HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE - A HIDDEN FACTOR IN CHRONIC ILLNESS
Your body is a chemistry set and histamine is a natural chemical in your body. It helps fight infections, regulates stomach acid, and causes allergy symptoms (like sneezing or itching). You also get histamine from foods like aged cheese, fermented foods, wine, tomatoes, strawberries, processed meats and leftover foods. But what happens when your body doesn’t break down histamine efficiently? Think of histamine as water filling a sink and your ability to break it down as the drain. If the drain is slow, the sink overflows. To find out what symptoms this produces and what you can do about it, please read on …
What is Histamine Intolerance?
Histamine intolerance (aka HIT) is not an allergy. To talk about a histamine allergy is medically incorrect as immune antibodies are not involved.
Histamine intolerance happens when your body cannot break down histamine fast enough, so it accumulates and causes symptoms. Think of the analogy of the body as a sink:
*Histamine = water
*Breakdown enzymes = drain
If the drain is slow, the water overflows - that is the equivalent of the symptoms your body creates when histamine levels are too high. Histamine intolerance is really histamine overload.
Common Histamine Overload Symptoms
Because histamine affects multiple body systems, symptoms can vary enormously. Some of the most common can be:
*Flushing/hot skin
*Hives or itchy skin
*Runny nose (without a cold)
*Nasal congestion (without a cold or sinus infection)
*Conjunctivitis-like symptoms
*Headaches or migraines
*Pressure in the head
*Aches/pains
*Reflux, nausea, stomach upset
*Diarrhoea
Symptoms often appear after eating high-histamine foods or foods which trigger excess histamine release.
Why Histamine Intolerance Happens
Enzyme = a biological tool that speeds up a chemical reaction.
Histamine is broken down by two main enzyme systems in the body:
1.DAO (Diamine Oxidase) - works in the gut to break down histamine in foods.
2.HNMT (Histamine N-Methyltransferase) - works to break histamine down inside cells (especially brain, liver, airways).
If either system is weak, histamine can build up. The lab tests I use to help identify histamine intolerance and which pathways in the body are involved are:
*DAO blood test - a low level suggests histamine in foods isn’t being cleared well.
*Histamine degradation capacity (THAK) test - a low level suggests histamine isn’t being cleared by other pathways in the body.
There is no direct blood test for the HNMT enzyme like there is for DAO.
In clinical practice, with symptomatic patients, the problem I see most often is normal DAO, but reduced capacity to break down histamine in the rest of the body.
How It’s Managed
Histamine intolerance is really about your body’s ability to manage histamine, not the histamine itself.
Advice would include:
*Avoid or limit high histamine foods temporarily. The key ones include aged cheese, fermented foods, wine, tomatoes, strawberries, processed meats, spinach and leftover foods. That’s why histamine intolerance is sometimes called “pizza disease” (tomatoes and cheese).
*Don’t get bogged down in “food fear.” This is really important. It is easy to look at histamine food lists on the internet and think you can’t eat anything. This is counterproductive as stress makes histamine symptoms worse. Have a break of one week from trawling the internet and see if you feel better. Approach the issue systematically by looking at what high histamine foods you eat regularly. For example, if you eat tomatoes daily, consider avoiding them for a couple of weeks, then see how you feel. Then introduce them once/twice weekly and see how you feel. Everyone needs to find their own level of histamine tolerance. What works for one person may be different for another. If you are really stuck in a chronic “fight or flight” response it may be a good idea to also look for emotional sources of stress, such as those that emanate from the unconscious mind. The latter will be the topic for another blog.
*Take a DAO enzyme supplement for gut breakdown of histamine only if indicated that this is needed on the DAO lab test. Track the response.
*Support histamine degradation appropriately if indicated on the THAK lab test. Track the response.
*ALDH (aldehyde dehydrogenase) support. This is the enzyme that finishes the cleanup job started by HNMT. If ALDH is sluggish, the products of histamine breakdown (called aldehydes) increase histamine symptoms because they are chemically reactive, irritating to tissues and cause inflammation. A clue to sluggish ALDH is sensitivity to chemicals, smoke, perfumes and alcohol.
Histamine Breakdown Cofactors
Think of an enzyme like a car. The cofactor is the key that starts the engine. Without it, the car doesn’t run properly. If you are low in a nutrient that acts like a cofactor, the enzyme system may be genetically normal but functionally underperforming. This is how nutrient deficiencies can mimic genetic problems.
DAO needs: Copper (please see my other blog on RCP Root Cause Protocol entitled The Most Ignored Protocol for how to optimise the body’s use of copper), Vitamin B6, Vitamin C. If any of these are low, DAO activity drops and food histamine builds up.
HNMT needs: Folate, B12, B6, B2. If methylation is sluggish, histamine clearance inside cells slows. Check homocysteine levels.
ALDH needs: B2, B3, molybdenum, iron. In clinical practice, I have observed that molybdenum is often a significant missing cofactor.
If you have read my last blog on Morley Robbin’s Root Cause Protocol (RCP), you will realise that I am not necessarily advocating lots of supplements to bring the histamine problem under control. Applying RCP principles with its emphasis on bioavailable copper may well provide a key underlying support for improving histamine metabolism.
