February 24, 2025 • 25 mins
Battling through a haze of vertigo, anxiety, and depression, Dr. Brandy Cummings discovered the hidden culprit of her chronic health struggles: mold exposure. In this episode of Brain Power with Dr. Eko, Dr. Cummings shares her personal journey from illness to recovery, offering hope and guidance to other mothers facing similar challenges. Her story underscores the necessity of identifying root causes over merely addressing symptoms and has driven her to dedicate her career to supporting women with chronic illnesses. Learn from her wealth of expertise in clinical nutrition and environmental health as she provides actionable insights into improving quality of life and embracing the joys of motherhood.
Unlock the mysteries of mold exposure with practical health tips and testing methods discussed in this compelling conversation. Understand the role of mycotoxin and organic acid tests and how traditional blood chemistry can offer cost-effective insights. Dr. Cummings shares holistic health approaches, emphasizing clean air, clean water, and the power of aligning with natural rhythms and consuming local, seasonal foods. We also explore the significance of community support, highlighting how connecting with others can provide essential resources and guidance on your health journey. Join us for a transformative discussion that seeks to empower listeners with knowledge and community.
COMING SOON: The Resilient Motherhood Summit! February 28, 2025 12:01 AM PST.
A 7-day virtual event to teach you how to overcome chronic symptoms, build resilience, and be fully present for the moments that matter most —sign up now!
Connect with Dr. Cummings:
IG: resilientmotherhood.health
TikTok: @resilientmotherhood
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:00):
Hello parents, welcome to another episode of
Brain Power with Dr Eko.
It's such an amazing day todayand I have a wonderful guest to
introduce to you.
Her name is Dr Brandy Cummings.
She's a doctor of clinicalnutrition and experts in
environmental health, and sheespecially takes care of moms
with chronic illnesses.
So welcome to the show, drCummings.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (00:22):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited for thisconversation.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:26):
Yeah, me too.
I want to hear all about yourstory about mold, so please
introduce yourself further toour guests.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (00:35):
Sure.
So, as you mentioned, I'm DrBrandy Cummings and I have been
in practice for nine years nowand I primarily focus on
supporting moms with chronicillness.
Now I wasn't always in thatspace.
I used to focus a lot onfertility and then, before that
I focused more on before I wentto graduate school, I had my
(01:00):
practice, just a basic nutritionpractice, and I was more
focused on, you know, just basiceducation around nutrition for
people.
And then, as time went on andmy own life experiences happened
, I just wanted to get more andmore clinical in my practice.
And then the chronic illnesspiece just really called to me
because of my own experiencewith molds and I live in Idaho
(01:25):
I've got two little girls and welove to homeschool and just
spend as much time as we cantogether.
Well, it's still little becauseit goes by so so fast.
So between practice andhomeschool and mom, that is
pretty much that takes up my day.
Like that's not enough.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (01:46):
Right, right, right.
Oh, my goodness, yeah, sowonderful.
So, yes, you mentioned you havea mold story, so I'd love to
hear it.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (01:55):
Yeah, so in 2015, I started getting really
bad vertigo spells, gettingreally bad vertigo spells,
really really bad.
And you know, I tried all ofthe kind of first line things
that people recommend to youdifferent Epley maneuvers and I
got screened for Meniere'sdisease and I did a bunch of
(02:17):
testing and I bounced around toa lot of doctors and nothing was
helping and it was just gettingworse and worse.
And then I started having a lotof increased anxiety, a lot
more brain fog.
I was having erythema nodosumon my legs.
It's just like bumps on yourlegs that are really red and hot
(02:41):
and irritated, and that wasweird.
I had that symptom before as areaction to birth control when I
was a teenager, so it wasn't myfirst time with that, but I was
like something's up with myhormones, because I know that my
body does this when something'sup with my hormones and so I
just went from practitioner topractitioner to practitioner,
(03:03):
unable to find any answers.
I suffered a miscarriage duringthat time and, as time was going
on, my mental health severelysuffered.
I was getting extremelydepressed.
It was a very, very low, darktime in my life.
I got to a point where I wasn'table to work.
I wasn't able to shower myself,and it was just no quality of
(03:26):
life.
And so I got to a point ofdesperation, really, where,
finally, I was like, ok, Ieither need to get better or I
need to like not live anymore,which sounds very extreme, but
at the time that's how I wasfeeling.
I just could not do what I wasdoing.
I had to go one way or the other, and I just so happened to meet
(03:48):
this practitioner and I startedworking with him and we did a
lot of, we did some additionaltesting, we dove deep into my
genetics and genomics, and hewas the one that really saved my
life, I feel.
And once I started working withhim, it was like I could.
(04:10):
I just knew it was working.
Like in my head I was like, ohmy gosh, for the first time in
years, this is working.
Like I felt like I was comingback into my body, where I had
just felt like I was just a hostand I was coming back online in
a lot of different ways andbeing more present and fully in
my body.
(04:31):
And so I worked with him forseveral months, and then I got
pregnant again, actually, andthen I gave birth to my first
daughter.
