Friday, August 9, 2013

What causes histamine intolerance?

Initially it was thought that a person lacked Diamine oxidase (DAO), which is the main enzyme for the metabolism of ingested histamine. DAO helps break down histamine in a person's body, however if you lack this enzyme or are low in it the body is overwhelmed and it can become histamine toxic wreaking havoc on the body. Histamine is very important in the body it controls brain function, our hormones, even our bladder. Too much histamine, however is supa doopa baaaad. As well we suffering with histamine intolerance can vouch for!

Could this lack of DAO be genetic? Quite possibly. I have found some research that indicates it could be. However let's look at the people that are simply "low" in DAO. Why? Well there are DAO inhibitors such as caffeine (good bye coffee it was nice to know ya) and then there's alcohol and sodium benzoate which can be food grade or chemical (check your face creams etc.).

Here's a little Dani fun fact for you: Children's liquid benadryl contains sodium benzoate!! YEP! THAT my friend just happened! I mean what in the hell? Really? Benadryl is going to put a chemical in their antihistamine that is not only a histamine liberator BUT a DAO inhibitor? S.T.U.P.I.D.

Now, if you want to get all scientific with the chemicals and their names that are DAO inhibitors go here.

So the jury, (that jury being me), is still out whether it is just the lack of or degradation of DAO in the body that causes histamine intolerance. I only say this because the next few paragraphs you will be reading. I believe that no person, even with adequate DAO could fight off an attack of extreme histamine toxicity.

You see, histamine intolerance is just a secondary reaction to a more critical issue going on in your body which is called leaky gut. Whaaaaat? Ewww! What's up with "leaky gut". Okay, it's not like our guts are oozing actual green ooze like from the Ninja Turtle movies! Naw, it's actually leaking wonderfully fermented undigested, rotten protein! Yum!

Leaky gut can be caused by a myriad of things from Celiac disease to Candida Albican overgrowth. Anyway you look at it though, it's the inflammation of the gut lining that eventually leads to permeation of the intestines (holes) and in extreme cases that have gone on for awhile quite LARGE holes where pieces/chunks of actual food flow out of the intestines and travel into the bloodstream. Food is NOT supposed to be making it's way into our bloodstream so our bodies say "hey, WTF" and it starts attacking the food by releasing histamine from our mast cells. Essentially it's the body attacking its own self (autoimmune). So this my friends are where all of our symptoms begin. Eczema, rashes, endometriosis, migraines, headaches, insomnia, nausea, constipation and the list goes on.

Pissed off at your body yet? Well if it was celiac initially that caused your leaky gut then obviously it's not your fault. However if Candida is your problem that started your leaky gut then in most cases, aside from chemo or abusing antibiotics, it is your problem. Too much sugar in the body, basically eating like crap causes the Candida issue. In some studies they suggest that even pregnancy can cause Candida Albican overgrowth, so that one we can blame on hubby! DOH!

Is your head spinning yet? Mine was and still does albeit from the excess histamine of course! Yes, I blame my ditziness (is that even a word?) on my histamine issues. So here's the deal it really does matter how you got the histamine intolerance so you can treat it properly. If it's from celiac get on GLUTEN free NOW, if you were previously diagnosed you should know better. Now, if you had it as a child and went into remission as an adolescent, which can happen then the damage was already done, it was only a matter of time. After all, inflammation is a real bitch and only leads to more inflammation and diet is a MAJOR component in whether we are treating inflammation or feeding inflammation.

Are there ways to help repair a leaky gut? Yes. Are there ways to treat a candida overgrowth? Yes. Are there ways to treat histamine intolerance? Yes. Don't get down on yourself yet. There are ways to help and to ultimately cure yourself. Unfortunately it's a long process. Yea, I know you didn't want to hear that. However, it was a looooong process to get sick in the first place so there won't be an easy fix. I'm still healing myself still even now. Along the way you will have set backs for reasons you know and then sometimes for reasons you have NO IDEA.

In my next post I will be sharing what supplements you can begin taking immediately to help break down that nasty fermenting undigested protein in your gut and continue to break down any further protein you ingest. I will also be adding a post tomorrow regarding what you can start doing to eradicate those nasty yeastie beasties running around in your intestines and blood stream that caused your leaky gut to begin with (if this in fact, is your case). It's going to be a real head scratcher though I must warn you because eerily Candida has the identical symptoms as a histamine intolerance. So do you just have Candida and leaky gut? Or, do you have histamine intolerance and leaky gut? Or WTF do you have ALL 3????? Come back tomorrow for another fun filled post(s) regarding all of that craziness!  This can really drive you to drink! Wait, can't do that it's a DAO inhibitor. Stay tuned for a future post regarding what you CAN drink that's alcoholic and not swell to oblivion. (and all the drunks say...didda di di di, didda di di di.)