The Mast Cell Activation (MCAS)Link
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or MCAS is a popular topic on internet forums. But how does it relate to histamine intolerance and how can you tell the difference?
Mast cells are immune cells that act like alarm detectors in your body. They are present in your skin, gut, lungs, sinuses, blood vessels and around nerves. When they sense danger, they release various chemicals including histamine which cause inflammation. In MCAS, mast cells react too easily, too strongly and to things that shouldn’t be a threat.
Histamine Intolerance or MCAS?
Think of histamine like smoke.
In histamine intolerance, the smoke detector works fine. But the ventilation system is broken. So smoke builds up. This is a histamine breakdown issue.
In MCAS the smoke detector is way too sensitive. It goes off constantly and releases more smoke. This is a histamine release issue.
Histamine intolerance alone does not necessarily mean MCAS. But they can coexist. MCAS can produce excess histamine, overwhelm the DAO enzyme and create secondary histamine intolerance. Often what starts as histamine intolerance can evolve into mast cell instability as chronic inflammation and stress keeps mast cells on edge.
If you are trying to work out whether you have histamine intolerance or MCAS, look at what triggers symptoms.
Histamine intolerance: Symptoms mostly happen after:
*High histamine foods (aged meats, leftovers, tomatoes, spinach, fermented foods, chocolate)
*Alcohol
*Cured meats
*Pizza
The pattern is predictable, mostly food-related and improves significantly on a low-histamine diet. Any non-food triggers (stress, smells, temperature) are usually mild. If fasting improves symptoms, it is more likely to be histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance alone often has normal inflammatory markers.
MCAS: Symptoms are triggered by:
*Stress/ negative fearful thoughts (a big one)
*Infections
*Temperature changes
*Hormonal shifts
*Exercise
*Supplements
The pattern is unpredictable, affects multiple body systems, can react to “safe” foods, reactions vary day to day. If fasting does not calm symptoms, it is more likely to be MCAS. This may produce more high inflammatory markers on lab tests like TGF beta (a pivotal immune marker).
If MCAS Is Dominant
If MCAS is dominant, reducing histamine intake alone is not enough. You need to do the following as well:
*Calm down mast cell activity with substances like quercetin (if tolerated), luteolin and Vitamin C.
*Avoid over-supplementation: MCAS patients often react to new supplements, high dose vitamins and herbal antimicrobials. So the message is go slow, one thing introduced at a time in the lowest dosages.
*Sometimes past trauma held in the unconscious mind may need to be addressed as well. There is a precision technology to do this.
*Remove immune triggers like mould exposure, chronic infections (including asymptomatic infected teeth), spike protein persistence, any other ongoing inflammatory triggers such as oxalate sensitivity (when your body doesn’t handle certain plant compounds well and they start to irritate your tissues). Until triggers are reduced, mast cells stay overactive.
How Dental Issues Drive Histamine
Dental inflammation/infection is one of the most under-recognised drivers of chronic histamine overload, mast-cell activation, fatigue, eye symptoms, and even ear buzzing/tinnitus type sensations. This is because the gums, jawbone and related tissues contain a high concentration of mast cells. Chronic irritation triggers constant histamine release.
Common dental infections that drive histamine include:
*Periodontal inflammation (even mild) - bleeding gums, gum recession, chronic plaque biofilms.
*Root-canal teeth: contain bacteria and toxins that are a constant trigger of immune activation.
*Cavitations/osteonecrosis (wisdom tooth sites/extractions that never healed): Low grade jawbone infection (without any local symptoms or pain) can trigger very strong mast-cell activation. This is frequently associated with tinnitus, facial pain, autoimmunity.
*Electrical currents (known as galvanic currents) from mixed metals in the mouth: Metals in the mouth like mercury + gold + titanium trigger nerve irritation and mast-cell release.
Clues that dental inflammation is driving histamine are symptoms that don’t fully resolve on a low histamine diet or appropriate supplements, ear buzzing worsens with chewing or jaw tension, jaw or neck tightness, facial flushing occurs without food triggers, symptoms flare after dental cleanings.
Dental assessment includes dental evaluation via a 3D cone beam scan (not regular Xray) by a specialist Biological dentist, not a conventional dentist. Lab clues include: elevated TGF beta, low white blood cell count, low CD57 Natural Killer cells, Low caeruloplasmin (copper transport protein), elevated Rantes (an inflammatory marker associated with dental toxins). It would be a good idea to calm dental-driven histamine by some of the interventions outlined above before any dental procedures.
If you are suffering from symptoms that you think might be histamine-related, please get in touch with the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment. Please note that an Enquiry call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this is a clinical approach you wish to pursue.
To your very good health,
Suzanne Jeffery (Nutritional Medicine Consultant)
M.A.(Oxon), BSc.(NMed), PGCE, GNC, BSEM, MNNA, CNHC
The Good Health Clinic at The Business Centre, 2, Cattedown Road, Plymouth PL4 0EG
Tel no: 07836 552936/ Answer phone: 01752 774755
Disclaimer:
All advice given out by Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic is for general guidance and informational purposes only. All advice relating to other health professionals’ advice is for general guidance and information purposes only. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information provided with other sources. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by other practitioners and physicians. Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom.