How to naturally boost production of the histamine degrading DAO enzyme

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

We’re told that diamine oxidase’s (DAO) job is to make sure histamine is broken down when it’s no longer needed for things like healing, digestion, and wakefulness. Studies show its activity varies more in women that men, possibly due in part to histamine’s role in causing uterine contractions and miscarriage. While DAO production does decline as we age (especially in women), there are nutrients proven to give it a boost. Read on to find out what they are and how we can get them from whole foods rather than supplements.

Research tells us that DAO is highest during the luteal phase that is right after ovulation and up to menstruation, which is why low serum DAO levels in post menopausal women “should be interpreted with caution”.

While there remains some controversy as to how diamine oxidase is linked to excess histamine, for the purposes of this post I’m just looking at studies speaking of how we can boost this enzyme.

A recent study confirmed what I’ve been writing about for the last few years regarding DAO and nutrients,

and because I’m a fan of getting as many nutrients as possible as food rather than supplements, I created my nutrient and antioxidant dense cookbooks. Check out the books and read about how antioxidants fight histamine inflammation here.

DAO boosting nutrients

Please bear in mind that some foods are only high histamine because of bacteria contamination or spoilage. Any kind of virus or bacteria will stimulate an inflammatory release of histamine. This is why fermented foods are so problematic for us.

Vitamin B12

Liver (I also suggest grass fed – this appears as high histamine on some lists)

Salmon (fresh gutted fish or flash frozen at sea is not considered high histamine)

Grass fed beef (you can do regular beef but that would be inflammatory, the grass provides the animal with omega 3 fatty acid)

Eggs (duck and chicken, but they can also be inflammatory. I buy flax seed or pastured chicken eggs only)

Chicken (inflammatory so I don’t eat it, pastured may be less so)

Phosphorus

Sunflower seeds (some websites list these as high histamine)

White beans

Mung beans

Grass fed beef

Almonds

Brown rice

Broccoli

Eggs (uncooked egg white is a histamine/mast cell trigger. Ask your doctor if duck eggs might be alright for you)

Long chain/Omega fatty acids

Olive oil is an excellent source of long chain fatty acids. It’s also higher in the monounsaturated fat than vegetable oils, which means it’s less prone to oxidation (we don’t want that which is why we eat antioxidant foods like blueberries).

I eat about a pound of salmon a week for the omega 3 fatty acids. I prefer not to take supplements due to the oxidation of the oil. If you take them, make sure to add in an antioxidant or buy one that comes with it in the capsule.

Calcium

I’ve left out dairy because it’s highly inflammatory and casein is a mast cell trigger

Sesame seeds (listed on some sites as high histamine)

Collared greens

Mustard greens

Beet greens

Broccoli

Chard

Salmon (wild caught is best if possible because farmers sometimes use antibiotics and food dye pellets to colour the salmon)

Sardines (I eat them fresh only, and I mean really fresh because they are rarely gutted)

Zinc

Grass fed meats and poultry (if you can find it)

White beans

Chickpeas

Lentils

Oats

Salmon

White fish

Pistachios

Almonds

Magnesium

Read the histamine magnesium post here.

Chard

Pumpkin seeds

Kefir (fermented foods are considered high histamine)

Black beans

Almonds

Banana (high histamine, never had a problem with them myself but always be careful please)

Cacao (not high histamine but can liberate histamine from mast cells)

Learn how to create your own personalised healing plan here.

It’s finally here! Man Food – a high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredient filled book geared towards guys, women who love to work out, yoga like they mean it, or just load up on healing nutrients. Features my personal shopping list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods.

The Anti-cookbook and all liquid Anti-Detox Book, don’t treat any conditions, but feature a plethora of the high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients that have been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. The Anti-cookbook features a four page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods and comes in regular and Paleo

—REFERENCES—

Miyoshi, Makoto, Manami Ueno, Mari Matsuo, Yasuhiro Hamada, Michiko Takahashi, Masashi Yamamoto, Ikuko Yamamoto, Reiko Mikajiri, Satoko Tabuchi, Kumiko Wakida, Misa Yamanishi, Midori Hirai, and Makoto Usami. “Effect of dietary fatty acid and micronutrient intake/energy ratio on serum diamine oxidase activity in healthy women.” Nutrition 39-40 (2017): 67-70. Web.

“Phosphorus Helps Your Body Detox & Strengthen.” Dr. Axe. N.p., 09 May 2016. Web. 20 June 2017.

Publications, Harvard Health. “The A list of B12 foods.” Harvard Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2017.

Calcium. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2017.

“The histamine-(in)fertlity link | Healing Histamine.” Healing Histamine | Histamine Intolerance Diet Foods Recipes. N.p., 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 June 2017.

Hamada, Yasuhiro, Yurika Shinohara, Miyuki Yano, Mari Yamamoto, Misa Yoshio, Kumiko Satake, Akiyo Toda, Midori Hirai, and Makoto Usami. “Effect of the menstrual cycle on serum diamine oxidase levels in healthy women.” Clinical Biochemistry 46.1-2 (2013): 99-102. Web.

“Functional Foods Fact Sheet: Omega-3 Fatty Acids.” FoodInsight.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2017.

“Top 10 Magnesium Rich Foods Plus Proven Benefits.” Dr. Axe. N.p., 28 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 June 2017.

“Chemical Characteristics.” Chemical Characteristics | The Olive Oil Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2017.

“Whole Grains.” Zinc Grocery List | The Dr. Oz Show. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2017.

