Why I Had to Know
My research didn’t start in a lab. It started in the grocery aisle, holding foods marketed as “healthy”. I kept asking the same question:
What’s really inside this box?
The deeper I dug into academic studies, regulatory loopholes, and global food safety reports, the more alarmed I became. That’s when I decided to test the foods myself.
Step 1: Following the Clues
My initial step involved a comprehensive review of scientific literature. I examined over 100 studies focused on mycotoxins and toxic substances produced by mold that can withstand baking, processing, and pasteurization.
I cross-referenced data on food categories, regions, age-specific vulnerabilities, and emerging health patterns in children.
Step 2: Collecting Samples
I gathered foods from everyday grocery stores:
Baby formula
Toddler snacks
Wheat-based breads and cereals
Milk from different suppliers
Organic vs. conventional grains
Step 3: Testing for Mycotoxins
With expert lab partners, we analyzed samples for the most concerning mycotoxins:
Deoxynivalenol (DON)
Nivalenol (NIV)
Zearalenone (ZEA)
We used liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a precise tool for detecting even trace levels of contaminants.
The results?
Nearly every grain-based food tested showed measurable levels of DON, a mycotoxin known to cause gut inflammation and immune disruption.
Step 4: Cross-Referencing with Health Data
I aligned food contamination data with what we know about pediatric gut issues, immune dysregulation, and early-onset inflammatory disease. The overlap was impossible to ignore.
✨ Science should serve families, and not confuse them.
If you’d like to explore our research methodology or see what we test for, visit The Science page.
Behind the Scenes & Testing Process
