bit of background on what you've been up to and what really led you to be interested in becoming a functional diagnostic nutritionist. And then if there's a story that led you to this decision. Absolutely. So it actually started back in 2015 when we had built a house in the Bay Area. It was only four years old. But during that time, one of my kids got sick. He was having, first of all, just headaches.

And then they turned into chronic migraines and they were so persistent. And I took him to all the specialists and nobody could help them. They just wanted to offer him antidepressants and anti-seizure medications. He was 17, my oldest at the time. We couldn't figure this out and eventually, long story short, we figured our house was making us sick. It was a brand new house, like I said. From scratch, we constructed it ourselves, but it was filled with stachybotrys, which is black mold. And it wasn't just in one place, it was throughout the house.

And so he was the canary in the coal mine, so to speak, and got sick. Eventually the rest of us got sick. My middle son ended up with Crohn's disease, my youngest son with some pretty bad depression. My husband, who's an M.D., also had some issues and he had to stop working. My two older sons dropped out of school. I ended up with Hashimoto's. So it affected all of us. And like I said, in the meantime, we were just trying to figure this out.

Mold illness and family health crisis 2:12

I was studying and studying and trying to understand everything, and eventually I ended up with functional diagnostic nutrition and became a practitioner. And this is who I help is mold-afflicted people who also sometimes develop autoimmune issues or chronic issues. And I have developed a program that is basically I give all my resources to my wonderful clients on a silver platter so that they don't have to worry and they can just start focusing on healing and go from there. We start always with diet.

Never supplements yet. It's always with diet. And I teach them how to eat, what to eat, when to eat. And why does it work? It's because we've all been through it and we're all autoimmune tendencies. So I help them with that. And a lot of times people have blood sugar dysregulation. So I help them stabilize their blood sugar. I teach them what to do after they eat. Don't go lie down. You know, you got to move. And once that's stable, then we move into everything is in phases, but I have them do some homeopathy.

And that's to help support their limbs, their kidneys, their liver, gallbladder, and even more. If a 16-year-old girl comes to me with a Hashimoto's Diagnosis, then it's more support, not just those things. We start with that, and then I also give them my personal smoothie recipe that I've created that is absolutely delicious with fresh dandelion, fresh organic frozen blueberries and lots of different things from apex and metagenics and designs for health. And it's just delicious and that's part of their breakfast.

So everybody loves that. And yeah, and I teach them, like I said, how to eat. I provide all these resources. And then eventually when we get their stool test back and their urine test back, which checks for mold colonization, mold toxicity, things like that, sorry, mold, different microtoxins that they've been exposed to, then I know which binders to give to them. and I developed this protocol for them, which then they begin addressing all of the stuff that we find on the labs. So that is very, people are usually like, wow, you know, all this stuff, no wonder I don't feel well.

And yeah, and it doesn't take that long for them to start feeling better. Sometimes I even have to send people out of their homes and I say, go live in a tent, you know, and I have a client in LA Right now, their whole family, she just bought a big tent for outside while they get their home remediated. I said, hey, you know, maybe we inspect can go and check out your home. And they went over and they did a mold testing. And yeah, there were lots of issues. So, yeah, so oftentimes, sometimes people have to go live outside and remediate their homes.

And then we remediate their bodies and they're just, you know, after my six-month program, sometimes they're good. Sometimes they continue into my continuation program where they can continue to uncover the layers of the onions, just peel everything back and continue to see what else is there. There are very stubborn infections and I find that when the infections don't want to leave it's because they're continuing to be exposed to that mold. I mean mold is just the big top gun I call it, you know, and everything falls underneath that.

So we need to get rid of that exposure otherwise it's going to be hard. People will go in circles not understanding why I'm taking all these supplements and doing all the right things and I'm still not well. Well, it's because your home is still not well. And that's the main thing that I help. It's a little bit harder when they live in apartments because they don't have control over what they can do.

Testing for mold and related infections 6:30

But I was successful with a fat loss coach who worked with me. She couldn't lose weight and she came to me as a fat loss coach. But she was incredibly grateful. from beginning to end, she's like, I'm so glad I found you because I had all these issues with my digestive tract. And I kept having these chronic throat clearing, like even after drinking water, 30 minutes after drinking water, as she couldn't understand. And I knew what it was. And I immediately helped her with her diet. And that was what did it.

