Beware! Many foods have mold! I suffered for six years with severe pain in my ear, headaches, vertigo and nauseousness often leading to being very sick for hours. Doctors told me I had Meniere's Disease (an inner ear disease). For that there is no cure. You just suffer, and I mean suffer. This year I noticed my symptoms became worse if I ate nuts. I told the ear specialist of my suspicions and he prescribed allergy testing for me. If you have ever had allergy testing you know how much fun that is. Two separate appointments a week apart, each with almost a hundred little needle pricks containing different substances. You just sit, wait and see what happens. My arms were covered with red spots looking like a measles attack. However, the red dots that swell up are an indication of an allergy.

I was expecting a huge bump in the "nuts" area. Nothing. Just the little red dot. The allergy testing technician said, "Nope! You're not allergic to nuts." Would I still be able to eat my beloved peanut butter? I was perplexed. Why would I feel so sick after eating nuts? Then the reason came forward in another part of my arm.

The results showed I am allergic to certain molds that are found in foods. Aspergillus Fumigatus and Penicillium Notatum were my culprits! Aspergillun Fumigatus is commonly found in old, damp, musty houses. You'll find this enemy in bathrooms, refrigerator drip pans and other appliances. But it is also found on dried fruits like figs and dates, where it assumes a bluish color. Onions can have it too; it is the black mold you sometimes find under the skin. Decaying vegetables, grains and stored sweet potatoes can also grow this.

The other fungi, Penicillium Notatum is also found in decaying vegetables, on stale bread, fruits and nuts and used for the production of green and blue mold cheese. Another of my favorites.....blue cheese. I was shocked to find that it wasn't the nuts that was making me so sick, it was the mold inside the nut's shell! Unfortunately, unless you eat all fresh fruits and vegetables that you can examine before you eat them, you could quite possibly be consuming one or both of these molds, along with several other fungi. Canned fruits and vegetables are so convenient, but in mass production the ripe produce is not carefully checked before being processed. Processed foods can either intentionally or accidentally contain spoiled food. Fermented, aged and smoked foods are also possible triggers if you are feeling any kind

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