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Negative food experiences make future histamine reactions more likely

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Conditioned taste aversion is a survival mechanism whereby animals learn to associate taste with a food that has made them sick; usually because it’s toxic or spoiled. In some cases the conditioned association between a food and sickness is so strong that the amygdala, the primitive part of the brain whose role it is to identify whether something is dangerous, can send the danger signal based on just the smell of a food alone. Sound familiar? Read on…references always at the bottom of post.

Chemotherapy has taught us a lot about taste aversion. Patients undergoing treatment who experience extreme nausea or sickness during it may develop a long term aversion to foods eaten during those months.

Granted, that’s an extreme example, but some of us (myself included) have experienced years, if not decades of nausea (and worse) as a result of excess histamine or negative food reactions.

Histamine, dopamine, acetylcholine and serotonin are involved in the control of nausea and vomiting.

I stashed Motilium, a dopamine agonist that prevents nausea/vomiting in my handbag, by my bedside, and in my car for years. Really years. Took it pretty much every day.

As a kid I projectile vomited regularly. As an adult too really. Most memorably it’s happened while walking down the street, behind a curtain at a black tie function (while sober), and many others.

I think I may have, like chemotherapy patients, developed a conditioned taste aversion to foods (which triggered major nausea every time I ate), or my inflammation bucket was so very full (read more about the bucket theory here) that it kept spilling over no matter what I ate.

So how does behavioural conditioning like taste aversion actually work?

Exciting research by scientists and those studying behaviour have shown that our beliefs affect the immune system. For example, they have found that placebos work (when they do) because people believe their doctor. They have faith that the medicine will heal them.

But a more exciting discovery was made in the last few years: that the immune system can be conditioned to respond in a certain way by association with a subconscious stimulus. In her fascinating book CURE, investigative reporter Jo Malone interviews doctors and researchers at the cutting edge of the field of psychoneuroimmunolgy. They believe, and have proven, that behavioural conditioning can reproduce the effect of certain medications on the immune system, regardless of whether the patient believes it will heal them.

The scientists came up with variations on: giving an open placebo pill to patients (that’s there someone knows the pill is sugar/an inert substance), with a real medication, paired with a certain piece of music, and a liquid with an incongruous taste (ie a red drink that tastes like banana), at the same time in the same place. A few weeks and the medication would be reduced (or eliminated depending on the severity of the patient’s condition) but the rest would continue (music, drink, open placebo).
They found that the immune system continued to behave as it did when given the full dose of the real medication.

So despite the patient being fully aware that the medication was removed, their immune system had been conditioned to behave in a certain way.

Researchers have proven this in particular with asthmatics and measuring histamine released when the patients were stressed by believing they were being exposed to an allergen.

That’s how powerful conditioning can be.

That’s also how negative conditioning could be tripping us up.

If our immune system has been conditioned to respond to certain foods by releasing massive amounts of histamine, then this could keep going on even if the original issue has resolved.

Let’s say you were going through a time of immense stress, or eating while stressed at your desk always, or struggling to keep your cool with kids at your hem while cooking and eating, or had unpleasant family meal times, or were sick for a time, whatever, and your immune system came to associate stress with food and sickness.

That’s why when people ask me how I’ve managed to add so many foods back to my diet, including higher histamine ones, I attribute most of my gains to getting my diet right, but also fixing how my brain processes my body’s response to food and stress. I discuss my approach to healing this here and here.

—-REFERENCES—

“Conditioned taste aversion.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.

“Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Conditioning).” SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag. Web

Bernstein, Ilene L. “Conditioned food aversions as a consequence of cancer and its treatment.” PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

“Domperidone.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.

Dark, Kathleen, Harman V. S. Peeke, George Ellman, and Mary Salfi. “Behaviorally Conditioned Histamine Release. Prior Stress and Conditionability and Extinction of the Response.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 496.1 Neuroimmune I (1987): 578-82. Web.

“Chemoreceptor trigger zone.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 June 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.

Wager, Tor D., and Lauren Y. Atlas. “The neuroscience of placebo effects: connecting context, learning and health.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 16.7 (2015): 403-18. Web.

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Fasting’s effect on diamine oxidase (DAO) & histamine intolerance

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Two important questions regarding fasting for those with histamine intolerance are: does not eating affect the function of the histamine degrading diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme, and is the stress of not eating so extreme as to negate the benefits of it?

All references at the bottom of post.

Why a post on fasting? I’ve long used fasting as a tool for dealing with histamine related inflammation. A history of eating every few hours, even getting up from bed in the middle of the night to do so, had left my body in a constant state of excitability and chronic histamine release.

The reasons for this is very simple: histamine is involved in the digestive process and eating triggers generalised inflammation, regardless of whether you have histamine intolerance or mast cell activation.

University of Southern California Longevity Institute director Dr. Valter Longo has created a fasting mimicking diet that has the benefits of water fasting while allowing about 800 calories a day. My interview with him revealed that up to 40 percent of the immune system can be regenerated in just five days. Longo told me that would include “faulty” mast cells that are leaking histamine indiscriminately. Read the post here.

I’ve long experimented with and written about fasting for my histamine intolerance and mast cell activation because I discovered early on, even before I was diagnosed, that very short bursts of it made me feel better.

PLEASE NOTE – there is a difference between fasting for health once in a while and anorexia. Don’t even think of trying it if you have ever had repeatedly negative thoughts of food, negative body image or any kind of eating disorder, no matter how long ago it was. Either way, a doctor needs to be involved.

But there’s still an unbelievable lack of research on fasting’s effect on the histamine degrading diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme. Residing in the gut, where histamine is released every time we eat (or even think of food), DAO’s job is to break down histamine once it’s not needed anymore, or presumably when there’s just too much of it for us to handle. DAO relies on a number of nutrients to function normally – things like magnesium (a lack of this can cause major histamine release), copper, vitamin B6 and others. It’s at its peak during pregnancy where it helps prevent uterine contractions that could end in miscarriage (read more here).

