The Missing Link to Your Food Intolerances
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If you have ever felt like, ” Oh my goodness, everything I eat is making me sick. It’s like there is something wrong with every single thing I’m eating.
If you are struggling with food intolerances and food sensitivities and you feel like one day you can eat something and then the very next day you feel like you can’t.
Maybe you eat leftovers and then all of a sudden you feel like oh my gosh I feel so so sick.
Why is this happening?
If you are wondering what is going on I just want to share with you something that took me, I’ve been struggling with this since 2019.
So if you have been struggling [with this] you may not just have food sensitivities and intolerances.
It might be a different culprit, and that culprit is histamine intolerance.(1)
I want to cut through some of the things that you may be experiencing to help you find some relief while experiencing these terrible symptoms, which vary from person to person; isn’t that crazy?
This subject is so deep and I have been teasing on the podcast over and over that I was going to share some of [my health] struggles that I’ve been going through. I’m sharing this to help someone and hopefully, it can bring clarity and it can cut the learning curve for you a lot shorter than it was for me.
It took me years to get to this place!
What is Histamine and What Does It Do?
Histamine is a naturally occurring chemical and neurotransmitter that’s part of our immune response.
You need actions of histamine for a myriad of things and everyone has experienced what histamine does.
If you have ever been stung by a mosquito, or have had a bug bite you have experienced a histamine reaction. It may cause some heat, some redness, itching, and some swelling.
That swelling is actually fluid being sent to the injury or bite. Since histamine causes an immune response to happen it mounts this response by sending white blood cells to that site.
It’s an inflammatory response that’s meant to protect and help keep your body from harm and outside invaders and allergens.
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This response is very similar to an allergic reaction which is why some of the foods that you eat may cause some sneezing and sniffling and other reactions.
Even though you can eat these foods without going into anaphylactic shock, (which is a very different acute life-threatening emergency)! You still have allergy-like symptoms.
The histamine response is going to cause the itching and the swelling and the burning and that’s [actually] a good thing!
That’s happening because your body is mounting this immune response. Histamine is also involved in your sleep-wake cycle. It helps control your circadian rhythm.
Histamine literally wakes you up and gets you out of bed and out of the state of sleep. Therefore, we need histamine and everyone has it.
Histamine also aids in digestion by secreting stomach acid.
But the difference is if you have histamine intolerance you have issues with histamine buildup. This is due to your body not breaking it down.
What Causes Histamine Intolerance?
The body has an enzyme that’s created within the small intestines called D.A.O (2) and that stands for diamine oxidase. DAO degrades and breaks down histamine and reduces histamine so that your body can go back to homeostasis. But, if you have histamine intolerance you may have issues with this enzyme.
Well, I would say you definitely have issues with this enzyme.
You also may have some SNP’s (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in your DNA. That’s another topic for another video. This has a genetic component but it also has some environmental components as well.
So, think about that time where you’ve had seasonal allergies. You may have experienced hay fever and that may look like a lot of sneezing. You may be allergic to dust mites that cause you to have itchy skin.
Maybe you have an issue with pet dander and if you’re around certain animals you sneeze incessantly and can’t stop until you’re away from that animal.
If you have ever reached for some sort of allergy medication or over-the-counter Benadryl you have experienced a histamine, allergic reaction. Many of us have used an anti-histamine product during seasonal allergies.
What makes Histamine Intolerance Different Than Allergies?
Histamine intolerance is different! You may feel like you have seasonal allergies every single season, all year long, and it never goes away. This condition is chronic and does not disappear with seasonal changes.
You may get relief or symptoms here and there.
You may have a response that may feel like an allergic reaction but it’s not something to the point of anaphylaxis. This is very different than an actual food allergy.
Need support on your Histamine Intolerance Journey? I work with clients 1-on-1 to help resolve their issues.
It’s only similar in the sense that you eat something and it triggers this histamine to build up in your system that your system can’t break down. It definitely is similar to allergies but it is constant.
