What are the symptoms of histamine intolerance?
The symptoms of histamine intolerance are different from person to person. You may have one or more of these symptoms if you have high histamine levels:
What causes histamine intolerance?
Histamine intolerance symptoms happen when your body can’t break down histamine. Histamine is a chemical signal that opens up your blood vessels, constricts your airways and gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and creates mucus. Mast cells in your mucous membranes release histamine and other chemical signals to help fight infections and regulate your organs.
Your body uses enzymes, mostly diamine oxidase (DAO), to break down histamine. If you have low levels of DAO and you eat something or take medication that increases your level of histamine, the histamine signals can cause symptoms like diarrhea, headaches, runny nose and hives.
We’re not really sure what causes some people to have low levels of DAO or an inability to break down histamine as they should. Some factors that might contribute include:
- Genetics. Some people might inherit a difference in their DNA that keeps them from breaking down histamine like they should.
- Conditions that affect your gut. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), parasitic infections and other conditions that affect the natural bacteria of your gut can change how your body breaks things down.
- Kidney and liver diseases. Chronic kidney disease (CKD), viral hepatitis and liver cirrhosis can reduce DAO levels in your body.
- Medications. Some medications interfere with your body’s ability to break down histamine.
- Age. Histamine intolerance is more common in people over the age of 40.
What foods trigger histamine?
Some foods contain large amounts of histamine. These include foods that involve an aging or fermentation process like wine, beer and cheeses. Other foods can cause your mast cells to release histamine (histamine liberators). Both of these types of foods can cause excess amounts of histamine in your body.
Some examples include:
- Alcohol (wine, beer and champagne).
- Processed meat.
- Cheeses.
- Sauerkraut.
- Vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant and spinach).
- Tropical fruit (pineapple, bananas, papaya and citrus fruits).
- Fish (mackerel, tuna, sardines and herring) and shellfish.
- Strawberries.
- Nuts and peanuts.
- Licorice.
- Chocolate.
- Pork.
- Egg white.
- Additives (like colorants and preservatives).
- Certain medications (including some antibiotics, blood pressure medications, diuretics, local anesthetics and prescription painkillers).
What medications increase histamine levels?
Certain medications can increase the amount of histamine in your body. They do this by either causing your mast cells to release histamine or reducing the amount of DAO that’s breaking down histamine in your body. They include:
FAQs
Histamine intolerance (HIT) is assumed to be due to a deficiency of the gastrointestinal (GI) enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) and, therefore, the food component histamine not being degraded and/or absorbed properly within the GI tract.
How did I solve my histamine intolerance? ›
People with histamine intolerance can usually manage their condition by changing their diets. In severe cases, taking DAO supplements or other medications can help. Sometimes the intolerance is temporary, and you can eventually go back to eating foods that you'd been avoiding.
How to heal your gut with histamine intolerance? ›
A low histamine diet involves reducing the intake of high-histamine foods, such as aged cheeses, processed meats, fermented foods, and alcohol – this falls into the remove phase of the 4 R's. It also means avoiding foods that block DAO enzymes, including certain fruits, vegetables, and artificial additives.
How can I flush histamine out of my body? ›
Stay hydrated: Drinking enough water can help flush out histamine and other toxins from the body. Aim for at least 8 cups of water a day. Avoid triggers: Certain triggers, such as tobacco smoke and certain medications, can increase histamine levels. Avoiding these triggers can help reduce histamine levels in your body.
What vitamin deficiency causes histamine intolerance? ›
Another significant link between B6 and histamine intolerance, is B6's role in supporting DAO function to break down histamine. When vitamin B6 is too low, DAO cannot be produced effectively, as B6 plays an important role in the process of DAO formation (3,4,5).
What autoimmune disease causes histamine intolerance? ›
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) develops when mast cells become overactive and release their contents, which include histamine and other substances that cause inflammation and allergy symptoms.
What is the strongest natural antihistamine? ›
What is the most powerful natural antihistamine? Researchers haven't yet established any natural product as the “best” or “most powerful.” Natural antihistamines with the most research backing their use include stinging nettle, vitamin C, quercetin, butterbur, bromelain, and probiotics.
Does drinking lots of water help histamine intolerance? ›
When the body is hydrated, it can better manage histamine production, which is linked to allergic reactions. However, water is not a cure-all and should be combined with other allergy management strategies.
What are the worst histamine foods? ›
Highest-histamine foods
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Canned and semi-preserved fish.
- Cured meat.
- Dry-fermented sausages.
- Cheese.
Lactobacillus paracasei CASEI 431® is a probiotic strain suitable for those with histamine intolerance as it does not produce histamine.
A histamine dump happens when your body produces too much histamine that builds up in the brain. Histamine dumps often happen late at night or early in the morning. You might suddenly feel changes in body temperature, itchiness, or blood pressure changes as your histamine levels rise.
Why is my body producing too much histamine? ›
An intolerance to this chemical happens when the body cannot break down enough of it in the intestines, causing histamine levels in the blood to rise. This typically results from having low levels of an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO), which is the primary agent that breaks down digested histamine.
How did I cured my histamine intolerance? ›
Other than making changes to your eating pattern, there's not much you can do to fix histamine intolerance. Antihistamines may help reduce symptoms in the short term. A 2020 research review notes that DAO supplements may also help, but more research is needed to confirm how well they work.
What destroys histamine? ›
“Antihistamines” control allergy symptoms by blocking histamine activity. But our body can also produce enzymes such as histamine-N-methyltransferase and diamine oxidase (DAO) capable of inactivating histamine.
What is the best exercise for histamine intolerance? ›
Go for an all-natural, high quality, low histamine yoga mat that's going to leave you feeling refreshed and symptom-free. Walking is another great way to exercise without suffering the histamine-related consequences.
What disease causes high histamine? ›
People with mastocytosis have an increased risk of developing a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction. This is known as anaphylaxis. The increased risk of anaphylaxis is caused by the abnormally high number of mast cells and their potential to release large amounts of histamine into the blood.
Which organ produces histamine? ›
The distribution of histamine and the enzymes responsible for its synthesis and metabolism is consistent with there being both mast cells and histaminergic nerve terminals within the hypothalamus.