Histamine intolerance is considered to be an excess of histamine caused by or coupled with a lack of DAO. Genetic testing can reveal if we’ve inherited genes that predispose us to low DAO production, but a lack of it may simply be triggered in women as we age and hormones decline because we no longer need DAO’s help in preventing miscarriage.

A study published in the journal Digestion found that levels of the histamine degrading DAO enzyme in starved rats did not decrease during fasting. (I can’t find any human studies).

That’s a start.

But what about the very valid concern regarding fasting increasing histamine levels?

Well, that could depend on a number of factors.

We know for sure that stress causes histamine release from mast cells. These white blood cells contain not only histamine but also a number of other inflammatory agents that you really don’t want to have dumped into the blood stream unless needed to fight infection or heal you from injury.

It’s also known that fasting in animals has been shown to cause stress, which in turn causes histamine release.

In my case, water fasting has been hugely stressful in the past. The fear I’m doing something stupid, the fact that it was done in a haphazard fashion when my histamine rose to intolerable levels, and basically being too weak to move or do anything other than lie around obsessively tracking every minute (or scary) symptom.

Juice fasting/feasting was more successful because it took the stress away, but I still had the energy problem (and I was using too many fruits).

My approach and mindset (ie my stress level) going in to the fast dictated how successful it would be. In other words, we’re not the animals in the studies. We choose to fast rather than being starved, we are not held in restraints or have scientists devising ways of freaking us out.

That’s all good and well, but yes, we can be just as stressed as the animals, because let’s face it, dealing with these health issues can create a lot of anxiety.

I came to realise a few things could made for a successful fast:

(Please note, these are my observations and should not be a substitute for medical advice.)

– Liquids put less stress on the body and (according to Dr. Fuhrman) were less demanding of my stomach enzymes
– I stopped fasting when I was at my sickest. Planning fasts and being mentally prepared for them was essential
– Meditation is an essential component
– Reading materials or motivational documentaries and films should be planned in advance
– Getting in touch with nature is really helpful for lowering stress levels
– I didn’t need to starve myself. A cut of about 20-30 percent of my usual calories sufficed
– Focusing on nutrient dense foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory soups and low fruit juices regardless of calories was extremely healing to me
You’ll find most of the recipes I used in the Anti-Detox.

My (non-medical but totally been there myself) advice is, if you’re experiencing a moderate to significant amount of stress, then fasting probably isn’t a great idea.

There are exceptions of course, but really, there’s a good chance that getting the stress under control might reverse much/most of the histamine symptoms anyway and you might not need to fast!

If you don’t have the patience or time for it, check out how to create your own personalised healing plan here.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Don’t miss the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide for non-toxic beauty tips, the skinny on histamine releasing (mast cell degranulating) beauty ingredients, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory beauty alternatives and the top brands natural brands I’ve found.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

—-REFERENCES—-

Irie, Masahiro, Shoji Nagata, and Yutaka Endo. “Effect of isolation on classical conditioned histamine release in guinea pigs.” Neuroscience Research 44.1 (2002): 31-35. Web.

Irie, Masahiro, Shoji Nagata, and Yutaka Endo. “Fasting stress exacerbates classical conditioned histamine release in guinea pigs.” Life Sciences 72.6 (2002): 689-98. Web.

Erdman, Steven H. “Effects of Starvation and Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on Diamine Oxidase Activity in Rat Ileum.” Digestion 46.2 (2009): 396-402. Web.

“Digestion itself is a histamine trigger | Healing Histamine.” Healing Histamine | Histamine Intolerance Diet Foods Recipes. N.p., 04 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 June 2017.

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Carbohydrate, lactose and histamine intolerances go hand in hand

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

You may have heard of the histamine bucket: the idea there’s only so much histamine we can put into the body before we spill over into symptoms. I favour the inflammation bucket model, where we work out what inflammation-causing foods and lifestyle issues (stress, lack of exercise, low histamine foods that cause inflammation) are making us spill over. New research appears to confirm this by revealing that those with histamine issues are often dealing with concurrent inflammatory issues. References always at the bottom of post.

The inflammation bucket model is not one I came up with but it’s certainly one I’ve come to accept is the best working theory to explain what’s going on for many of us. While the traditional approach to healing histamine intolerance (or at least getting through it) has focused on limiting histamine containing foods, my method has been to prevent the inflammation bucket from filling up by using antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods (even nutrient dense ones appearing on high histamine lists: mushrooms, chickpeas, lentils, radishes for example more on that here), stress relief and meditation (both of which have been proven to lower inflammation levels).

All of this rests on the understanding that not only is histamine found in foods, but that it’s also found in mast cells in the body. Mast cells are an integral part of the immune system. These white blood cells are kind of an army barracks in which live inflammatory soldiers like histamine, prostaglandins, interleukins, leukotrienes and more. These are all healing agents in the fight against bacteria, viruses and more.

Histamine is the first responder.

It gets to the problem site, or somewhere we need healing, creating inflammation so the other inflammatory agents can penetrate and do their job.

In my original post a few years ago on the subject I explain that I believe that for many of us the big inflammation bucket is made up of little ones contained within it.

Rather than looking at this as separate issues, I had found that filling up just one of the little buckets contained within the big one was enough to make the whole thing spill over and cause symptoms.

And now it seems researchers are finding the same.

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology found significant overlap in the diagnosis of histamine intolerance, lactose, fructose and carbohydrate malabsorption in a sample of test subjects with unexplained gastrointestinal problems.

