If you're having weird reactions all of a sudden to foods that used to never bother you, or have been having a flair-up of random symptoms, a histamine intolerance may be a key factor in what you're experiencing.
What is Histamine?
Histamine isn't a bad thing. It's a part of the body's natural defense system, specifically, it plays a role in helping your body get rid of allergens. More commonly, you may have heard of anti-histamines (think Benadryl, Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, etc). These common over-the-counter aids are commonly taken for seasonal allergies or allergic reactions. These allergic reactions occur because the body releases histamine.
The histamine is released to trigger an inflammatory response letting the body know there is a potential pathogen. It's a natural part of the body's immune response and is triggered during viruses and allergies, as well as playing a role in digestion (stomach acids). It's produced by immune cells, like basophils, eosinophils, and mast cells.
Why Histamine Becomes a Problem
How to Get a Handle on these Symptoms
When Histamine becomes a problem:
That doesn't sound like a bad thing, right? We need that histamine response, but when histamine spirals out of control, that is where we start to feel the common symptoms that I will list below.
Histamine builds up when it is not properly broken down by enzymes (like MAO and DAO) and simply put when histamine is in excess, it can affect our gut, lungs, brain health, and Cardiovascular symptoms. Histamine can cause this effect not only when it is not metabolized, but when there are nutrient deficiencies, leaky gut, genetic mutations, gut infections, gluten intolerance, mast cell activation, stress triggers, and due to certain medications.
Histamine and Estrogen
Ever get to that time of the month (around ovulation or luteal phase) and you notice more headaches, a runny nose, and brain fog for no reason it seems. Histamine is also released in response to your body’s response to estrogen (which naturally fluctuates throughout our cycle). However, if estrogen is more dominant, to begin with, estrogen + histamine can cause more PMS symptoms than you’d like. You can read more about how estrogen and how it plays a role in fatigue.
When estrogen levels are low, it can lead to symptoms like irregular periods, hot flashes, insomnia, and mood swings. Higher than normal levels of estrogen can lead to weight gain, heavy or prolonged periods, uterine fibroids, and depression.
The levels of estrogen (whether high or low) aren’t alone the issue. The uterus contains the mast cells that were mentioned above. Mast cells not only release histamine, but they actually have receptors for estrogen. So the more estrogen you have in your body, the more histamine that is released. The more estrogen (which is usually higher in ovulation) than progesterone, then the more exacerbated your symptoms with histamine release will be.
Common Signs Associated with Histamine Intolerance
Diarrhea
Headaches/Migraines/Brain fog
Congestion/Runny nose
Low blood pressure
Hives/Random allergies
Asthma Attacks
Eczema/Psoriasis
Crawling sensations on the skin or scalp
Fatigue
Hypertension
Vertigo
Flushing
Abnormal Menstrual Cycle/Period-Flu
Tachycardia
Anxiety
Common Causes of these Reactions:
Mast Cell Activation
Gluten Intolerance
Leaky Gut
Gut Infections
Inflammatory gut Conditions
Nutrient Deficiencies
Genetic influence
Medications
So how do you start getting a handle on these histamine-related symptoms?
First, start with a food log. It's easy to keep this in the “notes” app on your phone so you can start tracking how you feel after eating certain foods.
Take a look at the list of foods high in histamine to see if you notice any correlation between timing and your symptoms. Some can occur immediately and others not until the next day.
Eliminate or significantly reduce the intake of foods high in histamine that are possible triggers for you.
Support the breakdown of histamines and excess histamine with natural supplements like a comprehensive respiratory care supplement like O! Vita! Advanced Respiratory Care or Molybdenum to help the liver break down and eliminate sulfites. Ingredients like Vitamin C, Quercetin, and Burbur are great histamine-reducing vitamins and herbs.
Take a look at your environment and identify xenoestrogens that play a role in mimicking estrogen and binding to receptors inside the body. We are surrounded by so many hormone disruptors. Read more about xenoestrogens here.
Foods that trigger histamine/have a high histamine response
Highest histamine foods:
Aged cheese: including goat cheese
Citrus fruits
Canned and Cured Meats: bacon, pepperoni, salami, lunch meat, canned meats and hot dogs
Dried Fruits: apricots, dates, figs, prunes, and raisins
Fermented foods: kefir, kombucha, saukerkraut, soy sauce, vinegar
Fermented Alcohol: beer, champagne, wine especially
Legumes: beans, lentils, peanut, soy
Nuts: cashews and walnuts
Processed foods: all types
Soured Foods: buttermilk, sour
Foods low in Histamine, but can release histamine
Alcohol
Nuts (not the ones mentioned above)
Strawberries
Bananas
Papaya
Tomatoes
Chocolate
Pineapple
Wheat germ
Cow's milk
Shellfish
These foods block the enzymes responsible for breaking down histamine in the body
Alcohol
Black tea
Energy drinks
Green tea
Mate tea
These lists are a great start, but I love to live by “test and not guess”. Bloodwork, a GI MAP, and thorough history can help bring light to what is truly causing the underlying inflammatory responses in your body.
Oftentimes, narrowing these things down are hard to do, so working with a practitioner or going through our reset program is the first step in getting to the root and resolving your struggles.
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