Ask any “healthy” person to really, truly, focus inwards on their body and list everything they feel happening, or anything that bothers them, and you’ll likely get an “I’m healthy as an ox” type of answer. Probe a little deeper, persist, or even just ask general, open ended, round about questions about their health, and you’ll soon find a list emerging.
The difference is that they choose to live their lives focusing on things outside themselves, rather than worry about the little things that go bump in the night (or the body).
Thanks to some deep soul searching, an incredible turn around in health, lots of meditation and a focus on happiness, I’m 100% ok with however I feel.
But it’s all impermanent: today’s good health is tomorrow’s medical catastrophe. I’ve learned to enjoy the here and now.
Go out and find a piece of paper, and then a beautiful diary embossed with unicorns, Swarovski crystals, whatever floats your boat (I’m a plain Jane: a bog standard Moleskine notebook does me just fine), and write at least a page whenever you feel better, good, amazing, so happy you want to shout from the roof tops. Keep it, and read it, on the days when you’re sharing last night’s cheeky Indian take out with the toilet, and are convinced you’ve made no gains at all.
Now get yourself another. A dark, brooding, nasty one. Something adorned with migraine inducing geometric patterns. Write your heart out when you’re unwell. Pour your every misery into it.
But promise me you won’t read it! (This is important.). Wait at least 3 – 6 months before dipping into it. Then go for it. Feast on your former misery, appreciate how far you’ve come, and go out and inspire others to do the same.
My food/emotional/symptom diary formed the basis for most of my early, private, blog posts. They were my diary and I’m SO glad I kept track of them.
Because of my change of heart from a stressed out, relatively pessimistic, worrywart, to born-again healing goddess (yeah, in my head only), I do worry sometimes that my relentless optimism, incessant talk about my healing, is depressing some folks, or prompting them to measure their journey against my milestones, maybe those just starting out, the ones so daunted by the interminable NO or HIGH HISTAMINE (Danger! danger, Will Robinson!) lists people love to scare the crap out of us with, to make us believe we need their potions, their snake oil, in order to heal.
Hear ye, yeah ye:
YOU are your best treatment.
Nutrition is your most powerful tool.
A positive attitude will carry you through the inevitable downturns.
An appreciation of the suffering of others and a sense of perspective as to your own, is essential. Go to a hospital, or to Africa/Mid East if you have to. Believe me, when you see how people are truly in the poo, with not enough food, missing limbs, female genital mutilation and more, you’ll feel grateful for the health you have.
You might think, if you only read my blog but are not active in any online communities, that I am the only one healing. While it’s lovely to be able to share with you, almost weekly, the incredible progress I’m making, thanks to diet and meditation, thankfully, that’s not the case. An ever-growing number of people in my online groups, as well as those who write to me, are also healing at an incredible rate. I like to believe that simply by sharing my story, I’m showing there’s hope for all of us. Something I could have used hearing myself in those early, dark and desperate days of elimination and despair (more on how I healed by quitting the histamine elimination diet here).
To want that little extra, to feel totally normal, should be something we all strive for, an unattainable goal, because let’s face it, once we’ve grabbed those brass rings, the only way is down!
You’ll find recipes full of foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties my books Anti-Recipes and The Anti-Cookbook
When we come back in the New Year, I have some very very exciting news to share…let’s just say a picture’s worth a thousand words….
It’s not so much a story about a woman eating a strawberry for the first time in six years, not the story of how it landed her in the hospital, but rather how she is suddenly able to eat the strawberry, along with a growing list of high nutrient but high histamine foods.
Like all good stories….
there’s a cliffhanger.
See you in the New Year!!
Don’t forget to…
Join my mailing list for more recipes and to be the first to know when registration for my low histamine webinar opens!
If you’ve found this information useful I’d appreciate your support (at no extra cost to you!) – please check out my online store for your health foods, supplements, kitchen items and beauty product purchases. Affiliate sales through my online store go towards maintaining the website, funding travel to interviews and purchasing all the lovely foods for my free online recipes. You’ll find these items in the “Shop with us” drop down menu on my homepage.
Please don’t forget antihistamine, pain killing foods can still hurt us, so please always check with your doctor before adding new foods to your diet.
The following piece draws on the collective experiences of the women I have the pleasure of calling my hista-sistas in arms. As bold as we may be on the battlefield of health, matters of the heart are still the frontline.
It’s hard to accurately share the hell we endure with those who have never experienced it. At best we sound wildly melodramatic. At worst we sound terribly needy, attention hungry and truly sick in the head.
Or so we’re often told.
By those who claim to love us.
It’s hard not to see where they’re coming from.
Mast cells are found in every major organ system, and yet, often because of the dozens of symptoms that plague us, we’re accused of embracing the role of hapless victim a little too readily.
I wonder why it’s so hard for family members and lovers to understand that as mast cells proliferate, they dump their toxic cargo into our bloodstream, inducing anaphylaxis, messing with hormones and neurotransmitters, as well as causing maddening itching that at its worst made me want to rip my skin off?