Now, a couple of things here. Histamine’s role in digestion means that having an excess of it can compromise the intestinal barrier. Yes, that means leaky gut. So it’s not surprising that histamine intolerance goes hand in hand with gut issues. Thankfully the bioflavonoid quercetin (which is in pretty much every food in my diet) has been shown to heal leaky gut.

Not surprising at all to me given that I started out thinking I had a histamine intolerance, but when I eliminated those foods it suddenly seemed I was also reacting to salicylic acid foods. And once those were gone I was struggling with fructose foods and so on till I was down to a handful of foods.

That’s why I advocate making your own list of safe foods regardless of lists, and also prioritising certain nutrient dense foods when re-introducing foods. Learn how to do both here.

Research like this study really brings home that it’s important to look at the body as a whole and our food intolerance as more than just histamine related.

Though I started out hardcore low histamine for years, which no doubt starved my body of the nutrients it needed, most of all omega 3 (I now eat salmon a few times a week and take a vegan EPA/DHA supplement), I eventually realised that the goal wasn’t no symptoms at all, but rather very manageable ones.

For whatever reason my body is just highly sensitive and eating a well balanced diet rather than going gonzo with the elimination was instrumental to my healing.

It took years to add things back, a little at a time. Sometimes literally just a drop of something.

But addressing my stress, moving, walking away from a toxic relationship and reconnecting with meditation turned it all around. More on that here.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

——REFERENCES—–

Enko, Dietmar, Andreas Meinitzer, Harald Mangge, Gernot Kriegshäuser, Gabriele Halwachs-Baumann, Eva Z. Reininghaus, Susanne A. Bengesser, and Wolfgang J. Schnedl. “Concomitant Prevalence of Low Serum Diamine Oxidase Activity and Carbohydrate Malabsorption.” Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology2016 (2016): 1-4. Web.

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Triphala: Ayurvedic Antihistamine for Histamine Intolerance?

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

For over two thousand years the Ayurvedic remedy Triphala has played a key role in the practice of Indian traditional medicine. There’s been a considerable amount of research validating a number of these remedies recently, including the news that Triphala, a combination of three medicinal fruits, is a powerful natural antihistamine that also stabilises mast cells and acts as an anti-inflammatory. Triphala may be useful for histamine intolerance. All references are at the bottom of the post.

Triphala is a blend of three Indian fruits:

Phyllanthus emblica (amla)

This compound has also shown promise in preventing carrageenan induced inflammation, stabilsing mast cells (thereby preventing the release of histamine and other inflammatory agents), and preventing histamine and mast cell induced asthma attacks (read more about histamine, mast cells and asthma here).

Terminalia chebula

Animal studies have shown an extract of this fruit can prevent anaphylaxis and lower blood histamine levels.

Terminalia bellirica

Compounds from this fruit have shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in animal studies (more on how antioxidants in foods fight histamine inflammation here)

But there’s more.

Combine the three and you have a a supplement that (at least in animal studies) has been shown to prevent the growth of certain cancer tumours, protect our cells from radiation, is super high in antioxidants, and can help with symptoms of arthritis. It also as a whole is antihistamine and fights inflammation resulting from the release of prostaglandins from mast cells. I keep talking about how histamine is just one type of inflammatory agent we need to be paying attention to. That’s why I feel that a low histamine diet at the expense of an overall inflammatory diet high in nutrients and antioxidants isn’t the best approach (more here).

Like all supplements, there’s risks (which is why I try to get all I need from food – click here to learn how to create your own histamine balanced nutrient dense healing plan), so lease always check with your doctor before adding anything new to the diet. According to the Sloane Kettering website, Triphala’s main side effects are gastrointestinal in nature, but few and far between. Triphala inhibits the CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 enzymes.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

——REFERENCES—–

Bährle-Rapp, Marina. “Phyllanthus Emblica Extract.” Springer Lexikon Kosmetik und Körperpflege (2007): 426. Web.

Shin, T.y, H.j Jeong, D.k Kim, S.h Kim, J.k Lee, D.k Kim, B.s Chae, J.h Kim, H.w Kang, C.m Lee, K.c Lee, S.t Park, E.j Lee, J.p Lim, H.m Kim, and Y.m Lee. “Inhibitory action of water soluble fraction of Terminalia chebula on systemic and local anaphylaxis.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 74.2 (2001): 133-40. Web.

Sireeratawong, S., K. Jaijoy, and N. Soonthornchareonnon. “Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity of Triphala recipe.” African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines 10.2 (2013): n. pag. Web.

“Triphala.” Memorial Sloan Kettering. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 June 2017.

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Histamine and smell

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

A small study has just revealed that scented laundry washes contain carcinogens that may raise cancer risk if inhaled. This is unlikely to be a problem for people with histamine and mast cell disorders given that our heightened sense of smell and reactions to scents, prevent most of us from using them. The question is why do they bother us so?

The study, published this August in Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, found 25 “volatile” air pollutants released during the average washing cycle. Known carcinogens included acetaldehyde and benzene. The former causes nasal and throat cancer and the latter is linked to nasal and throat cancers, all of them in animal studies.

I personally only recently started using lightly scented laundry detergent in the last year or so (maybe a bit longer, I’m pretty crap at dates), but I’ve certainly been exposed to my fair share while staying with friends and in hotels.

While in recent years I’ve no longer experienced the old histamine/mast cell reactions to these smells (fainting, extreme anxiety, coughing, runny nose and watering eyes), I do remember how awful they used to be.

Click here to create your own histamine balanced diet and healing plan.