It was the diet part. But we also checked for mold in her apartment. And there was mold. And then I had suggested to her, let's do this. Why don't you do a deep cleaning of your home, of your apartment, really, really deep cleaning. And I explained what that looked like. And then I said, let's wait. And I talked to John Banta who I'm, I love this man, John Banta. He actually, he's, he's written a couple of books, Mold Controlled and Your Healthy Home, Guide to Your Healthy Home. And he's the guy who came to, Remediate our home back in the Bay Area or not remediate but he tested our home in the Bay Area back back then in 2015 and he is the one who gave me the idea to Have them do a deep clean of their home and then later on maybe a couple months later on have them retest once the dust has settled and see and she did this fat loss coach and She did and it was good.

It was good. She didn't have to leave. Because I do suggest for people, I go move out. Or you could go into this whole thing where you bring in lawyers and things, but a lot of times people just don't, it's just not worth it. And you just leave, just save yourself and save your health, save your mind and your energies for yourself and just focus on healing. So yeah, this fat loss coach was very grateful. If you're a medical doctor, nurse practitioner, chiropractor, or other health expert that's stuck in a broken system, there's a better way.

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It can bring on headaches. It can bring on fatigue. It can bring on weight gain or difficulty losing weight amongst a number of other things, right? Right. The other thing that you mentioned was the canary in the coal mine. And we often see that with our clients is that the family has one person that is that canary and it really brings it out. So I'm curious if a person is dealing with mold or a practitioner is listening and has never considered mold or is just starting to consider it. What are some of the resources, tests, things that they should be moving forward with to look at their own body, to look at their environment?

Kind of walk me through like a mold 101. For a practitioner? For a practitioner. And then for, it aligns, I think, with a client, what they should be looking for. Sure. So, I always start with, I like the dust kit. Ernie? that's an ERMI test. You can also get it through EnviroBiomics. You can order it through there. And it's really easy because you can just wear a glove. It comes in the kit. You take the cloth that it's enclosed in the kit, and you start cleaning. And you want to make sure you clean or dust in areas that don't typically get dusted, like the tops of window sills, maybe, or the tops of the fans.

in bedrooms or, you know, just the tops of frames, things that where we want to see the dust accumulated. And then, so that would be the way to test, not air sampling, because, you know, air sampling is not very precise. They do an air sample here, but maybe the mold's over there, like on the floor, dust settles, you know, it settles on the ground. So there's that. And then for the body, I like to use the oat organic acids test by Mosaic Labs. I love the way they have it all out. The first page will show mold colonization, will show yeast overgrowth, will show clostridium.

And these things you don't really find in other labs, I find. And once they show up there, then you know what you're dealing with more of. Because if there's clostridium that, you know, and you don't run that test and you just do the basic stuff and just don't run that test, then, you know, you're not addressing the things that could be contributing to brain fog and excessive, it could even explain why people have ADHD, you know. It's a big brain component there. So I like that test. I also like the total tox from Vibrant, which is very comprehensive.

It shows the environmental toxins, heavy metals, and the different microtoxins. There's also other, sometimes I like to use real-time labs, because it's just a different form of testing for mold in the body. Um, and, um, and then what else will I, I do? Um, usually it's just, it's those, but I do like to, um, try to get a comprehensive, uh, you know, test because not just those tests, but I mean, I already answered your question, but I'm thinking once you know what you're dealing with, with the mold, you have to check for infections.

You have to check the whole microbiome because that, you know, mold will screw everything up. So like a stool analysis at all.

Belly Bliss 180: discover, optimize, excel 13:12

A stool analysis for sure. And I also like to run the, for people who have a lot of brain issues, maybe it's migraines, headaches, or just brain fog, or they've lost their memory, or something related to the brain, maybe they've lost some hearing. They have hearing loss. I have a 16 year old boy right now who's lost some hearing and it's because of mold. I'm helping him right now, but I like to run the NeuroZoomer Plus also because that also, I think that's a big missing piece that a lot of practitioners miss.

When people are exposed to mold, we also have to consider viral infections, and especially if they have brain issues, head issues, like up here, we need to check for infections. And I'm thinking EBV, you know, cytomegalovirus, things like that. And it'll show up and it'll tell us, you know, the levels that are in the body. And it just helps me design a better protocol when I include that one. Yeah, and so once you're able to run this panel of tests, then you're able to feel like it's giving you more clinical information that can be helpful to the client.

Yeah, definitely. And so with the viral, that is an often overlooked area because the mold will downregulate and it becomes more of an opportunistic infection. And then that can lead to some of these more neurological severe conditions. Absolutely. Really good. Yeah. And parasites, you know, I think everybody has parasites. We just include it. Because it's not always going to show up on stool. Parasites can live up in the brain or be anywhere else in the body. They don't always show up on stool.