I’m shocked that more of us don’t go completely off the rails, because honestly, I’ve felt I was going completely mad at times.
The persistent memory loss, frequent symptom flares and pathological anger is easy neither for those we love, nor for ourselves to comprehend, let alone deal with. As tired as we are of living this way, those we dump our toxic waste onto must feel a burden greater than ours, because they cannot take charge and treat it themselves, as they see fit.
The only thing worse than being a patient, is being the powerless patient’s powerless partner.
And impotence isn’t a good colour on a man. Our symptomology is an easy target for patience worn partners seeking to score a quick point, or simply shut us down so they can get some peace and quiet.
We’re accused of either forgetting things out of spite, or to control our environment, while our rage is blamed on the tides of our cycles rather than organic brain syndrome, as documented by the most respected researchers in the mast cell field [1].
We’re told to man up, stop bitching and get on with things. Our inability to engage with life, to pick up a sick child from their bed without needing to be propped up ourselves, becomes oppressive to say the least.
So what happens when those who committed to be the ones to lift us up to meet these seemingly herculean challenges are not who we thought them to be?
My psychotherapists and psychiatrists over the years struggled to come up with the answer to why I put myself, time and again, in the hands of those who appeared to derive a great deal of their strength from sucking mine dry.
While no one would call my childhood a happy one, I managed to scrape by without the abuse, violence, sexual assault or life altering trauma a great number of my mast cell tribe have suffered. Sure, by the age of 20 I had lost an alarming number of friends to cancer, drug abuse and car accidents, but still, nothing on which the shrinks could pin my unbelievable lack of self-esteem and PTSD-like fear of the world around me.Just the other night, as I lay in bed, tossing and turning, a light bulb finally switched on. Lifelong illness is my psychic scar. Carried since childhood, the indelible memory of laying my head on my father’s bedside as he lay dying of cancer at 42, has haunted me, lending a megaphone to every ailment, every twinge in my body.
For 30 years I remained convinced of my impending diagnosis with an incurable disease. Honestly though, I needn’t have fretted – how many illnesses are truly curable? We’re all dying in some way, and that’s ok with me now (read more here – I choose life).
My perceived, and then confirmed illness became my safety blanket. More a jealous lover than simply the product of defective genes, my svengali-like condition dictated the terms of my movements, thoughts and development as a human being. I was a prisoner of my own mind.
No wonder then I was primed for those who sought to further unravel the loose ends of my self-esteem. I was easy pickin’s for troubled, seemingly loving mates, friends and mentors who sought nothing less than my complete submission to their terms. At the time they did not yet know that I was already a slave to a far more fearsome taskmaster, but they soon learned, and discord reigned free and hard in our reality.
I now believe that in the same way that psychopaths have been shown to be able to identify victims of crime or previous violence [2], my unconscious behaviours sent off easy prey signals to the vultures circling my airspace.
I imagine it would be hard for most men to pass up the opportunity not to dominate us. This illness tends to bring out either the victim or the tiger in many of us. Or both, as events, some beyond our control, and others seemingly so, threaten to overcome common sense and the will to thrive.
Sadly we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t understand that these toxic relationships are causing illness, and further instability of our body’s systems, in addition to causing stress hormone induced epigenetic changes that leave us open to more serious illnesses than what we’re dealing with now (hard to believe right?). For more please read Lisa Rankin’s Mind Over Medicine.
I also recently spoke about the role of stress as a mast cell trigger with mast cell specialist Dr Castells and have often referenced NIH funded Dr Theoharides’ research on stress as a mast cell trigger [3].
Luckily, women have an inbuilt psychopath detector [4] – you know that feeling you get, a chill runs down your spine, or that sudden psychological punch to the stomach, or just the terrifying feeling you’re in the presence of darkness? It may be a curl of the lip as he denies your feelings, a smirk as he assigns all blame on you, or a flash of anger behind a cunning smile. If you’re open to the experience, it can be set off by a lot less than a psychopath, maybe your run of the mill verbal abuser or mental controller (see Patricia Evans’ books for more).
Sickness is frightening, and it may be tempting to stay in a psychologically damaging relationship because the alternative is just too horrific to bear.
But heed my words – pay attention to that feeling. Run like the wind and don’t ever look back. Don’t let anyone logic or guilt you out of it, especially you.
Dig deep to find your strength. Remember who you were before the darkness. Believe me, the fire is always burning within.
No one, no matter how hard they try, can take it away from you.
Be free.
Please don’t forget antihistamine, pain killing foods can still hurt us, so please always check with your doctor before adding new foods to your diet.
Yes dear friends, it seems as though I’m winning the battle against my histamine intolerance/mast cell activation/whatchamacallit!
So I had to park myself outside Whole Foods in London for a juicy celebratory selfie. You’ll notice I’m mugging it up with my top ally in the battle against chronic illness – Mr Green.
Ok, now let’s rewind to earlier that day:
“The best medicine is zero medicine.”
Pearls of wisdom, from one of Europe’s most respected mast cell/mastocytosis specialists.
Thing is, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.
