What is histamine?
Histamine is a chemical released by the white blood cells in your body. It helps regulate digestion, manages the sleep cycle,helps fight infections, and acts as a signaling molecule in the brain, the spinal cord, and the uterus. In the brain, it affectsneurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA.However, it is best known for its role in allergic reactions.
What is histamine intolerance?
Histamine intolerance, which affects about 1 to 3% of the population, is not the same as food allergies but describes a dietary histamine sensitivity. Affected people cannot break down histamine from foods properly, causing it to build up and leading to diverse symptoms. Symptoms can be sporadic and non-specific, overlap with other conditions, and vary greatly from person to person.
In my coaching clients, I have observed links between histamine intolerance and high cortisol levels as well as histamine intolerance and blood sugar imbalances. In women, histamine intolerance can make PMDD symptoms worse and vice versa.When it comes to identifying and reversing the root cause of hormonal imbalances, histamine intolerance can be the missing link.
There is no one size fits all rule but the root cause and systemic links need to be evaluated for each person individually. Histamine intolerance does not refer to a food group but varies from person to person and food to food. For example, a woman may be sensitive to almonds but not to cashews or walnuts. Another person may be able to eat fresh fish but experience symptoms when eating fish that is a couple of days old. Yet another person may be able to enjoy a piece of dark chocolate during the follicular phase of their cycle but not during the luteal phase.
What are the symptoms of histamine intolerance?
• Gastrointestinal: Bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting
• Skin: Itching, rash, hives, flushing, red skin, raised bumps or welts
• Cardiovascular: Low blood pressure, irregular or fast heart rate, palpitations
• Nervous system: Headache, migraine, dizziness, brainfog, anxiety(!)
• Reproductive: Irregular and/or painful menstruation
• Respiratory: Runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, shortness of breath
How to know if you have histamine intolerance
If you experience monthly headaches, severe symptoms of PMS, or have very dry skin, histamine intolerance can be an underlying cause. A first self-help tool is to keep a food diary. Simply write down the foods you eat and the symptoms (or no symptoms) you have each day. A food diary can help you find patterns and figure out if a certain food (or combination of foods) is causing your symptoms, and it can help you find out if sensitivity increases during times of stress or certain phases of your monthly cycle.
Histamine intolerance and high cortisol
Chronic stress and high cortisol levels can make histamine intolerance worse. Prolonged high cortisol levels triggerinflammation, which increases the number of mast cells and translates to more histamine release. However, this can create a vicious cycle because when histamine is released, the adrenal glands work harder to produce cortisol to manage inflammation. This can lead to adrenal fatigue, which causesmore histamine to be released, and so on.
But there is more to keep in mind than the negative impact of stress. For example, when I see high free cortisol and low metabolized cortisol levels in a client, I suggest checking thyroid function. Elevated cortisol levels can also be caused by hypothyroidism due to reduced cortisol clearance and negative cortisol feedback on the HPA.
When you experience any of the above symptoms while going through a phase of high stress, listen to the signals your body is trying to give you. Don’t just reach for medication that suppresses the symptoms but prioritize your wellbeing by incorporating self-care into your daily life.
• Stress relief: Make time for mindful relaxation: meditate, enjoy slow stretching, massages, Epsom salt baths,diaphragmatic breathing, and long walks in nature.
• Exercise: Weight training, running, tennis, swimming, or team sports are great options to boost dopamine levels and reduce inflammation.
• Avoid DAO-blocking foods: Some foods and beveragesinterfere with your body’s natural balance of HMT and DAO enzymes. These include alcohol, black tea, energy drinks, green tea, and mate tea.
• Adaptogenic herbs: Rhodiola, ashwagandha, holy basil, and reishi mushrooms in the form of teas, tinctures, or supplements help the body self-regulate and be more resilient to stress.