So I kind of had to halt anykind of heavy duty
detoxification work at that time.
But I had my daughter, ahealthy baby, and four years
(04:55):
later went on to have anotherbaby.
And so you know all that timeof also having babies and giving
birth and raising kids, that'swhen I was like you know what,
I'm not the only mom that isstruggling with these kinds of
things, and it took me years tofigure out the missing piece.
(05:17):
And if I could save any momtime, especially when their kids
are little, I don't want you tomiss that time.
It goes by so fast, and sothat's when I really pivoted my
practice to focus primarily onsupporting those mamas.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (05:35):
Wow.
So with the testing that wasdone, that's when they
discovered it was mold that wasfueling the symptoms you had.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (05:43):
Yeah.
So we did some mycotoxintesting and then also my genetic
testing was very eye-opening aswell, that I just had more
susceptibility to, you know,decrease detoxification
capabilities, and so that wasvery eye-opening as well.
And then, once that seed waskind of planted in my head, I
(06:04):
was like where's this comingfrom?
And at the time I was workingin a building that was.
It was actually registered withthe city as a historical
building because it was over 100years old and so I went down in
the basement and there was justlike black mold everywhere and
I was like, okay, this makessense.
So, yeah, I had to quit thatjob and it was a whole thing.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (06:27):
Wow, so painful.
You went in the meds to look,yeah, you would be doing all the
treatment, but nothing wasgetting better.
Right, and that's why it's soimportant to go to the root of
what's driving behavior that yousee, and not just use
medications as a band-aid.
So I'm so glad that you foundthe person that you did.
(06:50):
That's wonderful.
So, oh my gosh, yes, me too.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (06:55):
It was like the universe dropped him in my
lap because I had actually goneto a conference.
I wasn't feeling well enoughreally to be going to that
conference and in fact I had to.
The keynote started on day one.
I had to leave, I had to gooutside, I had to go take a nap
under a tree, like I justcouldn't function.
And he was at that conferenceand it was like the universe
(07:18):
just brought me there so that Icould meet him and get the right
people on my team.
That's wonderful.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (07:24):
So you mentioned the symptoms that you had, but
I know that there are othersymptoms of mold.
So can we talk about the thingsthat moms can look out for,
Because I'm hoping that somebodywill hear this and say, wait,
that sounds like me and now cango get the help they need.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (07:59):
Yeah, they're very nonspecific, which
is the tricky part, but the topones that I hear anxiety, joint
pain, constipation or other GIdistress, hair loss, infection
that's going along with this,like if somebody has Lyme
disease or co-infection orsomething.
There could be migrating pain,that could be part of it, weird
(08:20):
skin rashes could be, related tothe mold or the co-infections
as well, or the co infections aswell, and then some other
symptoms that are maybe not asbroad and specific.
There's changes in your vision.
That can happen.
There's actually a visualscreening test that you can do
online where you sit in front ofyour computer and take this
(08:41):
test.
It's not diagnostic but it'sjust a tool to kind of help give
you some more information.
So changes in your vision Also,like ice pick headaches, could
be a sign.
The vertigo like I had could bea sign Any time where you know
that there's just somethingreally not right and you,
(09:02):
especially if you've done allthe other things you know, then
it's really time to kind ofstart considering that as a
possibility.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:09):
Yeah, yeah, that's so important.
So for the moms who may belistening to you and say, wait,
you just mentioned a few things.
That sounds like me.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (09:20):
Yeah.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:21):
What do they do next, Like where do they go from
here?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (09:25):
Yeah, I mean that visual task which we
can, which we can put a link,I'm sure, in the show notes, but
that's very helpful place tostart just to give some
additional insight andinformation.
I do like testing.
I do like doing some mycotoxintesting.
I usually like to pair thatwith organic acid testing
(09:46):
because the organic acid testingcan give us insight into where,
into if there's colonization ofthe molds that has happened.
It's one thing just to beexposed to the mold, but if
we're having, you know,microbial colonization and
growth in the body, that's adifferent thing.
So we can get, we can pick thatup or have clues to that.
(10:06):
On the organic acid test andthose, I mean those are
functional tests and everybodylikes to jump to functional
tests because they're colorfuland pretty and exciting.
But let's not forget about howpowerful blood chemistry is Like
.
Let's not skip over that.
We can get so much informationon what's going in the body for
a much lower price point if werun good blood panels and have
(10:29):
good comprehensive analysisthere.
Some markers that I add, withthese people of course looking
at like inflammation.
So C-reactive protein can behelpful.
Mmp9 can be helpful, anotherkind of inflammatory marker that
I often see that's elevated andthen just looking I mean
standard blood chemistry as well, all of those traditional
(10:53):
panels looking at thyroid ironlipids, cbc, all of those as
well can give us some insights.
But I think it's important todo some testing, you know, and
really kind of figure out whatis going on here.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (11:07):
To do some testing, you know, and really
kind of figure out what is goingon here, Right?
No, absolutely important.
And so we've talked about thetesting.
But can you speak to that momwho's just struggling, Like, how
did you get to?
