Histamine Intolerance 101

Unfortunately, I'm an expert

If you have unexplained symptoms you’ve come to the right place. You may have a histamine intolerance - which I recently found out has been an issue for me for many years. This is my ‘Histamine Intolerance Bible’ where I run through all the info I’ve gathered because researching this stuff can be overwhelming. Now you can avoid all the mistakes I made along the way and get to healing quickly!

Histamine intolerance symptoms:

• Headaches

• Migraines

• Dizziness

• Vertigo

• Congestion

• Digestive issues

• Bloating

• Diarrhea / constipation

• Rashes - hives

• Low blood pressure

• Heart palpitations

• Anxiety

• Chronic fatigue

Why do I have high histamines?

1. Chronic stress

Chronic stress mediates release of corticotropin releasing hormone or CRH then this induces the release of several mast cell activators including tumor anecrosis factor alpha, histamine and leukotrienes from mast cells.

This then perpetuates the chronic cycle of mast cell activation.

2. Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation drives mast cell activation - melatonin is directly linked to mast cells. We need melatonin as it directly inhibits mast cell degranulation.

If you aren’t a sleeping well + you have high cortisol levels then your symptoms are usually much worse (On a personal note - I had my symptoms pretty much under control until I moved to a noisey area where I stopped sleeping through the night - everything spiraled out of control from there)

3. High estrogen

- Concentrations of estradiol are linked to higher mast cell activity.

- This is another reason why symptoms are more intense during ovulation for many women.

4. Chronic pain

- When pain receptors are activated by mast cell mediators this can stimulate mast cell activation which creates a feedback loop and can result in inflammation - creating a vicious cycle of activation and symptoms.

5. Gut dysbiosis / Leaky gut

- Reduction in commensal species which produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA have shown to favorably reduce expression of genes associated with mast cell activation information, cytokine signaling, etc).

- Reduction in overall gut biodiversity - can also result from taking antidepressants and/or antibiotic use.

- A disruption to the intestinal barrier is also associated with an increase in luminal antigens into the mucosa this then stimulates mast cell activation and inflammatory responses.

- Low DAOs: Diamine Oxidase is the body’s own enzyme to breakdown histamines.

The level of this enzyme directly determines the efficiency with which your body metabolizes histamines.

DAOs live in your small intestinal lining so if you have major inflammation in your GI tract, then your DAO enzyme will basically be non-existent.

PHASE ONE: LOWER INFLAMMATION / REDUCE BODILY STRESS

Length - 3 Weeks

- Work on repairing Small Intestine so that they are able to house the DAOs: ‘Low Histamine’ diet (list below), Zinc, glutamine, vitamin D, Vitamin A, probiotics (specifically lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus rhamnosis).

- Skullcap: an herb that can inhibit release of histamine from mast cells.

- Quercetin: natural antihistamine

- Nettle leaf tea: calms mast cells

- In dire situations / if you are extremely uncomfortable / if your PMDD is unbearable: take Pepcid AC as it is an H2 blocker which blocks histamine production in the gut specifically.

Favorite supplements I used for this phase:

• SeekingHealth HistaminX - has Quercetin, Nettle, Broccoli extract, Bromelain

• SeekingHealth Probiota HistaminX - histamine friendly probiotic strains

• Mary Ruth Vitamin D3 + K2

  

• Pure Encapsulations - L- Glutamine powder

  

• SeekingHealth - Electrolytes (Berry or Unflavored) *best to avoid other electrolytes with citric acid

  

• Solaray - Liposomal Vitamin C

  

• Magnesium spray / oil - for body

  

You have to do everything you can to get your body out of ‘fight or flight’ mode.

Some ways to lower cortisol during the healing period:

- Avoid high intensity workouts

- Stop listening to true crime podcasts and stop watching horror / thriller films, find a ‘safe’ show (something uplifting that doesn’t have any dark suspense or violence like Emily In Paris lol)

- Swap alcoholic drinks for electrolytes

- Swap coffee for matcha or tea (bonus points if you can abstain from all caffeine during this phase)

- Somatic exercises - I love ‘The Workout Witch’ courses

- Breath work: such as the Open app

- Acupuncture for nervous system (I go about ever two weeks but do what your budget allows of course)

- Avoid extreme temperatures: Red LED therapy and mild heat therapy can be beneficial but no extreme saunas in this phase and absolutely NO cold plunges

Aid your detox pathways so that they can eliminate excess histamines by:

- rebounding: trampoline or jumping

- Dry brushing

- Lymphatic massage

- Gentle heat

Let’s quickly touch on The ‘Histamine’ Diet.

There are certain food that are naturally high in histamines such as Avocado, Banana, chocolate (I know all the best foods smh)

Other foods to avoid in this phase:

- Dairy (except cottage cheese is low histamine yay)

- Gluten (especially sourdough sadly as its fermented)

- Cold cuts: the charcuterie board.. consider it a war zone at this point

- Anything fermented - ex: sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, WINE

- Ground meats: anything ground gathers more histamines as it has been handled for longer/less fresh

- Anything canned

- Leftovers: anything leftover gathers a lot of histamine but a pro hack is to put any leftovers in the freezer and that will inhibit histamine production

- Excessive seasoning: spices can overwhelm and trigger an allergic reaction

- Eating at a restaurant is going to be tricky because you don’t know how it’s being stored or how they are cooking it so proceed with caution and always ask if they have a simple option like a protein and steamed veggies and plain rice or something like that

- Processed foods are almost always going to have histamines so better to just cut them out for the time being

- Listen to your body: if something is a low histamine food but you feel a reaction after eating it, it might not be right for you. (For example, coconut is a great option for most but for some reason it doesn’t sit right with me - I have a sore throat and itchy skin from eating coconut ice cream as I type this)

PHASE TWO: SLOWLY REINTRODUCE HISTAMINE FOODS

Length - 2 Weeks

While continuing the steps in Phase One, we try adding in some histamine foods.

Don’t go for the major histamine foods just yet - consult an app like Fig or Intolerances and see what has a ‘yellow rating’ and try one of those first.

Start with one new food every few days and see if it causes a reaction.

Also please remember: if you slip up it’s is OK and you shouldn’t feel like a failure - this is HARD and any step you take is a step in the right direction! Give yourself grace, we live in a crazy world at a highly stressful time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were our guts.