Egg Meets Sperm Mold, Mycotoxins & Infertility: The Overlooked Cause of “Unexplained” Fertility Struggles with Dr. Nafysa Parpia
You’ve done everything right — balanced hormones, optimized your diet, reduced stress, worked with the best fertility specialists — maybe even tried IVF… and still, no pregnancy. It’s devastating, confusing, and exhausting. But what if the missing link is something you’ve never even considered: mold and mycotoxins?
Many couples struggling with infertility have explored every conventional and integrative option—hormone balancing, dietary changes, lifestyle upgrades, even IVF—yet still find themselves without answers. In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Nafysa Parpia reveals one of the most under-discussed factors that could be standing in the way: chronic mold and mycotoxin exposure.
Dr. Parpia explains how mold-related toxins can trigger persistent inflammation, disrupt hormone regulation, impact egg and sperm quality, and even mimic estrogen in the body. She outlines the connection between mold, the microbiome, and fertility—both for women and men—and why symptoms can be surprisingly “random” and often overlooked.
Dr Nafysa Parpia is the Director of Naturopathic Medicine at Gordon Medical and specializes in treating patients with complex chronic illness who have diagnoses such as autoimmunity, fibromyalgia, Long Haul COVID, ME/CFS, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Often, these diagnoses are caused by a combination of tick-borne illness, environmental exposures, mold/mycotoxins, stress, and emotional history.
In this deep-dive interview, we explore how toxic mold exposure can silently undermine reproductive health in both women and men, often leaving standard fertility tests looking “normal” while the body is trapped in a loop of inflammation and hormonal chaos.
You’ll discover:
- Why mold is a fertility disruptor — from hormone imbalance to egg/sperm quality changes
- The “cell danger response” and how chronic inflammation keeps your body in defense mode, not conception mode
- Estrogen-mimicking mycotoxins and their role in estrogen overload
- How mold exposure affects the microbiome and in turn reproductive health
- Why chronic sinus infections & allergies can be a hidden reproductive health problem
- The top at-home and clinical mold tests: ERMI, MicroGen DX, allergy testing, mycotoxin panels
- The exact steps an expert uses to assess mold impact — from home inspection to advanced lab diagnostics
- How mold issues often overlap with Lyme, chronic infections, and environmental toxins
- Why men’s fertility is equally impacted — from low testosterone to erectile dysfunction
Takeaway: If you’ve been on the fertility journey and feel like you’ve hit a dead end, exploring mold and mycotoxins could be the breakthrough you’ve been missing.
Resources & Mentions in This Episode:
- ERMI Test (Environmental Relative Moldiness Index)
- MicroGen DX sinus swab testing
- Environmental professionals like Michael Schrantz
- Bindings agents, antifungal herbs, detox support strategies
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:15 Why mold is rarely considered in fertility workups
7:42 How inflammation from mold derails hormones
15:10 Chronic sinus infections & hypothalamus connection
22:55 Mold testing: home & body diagnostics
30:48 Overlap with Lyme and other infections
39:12 Mold’s effect on male fertility
48:20 Personalized treatment protocols for complex cases
Follow Dr Parpia on:
IG: @gordonmedical
Don't miss out on this in-depth episode filled with practical advice and inspiration to help you on your fertility journey.
Let’s chat! I want to hear from you! Send me a voice memo with:
- what you loved
- what you want to see improve
- any guests you want me to bring on
- AND any questions you want me to cover on the podcast!
Did you know you can join my private community to support you in getting Fertile As F***? This is the place for live interactions, support, and learning on the fertility journey.
Want more amazing content? Join me on IG.
If you found this podcast episode useful, we’d love it if you could take 15 seconds to give us a positive review on whichever platform you’re listening to this episode.
🎧 Listen to the full podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!