You mentioned it was some years, right, that you were going
through this process and you'rereally struggling.
How can they?
(11:29):
What are some tools that theycan use as they walk?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (11:31):
through this really rough time for them.
Yeah, so I mean, the best thingis clean air.
So I would start there and justmake sure we're getting clean
air.
If you can have an air filterin your house, or at least in
your bedroom, that can be reallyhelpful.
But if not, you know, openingup the windows especially if
you're living in a newer house alot, you know these houses are
(11:52):
built to be very airtight and soif we're not having that
circulation of air, then the airinside can actually be more
problematic than the air that'soutside.
And so opening things up,getting that air circulation and
fresh air, that can really makesuch a world of difference for
people.
Drinking clean water reallymakes such a big difference.
(12:14):
And then you know there aresupplementations where I think
it's important to work with apractitioner before starting any
supplementation protocols.
But you know, certain binderscan certainly be helpful just to
kind of alleviate some of thesymptoms while you're working
through this.
And then one thing I think isprobably like it's like the
(12:36):
easiest thing that can move theneedle.
So much I'm so huge on lightexposure and circadian rhythm
syncing.
You know we are reallycircadian beings and the more we
can sync up to our circadianrhythm, the more water our cells
are going to produce, and thatwater is called exclusion zone
(12:58):
water.
It's very special water andthat water, when our cells are
hydrated in that capacity, itincreases our resilience and so
we're not as susceptible to mold, to viruses, to parasites,
whatever it may be.
We can interact with our worldin a more robust way, and one of
(13:19):
the best ways to increaseproduction of that cellular
water in the mitochondria is tosync up our light exposure.
So getting outside in thesunrise, letting, seeing the
position of the sun outsidesends a message to our eyes
about what time it is, and sothe more breaks we can take to
(13:39):
get outside, protecting youreyes if you're in front of a lot
of blue light, especially afterthe sun has gone down, eating
in a way that supports yourcircadian rhythm.
So not having a big carb, heavybreakfast in the morning, which
can interfere with leptin andthe hypothalamus, which can
create a confused message aboutwhat time it is and like, wait,
(14:03):
are we fasted or what'shappening.
It interferes with thatdownload of information that
leptin offers in the morning.
Having eating food that islocal and seasonal when possible
, because that food, if it'sgrown in your same zip code is
going to have the same lightimprint as you do, because it
(14:23):
was grown in the same place, sothat's another way to help sync
up our circadian rhythm.
Going to bed earlier, notstaying up after it's been dark
for so long All of these thingscan really really move the
needle when we're talking aboutenvironmental illnesses, because
(14:43):
it does so much to support thebody on a cellular level and
increase that cellular hydration, which then increases
resilience.
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (14:54):
I have never heard anyone tie the local food
and seasonal to circadian to thecircadian system.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:02):
That's so good.
You know, when I first learnedthat, I too was blown away
because I've always heard to buylocal right and I was like,
okay, it's because it supportsthe local economy, it's because
it cuts down on emissions andtransportation, okay.
But then when I started divinginto the research on this part
of it, I was like, oh my gosh,that makes so much sense.
(15:26):
What a sense, hey thank you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:29):
It just makes me think, is that teaching my
parents this?
Oh my goodness, yeah, asidefrom the fact that, hopefully,
sometimes the local farmersmaybe less fertilizers, less
hormones?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:44):
Yeah.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:46):
At least the ones that say they're organic.
You're most likely going toreally.
They're most likely going toreally be organic versus the big
store chains.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:55):
So that makes sense.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:57):
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:58):
And you know, it is like when we're
talking about chronic illness,when we're talking about mold,
and testing like that can beexpensive.
It can take a long time tofully recover from mold, like,
especially for the moms who arejust embarking on this journey.
That might feel like a hugemountain but like, this light
piece is so accessible and it'sfree or very low cost.
(16:21):
You know, maybe you get someblue light blockers, you know,
but it can really move theneedle in a really big way and
it's such a good place to start.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:30):
Yeah, no, that's .
That is wonderful.
So start there, get basic bloodwork, then build up to the
functional testing.
But you need somebody that'sgoing to interpret that basic
blood work, the functionaltesting, but you need somebody
that's going to interpret thatbasic blood work the right way
yeah.
And get to the right direction.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (16:48):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you know like,analyzing blood chemistry is a
bit of an art, right.
You can't just like, you know,just like, look down the column
to see if anything was flaggedand call it good.
You really have to look at itand understand the physiology of
what's happening in the body.
The column, to see if anythingwas flagged and call it good.
You really have to look at itand understand the physiology of
what's happening in the body.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:05):
Right, right.
So is there a place wherepeople can go find the list of
practitioners that may be intheir local area, or do you
serve people anywhere in thecountry?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (17:17):
Yeah, I work with people virtually, so I
can help people who live inmost states not all states, but
most states and then there'salso directories of like mold
literate doctors or Lymeliterate doctors or people who
have gone through someadditional training as well, if
(17:38):
you're really wanting to workwith somebody who is local to
you training as well, if you'rereally wanting to work with
somebody who is local to you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:43):
Wonderful, and please, if you don't mind,
providing that for us so we canlink it in the show notes.
