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A Diet for Mold, Mildew and Fungus Allergies

What you eat can contribute to the severity of your mold, mildew and fungus allergies. These organisms are part of our diet more regularly than you may think. They exist in food such as cheeses and leavened breads. We even eat mushrooms, the fruiting body of a fungus. It doesn't simply stop at cutting these foods from your diet, however. Other foods can also provide antihistamines and the necessary building blocks for your immune system to more efficiently handle this allergy.

  1. Symptoms of Mold, Mildew & Fungus Allergies

    • The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) identifies mold allergy symptoms as very similar to other allergic reactions. You may experience itching, sneezing, a runny nose and congestion. Some people notice dry and scaly skin or even eczema in severe cases. Occasionally, mold spores result in hay fever and, if they get into the lungs, they may cause allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), which results in the coughing up of blood and heavy wheezing.

    Keeping a Food Diary

    • The first step to treating these allergies with a diet is to identify foods that make your allergies better or worse. Do this by keeping a diary of all the foods that you eat for two to three weeks. When possible, write down a food's ingredients to help pinpoint culprits and beneficial foods. After two to three weeks, you should notice a pattern with certain types of foods and the severity of your symptoms. From this, you can construct a list of foods that help, and foods you should avoid.

    Foods to Avoid

    • Being aware of foods that naturally contain mold and fungus allows you to better control your allergies by avoiding these foods. Rush University's Medial Center advises that foods such as cheeses, mushrooms, dried fruits and any food that contains yeast (including leavened bread) can increase your allergies. Soy sauce and vinegar may do the same. The Cleveland Clinic adds to this list: beer, wine, sauerkraut, smoked meats, sour cream, buttermilk and meat or fish that is older than 24 hours. You can try avoiding these foods altogether, or experiment with them to see which foods work for you.

    Beneficial Foods

    • Fresh fruits and vegetables can help immensely, though you should inspect and wash them thoroughly before eating them. Foods that contain vitamin C (ascorbic acid), such as guava, papaya, oranges and bell peppers, can be particularly helpful. In the alternative medicine community, vitamin C is lauded for its antioxidant and antihistamine properties. There is "preliminary evidence" for this, according to the University of Michigan Medical Center, though in-depth clinical studies still are still lacking.

    Attacking Mildew

    • Mildew often occurs on food that is moist, kept in an enclosed container and forgotten about. This might be leftovers in the fridge, or that box of chewy chocolate cookies hidden behind the canned vegetables in the cupboard. Sometimes the mildew is blatantly present and you'll need no warning other than the decrepit condition of the box, but most of the time, it will have infested your food before you can even see it. If your allergies are particularly bad, make a habit of not keeping old food such as leftovers that could fall into a dark corner, and learn to cook conservatively. If you find food that already has green spots, throw it out instead of trying to cut off the bad piece; the rot has likely spread spores throughout the entire food that you can't yet see.

    Herbal Supplements

    • If you find that your allergies persist even after diet control, consider adding an herbal supplement to your regimen. Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) extract is one such herb that may be helpful. A 2009 study from the HerbalScience Group studied the role of Nettle and the enzymes found in its extract. Their findings indicated that the herb reduces inflammation and irritation related to allergies. Up to 5 milliliters of Nettle extract of either the root or leaf can be taken thrice daily by simply mixing it with a quarter to half cup of water, milk or tea. Women, however, should be aware that this herb is a mild emmenagogue; it may alter menstrual cycles, and pregnant women should avoid it.

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