Thing is, while I’m glad I’ve desensitised myself to a certain degree, enough to be able to live a normal life while traveling, I’ve long believed these products to be carcinogenic and generally toxic and have avoided their use.

My recent use of scented products stems from someone I was living with. Compromise is often necessary for a peaceful co-existence, and is responsible for many changes I made in the last two years that I’m not crazy about (but take full responsibility for) like adding a lot more animal protein and a ton of sugar to my diet. I’m now back on the straight and narrow!

So what gives? Why do mast cell people react so much to scents?

Part of the explanation according to mast cell expert Dr. Lawrence Afrin, is that we simply have a heightened sense of smell when mast cell (and therefore histamine) attacks come on.

I’ve definitely experienced the acute sense of smell. It’s always been part and parcel of the general adrenalin response to histamine attacks in my body. I’d never linked them, but the tunnel vision, hound dog nose, and spring in my step (as if I were ready to flee at the slightest provocation) were all definitely adrenalin based for me. This was revealed to me, by of all things, a TV show where a cop talks about what happens to them when close to a suspect.

I immediately scanned my memory for my reactions while covering conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon, yup, that was it. They’re all bodily reactions that help us stay alive in times of stress.

So why was my body freaking out to food, scents and other such nonsense when there was no risk to me at all? Well, based on some of my exposures to food, and projectile vomiting as a result, I’m pretty convinced my immune system came to associate (at first) some foods, then most foods, as my symptoms became more acute, with danger. Sometimes the smell of food was enough to trigger that response. There’s a fascinating book called “Cure” by Jo Marchant which covers why open placebos, where someone knows they’re not getting real medicine) work. Seems that the immune system can be trained to trigger the same response to meds, in the absence of them. I believe that the reverse is also true, that the immune system can be conditioned to respond negatively to foods and scents.

Read my post on the fear link and how mast cell markers can be raised through Pavlovian conditioning.

Proponents of this view are Annie Hopper, who healed herself of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and Dr. Gupta, of the Gupta Program.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

—-REFERENCES—-

Afrin, Lawrence B. Presentation, diagnosis and management of mast cell activation syndrome. 2013. Mast cells.

Jaslow, Ryan. “Scented laundry products release carcinogens, study finds.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

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Chronic Fatigue, histamine & mast cells

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Chalk up another one to a dysfunctional immune system – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Researchers recently proved (for the first time), that the condition is not psychosomatic (yeah, thanks for calling us hypochondriacs all these years). This wasn’t news to some: according to NHS funded researcher Dr. Theoharides, CFS is one of many mast cell linked conditions that he has known to be linked for years. It wasn’t so long ago that narcolepsy was pegged to an imbalance of brain histamine levels.

Scientists in Australia have found that immune cell receptor abnormalities are behind CFS debilitating symptoms. So basically a receptor defect, which is really a problem because there are many cells and so many receptors to mess with, can’t transfer calcium from the cell to the outside. The discovery of abnormal calcium cells coincides with where CFS pain usually happens, in the brain, spine, pancreas and stomach.

To date there’s still no cure for CFS. Doctors and researchers have been telling folks it’s all in their head and that all they need is more exercise (yes, I’m referring to the PACE trial debacle). The researchers say they believe that it affects from 1%-2% of the population (presumably Australia they mean?).

According to Dr. Theoharides, director of Immuno pharmacology and Drug Discovery at Tufts, CFS is a complex disease involving the nervous, hormonal and immune systems with symptoms that include fatigue, sleep disturbances, malaise, muscle aches, migraines, gastrointestinal complaints, and cognitive problems. Viruses and inflammatory cytokines (like those in mast cells which contain histamine) play a role. He says that the stress hormone CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) activates brain mast cells (which contain histamine and other inflammatory mediators), and that this causes blood-brain-barrier disruption. His research shows that there’s a relationship between the mitochondria, calcium and mast cell activation.

As someone who has literally fallen asleep on a plate of food, I can attest to the narcolepsy-histamine link. It all depended on how long it would take me to eat. If I had a short meal, I might make it to the sofa before falling into my food coma, but a long one meant face-in-food for dessert. The weird thing was I wasn’t actually asleep.

My eyes were forced closed, all movement would have to cease, and I’d be aware of the world around me, but incapable of interacting with it. The experience was more like something out of a nightmare where you’re paralysed but still able to be hurt. It’s apparently called syncope.

I’d lie there in a weak panic, feeling my heart beat slowly ebb away, as I begged my thoughts to magically reconnect with my voice to tell people, hey, I’m actually awake! Don’t be fooled, I’m not asleep. But no matter how hard I tried to convey this to people, they were all convinced I was dreaming it all up.

Whether it was a histamine-narcolepsy link, or a mast cell-CFS one, I ended up spending about a year mostly in or on bed, and desperately trying to make people understand that my inability to climb a flight of stairs at times isn’t a lack of cardio fitness (mine could always be better but it’s still good) but rather a result of my mast cells having a temporary bout of madness.

Interestingly, Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Michael Van ElZakker has a hypothesis he’s working to prove, that an infection of the vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the stomach, can cause a prolonged “sickness response”. This human response to illness involves extreme fatigue, probably to force us to rest up and isolate us from other humans to not spread the virus. He believes that in some cases the vagus nerve, which is responsible for signaling the need for this response, remains on high alert, which keeps the body stuck in this more.

You can read my interview with Dr. Van ElZakker here.

A review of fourteen separate dietary and supplement interventions were published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, but found that most studies showed no particular measurable benefit of them. Improvements in fatigue were found in response to NADH and Coenzyme Q10, probiotics and high polyphenol rich cacao.