That would be helpful.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (17:47):
Of course.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:48):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's really good.
So, in terms of the emotionalbecause I know the emotional
piece is as linked to theenvironmental piece how do you
talk to moms who are goingthrough this time and how can
they protect their emotionalgreens or just their emotional
self?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (18:08):
Yeah, the emotion piece, the nervous
system piece, is so crucial,it's really a non-negotiable.
We can't just go down this likedetoxification pathway or just
this mold specific pathway wherewe're just really focused on
the mycotoxins and leave thenervous system and the emotional
piece out of it.
It doesn't work like that.
(18:28):
The body has to have messagesof safety being sent to it in
order for it to close that loopin that cell danger response, in
order for it to feel safe andgo ahead and finish that repair
and healing cycle.
So it has to be on board.
So there's lots of differentways that I do that.
(18:49):
You know I work when I workwith people.
I have my program which iscalled the Resilient Mother
Program, and resilient is anacronym and the R stands for
reconnection and that piece isso important because it's
reconnection to the earth, it'sreconnection to our food source,
it's reconnection to our selfand our purpose, which we can
(19:12):
really lose sight of as moms,our community, which we can also
really lose sight of when webecome a mom.
We just don't have a big villageof support like we used to, and
so, being able to curate thatand have that village, have that
sense of community, rememberwho you are as a person and not
(19:37):
just a mom, but who you are andwhat your goals and your purpose
and the legacy you want toleave is.
Having those conversations isso important.
And we have to have thoseconversations because if I just
talk to you about okay well,this is your protocol to detox
from this mold, I would be doingyou a disservice or missing a
(20:00):
whole big, huge component.
Because when a mom feelssupported and has a sense of
purpose and is working on herown self-improvement and her own
self-goals and is connected toher food and just has this whole
reconnection piece that is sooften missing, the rate of
(20:21):
improvement just goes much, much, much faster.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:26):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
I totally agree with that,because I mean you can't move
anything forward unless you'rein alignment right.
With yourself Totally At peace,even in spite of what's going
on on.
You can still be at peace withyourself, even though it doesn't
seem like your life is goingright.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (20:46):
so that's right no matter what is
happening, there's always thingswe can do yes, absolutely so.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:52):
What's the rest of your acronym stand for?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (20:54):
I'm curious so the e is environment.
You know nothing heals the body, as well as the body heals
itself right, given the rightinputs and environment.
So making sure that ourenvironment is good.
We have S for sleep and stress,which is very important to
healing, and then we have I,which is for inflammation or
(21:15):
underlying infections, and thenL, lab testing, and then I.
The second I is improveddigestion, and then the second E
is energy and mitochondria work.
So really looking upstream andhow we can support the body on a
cellular level.
N is the nervous system piecethat we just talked about, and
(21:37):
then T is the toxins.
Wow, you're very comprehensive.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (21:41):
And then T is the toxins.
Wow, you're very comprehensive,I'm pretty confident.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (21:44):
Yeah, I mean, when we're talking chronic
illness and where people havebeen suffering for years, that's
the kind of approach it takesand it's not all of those things
at one time, but it's like overtime.
These are as I've.
I mean I packaged it.
You know I, when I was actuallycreating this acronym, I had
this piece of paper and I hadall the things that, like I do
(22:05):
and focus on, and when I lookedat everything, you know, I
really distilled it down, likethese are the things that at
some point, we need to worktowards and address Right,
Absolutely.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (22:17):
Wow, this has been really.
Thank you.
I have learned some.
I have learned things from this, from talking with you, and I'm
so glad we're we're talkingabout this, because millions of
moms are suffering from chronicillnesses, and their kids as
well, because if mom has moldillness, that means the kid has
probably has it too if they'reexposed and they're in the same
(22:39):
house and if we, if I always saythat's why I spend so much time
talking to my moms, because ifthe moms are good, then the kids
for sure that's right and as apediatrician, it's like I can't
get my kids well if my mommiesare no good.
So I I have formed the practiceof actually spent.
I had a patient once tell askme, is this appointment for me,
(23:03):
doctor, or is this for my mom?
I was spending so much timetalking to the mom I was like
you have no idea, just I'mgetting to you next.
So thank you for what you do,because you're not just saving
one person, it's the wholefamily, you're helping.
And you're helping too, becauseonce mom can get her life
(23:26):
together, she's of course doingit for her whole family and
generations to come.
And so thank you for what youdo.
And so can you please tell theparents or moms listening how
they can find you?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (23:38):
So my website is resilientmotherhood.
health, and that is also myInstagram handle is
resilientmotherhood.
health and those are the placesI am most active.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (23:48):
Okay, and you mentioned before we started you
had a summit coming up, so tellus about that too.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (23:54):
Yeah, the Resilient Motherhood Summit is
launching in the beginning ofMarch, and so that is available
as well.
