Histamine Intolerance

Sherry’s Story

Sherry would wake up with swollen eyes, severe nasal and sinus congestion throughout the day, GI distress that led to embarrassment when eating out with friends, eczema patches, hives, asthma-like symptoms, frequent respiratory illnesses, and deep intense itching that would leave bruising from all the scratching. Although she consulted multiple physicians and underwent extensive testing, no health issues or allergies were suggested from tests. Despite this, she was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, even though her symptoms were constant all day. Doctors would provide breathing treatments and prescribed medications for years, but nothing helped and she gradually got worse. Sherry came to me and I quickly identified that she had food intolerances not related to histamines. However, these food intolerances were causing inflammation throughout her body, including in her digestive system leading to poor nutrient absorption. All of this was causing a secondary histamine reaction. After working with Sherry to improve her gut health, limit intake of trigger foods, and manage her histamine load, today, she is healthy and symptom-free.

If Sherry’s story sounds all too familiar, contact me. If you want more information about histamine intolerance, continue reading.

About Histamine Intolerance

The definition of Histamine Intolerance (HIT), per the National Institute of Health, "is a disorder associated with an impaired ability to metabolize ingested histamines,” but it is also from a build-up of histamines in the body. It is sometimes also called histamine sensitivity or histamine overload.

We all have naturally produced histamines in our body that have crucial functions, but an excessive amount can lead to a person feeling miserable and lead to additional health issues when chronic. This build-up or excessive amount of histamines in the body can be temporary after taking a short-term medication, or it can be long-term with damage to the gut and elsewhere in the body. Sometimes it may be dubbed as the person having bad allergies, when it may be overactive mast cells producing an excessive amount of histamines that lead to damage and inflammation in the body. This can also lead to poor absorption of nutrients in the gut.

Histamines are also found in foods. The biggest contributors of histamines from food include fermented foods, a lot of fish, dried fruits, mature / aged cheeses, processed meats, many legumes, alcoholic beverages, leftover foods stored in the refrigerator, and ready-to-eat processed foods.

Some foods, while not containing histamines, may trigger histamine release within the body. Foods that cause mast cell activity to release histamines include most citrus fruits, cocoa, chocolate, papaya, pineapple, plums, kiwi, banana, legumes, tomatoes, wheat germ, most vinegars, and additives, such as benzoate, sulfites, nitrites, glutamate, artificial food dyes, and flavorings.

There are also many prescription and over-the-counter drugs that may interfere with the production or release of diamine oxidase (DAO for short) which is an enzyme naturally produced in the body to break down histamines, but also available as a supplemental enzyme. These drugs include (but not limited to): pain medications / analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines containing certain ingredients, antihypertensives, blood pressure medications, diuretics, gastrointestinal medications, local anesthetics, motility agents, mucolytics (phlegm reducers), muscle relaxers, and PPIs.

Histamine intolerance in the body frequently leads to negative effects and symptoms in the body affecting the respiratory system (shortness of breath, frequent respiratory illness), digestive system (GI distress, unhealthy bowel movements), central nervous system (migraines/headaches, tingling, itching), cardiovascular / circulatory system (tachycardia, dizziness, vertigo, hypertension), reproductive system (PCOS, hormone imbalance, menstrual irregularity), skin (rash, hives, itching), weight gain or struggle with weight loss, fatigue, insomnia, and so much more.  These are just a few of the many possible symptoms.

However, just because a person is having symptoms does not mean that it is histamine intolerance since food allergies and intolerances, and other health conditions can have the same or similar symptoms. With any health condition, like histamine intolerance, a person can have one or two symptoms or many symptoms. It is important to work with an experienced healthcare provider to look at your overall health and symptoms and have testing to identify root cause(s). Sometimes there can be overlapping issues feeding the root cause. Factors that can lead to excessive mast cell activity and histamine overload can stem from food borne illness, gut flora imbalance, virus, medications, allergies, poor diet, heat and exercise, age, genetics, or nutritional deficiency to name a few.

If any of these are too familiar, contact me today to start the process for improved health!