For me personally, because my fatigue was a result of my mast cell issues, stabilizing them with Dr. Theoharides’ quercetin Neuroprotek supplement and a great diet really helped. But we all have different root causes and severity of symptoms.
Click here if you’d like to learn how I did it.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

—–REFERENCES—-

Theoharides, Theoharis C. “Brain mast cells and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.” Grantome. NIH, 01 July 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Appold, Karen. “UCLA Researchers Find Clue to Narcolepsy’s Cause.” Sleep Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Campagnolo, N., S. Johnston, A. Collatz, D. Staines, and S. Marshall-Gradisnik. “Dietary and nutrition interventions for the therapeutic treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a systematic review.” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (2017): n. pag. Web.

Cooper, Luke. “Queensland Scientists Make Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Breakthrough.” Huffington Post Australia. The Huffington Post, 21 Feb. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Rehmeyer, Julie. “How bad science misled chronic fatigue syndrome patients.” STAT. STAT, 29 Dec. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

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Estrogen & Histamine

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Have you noticed that your annoying histamine intolerance and mast cell symptoms, particularly fogginess, bloating, headaches and tenderness, get worse just before your period? Yup, it’s your hormones, and the interaction between histamine and estrogen in particular. And now researchers tell us that estrogen is the reason that women have longer anaphylactic episodes than men.

Estrogen surges generally occur…

When ovulating

Right before menstruation
From exposure to too many xenoestrogens
From birth control pills
During menopause
When stressed

It works like this: estrogen stimulates mast cells to make histamine, while also reducing the DAO enzyme. Histamine then stimulates the production of even more estrogen. This occurs by aiding the release of luteinising hormones which are needed for ovulation. The luteinising hormone causes a gradual increase in estrogen.

And bam!

The histamine increase is back.

If you’ve read my post that mentions histamine-induced ovulation some of this may already make sense to you. (Spoiler alert: histamine-induced ovulation is bad).

Like the mythical ouroboros dragon eating its tail, the cycle of estrogen increasing histamine levels and histamine increasing estrogen levels, continues ad infinitum.

Which is why histamine symptoms are usually worse at ovulation and just before periods…a time when estrogen is already high.

Sensitivity increases when supplementing with estrogen, for example during hormone replacement therapy. In turn, women experience more allergies and histamine-related problems after hitting their teens, a time when they start producing more estrogen, but less progesterone. The same is true during menopause when estrogen is on the rise.

Estrogen dominance during menopause occurs because progesterone is lower than estrogen. As we age women don’t make more estrogen, we make less, but progesterone goes down much faster than estrogen does, which leads to estrogen dominance.

There’s also a link between histamine and asthma, thanks to mast cells. According to at least one study, postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy had an increased risk of new onset asthma (meaning for the first time). Estrogen and progesterone have both been shown to cause mast cell maturation and degranulation (the process by which histamine and other inflammatory mediators are released into the bloodstream).

And of course there’s the study by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases findings that women have it worse than men when it comes to anaphylaxis, and estrogen is the culprit. We have longer lasting attacks thanks to our hormones…but reducing the level of estrogen leveled the playing field between the sexes.

Xenoestrogens make everything worse.

Each year we’re exposed to increasingly high amounts of xenoestrogens, or estrogens that are found in pollutants from water, food, and beauty products. So it’s not surprising to see that over the past 30 years allergen-related diseases are continuing to increase dramatically, in addition to affecting women disproportionately.

Part of the solution in dealing with the estrogen-influenced increase of histamine is to remove excess estrogens in the body. This may also help women who are estrogen dominant dampen their PMS symptoms.

I added cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli to my diet to help to remove these estrogens. I go over the benefits of these foods, in addition to other foods that heal in the Beyond Low Histamine Diet Workshop.

Lowering stress is also important, as we’ve seen relatively acute stressful events immediately enhance serum estradiol (a form of estrogen), in the female rat. When dealing with stress, reach for your yoga mat, or try to meditate to prevent any further increase of estrogen.

In terms of supplementing, B6, an essential cofactor of the histamine lowering DAO enzyme, helps with estrogen metabolism. The physiologically active form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP), acts as a hormone mediator, and reduces estrogen while increasing progesterone. Increasing progesterone may inhibit mast cell secretion.

Yet again, here’s another reason for using natural beauty products…You may want to start removing non-natural products from your daily routine, before gradually adding more natural alternatives.

And if you’re taking birth control, think about looking into alternatives such as tracking your menstrual cycle with Persona and Daysy machines, both of which I’ve used successfully over the last twelve years. Of course talk to your gynecologist before making any transitions.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

-References-

Bonds, Rana S., and Terumi Midoro-Horiuti. “Estrogen effects in allergy and asthma.” Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology 13.1 (2013): 92-99. Web.

Natori, Yasuo, Tatsuzo Oka, and Masashi Kuwahata. “Modulation of Gene Expression by Vitamin B6.” Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Vitamin B6 and PQQ-dependent Proteins (2000): 301-06. Web.

Shors, Tracey J., Jane Pickett, Gwendolyn Wood, and Martin Paczynski. “Acute Stress Persistently Enhances Estrogen Levels in the Female Rat.” Stress 3.2 (1999): 163-71. Web.

Vasiadi, M., D. Kempuraj, W. Boucher, D. Kalogeromitros, and T.c. Theoharides. “Progesterone Inhibits Mast Cell Secretion.” International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 19.4 (2006): 787-94. Web.