We have a panel of 40 speakersthat I have invited that are
experts in all different kindsof areas this environmental med
piece that we're talking, butalso things like breast implant
(24:14):
illness and EMFs, and we'regoing deeper into testing and
HPV and all these things that wecould be dealing with in
motherhood.
So my goal was to just bringthe people together in one room,
so to speak, so that you canhave who you need when you need
it and more easily be able toidentify what is the very next
(24:37):
step, best next step for me atthis moment.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (24:41):
Wonderful.
So, yeah, we will have all ofthat information for you.
Thank you again for what you doand for coming on today.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (24:49):
Thank you so much for having me.
This has been great.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (24:51):
Yes, my pleasure , and so parents listening.
If you know anyone that needsto hear this, please share it
with them and thank you forlistening.
Until the next episode, have anamazing day.
Hello parents, welcome to another episode of
Brain Power with Dr Eko.
It's such an amazing day todayand I have a wonderful guest to
introduce to you.
Her name is Dr Brandy Cummings.
She's a doctor of clinicalnutrition and experts in
environmental health, and sheespecially takes care of moms
with chronic illnesses.
So welcome to the show, drCummings.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (00:22):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited for thisconversation.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:26):
Yeah, me too.
I want to hear all about yourstory about mold, so please
introduce yourself further toour guests.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (00:35):
Sure.
So, as you mentioned, I'm DrBrandy Cummings and I have been
in practice for nine years nowand I primarily focus on
supporting moms with chronicillness.
Now I wasn't always in thatspace.
I used to focus a lot onfertility and then, before that
I focused more on before I wentto graduate school, I had my
(01:00):
practice, just a basic nutritionpractice, and I was more
focused on, you know, just basiceducation around nutrition for
people.
And then, as time went on andmy own life experiences happened
, I just wanted to get more andmore clinical in my practice.
And then the chronic illnesspiece just really called to me
because of my own experiencewith molds and I live in Idaho
(01:25):
I've got two little girls and welove to homeschool and just
spend as much time as we cantogether.
Well, it's still little becauseit goes by so so fast.
So between practice andhomeschool and mom, that is
pretty much that takes up my day.
Like that's not enough.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (01:46):
Right, right, right.
Oh, my goodness, yeah, sowonderful.
So, yes, you mentioned you havea mold story, so I'd love to
hear it.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (01:55):
Yeah, so in 2015, I started getting really
bad vertigo spells, gettingreally bad vertigo spells,
really really bad.
And you know, I tried all ofthe kind of first line things
that people recommend to youdifferent Epley maneuvers and I
got screened for Meniere'sdisease and I did a bunch of
(02:17):
testing and I bounced around toa lot of doctors and nothing was
helping and it was just gettingworse and worse.
And then I started having a lotof increased anxiety, a lot
more brain fog.
I was having erythema nodosumon my legs.
It's just like bumps on yourlegs that are really red and hot
(02:41):
and irritated, and that wasweird.
I had that symptom before as areaction to birth control when I
was a teenager, so it wasn't myfirst time with that, but I was
like something's up with myhormones, because I know that my
body does this when something'sup with my hormones and so I
just went from practitioner topractitioner to practitioner,
(03:03):
unable to find any answers.
I suffered a miscarriage duringthat time and, as time was going
on, my mental health severelysuffered.
I was getting extremelydepressed.
It was a very, very low, darktime in my life.
I got to a point where I wasn'table to work.
I wasn't able to shower myself,and it was just no quality of
(03:26):
life.
And so I got to a point ofdesperation, really, where,
finally, I was like, ok, Ieither need to get better or I
need to like not live anymore,which sounds very extreme, but
at the time that's how I wasfeeling.
I just could not do what I wasdoing.
I had to go one way or the other, and I just so happened to meet
(03:48):
this practitioner and I startedworking with him and we did a
lot of, we did some additionaltesting, we dove deep into my
genetics and genomics, and hewas the one that really saved my
life, I feel.
And once I started working withhim, it was like I could.
(04:10):
I just knew it was working.
Like in my head I was like, ohmy gosh, for the first time in
years, this is working.
Like I felt like I was comingback into my body, where I had
just felt like I was just a hostand I was coming back online in
a lot of different ways andbeing more present and fully in
my body.
(04:31):
And so I worked with him forseveral months, and then I got
pregnant again, actually, andthen I gave birth to my first
daughter.
So I kind of had to halt anykind of heavy duty
detoxification work at that time.
But I had my daughter, ahealthy baby, and four years
(04:55):
later went on to have anotherbaby.
And so you know all that timeof also having babies and giving
birth and raising kids, that'swhen I was like you know what,
I'm not the only mom that isstruggling with these kinds of
things, and it took me years tofigure out the missing piece.
(05:17):
And if I could save any momtime, especially when their kids
are little, I don't want you tomiss that time.
It goes by so fast, and sothat's when I really pivoted my
practice to focus primarily onsupporting those mamas.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (05:35):
Wow.
So with the testing that wasdone, that's when they
discovered it was mold that wasfueling the symptoms you had.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (05:43):
Yeah.