Having gone over my symptoms on file, Dr X asks what my main complaints are nowadays.
As they come out of my mouth, I realise they no longer sound impressive. I sense I’m losing him.
Wait, I tell you, I have symptoms! I gently plead, reeling off a sizable, scary list of former symptoms. Ones I struggled with as recently as July of last year.
I find myself feeling the need to justify that I do in fact have good reason to be sitting here in his office, taking up oxygen and precious time he’d undoubtedly prefer to be allotting to “real” patients – those with proven mastocytosis (rather than the still, in the UK, dubious histamine intolerance or mast cell activation).
But then, a doctor I had believed to be a bit of a stick in the mud, one so entrenched in procedure that he was almost famed for his reticence in diagnosing what’s still regarded with a gallon-sized dollop of scepticism as a non-diagnosis in most of the world, dropped the bomb.
My tests results show that I’m in even better health than last March, when I declared “I’m in the best health of my life” and that, ok, fine, my symptoms were horrific years ago, and that’s why I landed on his doorstep, but I’m flipping well healthy now, so keep doing what I’m doing!
Not only that, but hell yeah, I’ve managed to “cure” my soy allergy!!! YEAH!!!
And…my B12, D, calcium, liver & kidney profiles, WBC and RBC are excellent! Wooooo!
Once I finish my impromptu victory dance, we go on to discuss diet – yes can help, but a low allergenic one. The diet sheet he gives me looks like a SERIOUSLY unhealthy version of the Failsafe diet – NO fruit whatsoever, no fish or fresh herbs.
I asked if my recent (this year’s) efforts to manage my stress had anything to do with my incredible turnaround – yup, some of his colleagues propose that stress may in fact be the primary trigger of mast cell degranulation or cause of mast cell activation. Dr X points out that every human being experiences mast cell degranulation, and that some people just might be more sensitive to it, and thereby stressed out by the changes that occur in the body during it.
We go over how histamine shouldn’t be the entire focus (don’t I keep saying that?) – after all, inflammatory agent heparin is in mast cells too, and we mustn’t forget the prostaglandins and leukotrines which are synthesized once mast cells dump their load in the bloodstream.
I share that I already take mast cell stabilising mangosteen to address the prostaglandin issue – as I reported in a previous post, elevated prostaglandin D2 has been identified as a root cause of hair loss. I’m quite sure the mangosteen has played a HUGE part in helping resolve my catastrophic, soul destroying, hair loss.
He’s not familiar with the use of, or research on, mangosteen, quercetin or nigella(or he doesn’t let on he does). No surprise – docs know THEIR meds – what they prescribe on a daily basis.
As for the leukotrines – I was told they’re behind much of the respiratory symptoms. Leukotrines would be why some are prescribed Montelukast/Singulair.
Though I no longer suffer from respiratory symptoms, for my lovely readers, I shall do some digging to see what foods/supplements target these receptors specifically.
Although…as I’m typing this, something has occurred to me.
BRB.
Oh m’gosh.
It’s funny how after a while you develop an intuituon for these kind of things…seems that one of my favourites, H1 and H2 receptor antagonising nigella sativa oil is also a leukotrine inhibitor!
I’ll come up with some more and report back.
Despite the title of this post – I honestly believe that this isn’t a battle against mast cells or histamine. It’s a fight against my tendency to believe the worst about my health (thanks to decades of misdiagnosis and the disbelief of friends, family and doctors), against my need to control every single thing in my environment (which so easily expresses in terms of my illness), and my struggle with complacency in diet and lifestyle.
Believe me, none of this came naturally to me. My body had to literally break down for me to create this new lifestyle!
Dr X ended our appointment with: “Go out and live your life. Just keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s obviously working for you.”
Drs Joneja and Castells both said something similar (though I have only interviewed rather than consulted with them). You think I’d know that by now right? Thing is, this is my health we’re talking about here, and I’m constantly questioning whether I’m doing the right thing…
Whether others who may choose to do as I do will also experience this amazing abundance of health (at least in comparison to what we used to go through!) or end up hurting themselves.
If I’m doing my body any long term damage by not taking meds.
And more importantly, am I finally in good enough health to allow myself to believe that I am truly healthy? Or will life once again disappoint me?
I’ve found the nature of these disorders to be cyclical. My symptoms have waxed and waned over the years. But I’ve made myself a promise, as of today, rather than indulging in yet another round of obsessive self checking, picking apart every nerve impulse, contraction, blemish, I’m going to do my very best to go ahead and let go of the safety rail and reach out to grab life with both hands.
Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletterto be the first to know when registration opens up for webinars, histamine wellness retreats and workshops in Europe and the United States, to get great freebies like antihistamine and anti-inflammatory recipes and lifestyle tips.
The Anti-cookbook, while it doesn’t treat any conditions, due to its high nutrient, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients, has been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. It features a six page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods. It comes in regular and Paleo.
The Low Oxalate Cookbookfeatures antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.
Don’t miss the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guidefor non-toxic beauty tips, the skinny on histamine releasing (mast cell degranulating) beauty ingredients, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory beauty alternatives and the top brands natural brands I’ve found.