Zaitsu, Masafumi, Shin-Ichiro Narita, K. Chad Lambert, James J. Grady, D. Mark Estes, Edward M. Curran, Edward G. Brooks, Cheryl S. Watson, Randall M. Goldblum, and Terumi Midoro-Horiuti. “Estradiol activates mast cells via a non-genomic estrogen receptor-α and calcium influx.” Molecular Immunology 44.8 (2007): 1977-985. Web.

Zierau, Oliver, et al. “Role of female sex hormones, estradiol and progesterone, in mast cell behavior.” Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 3, 2012, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2012.00169.

Hox, Valerie, et al. “Estrogen increases the severity of anaphylaxis in female mice through enhanced endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production.” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, vol. 135, no. 3, 2015, doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2014.11.003.

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Histamine Migraine Fixes

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Histamine can cause the recurrence of a headache that’s been treated with meds (like NSAIDs or migraine meds for example), make a pre-existing headache worse, and trigger an immediate or delayed headache. Yet studies on antihistamines as treatments have largely failed, with a few exceptions. I can tell you from personal experience that histamine is a definite trigger, one that I did manage in the past with antihistamine medication initially, but now through diet and supplements. If the latter two didn’t work for me, you’d better believe I’d take an antihistamine to keep them at bay!

Histamine has been conclusively linked to migraines for some time. In Spain, to prevent them, migraineures are frequently given a diamine oxidase (DAO) supplement to help break down histamine.

The central histaminergic system plays an essential role in our sleep and wakefulness cycle. Histamine promotes excitability in the brain to wake us and help us focus our attention. Interestingly, though studies show that histamine levels drop later in the day, I have always had my worst symptoms in the evening, with the migraine developing as of about 2pm. Though I have woken with migraines in the morning, in particular the six month hell I endured in my teens where I had a migraine daily, it’s more common for me to feel increasingly agitated as the day progresses, culminating in a 2am-5am state of hyper-excitability and headache. The worst of the symptoms would then pass and as long as I got enough sleep, I’d wake up with the majority of my symptoms better.

Researchers believe that while so far antihistamines (ones that block activity of the H1 and H2 receptors) have not been found to be effective in preventing and treating migraines, a few of them have shown some promise. Cinnarizine and cyproheptadine, for example, have been found to prevent migraine, but interestingly, their success in doing so is attributed to properties other than their antihistamine activity. Seems that their side effect profile (I’ve never heard of either being used at all) is significant, so that was considered a research bust, till scientists began looking at the H3 and H4 receptors.

Yet another stream of related research is focusing on mast cells, which contain histamine and other inflammatory mediators. When activated, by stress, allergies, foods, chemicals and medications, mast cells release histamine and all the rest. Mast cells in particular are thought to activate the pain pathway in migraine headache.

So, what can we do if suffering from migraines?

Click here to learn how to create your own histamine balanced diet and healing plan (I share everything that helped me and give you the tools to do the same).

Get organised

If you’re suffering from daily or chronic migraine, and are finding it difficult to nail down what’s causing them, my recommendation would be to make a spreadsheet with MIGRAINE 1 – 10 across the top. On the days your migraine is the weakest, write down everything you’re eating and the same for days that it’s a 7 and above. This will help work out triggers. You can then decide if the food that’s triggering you is worth keeping on a longer rotation.

Look into science backed supplements that may help

Discuss with your doctor whether:

Running a test for the histamine degrading DAO enzyme may help (more on diagnosis here). You can then supplement if needed

Histamine lowering supplements could be indicated: vitamin C (as per mast cell specialist Dr. Lawrence Afrin), the bioflavonoids luteolin and quercetin (as per mast cell expert Dr. Theoharis Theoharides)

Avoid fermented foods for a short time

If you’re doing ok with your histamine level and have started adding higher histamine foods back to the diet, you may wish to experiment with giving these new things a break and seeing if they’re the problem. In particular probiotics and fermented foods generally.

Look at tyramine foods

A massive migraine trigger. I have polymorphisms of both the DAO and MAO gene, meaning my body may be producing less of the enzymes that degrade both tyramine and histamine. This double whammy means more susceptibility to migraines.

Finally, if something works, don’t feel bad about doing it. If medication actually worked for my headaches I probably would have taken it. Nothing worked for me, not NSAIDs, Tylenol, DAO enzyme, migraine meds (Sumatripan), so I went with diet and supplements. We’re all different, so go with what works!

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

—–REFERENCES—-

Alstadhaug, Karl B. “Histamine in Migraine and Brain.” Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 54.2 (2014): 246-59. Web.

Molderings, Gerhard J., Stefan Brettner, Jürgen Homann, and Lawrence B. Afrin. “Mast cell activation disease: a concise practical guide for diagnostic workup and therapeutic options.” Journal of Hematology & Oncology 4.1 (2011): 10. Web.

Theoharides, Theoharis C., Jill Donelan, Kristiana Kandere-Grzybowska, and Aphrodite Konstantinidou. “The role of mast cells in migraine pathophysiology.” Brain Research Reviews 49.1 (2005): 65-76. Web.

“Dr T C Theoharides, MD Ph.D., – Research.” Dr T C Theoharides, MD Ph.D., – Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

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How Histamine Affects Skin Pigmentation

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Curing eczema the natural way without steroids

Histamine affects skin pigmentation in a numbers of ways: my two old buddy’s melasma and vitiligo. You know those patches of dark skin on your face that are barely covered by make up, get worse when exposed to the sun, and are aggravated by pregnancy hormones? Yeah, we have histamine and mast cells to thank for those. On the flip side we have the autoimmune skin condition vitiligo, which causes white patches to develop all over. I don’t know about you, but my skin hyper-pigmentation has been a constant source of frustration, so I decided to take a closer look into both.