The confusing thing about histamine intolerance is you may be able to eat something without any issues one day. But, remember I mentioned that you could eat something one day and the next it was like oh my gosh I can’t eat this.
Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance
These are just some of the symptoms you may be experiencing:
*this list is not all-inclusive and varies from person to person
- Sneezing
- Itching
- Heart racing
- Nasal Inflammation
- Sinus Congestion
- Post-nasal dripping
- Constant throat clearing
- Eating foods without issue one day and feeling terrible the next
- Food sensitivities/intolerances
- Migraines
- Random skin rashes
- Allergy symptoms
- Stomach/digestive issues
- Whole-body inflammation
- Fatigue
- Flu-like symptoms
- Wheezing
There are a myriad of symptoms that come along with histamine intolerance. The reason why you can eat certain foods one day and couldn’t eat the same food the next day is due to histamine intolerance. Bacteria in foods builds up and contributes to more histamine in the body.
Side note: One of my major symptoms is sleep disturbance, and insomnia when my histamine load is especially high!
Just as the word intolerance denotes you can no longer tolerate how much histamine is in your system. Because DAO is not working properly your body can’t break it down and remove it quickly enough. With each subsequent bite of food that contains histamine or bacteria that create it, more histamine is piled on top of an already burdened amount.
Histamine is naturally occurring within the body as well as within foods that contain it. Because of this the body can become burdened if too much gets into the body before it can broken down.
Tolerance to histamine, like most other things is unique to the person as well as the triggers and foods.
Check out the video where I share more. If you prefer to listen check out the Podcast.
Foods high in histamine
Since histamine can come in the form of foods it’s important to talk about which foods are naturally high in histamine.
On a personal note: These were foods that I was eating every single day. Some of these foods I ate in combination with each other. When I look back, I think oh my gosh had I known I wouldn’t have been eating those things on a regular basis. I was literally making myself sick!
Some of the foods that you may be eating may be causing you to feel sick as well. So what are some of the foods that are high in histamine?
High Histamine Foods
*this list is not all-inclusive
- Strawberries
- Bananas including Plantains
- Spinach
- Avocado
- Tomatoes
- Citrus Fruit like oranges etc
- Chocolate
- Aged foods like Cheese
- Cured and Smoked Meats and fish
- Deli Meat
- Canned Foods etc
- Canned Tuna/ other meats
- Bone Broth
- Smoked Fish
- Salami
- Hot Dogs
- Smoked Sausage
- Wine
- Fermented foods like
- Kimchi
- Sauerkraut
- Pickles
- Mustard
- Vinegars
- Peanuts
- Cashews
- Dried Fruit
- Gluten
- Some legumes
What Can Help With Histamine Intolerance Right Now
I don’t like to take too many anti-histamines but sometimes I have to use them. Keep in mind you don’t want to take them forever because there is a rebound effect but they can help. I take Loratadine.
When it comes to probiotics they can be helpful only if they are not histamine producing strains. I like this brand because it’s specifically for Histamine Intolerance.
Freeze all of your meat!
This is another great option if you have eaten something that will worsen your symptoms. It helps you digest and has DAO enzyme in the ingredients.
There are more tips in the Free Histamine Guide so don’t forget to subscribe so you can grab that!
Can you relate to any of these symptoms? Did this bring any clarity to what you have been experiencing? Leave a comment and let me know. I know it may seem overwhelming but so is experiencing Histamine Intolerance and not knowing why.
I hope this Empowers as you begin your healing journey. I have come very far since changing some things in my diet. I am right there on this healing journey with you!
-Cher
References:
1 Maintz L, Novak N. Histamine and histamine intolerance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 May;85(5):1185-96. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/85.5.1185. PMID: 17490952.
2 Schnedl WJ, Schenk M, Lackner S, Enko D, Mangge H, Forster F. Diamine oxidase supplementation improves symptoms in patients with histamine intolerance. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2019 May 24;28(6):1779-1784. doi: 10.1007/s10068-019-00627-3. PMID: 31807350; PMCID: PMC6859183.
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