ALLERGIES/HIVES/HISTAMINE AND HIDDEN CAUSES
posted 25th October 2023
My interest in foods that contain high histamine arose from a patient of mine alerting me to a newspaper article. The article was about a woman who suffered a range of health symptoms since childhood. Typically for her these were eczema on her scalp, legs and arms, diarrhoea, stomach aches and constantly feeling itchy, tired and bloated.
These symptoms apparently all disappeared by avoiding foods that were high-histamine. However, high histamine foods can also relate to other health symptoms apart from skin conditions, particularly respiratory.
It is Important to address histamine-related illness by balancing blood sugar levels, gut/microbiome health/gut dysbiosis, improving liver function, immune system, stabilising adrenals and reducing inflammation. If suffering Hives then pin-pointing trigger-foods in your diet can be of enormous help. In some cases these can just be two or three foods but in other cases, quite a few foods may need to be avoided until an effective protocol has been followed and the cause found. Avoiding high-histamine foods can lower histamine levels in your body, so that in itself will help reduce inflammation. I have had simple cases where hives have disappeared with the avoidance of a few high-allergenic inflammatory foods, and I have had other more complex cases where we have discovered gut issues were the main causative factor.
These are some of the health conditions that can be related to high histamine:
HAYFEVER
CHRONIC CONSTIPATION
HEADACHES/MIGRAINES
ACNE
ASTHMA
NASAL CONGESTION/SNEEZING/DIFFICULTY BREATHING
DIARRHOEA
ECZEMA
PSORIASIS
ITCHINESS
FLUSHING
TIREDNESS
HYPERTENSION
HIVES/URTICARIA
CHRONIC FATIGUE
DIFFICULTY FALLING ASLEEP
OESTROGEN/PROGESTERONE HORMONAL FLUCTUATIONS
ENDOMETRIOSIS
NAUSEA
VOMITING
IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT
SLEEP DISORDERS
LOW BLOOD PRESSURE
AGGRESSIVENESS/LACK OF CONCENTRATION
LONG LASTING REACATIONS TO MOSQUITO BITES/SWELLING/ITCHING
SEA SICKNESS ON BOATS
VERTIGO OR DIZZINESS
EXCESSIVE SWEATING AT NIGHT
PREMENSTRUAL CRAMPING
WHAT IS HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE?
Histamine intolerance is a relatively common condition that can often be mis-disagnosed as an allergy, or delayed food intolerance as symptoms can be identical. Histamine helps to regulate the function of the gut and to dilate blood vessels when irritation is present. It is produced in the body and taken in with food in various quantities.
A histamine intolerance occurs when the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) is inhibited or deficient, and has trouble breaking down the histamine in foods. The DAO enzyme is responsible for the breakdown of histamine in the body, ensuring excess histamine is flushed - without it your body builds up an unhealthy amount of histamine, which can cause a range of unpleasant symptoms after consuming foods that are high in histamine.
Just some of the high histamine foods, (as there are many), are listed below:
Alcohol
Wheat products
Some nuts and fruits
Soy products
Tomatoes
Smoked meats
Most fish products (all shellfish), especially canned fish
Canned foods and ready meals
Smoked meats
Yeast
Pulses, especially chickpeas
People that are affected by high histamine foods can experience an enormous improvement within two weeks, after reducing these foods. However, it is not recommended to self-diagnose or restrict your diet unless you have been diagnosed with high histamine levels. If you suspect that you may have histamine intolerance, a simple blood test/urine sample can determine your histamine level.