So we did some mycotoxintesting and then also my genetic
testing was very eye-opening aswell, that I just had more
susceptibility to, you know,decrease detoxification
capabilities, and so that wasvery eye-opening as well.
And then, once that seed waskind of planted in my head, I
(06:04):
was like where's this comingfrom?
And at the time I was workingin a building that was.
It was actually registered withthe city as a historical
building because it was over 100years old and so I went down in
the basement and there was justlike black mold everywhere and
I was like, okay, this makessense.
So, yeah, I had to quit thatjob and it was a whole thing.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (06:27):
Wow, so painful.
You went in the meds to look,yeah, you would be doing all the
treatment, but nothing wasgetting better.
Right, and that's why it's soimportant to go to the root of
what's driving behavior that yousee, and not just use
medications as a band-aid.
So I'm so glad that you foundthe person that you did.
(06:50):
That's wonderful.
So, oh my gosh, yes, me too.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (06:55):
It was like the universe dropped him in my
lap because I had actually goneto a conference.
I wasn't feeling well enoughreally to be going to that
conference and in fact I had to.
The keynote started on day one.
I had to leave, I had to gooutside, I had to go take a nap
under a tree, like I justcouldn't function.
And he was at that conferenceand it was like the universe
(07:18):
just brought me there so that Icould meet him and get the right
people on my team.
That's wonderful.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (07:24):
So you mentioned the symptoms that you had, but
I know that there are othersymptoms of mold.
So can we talk about the thingsthat moms can look out for,
Because I'm hoping that somebodywill hear this and say, wait,
that sounds like me and now cango get the help they need.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (07:59):
Yeah, they're very nonspecific, which
is the tricky part, but the topones that I hear anxiety, joint
pain, constipation or other GIdistress, hair loss, infection
that's going along with this,like if somebody has Lyme
disease or co-infection orsomething.
There could be migrating pain,that could be part of it, weird
(08:20):
skin rashes could be, related tothe mold or the co-infections
as well, or the co infections aswell, and then some other
symptoms that are maybe not asbroad and specific.
There's changes in your vision.
That can happen.
There's actually a visualscreening test that you can do
online where you sit in front ofyour computer and take this
(08:41):
test.
It's not diagnostic but it'sjust a tool to kind of help give
you some more information.
So changes in your vision Also,like ice pick headaches, could
be a sign.
The vertigo like I had could bea sign Any time where you know
that there's just somethingreally not right and you,
(09:02):
especially if you've done allthe other things you know, then
it's really time to kind ofstart considering that as a
possibility.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:09):
Yeah, yeah, that's so important.
So for the moms who may belistening to you and say, wait,
you just mentioned a few things.
That sounds like me.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (09:20):
Yeah.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:21):
What do they do next, Like where do they go from
here?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (09:25):
Yeah, I mean that visual task which we
can, which we can put a link,I'm sure, in the show notes, but
that's very helpful place tostart just to give some
additional insight andinformation.
I do like testing.
I do like doing some mycotoxintesting.
I usually like to pair thatwith organic acid testing
(09:46):
because the organic acid testingcan give us insight into where,
into if there's colonization ofthe molds that has happened.
It's one thing just to beexposed to the mold, but if
we're having, you know,microbial colonization and
growth in the body, that's adifferent thing.
So we can get, we can pick thatup or have clues to that.
(10:06):
On the organic acid test andthose, I mean those are
functional tests and everybodylikes to jump to functional
tests because they're colorfuland pretty and exciting.
But let's not forget about howpowerful blood chemistry is Like
.
Let's not skip over that.
We can get so much informationon what's going in the body for
a much lower price point if werun good blood panels and have
(10:29):
good comprehensive analysisthere.
Some markers that I add, withthese people of course looking
at like inflammation.
So C-reactive protein can behelpful.
Mmp9 can be helpful, anotherkind of inflammatory marker that
I often see that's elevated andthen just looking I mean
standard blood chemistry as well, all of those traditional
(10:53):
panels looking at thyroid ironlipids, cbc, all of those as
well can give us some insights.
But I think it's important todo some testing, you know, and
really kind of figure out whatis going on here.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (11:07):
To do some testing, you know, and really
kind of figure out what is goingon here, Right?
No, absolutely important.
And so we've talked about thetesting.
But can you speak to that momwho's just struggling, Like, how
did you get to?
You mentioned it was some years, right, that you were going
through this process and you'rereally struggling.
How can they?
(11:29):
What are some tools that theycan use as they walk?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (11:31):
through this really rough time for them.
Yeah, so I mean, the best thingis clean air.
So I would start there and justmake sure we're getting clean
air.
If you can have an air filterin your house, or at least in
your bedroom, that can be reallyhelpful.
But if not, you know, openingup the windows especially if
you're living in a newer house alot, you know these houses are
(11:52):
built to be very airtight and soif we're not having that
circulation of air, then the airinside can actually be more
problematic than the air that'soutside.
And so opening things up,getting that air circulation and
fresh air, that can really makesuch a world of difference for
people.
Drinking clean water reallymakes such a big difference.