If you’ve found this information useful I’d appreciate your support (at no extra cost to you!) – please check out my online store for your health foods, supplements, kitchen items and beauty product purchases. Affiliate sales through my online store go towards maintaining the website, funding travel to interviews and purchasing all the lovely foods for my free online recipes. You’ll find these items in the “Shop with us” drop down menu on my homepage.
Please don’t forget antihistamine, pain killing foods can still hurt us, so please always check with your doctor before adding new foods to your diet.
It’s high time I gave you all a big heartfelt thank you.
Writing this blog has been the single most consistently cathartic experience of my life. Sharing my experiences with you, learning from you, feeling that I’m fighting to heal not just for myself, but in order to share my findings with you, has inspired me beyond belief.
I fired up my first blog in Sept 2011, just days after my initial histamine intolerance diagnosis. I felt optimistic, that I had arrived at my answer, that everything would suddenly resolve and I would feel better. I mainly blogged desserts, based on the raw food principles I had previously tried to heal myself with (and failed – more on that here) as well as a few personal pieces of writing.
I was shocked to find that people were reading my blog. To this day I can’t believe how many have been on this journey with me since my incarnation as the biogenic amine woman.
Initially the blog was simply a way of vanquishing my demons.
Hatred I felt towards the doctors and psychiatrists who had subjected me to unnecessary operations, medical treatment and mind altering drugs that left me a vegetable, but also hatred towards myself, for the life that I had lived.
I’m not claiming that these histamine/mast cell conditions are the result of our lifestyle choices.
If only it were that easy.
It never is.
Yes, we are somewhat at the mercy of our genetics and some of us are dealt a bum hand. But even if we have been, I believe there’s room for improvement.
I’m not saying that lifestyle choices have caused others to become ill.
It’s what I say about myself.
Whether it’s true, or I’m just being too hard on myself I don’t know. What I am saying is that whether it began before conception, affected by our mothers’ dietary choices in the years before pregnancy (Dr Fuhrman/Super Immunity), or the moment we were conceived, with the genetic roulette wheel of the generations who came before us, with the chemicals and hormones our mother was exposed to while she carried us, the pollutants that assailed her as she nursed us – it doesn’t really matter.
All I emphasise is that no matter the cause, there’s always a chance diet and exercise will help.
While I still suffer from symptoms, I do not focus on them. I honestly believe that some people have an unrealistic vision of what real health is and will never be happy because it simply doesn’t exist. If you probe most healthy people hard enough you will discover they too have myriad ailments/symptoms that they simply choose not to focus on, because life is too good to sweat the small stuff. Sure, one day cancer might sneak up when they’re not paying attention, but they spent an incredible X years running around having fun and living life rather than living sickness.
The blog was my motivator. I was ill. I finally knew it for certain. And so I went about taking control of my life. Being someone who learns best by studying the written word, on paper, or screen, I immediately immersed myself in research. Having spent a decade delving into Lexis Nexis, the history of the Middle East, tracking down people who didn’t want to be found, and much, much more as an international television news journalist for CNN and the BBC (with a brief stint at FOX), I was certainly prepared.
In my mind the anonymity was necessary to shield my ego from ridicule from former colleagues and allowed me to continue being taken seriously in my day job. Having my health status (still precarious at the time) for all to see didn’t particularly make me employable. It was a surreal encounter with a seriously unhinged person in an online forum, who claimed I was not in fact me, but rather the person who diagnosed me, pretending to be a food blogger, that finally nudged me into revealing my identity (wooooo so dramatic! Lol).
I struggled with the idea. I’ve been terrified of being without insurance and yet I had let mine lapse (after an argument with BUPA about pre-existing symptoms). Though not seeking insurance for anything histamine/mast cell related, I wanted it for childbirth, cancer, that type of thing. I knew that would never happen if I disclosed any kind of previous symptoms, even if unrelated to either of those. Sadly once it dawned on me that I had a mast cell disorder I realised I was likely uninsurable.
After all, my mast cell disorder had blessed me with upwards of 50 symptoms, so there’s pretty much zero hope that an insurance company would ignore them should I be diagnosed with anything in the future (pregnancy complications, cancer, liver issues etc).
Somewhere along the journey I realised I wasn’t reaching enough people. My hyper research focused blog wasn’t doing it, and so I approached it from an angle we all love – food.
Food glorious food.
I haven’t always loved it.
I spent an incredible number of years fighting my need for it, starving my body of nutrition.
Because I feared it.
Developing a work relationship with food forced me to explore its selling points and explore its many gifts.
Photographing it meant spending hours examining it, working with natural textures to yield pleasing results.
I thank you for your reading of my work, your comments that provide valuable feedback and encouragement, your funding of this project.
See, I’m not rich.
I didn’t get into journalism for the money (lucky that, because there really isn’t any!) and the years of illness, being unable to work and paying doctors to slice me up unnecessarily and give me multiple cancer scares, totally wiped out my savings.