12 comments:

  1. Hey Dani! I was wondering if you think that I have histamine intolerance, these are my symptoms: silent reflux, sebbhoric dermatits, cold hands/ feet, blurry vision/eye discomfort (pressure) /bloodshot eyes, ringing in ears, inner ear itch, fatigue, headache, confusion, memory issues, muscle soreness, loose stools, flushing of hands and nose sometimes after eating and when exercising. I've had a parasite in the past and had to take an antibiotic to get rid of it and I have an endoscopy coming up to see if the reflux has damaged my throat at all. Any ideas or advice would be much appreciated!

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    1. Hi I'm so sorry for responding so late I've been in the middle of moving to a new city and am just now getting settled. Wow you have alot going on I'm so sorry to hear this. The thing with Histamine Intolerance is that it mimics a myriad of other illnesses making it hard to be sure if it's Histamine Intolerance. The memory issues, fatigue,headache, flushing of the hands and nose and possibly the loose stools/inner ear itch are indicative of Histamine Intolerance however your other symptoms look to me as other things going on which "could" of been initiated by the Histamine Intolerance. The dermatitis could just simply be something topical your using that's irritating your skin most likely some sort of chemical in the product so you may want to keep track of what you're using and start eliminating those things starting with laundry detergents. Your fatigue depending on if it's all the time or only after eating a certain food would help narrow down if that is specifically related to histamine or not. The cold hands and feet could be associated with a stagnant lymph flow. I would recommend dry brushing prior to showering everyday you can google dry brushing to see how to properly do it. Your muscle soreness mixed with the fatigue seems like it may be fibromyalgia ....have you looked into that? The parasite in the past may have caused some damage to your body resulting in these ailments as well. You may still have some or a more resistant one that resulted from the antibiotic usage (antibiotics are evil). So I would begin with a parasite cleanse FOR SURE I recommend using Dr. Hulda Clark's parasite cleanse and then also purchasing a "zapper" please google this and get yourself familiar with what one is and what it does. You can purchase a mini zapper for under $30 on ebay. I think between the parasite cleanse and zapping you will rid yourself of most of your issues. You'd be amazed at how many ailments we have going on that are indeed caused by parasites! Parasites ultimately can end up in the brain, quite scary. My ear issues that I had with the Histamine Intolerance was when I would lay my head down on my pillow at night I could hear my own pulse in my ear other than that no other ear things going on. The itch could be yeast inside your ear, add the ringing and it could be another issue. So that one is a hard one to tell. To be on the safe side it wouldn't hurt to start a diet with low histamine and start taking the supplements citrus free vitamin C and B6 to help with building up more DAO in your system. And all of us not just Histamine sickos should be taking enzymes anyways so I definitely would recommend getting on those but follow my instructions I have listed regarding starting those.

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    2. (Part 2 to my reply)There is an amazing supplement I just found out about called Activamune it's really amazing I've been using it for almost a month and love it. It's a huuuuge immune booster please read up on this product when you have a chance. I would definitely start on that parasite cleanse ASAP and I can promise you will see a difference in most of your ailments especially the fatigue and muscle soreness. The muscle soreness and even joint pain according to the late great Dr. Hulda Clark is caused by the parasites defecating in our joints etc. disgusting eh? When you're finished with the cleanse and are on the maintenance program for about 3 weeks start zapping after you zap take a probiotic. If just doing this alone you will see a big difference. Dry brushing would also be a cheap easy way to get started on your road to wellness and get that lymph system moving again and flush out those stagnant toxins collecting in your body. I hope I answered your question in some capacity while I can't be positive you have histamine intolerance it can't hurt to start eliminating the high histamine foods for a while just to see if the flushing of hands and nose gets better. I would also initially (and hopefully at some point permanently) eliminate gluten/grains from your diet. Gluten and grains produce an inflammatory response in our bodies which doesn't help anyone achieve ultimate health, remember the root of ALL diseases is inflammation. If there is no inflammation in the body there is literally NO disease. More info on that if you're interested is to follow an alkaline diet putting the body in an alkaline state will also prevent disease of any kind this includes cancer, yes I said cancer amazing stuff huh? I've thrown alot of info at you so if you have any additional questions don't hesitate to ask! I wish you well and much much health please keep me posted! If you're interested in any additional non evasive testing regarding your health I highly recommend getting a thermography done you can have one done to detect breast cancer as well. But you can have this procedure done all over the body or just parts. Look up thermography in your area the procedure is relatively inexpensive. I got my breast and my abdomen done for under $200. This procedure can also see the stagnant lymph flow to help determine if that is in fact part of your issues that you're having. Good luck!