MELASMA

Sadly I couldn’t find any rights-free photos of this, and I’m far too vain to share any make up free shots of myself, so I’ll just explain. Melasma looks kind of like you didn’t scrub your face right and dirt or bronzing powder got left behind.

Fun right?

A number of studies tell us that histamine is a major melasma trigger. It seems that the release of histamine by skin mast cells, as triggered by ultraviolet light, causes these brown patches on the skin.

What about the hormone link? Yes, pregnancy hormones and birth control are involved, and I’ll be covering them in upcoming posts on the subject. Make sure to sign up to my mailing list so you don’t miss them. But other than the histamine-hormone interplay, other studies have found that histamine and prostaglandins (both released by mast cells) are the primary drivers of sunburn, which is why topical antihistamine cream has become a home care mainstay.

I’ve personally always used a piece of fresh aloe vera plant. You pretty much can’t walk more than a few steps without seeing it where I grew up in Spain, so I’d just break off a piece to nurse my poor skin on the way home from the beach. In my defence we knew little about skin cancer back in those days…

An animal study in the BMC Dermatology Journal found that silymarin cream (milk thistle) effectively treated melasma. The study authors believe that the milk thistle is reversing sunlight damage generally, not just the melasma pigmentation.

Their before and after milk thistle treatment photos were so amazing that they’ve had me frantically rubbing Herb Pharm’s pure extract into my face nightly. I’m impressed so far…

VITILIGO

The Mayo Clinic website tells us that vitiligo is triggered when cells stop producing melanin, the stuff that pigments our skin, hair, and eyes. So far we know that an immune system response, exposure to stress or chemicals, and sunburn can cause it. Complications are sunburn and skin cancer, eye inflammation, hearing loss, and of course, stress.

People with vitiligo are advised to wear sun protection of at least 30SPF and to get their hearing professionally tested. Possible treatments include topical steroid creams that may help re-pigment the skin, topical vitamin D, calcineurin inhibitors (which may trigger lymphoma and skin cancer), ultraviolet light therapy (also skin cancer risk), de-pigmentation of the rest of the skin and skin grafting.

Read my post on vitamin D and histamine here.

The histamine/mast cell link

A 2013 study found that blood histamine level appears to play a significant role in a particular type of vitiligo that’s linked to de-pigmented patches with itching.

My own vitiligo finally cleared up a few years ago. It was never very visible, just a de-pigmentation around my hands that was slowly creeping upwards. I have dealt more with melasma, and still do!

Interestingly, for other types of vitiligo, histamine may be a treatment. A 2010 study found that histamine release in the body triggered by bee venom may be able to add pigment back to the skin.

A few other options worth looking into

Melanin, the skin pigment stuff, is created by melatonin. I wrote about melatonin recently and how supplementing it may help prevent mast cells from leaking histamine. Read the post here.

A study with a small sample size found that patients with non-segmental vitiligo, which is what it’s called when the patches are symmetrical, melatonin was lower than the average. They point out that melatonin is one of the links in the body’s stress defence mechanism and that it also helps modulate immune system function. They concluded that further research was needed.

The Mayo Clinic website also shares that some studies show that Gingko biloba may help return colour in people with slow spreading vitiligo and other studies that folic acid and vitamin B12 may help.

The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.

Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes

——REFERENCES—–

“Vitiligo Treatments and drugs.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

“What is segmental & non-segmental vitiligo?” Vitiligo Cover. N.p., 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017

Panja, Salilkumar, Biman Bhattacharya, and Siteshchandra Lahiri. “Role of histamine as a toxic mediator in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.” Indian Journal of Dermatology 58.6 (2013): 421. Web.

Brenner, Michaela, and Vincent J. Hearing. “Modifying skin pigmentation – approaches through intrinsic biochemistry and exogenous agents.” Drug Discovery Today: Disease Mechanisms 5.2 (2008): n. pag. Web.

Kwon, Soon-Hyo, Young-Ji Hwang, Soo-Keun Lee, and Kyoung-Chan Park. “Heterogeneous Pathology of Melasma and Its Clinical Implications.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 17.6 (2016): 824. Web.

Kim, Nan-Hyung, and Ai-Young Lee. “Histamine effect on melanocyte proliferation and vitiliginous keratinocyte survival.” Experimental Dermatology 19.12 (2010): 1073-079. Web.

Gilchrest, Barbara A., Nicholas A. Soter, Jeffrey S. Stoff, and Martin C. Mihm. “The human sunburn reaction: Histologic and biochemical studies.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 5.4 (1981): 411-22. Web.

Hernández-Barrera, R., B. Torres-Alvarez, J. P. Castanedo-Cazares, C. Oros-Ovalle, and B. Moncada. “Solar elastosis and presence of mast cells as key features in the pathogenesis of melasma.” Clinical and Experimental Dermatology 33.3 (2008): 305-08. Web.

Altaei, Tagreed. “The treatment of melasma by silymarin cream.” BMC Dermatology 12.1 (2012): n. pag. Web.

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Tag Archives: histamine

How to naturally boost production of the histamine degrading DAO enzyme

DAO boosting nutrients

Vitamin B12

Phosphorus

Long chain/Omega fatty acids

Calcium

Zinc

Magnesium

Negative food experiences make future histamine reactions more likely

Fasting’s effect on diamine oxidase (DAO) & histamine intolerance

Carbohydrate, lactose and histamine intolerances go hand in hand

Triphala: Ayurvedic Antihistamine for Histamine Intolerance?

Histamine and smell

Chronic Fatigue, histamine & mast cells

Estrogen & Histamine

Histamine Migraine Fixes

How Histamine Affects Skin Pigmentation