It was really touch and go there for a while. But thanks to my diagnosis, and my eventual adoption of a high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory diet, I’m now in the best health of my life (more on that here), despite dealing with a mast cell activation.
I went from being bed bound, completely unable to work and neatly destitute to running a small digital media consultancy in London in just over two years. Not only did this work put a roof over my head, it also allowed me to fund this histamine project for just over two years.
It might not look like it, but this blog takes up as much time as my real job (more at times), in addition to costing me quadruple to run.
Most recently, thanks to your support, cookbook sales have managed to plug little holes here and there.
Working 16 hour days has naturally impacted my personal and social life, so before it starts to affect my health, I’ve made the tough decision to scale back.
But , I will not be cutting hours devoted to this website, rather I am stepping back from the consulting that has sustained me over the last few years.
In order to do that – I need to get creative about how to generate more funds!
Having spent a long good while thinking about how to do it (and failing!), a wonderful friend whose wife is a masto buddy, helped me come up with some lovely ideas – that won’t cost my readers a cent!
I’ll tell you more about it in coming posts, but basically it involves affiliate commissions on products I’ll be adding to the site – ONLY products I use/have used and therefore endorse.
But there’s fun stuff coming up too. Believe me. We’ve been working hard on the new incarnation of the site and a bunch of cool things we think you’ll really enjoy!
I hope no one will take offense to these developments (again, they won’t cost you a penny), but please do let me know what you think.
In the meantime, coming up next week: an interview with Dr Ben Lynch of MTHFR.net on how methylation pathways affect histamine and mast cell disorders, and the most INCREDIBLE flatbread I’ve ever made! It’s not just low histamine, gluten free and grain free – it’s low oxalate and paleo too!! Don’t miss a word – sign up to my mailing list and get a 10% discount on my books.
There’s nothing quite like facing a kidnap threat in an Islamic country, being bombed/shot at, or thinking you’re going down in a chopper, to make you understand how stress affects you. In my case, as a journalist covering war zones for CNN and the BBC, in the short term, the lightening bolt of adrenalin made my senses razor sharp, appeared to slow time [1] as well as totally clearing my fogged up brain so I could flee the near death situations.
But what happens when the amygdala/stress response remains permanently activated, even in the absence of stressful stimuli? In non-mast cell folks, this can lead to depression, anxiety and more. In a recent interview, which I have yet to translate and post, renowned mast cell expert Dr Escribano shared that stress hormones can be our number one trigger, causing mast cells to activate/degranulate, releasing their cargo (histamine, heparin, prostaglandins, interleukins and more) into our blood stream and brain.
At the bottom of this post you’ll find a link to part two of my interview with mast cell expert Dr Mariana Castells. She shares her take on how stress affects mast cells.
The mast cell degranulation/histamine release due to stress hormones also messes with our neurotransmitters, affecting our mood and ability to handle stress (you know histamine is a neurotransmitter right?). In my case I began suffering from a chronic state of hyper arousal whereby I experienced the fight or flight response, on an hourly basis, for over a decade. As I was no longer working in war zones, and so didn’t require this massive boost to evade death, this excess had nowhere to go and my body was wracked with anxiety and even seizures. Eventually I believe that my body began to accept this state as the norm, and so began a destructive loop.
Now, while yes, absolutely, we do indeed have plenty to be stressed about healthwise, and goodness knows, eating is a minefield when you know one wrong bite can kill you, but there are a number of studies showing that an allergic reaction can be provoked in test subjects who wrongly believe they’ve been exposed to an allergen. How? Simply by recreating the environment in which the subject was previously exposed (just like in my favourite book A Clockwork Orange) – ie, same music, lighting, smells. Sounds like scifi right? Except I’ve experienced it. One study in particular [3] provoked mast cell degranulation and a resulting nasal tryptase increase in this manner! So am I saying this is all in our heads? Not really. But we do play our part…
There was certainly a time when my body was so sensitive that I responded to strong odours (perfumes, cleaning products, fabric softener), and foods (low, high, medium histamine), so violently that I wished I could live in a bubble. I bought masks to shield me from pollen and pollution, addressing the world from my command centre (ie nestled deep into my duvet); completely terrorised by this alien world so full of horrors. And so I became a recluse, convinced that one wrong move had the potential to kill me. Ironically, though I had dealt with my personal safety in war zones in a most cavalier way, always putting adventure and getting the story ahead of good sense; I suddenly saw myself as a helpless bunny rabbit in the jaws of life. But still I clung to my “victory”: after decades of trying to convince people that I was actually ill – that it wasn’t all in my head; I was finally vindicated.
It came at a price.
In my efforts to diagnose myself and convince others of my ill health, I had become so hyper focused on every tiny thing happening in my body, on the minutae that made my family’s (and my own) head spin like a plutonium powered dryer, that I lost sight of how wonderful life is and that I desperately wanted to be a part of it.
Because being ill isn’t a life at all.
And so it became impossible to break free of my self imposed prison. While my body healed by leaps and bounds (thanks to my high nutrient diet), my mind was locked in a battle of the inane.