So I just include it. And so then with this, when you're working with clients, Do you have like an approach that you utilize like a three pillar or five step system to kind of guide you? And then obviously I'm hearing you say you personalize everything, right, to the individual. So is there a particular process that you utilize that helps educate your clients? Um, to help educate them. Yeah. Like, it's like a three-step or five-step process. Some people have like restore, remove that type of thing.

Yes, I understand. Yes. I definitely, um, I do start out, uh, first I do, I do have a process that I explained to them. It's a three-step process, um, that I explained to them. It's called, um, uh, well, it's the program is Belly Bliss 180. I like that name. Yeah, thank you. And it's the first step is discover or uncover where we uncover all the problems that they're going through. It's like looking under the hood of a car to see what is going on. We don't guess. We have to make sure we understand.

Otherwise they just spin their wheels like I did with my kid, like taking him to all these doctors and they're like, oh, just take some anti-seizure medications or antidepressants for the headache. And I'm like going, well, Why is he having headaches? He shouldn't be having headaches. So we discover in that phase and then we uncover the toxins and the nutrient deficiencies and we work on mindset because sometimes we need to have a positive mindset and know we deserve to heal, we deserve to feel well.

And then in the next phase, we do the optimize, where we optimize what we've already discovered and we focus on a very nutrient-dense diet. I mean, I literally change the way people eat. They think they're eating gluten-free, and they're not, because I took Dr. Tom O'Brien's gluten-free course, so I'm a certified gluten-free practitioner, you'd be surprised where you'd find gluten. And you know, I just want to mention one quick thing. A lot of people who aren't celiac, they're just gluten-sensitive or they're told they're gluten-sensitive, they think they can have a little bit here and there and be fine.

In reality, what's happening is they have to be more careful than the celiac people. Because the celiac people already, they're already like, okay, I know I can't have gluten. Otherwise, the villi are gonna like, you know, I'm just gonna like die. But the gluten sensitive people, they should think the same way. Because what happens is that they cheat here and there. And then That's when things, you know, the leaky gut and all that, the gluten in every single human will open up, will allow zonulin to do a thing and open up those tight junctions.

And there we go, we've got the leaky gut. So I do teach people about all of that. So yes, so step two, optimize. We definitely focus on nutrient and nutrition. lifestyle. I teach them how to live in this toxic world. It's not like we can live like our grandparents used to live. They got up and lived. No, we have to get up and do stuff with intention to not have all these toxicities accumulate in our bodies. And then And then, let's see, what else? And environment, I teach them how to have a safe environment.

I give them resources. We talk about these things. And then the third step, so there's discover, optimize, and then there's Excel. I teach them how to excel in the habits that they've already developed. And, you know, it involves having some accountability, focusing on what they need to do to continue thriving in the systems that are already in place, and also supplementation is very important. And I have to say this because a lot of people Think they're gonna get what they need through diet alone Not anymore not anymore because our soil itself has changed our rainwater has changed I mean, there's glyphosate in our rain.

I mean Our organic, my beautiful organic garden that I have in the back, that's absolutely stunning. I mean, I go in there and it's like a sanctuary. I feel blessed. But I know that my organic garden isn't truly organic because when it rains, it's getting loaded with glyphosate, you know? So we do have to, we live in a world today that we have to supplement with certain supplements that are right for our bodies. And we can't get our supplements from Amazon or Costco. We can't because there's fake stuff and, or they've got fillers or they're not quite for people who have some, you know, sensitive guts because of all the toxicities.

We should get our supplements from trusted practitioners who know where to get them from, like me.

Personalized protocols, binders, and thyroid support 19:48

I have all these wonderful, not just full script, but it's fantastic. And I'm very blessed to have this knowledge. And I think I found my purpose. And it all started with your own story of dealing with this child who was presenting ill. And then this mold issue is something that is way too often overlooked. And so as practitioners dive into harder and more difficult cases, this is obviously an area that needs to be looked at and you cannot afford for your client's health to overlook this. And so learning more about it, we've talked about the testing that we would run.

So ERME would be testing the environment that's local, whether it be in their school or work or their home or vehicle, which is just a dust wipe. Then we have mycotoxin testing, organic acid testing, total tox testing, and, well, it's the Neurozoomer. The Neurozoomer, and also like the GI Map. The GI Map, Brighton stool testing to add on. Now, from becoming really precise with your recommendations, are the tests guiding you in a certain direction? And you mentioned your three-step process, and I can see how this would lay in there, but I want to hear it in your own words.