(12:14):
And then you know there aresupplementations where I think
it's important to work with apractitioner before starting any
supplementation protocols.
But you know, certain binderscan certainly be helpful just to
kind of alleviate some of thesymptoms while you're working
through this.
And then one thing I think isprobably like it's like the
(12:36):
easiest thing that can move theneedle.
So much I'm so huge on lightexposure and circadian rhythm
syncing.
You know we are reallycircadian beings and the more we
can sync up to our circadianrhythm, the more water our cells
are going to produce, and thatwater is called exclusion zone
(12:58):
water.
It's very special water andthat water, when our cells are
hydrated in that capacity, itincreases our resilience and so
we're not as susceptible to mold, to viruses, to parasites,
whatever it may be.
We can interact with our worldin a more robust way, and one of
(13:19):
the best ways to increaseproduction of that cellular
water in the mitochondria is tosync up our light exposure.
So getting outside in thesunrise, letting, seeing the
position of the sun outsidesends a message to our eyes
about what time it is, and sothe more breaks we can take to
(13:39):
get outside, protecting youreyes if you're in front of a lot
of blue light, especially afterthe sun has gone down, eating
in a way that supports yourcircadian rhythm.
So not having a big carb, heavybreakfast in the morning, which
can interfere with leptin andthe hypothalamus, which can
create a confused message aboutwhat time it is and like, wait,
(14:03):
are we fasted or what'shappening.
It interferes with thatdownload of information that
leptin offers in the morning.
Having eating food that islocal and seasonal when possible
, because that food, if it'sgrown in your same zip code is
going to have the same lightimprint as you do, because it
(14:23):
was grown in the same place, sothat's another way to help sync
up our circadian rhythm.
Going to bed earlier, notstaying up after it's been dark
for so long All of these thingscan really really move the
needle when we're talking aboutenvironmental illnesses, because
(14:43):
it does so much to support thebody on a cellular level and
increase that cellular hydration, which then increases
resilience.
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (14:54):
I have never heard anyone tie the local food
and seasonal to circadian to thecircadian system.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:02):
That's so good.
You know, when I first learnedthat, I too was blown away
because I've always heard to buylocal right and I was like,
okay, it's because it supportsthe local economy, it's because
it cuts down on emissions andtransportation, okay.
But then when I started divinginto the research on this part
of it, I was like, oh my gosh,that makes so much sense.
(15:26):
What a sense, hey thank you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:29):
It just makes me think, is that teaching my
parents this?
Oh my goodness, yeah, asidefrom the fact that, hopefully,
sometimes the local farmersmaybe less fertilizers, less
hormones?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:44):
Yeah.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:46):
At least the ones that say they're organic.
You're most likely going toreally.
They're most likely going toreally be organic versus the big
store chains.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:55):
So that makes sense.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:57):
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (15:58):
And you know, it is like when we're
talking about chronic illness,when we're talking about mold,
and testing like that can beexpensive.
It can take a long time tofully recover from mold, like,
especially for the moms who arejust embarking on this journey.
That might feel like a hugemountain but like, this light
piece is so accessible and it'sfree or very low cost.
(16:21):
You know, maybe you get someblue light blockers, you know,
but it can really move theneedle in a really big way and
it's such a good place to start.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:30):
Yeah, no, that's .
That is wonderful.
So start there, get basic bloodwork, then build up to the
functional testing.
But you need somebody that'sgoing to interpret that basic
blood work, the functionaltesting, but you need somebody
that's going to interpret thatbasic blood work the right way
yeah.
And get to the right direction.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (16:48):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you know like,analyzing blood chemistry is a
bit of an art, right.
You can't just like, you know,just like, look down the column
to see if anything was flaggedand call it good.
You really have to look at itand understand the physiology of
what's happening in the body.
The column, to see if anythingwas flagged and call it good.
You really have to look at itand understand the physiology of
what's happening in the body.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:05):
Right, right.
So is there a place wherepeople can go find the list of
practitioners that may be intheir local area, or do you
serve people anywhere in thecountry?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (17:17):
Yeah, I work with people virtually, so I
can help people who live inmost states not all states, but
most states and then there'salso directories of like mold
literate doctors or Lymeliterate doctors or people who
have gone through someadditional training as well, if
(17:38):
you're really wanting to workwith somebody who is local to
you training as well, if you'rereally wanting to work with
somebody who is local to you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:43):
Wonderful, and please, if you don't mind,
providing that for us so we canlink it in the show notes.
That would be helpful.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (17:47):
Of course.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:48):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's really good.
So, in terms of the emotionalbecause I know the emotional
piece is as linked to theenvironmental piece how do you
talk to moms who are goingthrough this time and how can
they protect their emotionalgreens or just their emotional
self?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (18:08):
Yeah, the emotion piece, the nervous
system piece, is so crucial,it's really a non-negotiable.
We can't just go down this likedetoxification pathway or just
this mold specific pathway wherewe're just really focused on
the mycotoxins and leave thenervous system and the emotional
piece out of it.
It doesn't work like that.