I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, claiming we like to be ill. We are dealing with poorly understood conditions (histamine intolerance, mast cell activation, mastocytosis) and we’ve often dealt with decades of being told we’re: exagerating, that we’re not as sick as we are, that we just need to want to be healthy. Sadly, I was actually convinced that I did want to be well – despite the years of telling myself “I’m so sick I want to die” and “life isn’t worth living” and “I hate my life, please let me die”.
With thoughts like that it’s hard not to be ill. I now understand that I’m only as sick as I want to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not delusional, I am dealing with a medical condition, but we all are. Death is a medical condition. As my man often told me (trying to jolt me out of a toxic mindset), we are dying from the day we’re born, so why not make the best of the time we have?
And that’s ultimately what I understood. I had been dying to be sick, because I needed people to understand what I was going through. In the process, I lost myself to illness. It became a way of life, the only reality my body and mind knew. It’s only recently that a decent amount of soul searching turned up that being ill as a child was the only way to plead attention from a mother who rarely found it necessary to show her face at home. I can still remember the bottled emotions building up, threatening to overwhelm me as I watched her get ready for yet another fabulous party. I remember having my hearing tested in school and praying something was wrong. I remember the day I was beside myself with glee because my deteriorating eyesight meant my mother would have to accompany me to the doctor. Sadly it ended up with my having to sport a hideous pair of Chanel circa 1963 pink tinted glasses. Oy vey! Doctor visits became our twisted family outings as she struggled to keep up with my symptoms.
Thankfully I came to understand that it’s ok to be healthy, that I am no longer a child, and even when ill, I don’t need someone to look after me.
This whirlwind of realisations came to me one after the other as my body healed. With the brain fog steadily lifting, I soon realised that it was simply impossible that my body was just so sensitive for no apparent reason and I became determined to discover what was at the heart of my mast cell instability.
Which brought me right back to stress.
You know the ouroboros? It’s a snake/dragon chasing/eatingits tail, found throughout history, in various cultures. Some choose to look at it as a literal representation – that we’re chasing our tails/the chicken or the egg scenario bla bla. Kind of like the stress/mast cell thing.
But how about this:
“The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process…The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This ‘feed-back’ process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself.” – Carl Jung.
I have accepted the darkness and made it part of my light. I am dying. We all are. Some will do it sooner than others. Some will allow themselves to enjoy the years they have. I have understood there’s no point if every waking moment is to be spent searching for how to improve my life, at the expense of actually living it.
I’m sure there’s much more exploring, many questions to be answered, dead ends to come up against. But the big bang has happened for me and I’m ready to provide a calm, safe and supportive home for my mast cells. I’ve made hard choices: ending my journalism career, settling down in one (relatively boring) country where the weather is mild and there’s little threat of a coup; listening to the wisdom of those who surround me (and have my best interests at heart – I kick the others to the curb) and being good, true to myself.
I choose to see food as a partner in healing, rather than the force of darkness it once was.
I choose to understand my role in this illness.
I choose to get better, or die trying (just messin’).
I won’t lie – I was quite alarmed when I heard (through a friend) that famed mast cell expert Dr Castells said resolving mast cell/histamine induced inflammation takes around a year. I was about 8 months into my big health push to turn my life around. While I felt good, I still engaged in a long bout of mental masturbation imagining how many hours/days/months each fall off the wagon had cost me. Would I make that deadline?
This was the wrong attitude.
Just four months later, I’m feeling even better than the best I felt last year.
There are no more off days, no cowering under the duvet or avoiding friends and family. Sure, there are off hours, days where I may be breaking out a little or slightly foggy thanks to pushing things a little too hard diet-wise, and others where doing more than 30 minutes of hatha yoga isn’t such a great idea. I now allow myself to see the small victories for what they are. Sure I wanted to do 60 minutes of high octane kickboxing. But practising my Wing Chun Kung Fu form at home in front of the mirror with some chill out music will do nicely thank you very much, especially considering that just three years ago I was literally passing out at the dinner table and going into shock at the drop of a hat.
In celebration I’ve decided to share some of my big wins since ditching antihistamines (in July 2012) in favour of a high nutrient low histamine diet. Some of them are major, some will seem petty to anyone who hasn’t experienced some of the hardcore symptoms (like perfume induced anaphylactic shock). Each and every one of these is a huge deal to me. And believe me, it is important to give yourself a hearty pat on the back rather than the wet fish smack across the face we so often subject ourselves to.
That’s not a joke. Aside from the two years where I was either so dizzy that I couldn’t see straight, was yakking up my guts into a bowl by the bed, or unable to wake up for days at a time, 2011 – early 2012 was still a trying period where I either just physically couldn’t wake up before 2pm, or was simply unwilling to face the world I felt I was no longer a part of.
I jump out of bed (in the morning).
Yes folks, I’m actually excited to bound out of bed in the AM, caffeine free, ready to tackle whatever the day has in store for me. That I’m no longer blighted by the “mystery” depression that has plagued me since childhood definitely helps, as has the fact that I can sleep before 6am. That was some insomnia I had there.
