top of page
Writer's pictureDr Kate Barry

CIRS/Mould Illness Treatment

  1. Liver detoxification pathways and supportive nutrients.

You should always work backwards when trying to support the phases of detoxification - pushing phase 1 before the other phases are working optimally can cause an exacerbation of symptoms due to inflammation.



2. Supporting the Gall Bladder.

1. Lemon Water: Drink 1-2 cups of filtered water with lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar (1-2 tbsp per cup) each morning upon rising.

2. Hydrate: Drink 2-3L of water depending on your body weight. You can add in antioxidant extracts and drink fermented beverages like coconut water kefir.

3. Fresh Vegetable Juices: Juicing fresh veggies such as kale, parsley, coriander, watercress, bok choy, beets, carrots, cucumbers, celery is highly advised. The phytonutrients are highly bioavailable in fresh juice and they will help to cleanse the liver and gallbladder. No more than 1/2 cup of it should be with beets and carrots due to the sugar.

4. Intermittent Fasting: Take stress off your digestive system by doing a water/green juice/bone broth fast for 16 hrs each day.

5. Anti-Inflammatory Herbs: Look for ways to get more ginger, turmeric, oregano, garlic, basil, thyme, milk thistle, stinging nettle, peppermint into your system. You can add dried or fresh herbs to your meals or use organic herbal teas.

6. Fermented Foods: Consuming small amounts of fermented foods can be very therapeutic for the liver and gall bladder. This includes kimchi, sauerkraut, coconut milk kefir, apple cider vinegar, natural pickles, coconut yoghurt and coconut water kefir.

7. Castor Oil Packs: Castor oil works to thin the bile and dilate the bile ducts. Make a castor oil pack and put it over your liver/gallbladder region for 15-30 minutes each week.

8. Coffee Enemas: This is the most powerful way to help detoxify your liver and gallbladder. Find out more in the attached article by Dr Jill Carnahan.

9. Healthy Fibre Sources: Fibre helps to bind to toxins in the digestive system and also feeds the microbiota. Be sure to get over 30 grams of fibre daily.

10. Liver Detoxifying Supplement: Look for one with milk thistle and other bitter herbs like globe artichoke, gentian and schisandra.



3. Preventing reabsorption of toxins.

When it comes to biotoxin exposure, we need to break the cycle of enterohepatic recirculation and systemic absorption of toxins. Enterohepatic circulation is a critical system of the body that governs the progression of bile from the liver, through the gallbladder, into the small intestine and back again to the liver. Almost all bile is naturally recirculated in this manner, so unless there are specific insoluble fibres and binders present in the GI tract they will be reabsorbed by the hepatic portal vein and continue to put a strain on the detox organs. If the GI tract is permeable (AKA leaky gut), toxins can also leak into the blood stream through lack of tight junction integrity. A high insoluble fibre diet can be incredibly helpful, but unfortunately many biotoxins like those produced by mould are not so easy to bind and need to be specifically targeted with certain binders.


Here is a table summarising the best binders to use for each specific mycotoxin that may show up on your urine analysis. Credit goes to Joe Mather, Neil Nathan, Jill Crista and Beth O'Hara for putting this information together.



Please schedule a free call with the HHN Clinic if you need help navigating CIRS treatment.

207 views1 comment

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page