It looks like an allergy.... It feels like an allergy.... But, it's not an allergy!
I'm discovering that many food reactions are not simply from food intolerances and sensitivities, but from an intolerance to histamines in foods and in foods that promote histamines as well as gut bacteria that promote a build-up of histamines.
What are histamines?
When we think of histamines, we think of hay fever and sneezing, sniffling, phlegm in our lungs and throats, nasal inflammation, itching eyes and so on. But, histamine is found throughout the body. Histamines are chemicals involved in your immune system, in digestion through the production of stomach acid and as a neurotransmitter in your central nervous system.
It causes your blood vessels to swell so that your white blood cells can quickly find and attack the infection or problem. The histamine build-up is what causes flushing, itching, headaches, hives, heartburn and fatigue.
Under normal body conditions we eat....we release histamines and they quickly break down and disperse and cause no symptoms. Histamines are usually broken down by different types of enzymes such as DAO and HNMT. Many people have a deficiency in these enzymes and have a difficult time breaking down histamines from foods. But, more often than not, a gut that is full of pathogenic bacteria, yeast, parasites, and a disordered microbiome will cause a build-up of histamines which take longer to degrade and over time cause troubling symptoms.
Symptoms
When it comes to foods it becomes more complex as the symptoms are so similar to food intolerances and allergies:
- Asthma
- Gas, bloating, IBS
- Headaches/migraines
- Puffy eyes
- Itching
- Brain fog
- Insomnia
- Racing heart
- Aching all over
- Anxiety
- Dizziness
- Hives or skin rashes
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Depression
- Confusion
- Difficulty with speaking or having problems pronouncing words
Testing?
It's difficult to diagnose with testing. DAO deficiency can be ascertained through testing. Testing for histamines does not indicate a histamine intolerance. But, if symptoms are relieved by consuming a low histamine diet, it is a good indication that you may be "histamine intolerant."
In addition, one of the best determiners of possible histamine intolerance is a questionnaire.
What is Histamine Intolerance?
It is thought that the build-up of histamines and inefficient clearance is what leads to histamine intolerance. Also, there are a fair number of people that are sensitive to histamines even at low doses.
It may be difficult to pinpoint the exact food as the culprit. For example, you may have consumed histamine rich foods in the morning and in the afternoon consumed a low histamine meal. But, the afternoon food was enough to put you over the level of tolerance, so symptoms would occur in the afternoon. Your symptoms were not due to the afternoon meal because you had already built up a high level of histamines from the morning meal. The afternoon meal just added to the excess of histamines. Since you may not have broken down the histamines and cleared them, you will experience symptoms.
Because I have this type of intolerance, it affects my brain - fatigue after eating, brain fog, vertigo, headaches, occasional memory lapses, mispronunciation of words and sinus inflammation.
On that note, be sure to check out our next newsletter to discover which foods are high in histamines, and what you can do about it.