Histamine intolerance and PMDD
PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) can cause severe symptoms that negatively impact a woman’s quality of life.Many symptoms of histamine intolerance, like headaches, flushing, digestive issues, and mood swings, can also be present in PMDD, making it important to consider histamine intolerance as a potential contributing factor or even root cause. Particularly the dramatic rise and fall of estrogen levels can exacerbatePMDD symptoms like mood swings and irritability, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, and anxiety in individuals with histamine intolerance. This is because estrogen stimulates mast cells to release histamine, leading to elevated histamine levels during the luteal phase which then worsens PMDD symptoms in sensitive women.
Estrogen can also impair the activity of diamine oxidase (DAO), the enzyme responsible for breaking down histamine. Diamine oxidase (DAO) supplements can help break down histamine-rich foods and may reduce symptoms.
However, not everyone with PMDD will experience symptoms related to histamine intolerance.
Histamine intolerance and weight
While histamine itself doesn’t directly cause weight gain, histamine intolerance can contribute to weight gain due tochronic inflammation, digestive issues leading to bloating and undigested food in stool, and the potential side effect of certain antihistamine medications on appetite regulation, leading to overeating.
If you have histamine intolerance you may experience periods of weight gain followed by weight loss due to oscillating digestive issues (alternating constipation and diarrhea).
On the one hand, bloating can make someone feel heavier than they actually are. On the other hand, feeling full and bloated, and dealing with digestive issues can also lead to reduced appetite.
Histamine intolerance can be caused by
• Low diamine oxidase (DAO), an enzyme that regulates and breaks down histamine in the gut
• A diet high in histamine
• Medications that block DAO functions or prevent production
• Gastrointestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colon polyps, malabsorption, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), candida overgrowth, and functional dyspepsia
• Sluggish liver and kidney function. When cortisol and uric acid are high, support adrenal and kidney function with the help of nettle root, Rhodiola, proper calcium and magnesium intake, and sufficiently high vitamin D. When liver enzymes, especially ALP, are high, consider a cleanse, improve methylation and liver function by increasing glutathione, selenium, and B vitamins. Sometimes improving copper levels is advised.
What can you do to feel better?
• Follow a low-histamine, anti-inflammatory diet.
• Address underlying causes such as stress, emotional trauma, SIBO, hormonal fluctuations, and thyroid disorder.
• Stabilize GABA and support estrogen levels, especially during the premenstrual phase.
Here are some strategies for following a low-histamine diet:
• Keep a food diary. This can help you identify foods your body is sensitive to.
• Try an elimination diet. Remove the foods that you suspect to trigger symptoms completely out of your diet for 10 days and then gradually add them back in one by one to see if any of them causes symptoms. You may only need to avoid foods that trigger you, or you may have to limit all high-histamine foods. Initially, it may feel like tedious detective work but you can expect to see results and feel better within 3-4 weeks.
• Choose fresh, whole foods. Any type of processing, especially fermentation and curing, dramatically raises a food’s histamine levels because histamine-making bacteria start to grow.
• Store your food safely. As foods age, they become higher in histamine. You can slow down this process by storing foods in your refrigerator or freezer.
• Get cooking. This gives you more control over the ingredients in your food and how they are prepared and stored. Some cooking methods can impact histamine levels. For example, steaming produce less histamine than grilling.
Are there natural antihistamines?
• Vitamin C (!) – can also help improve health problems caused by mold
• Spirulina – a whole food that contains all essential amino acids, B vitamins, chlorophyll, and Omega 3 fatty acids
• Quercetin – effective prevention for seasonal allergies. Can be taken safely for up to 12 weeks.
• Ceylon cinnamon – helps balance blood sugar and insulin levels and can help prevent cortisol spikes.
• Butterbur – is especially beneficial for those suffering from migraines.
• Probiotics – can help improve the gut microbiome, reduce inflammation, and heal the gut lining.
• Berberine – helps regulate blood sugar and cortisol, and reduces cravings and inflammation.
• Check your copper levels. Copper is important to lower histamine and reduce symptoms. Do not just supplement copper blindly – neither too little nor too much is good. A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) can provide answers to possibly underlying heavy metal toxicity and give guidance on how to balance minerals in the body and reduce sensitivity.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and not toreplace medical advice or diagnosis.