(18:28):
The body has to have messagesof safety being sent to it in
order for it to close that loopin that cell danger response, in
order for it to feel safe andgo ahead and finish that repair
and healing cycle.
So it has to be on board.
So there's lots of differentways that I do that.
(18:49):
You know I work when I workwith people.
I have my program which iscalled the Resilient Mother
Program, and resilient is anacronym and the R stands for
reconnection and that piece isso important because it's
reconnection to the earth, it'sreconnection to our food source,
it's reconnection to our selfand our purpose, which we can
(19:12):
really lose sight of as moms,our community, which we can also
really lose sight of when webecome a mom.
We just don't have a big villageof support like we used to, and
so, being able to curate thatand have that village, have that
sense of community, rememberwho you are as a person and not
(19:37):
just a mom, but who you are andwhat your goals and your purpose
and the legacy you want toleave is.
Having those conversations isso important.
And we have to have thoseconversations because if I just
talk to you about okay well,this is your protocol to detox
from this mold, I would be doingyou a disservice or missing a
(20:00):
whole big, huge component.
Because when a mom feelssupported and has a sense of
purpose and is working on herown self-improvement and her own
self-goals and is connected toher food and just has this whole
reconnection piece that is sooften missing, the rate of
(20:21):
improvement just goes much, much, much faster.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:26):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
I totally agree with that,because I mean you can't move
anything forward unless you'rein alignment right.
With yourself Totally At peace,even in spite of what's going
on on.
You can still be at peace withyourself, even though it doesn't
seem like your life is goingright.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (20:46):
so that's right no matter what is
happening, there's always thingswe can do yes, absolutely so.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:52):
What's the rest of your acronym stand for?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (20:54):
I'm curious so the e is environment.
You know nothing heals the body, as well as the body heals
itself right, given the rightinputs and environment.
So making sure that ourenvironment is good.
We have S for sleep and stress,which is very important to
healing, and then we have I,which is for inflammation or
(21:15):
underlying infections, and thenL, lab testing, and then I.
The second I is improveddigestion, and then the second E
is energy and mitochondria work.
So really looking upstream andhow we can support the body on a
cellular level.
N is the nervous system piecethat we just talked about, and
(21:37):
then T is the toxins.
Wow, you're very comprehensive.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (21:41):
And then T is the toxins.
Wow, you're very comprehensive,I'm pretty confident.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (21:44):
Yeah, I mean, when we're talking chronic
illness and where people havebeen suffering for years, that's
the kind of approach it takesand it's not all of those things
at one time, but it's like overtime.
These are as I've.
I mean I packaged it.
You know I, when I was actuallycreating this acronym, I had
this piece of paper and I hadall the things that, like I do
(22:05):
and focus on, and when I lookedat everything, you know, I
really distilled it down, likethese are the things that at
some point, we need to worktowards and address Right,
Absolutely.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (22:17):
Wow, this has been really.
Thank you.
I have learned some.
I have learned things from this, from talking with you, and I'm
so glad we're we're talkingabout this, because millions of
moms are suffering from chronicillnesses, and their kids as
well, because if mom has moldillness, that means the kid has
probably has it too if they'reexposed and they're in the same
(22:39):
house and if we, if I always saythat's why I spend so much time
talking to my moms, because ifthe moms are good, then the kids
for sure that's right and as apediatrician, it's like I can't
get my kids well if my mommiesare no good.
So I I have formed the practiceof actually spent.
I had a patient once tell askme, is this appointment for me,
(23:03):
doctor, or is this for my mom?
I was spending so much timetalking to the mom I was like
you have no idea, just I'mgetting to you next.
So thank you for what you do,because you're not just saving
one person, it's the wholefamily, you're helping.
And you're helping too, becauseonce mom can get her life
(23:26):
together, she's of course doingit for her whole family and
generations to come.
And so thank you for what youdo.
And so can you please tell theparents or moms listening how
they can find you?
Dr. Brandy Cummings (23:38):
So my website is resilientmotherhood.
health, and that is also myInstagram handle is
resilientmotherhood.
health and those are the placesI am most active.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (23:48):
Okay, and you mentioned before we started you
had a summit coming up, so tellus about that too.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (23:54):
Yeah, the Resilient Motherhood Summit is
launching in the beginning ofMarch, and so that is available
as well.
We have a panel of 40 speakersthat I have invited that are
experts in all different kindsof areas this environmental med
piece that we're talking, butalso things like breast implant
(24:14):
illness and EMFs, and we'regoing deeper into testing and
HPV and all these things that wecould be dealing with in
motherhood.
So my goal was to just bringthe people together in one room,
so to speak, so that you canhave who you need when you need
it and more easily be able toidentify what is the very next
(24:37):
step, best next step for me atthis moment.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (24:41):
Wonderful.
So, yeah, we will have all ofthat information for you.
Thank you again for what you doand for coming on today.
Dr. Brandy Cummings (24:49):
Thank you so much for having me.
This has been great.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (24:51):
Yes, my pleasure , and so parents listening.
If you know anyone that needsto hear this, please share it
with them and thank you forlistening.
Until the next episode, have anamazing day.
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