Does Mold Have You Acting Like a Witch?

Mold really can make you act like a witch. . .

I recently came across some information on a book called Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History. In this story published twenty years ago by Yale University, history professor Mary Kilbourne Matossian presents a large amount of evidence that the population of Europe was held down for 500 years by endemic mold-induced food poisoning called ergot or ergotism.

Although most sources attribute this long epidemic to fungi in the genus Claviceps, she also gives credit to the genus Fusarium. Both genera infected rye kernels before and after harvest, producing toxic, long-acting alkaloids (e.g., ergotamine).

Professor Matossian's preface of her book starts off with "People make history, but not just as they please. However strong and intelligent they may be, human beings are vulnerable creatures. . . They may even be laid low by organisms too small to be seen by the naked eye."

She goes on to explain how the poor in northern Europe, who lived on rye bread and little else, were the most affected by molds and the mycotoxins they produced. Grains were truly considered the staff of life, and the poor ate 2-3 pounds of it per day.

Wealthy households were never affected as much as poor households, because their servants prepared the grain as gruel, boiling it over a fire for about a half hour, which broke down the toxin. They also enjoyed a more diverse diet, including meat and white bread.

Poor women miscarried and children died frequently. Those who survived childhood had chronic illnesses, gangrene, and mental disturbances. The hallucinations and seizures experienced were often interpreted as witchcraft, possession, or divine inspiration. Neither the people affected or those around them could explain the uncontrolled behaviors.

No one knew that their diet was responsible for their misfortune. Not until wheat and potatoes began to replace rye did the epidemic abate.

There is even a section on how ergotism may have played a significant role in the Salem Witch Trials. The early settlers of Massachusetts planted rye, ate rye bread, and experienced hallucinations and seizures that are documented to be just like those of the Europeans.

Further discussion examines the growing season, winter and summer temperatures, soil composition, and drainage in the Salem area as likely to contribute to a rye crop infected with ergot.

For more information on the book, including the complete table of contents and an extended preview of many pages, check out Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics, and History on Google Books.

Now you will have to blame those moods on something else!



Air Matters LLC has performed mold testing services in the Raleigh NC area since 2002. The owner, Renee D. Ward, has over 22 years of safety and environmental experience and holds both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering. Renee is also a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Indoor Air Quality Council. You may contact Air Matters at (919) 961-2221 or info@AirMattersMoldTesting.com.