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  2. Dani I just wanted to say that you are so sweet to share so much info with people like this. Hope you are still doing good and able to eat what u want. Finding your website has given me a boost of confidence in kicking HIT in the butt once and for all. The real journey now begins. :)

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    1. You are so sweet Jessica, thank you! I am still doing great no relapses. I started this blog In hopes to help people without charging them money lol I could name a few of those people out there but I won't :). My knowledge will always be free. I've helped a few people along the way and that makes me feel awesome! If you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to ask I generally answer within 24 hours. I wish you much health and love during your journey!

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    2. Jessica said it perfectly. Yes...you are so kind Dani to give us hope and such good advice. Sharing your story has totally given me hope. I hope Jessica is feeling better.

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  3. You are too kind! I can relate because I too love to help people. I have been struggling with HIT probably most of my life but didn't realize it until 2 years ago when I was trying to keto adapt but was was feeling so sick...like getting crazy nauseous and my blood sugar was always high despite eating super low carb and skin rashes, brain fog...you know the drill. I had hired a keto coach I found on YouTube and she helped me figure it out but years ago I was on a candida kick so I've had issues with that as well. Blood work shows I have a smallish candida overgrowth. Anyways I ended up on an all meat diet after stumbling into a zero carb blog and that's when HIT really reared its ugly head like a real nast mutha u know what. Needless to say I don't eat much meat now but I gained like 30 lbs of inflammation/water weight since returning to grains, beans etc. my worst symptoms are anxiety, racing heart, chronic fatigue and a weird internal throbbing vibration after I eat. Without HistDAO I would go into a full on sinus infection. Allergy seasons are rough in NC. Oh and my digestion is crap! I've bought some of low histamine chef's electronic cookbooks and I'm just really disappointed and want my money back lol. I'm really glad I found your blog and Im going to try your regiment. Your the first genuine person Ive found who has cured their HIT and I'm so grateful you put up this blog and shared your journey with us. It's like being stranded in the middle of the ocean for weeks and finally seeing lights from a bigger ship getting near you. :).
    One thing that stuck out to me is that you said you had a high sex drive from high histamine levels. I've also read that before but in the total opposite. And you said natural progesterone increases candida but it's been the only thing to make my chronic thrush go away. So interesting how differently we are all affected.

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    1. I meant to say that I've also read that before about high sex drive and high histamine levels but I'm the total opposite. I've likely got some other stuff going on. I think birth control jacked me up in my late 20s.

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    2. Wow that sounds horrible what you've been going through! Not fun at all. Brain fog is horrible as well. I always felt like I was drunk or buzzed most of the time lol. And yes, the weird vibration feeling was strange too. Oh the joys! So you nailed it when you spoke about the Low histamine chef she and I do not get along I too bought one of her cookbooks several years ago and nothing in there I could find in my local grocery store because she travels all over the world yadda yadda good for her, the ingredients were extravagant i was pissed so I contacted her and let her know what I thought, it wasn't pretty, needless to say she gave me my money back immediately. I urge people to be careful with her and others out there who CHARGE MONEY to even speak to. She's NOT a doctor and to my knowledge holds no certifications or degrees to justify charging anyone. She charges a lot of money to speak to her on Skype .....ridiculously :(. Anyhoo I'm glad that you are finding my blog helpful. I hope that you become another success story!

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  4. Sick people are the most desperate for answers so we can easily be duped. And there's allot of people prospering off of the sick. It's a crime! I haven't made not one of her recipes. I was like what the bleep is this??? SMH Well I'm glad you got your money back. I've purchased supplements that she recommended and they didn't help me either. So now I am being more cautious and doing extra research before I purchase items for my healing journey. Can I ask why you suggest digest gold and vita stop? Why not just virastop? I understand that digest gold contains enzymes that break down carbs but we also have amylase in our saliva to breakdown carbs as we start to chew them. I have noticed that if I chew my food well enough the carbs melt almost into nothing before I swallow them. So could I just do the virastop? I'm already on progesterone, vitamins A & D, DHA, DIM, magnesium, Iron, evening primrose oil, methylated B complex for my MTHFR, 5HTP, and my integrative doc wants me to buy a multi mineral. This stuff ain't cheap! And let's not forget HistDAO at a whopping $65 a bottle which I can run through in two weeks. So I'm trying to figure out what is absolutely essential and what I can let go. And I still haven't figured out what probiotic to take...you know with the good histamine strains and not the bad ones. Forgive the rambling...nobody else gets it so it's nice to say it to someone who understands.

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  5. Dani...how do you know if it's Leaky Gut or candida overgrowth?

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  6. Grapefruit seed extract works great for managing candida overgrowth. Using that and food grade DE to manage histamine intolerance symptoms.

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