You have a mold patient, you go through the testing, you find mold, like what's the next steps there for the individual? Is it cleaning out their home? Is it starting binders? Is it getting into a sauna? What's kind of that general process that you would be walking through? Once they find mold in their home? Yeah, once they find mold. I always advise getting out if you can, as best as you can. If you have to rent an RV that's clean, rent an RV and just live out there temporarily until you can figure out your next steps.

Maybe you want to sell your home as is, maybe you want to get it tested and cleaned so that you can move back in or after you fix it, but it really depends on the their lives like what they want to do and we just talk about it but my main concern is let's get you out of the exposure as fast as possible because otherwise we it's hard to to heal and yeah i think everybody uh in the words of dr neil nathan one of my mentors um you know everybody should be on a binder every day binder one binder a day at least so i rely on binders and there's many different types but And you're able to gear those specific to the findings.

Depending on what we find. But one thing I did want to mention is that oftentimes also hormones are affected. So I run the Dutch test and I help people, you know, with their hormones. But I don't start with that unless it's really necessary because usually I find when we fix the gut, the hormones kind of stabilize or kind of fix themselves. And then we can run a Dutch to tweak things like at the end. But what I love about my wonderful clients is that I take the time to explain everything and they're receptive.

Because if I just tell them what to do without the explanation, then it's not going to stick. But I do want to say I do start with blood work. I don't just go to the functional labs that are amazing, but I do have them fill out three health history forms from, you know, a couple of them that I created. I haven't merged them yet. And then another one that's from an outside source, and then they They do these health history forms and I connect the dots with their comprehensive blood work because I am a Hashimoto's person.

Myself, I run a full thyroid panel on everybody, nine markers. A lot of people have thyroid dysfunction and Hashimoto's creeping in autoimmune thyroid. So I really want to make sure that I do blood work as well from the very beginning. And that's what I do in my initial consultation. I go over their comprehensive blood work and I connect the dots with their health history forms and we really get to see what's happening. And sometimes, once we get the main labs for them, sometimes I might say, well, it looks like you might need the Lyme test as well.

So we'll do Lyme and co-infections test as well as an add-on if it's necessary and if the forms show. It's funny because a lot of people have Lyme disease, but They don't, it's not, it hasn't really shown up in their lives because it's not until mold is a part of their history or their picture, then all of a sudden they've got lime root, right? So yeah, that's something that I also consider with my clients if we need to go there. Yeah, awesome. So, I mean, I like your process a lot, you know, starting with the getting in the forms beforehand, being able to look over that, pairing that with the blood work, and then from there being able to say, okay, this is kind of raising its hand a little bit higher.

Maybe we go down the road of looking into mycotoxins, looking in the Lyme.

Resources, website, and closing remarks 25:06

What are those contributing and causal factors? And then from there, developing a protocol that's personalized to them, being with the foundation of nutrition. And then if an environmental toxin is present, you're having them get out. And that can be a really hard conversation to have with a patient or client. It sounds to me with what you're doing, you're doing a great job explaining it to the individual so they know that they need to remove themselves from that environment, right? Like banging your finger over and over with a hammer.

We can put a pillow in between it, but it's still going to hurt, right? Exactly. So if we're getting damaged. Yeah. Yeah, very cool. So if someone is listening to this, they want to learn more about your approach, do you have a website that you'd like to share? Yes. My name is PaulinaFerrari.com. And it's like the race car, F-E-R-R-A-R-I. Yeah, so I have wonderful resources on there. I offer some free eBooks as well that they can download. Like, what do you do if you're living in a moldy home eBook?

Beautiful. You know, how do you prevent mold 101, you know, mold 101 from your, how do you prevent it from happening in your home? So that's that eBook. I have another one, another, some recipes that I personally have made. You got that smoothie recipe in there? I don't have the smoothie recipe, but I do have other recipes in there that are really absolutely delicious. And just a couple other things, how do you start fixing your gut? Just things like that. I went on blood sugar, regulating blood sugar.

So lots of wonderful free resources. I have a shop page where things that I personally use in my home and recommend to my clients. a lot of wonderful tools. And I only recommend what I believe in. So that's there. And I'm just very grateful that we've been able to change this painful experience into my purpose. Absolutely. And I should be retiring in a few years. But I'm not. I'm just getting started. Well, you're continuing to help other people. And that's the most important thing. So rewarding.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you very much for being here today. Thank you for having me, Rudy. Appreciate it. Thanks for listening to the Longevity Leaders podcast. A Longevity Leaders community is on mission to transform a hundred million lives by 2040. If you enjoyed the show, please share this with somebody that you know, especially another doctor or physician, but also click that follow button. Until next time, stay strong and live long.