I can use make up and bath products.
That was a biggie for me. In 2010 I wasn’t able to wear any make up without my lips swelling up like bozo the clown, my fingers buzzing like live wires, a horrific migraine taking me out with each dab of lipstick and other lovely assorted symptoms. I can now wear (count ’em) five organic brands of make up (more on that in the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide), water based nail polish, and have graduated from scrubbing myself raw with a loofah and sea salt to various raw/organic soaps – AND a 100% Pure pomegranate body wash! Last month I even managed to apply shampoo to my scalp, something I haven’t done since December 2011. I know. Ew. It had to be done – I couldn’t afford any more sick days. It’s totally true that the scalp begins to clean itself…
And…
I can wear organic Jasmin essential oil! Wow – incredible. It’s not quite my favourite (Jasmin heavy Gucci Envy) but such a relief to smell so lovely. I can’t believe just inhaling someone else’s scent could send me running to the loo for a yak! I would never wear scent around any of my sensitive friends of course…
I’ve added (high nutrient) foods back to my diet.
As Dr Clements of the Hippocrates Institute recently confirmed – elimination has its place, but it’s what you add back to your diet that’s going to help you heal. This last year/six months I’ve managed to add back: olives (I don’t eat them frequently), olive oil, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, kale, cacao/chocolate, some probiotics (small quantities), quercetin, Vitamin C supplements, buckwheat (small amounts and infrequently), carrots, spirulina, chlorella, all fish (dark, red, white – you name it), coconut yoghurt (dairy free), as well as olive leaf, holy basil and ginger teas.
How did I do it? I recognised that my salvation lay in not only lowering histamine, but overall inflammation, and that a lack of nutrients was probably what helped break my body in the first place. Having gone through a lengthy (unnecessarily strict in my opinion) elimination diet, I try not to obsess too much over histamine status, preferring to focus on overall nutrition. I often wonder how much faster I would have healed if I had added nutrients right at the outset. For more on my high nutrient approach check out the Anti-Cookbook.
I can exercise.
Nothing quite so fun as watching in terror as your trembling arms threaten to give out as you’re in yogic plank position. Or losing your balance and smashing into the mirror from the relatively benign triangle pose. But really it was the fear of dying that stopped me from exercising for over three years. I mean really, I challenge you to keep calm when your hands and feet go numb while running, or when your personal trainer bows out on you saying they’re worried your heart is going to quit on them. Personal trainer turning down money was a biggie for me.
I doubt I need to stress to you how important exercise is; in addition to all the physical benefits, it can have a calming effect on the brain [1]. I know that’s something most of us with histamine intolerance, mast cell activation, mastocytosis and other mast cell/histamine conditions could use. For me calm is the key to exercising. Either engaging in activities using my own body as weight, that also exert a calming influence (yoga/tai chi/qigong) or using pranayama (yogic breathing)/meditation while playing squash/kickboxing, helps keep my body from going into complete meltdown.
The best advice I can give you in this regard is to be kind to yourself. Getting upset over not being able to exercise as intensely as you’d like or pushing yourself out of frustration or determination to show your body who is boss isn’t helpful. I know it’s easier said than done, but I done, and so can you.
I’m not having anaphylactic episodes anymore…
I can take baths.
Again, maybe doesn’t seem like an accomplishment but you have to understand that as recently as five months ago I was freaking out about drinking mineral water from glasses in restaurants – because of any soap/tap water chemical residue. Understanding that by being hyper focused on every tiny little chemical exposure was priming my brain to seek out any connections – like thinking I could smell chlorine on the glass – but really my brain was just permanently stuck in fight or flight mode. Forcing myself to sit in a bath while meditating “cured” me of my water fear. Seriously – I went through a brief phase of only washing in bottled water. That’s how sensitive to chemicals I became. The exposure/meditation combo is how I got over hay fever too. I spent about a week meditating in Hyde Park when the season began.
I’d love to hear about YOUR progress. I really do think it’s important to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come!
October 2015 update:
I’ve gone from having days where 30 minutes of hatha yoga isn’t such a great idea to doing one and a half hours of rocket yoga (power/ashtanga yoga on rocket fuel) six times weekly, walking an hour and a half up mountains in the blistering south of Spain summer sun, taking B12 supps (which bothered me for years!), wearing perfume (natural stuff but still!), painting my nails with regular nasty nail polish (yes, it’s gross but I have a weakness for a pretty, long lasting manicure).
It’s finally here! Man Food – a high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredient filled book geared towards guys, women who love to work out, yoga like they mean it, or just load up on healing nutrients. Features my personal shopping list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods.
The Anti-cookbook and all liquid Anti-Detox Book, don’t treat any conditions, but feature a plethora of the high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients that have been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. The Anti-cookbook features a six page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods and comes in regular and Paleo.
The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.
Don’t miss the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide for non-toxic beauty tips, the skinny on histamine releasing (mast cell degranulating) beauty ingredients, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory beauty alternatives and the top brands natural brands I’ve found.
Please remember, even antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods can hurt us, please always exercise caution and consult a medical practitioner before adding new foods.
You’ll find a collection of all liquid high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes for days when my histamine bucket overflowed in the new Anti-Detox book.
The Anti-cookbook, while it doesn’t treat any conditions, due to its high nutrient, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients, has been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. It features a six page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods. It comes in regular and Paleo.
The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.
Don’t miss the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide for non-toxic beauty tips, the skinny on histamine releasing (mast cell degranulating) beauty ingredients, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory beauty alternatives and the top brands natural brands I’ve found.
If you’ve found this information useful I’d appreciate your support (at no extra cost to you!) – please check out my online store for your health foods, supplements, kitchen items and beauty product purchases. Affiliate sales through my online store go towards maintaining the website, funding travel to interviews and purchasing all the lovely foods for my free online recipes. You’ll find these items in the “Shop with us” drop down menu on my homepage.
Please don’t forget antihistamine, pain killing foods can still hurt us, so please always check with your doctor before adding new foods to your diet.
It took exactly 38 hours to travel from London to Malindi, Kenya, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take its toll on me. I slept a total of two hours, after having stayed up writing all night before leaving (no sleep).
It took a major toll on my last time I traveled here too. The difference is that last December it took me over a week to get over it, but if I’m honest with myself, I never actually recovered. I spent three weeks in total in Kenya, on the vacation of a lifetime. My man, my best friends and I were transported on private planes to go on safari with Masai warriors, on boat trips to the most beautiful islands in western Africa, and to sumptuously catered parties hosted at glamorous villas. But I was too sick to enjoy any of it.
I had arrived in Kenya already sickly, having paid far too little attention to diet for far too long. I continued to dope up with an increasing number of antihistamines, convinced this was the only treatment available to me. The malaise I felt was, at times, the only indication that anything was wrong with me. Unfortunately every few days the bladder pain, anxiety, depression and severe intestinal distress would render movement impossible. I spent half our safari time in bed, complaining to anyone within earshot, while amusing myself with food.
While friends eagerly jumped into the ocean and enjoyed champagne at every opportunity, I spent last year’s trip bundled up against the imaginary cold, brandishing a bottle of still water and crying in the loo when there was nothing I could find to eat, bitterly asking myself why I had bothered to come. I was angry at myself for being sick, but I was furious at others for having the fun I couldn’t.
Today, just a year later, I not only managed to get myself onto a boat for a beautiful day at sea, I ate a hearty meal, swam for hours and crisped myself into a fetching shade of lobster. I have a full week of work ahead of me, as well as a number of trips across the country.
What’s changed? Kenya last year was the watershed moment when I swore I would change my life. With the encouragement and support of my man, I finally quit the antihistamines and benzodiazepines I now know were sabotaging my “recovery”. Once off antihistamines I understood my limits and the necessity of eating a low histamine diet rich in antihistamine and anti inflammatory foods, but most importantly, it dawned on me that elimination was most definitely not the way forward. Chronically cutting nutrition from my diet and eating the same few “safe” foods over and over was starving my body of the very nutrients needed to function (somewhat) normally. This whole last year has been spent applying the skills I used to travel the globe as a CNN/BBC television news producer, to surviving and thriving with my histamine disorder. My diet now incorporates dozens of foods, herbs and teas I have thoroughly researched and have found to be potent H1 and H2 receptor antagonists (antihistamines) and anti inflammatories.
So how am I surviving (and enjoying) this trip?
Malindi airport – 36 hours later
I’ve made my peace. I understand that the very act of digestion causes histamine release. I no longer fret because I react to every single food I ingest – I KNOW I will, and just move on with my meal and my day. Because this too shall pass. I do not use the fact that I react to everything as an excuse to go and pig out on high histamine foods because ” I react to absolutely everything I eat.” I’m now a low histamine adult rather than the sulky preteen I once was.
I prepared for my trip. Read all about how to travel with a histamine condition here.
Before our arrival, I continued my daily meditation and visualisation excercises and reaffirmed my determination to enjoy life beyond the dinner plate.
I hit the ground running. The first thing I did upon arriving at my client’s villa was brief the kitchen on my food situation. I handed over the foods I had brought, along with copies of the DAO Support and On the Go cookbooks. Having done my research on local foods, I highlighted the recipes I knew would work and left it up to them which order to serve them. While I know that not everyone has the luxury of having a staff at their service when they travel, neither do I usually. If I was not staying at my client’s house, I would be at a rented apartment with a kitchen, where I would be preparing my own meals. 80% of the travel issue resolved.
I’ve adapted. I’m ok with eating very little till I can find something safe. Yesterday, breakfast was not something I could have, so I waited till lunch (having made sure I could eat it!). I enjoyed a light lunch of red cabbage with a little olive oil and lemon, asparagus filched from the large vinegared salad which I rinsed in a little bottled water, and a flatbread rye salad “sandwhich” (cucumber and lettuce).
low histamine lunch in kenya
In the old days I would have muttered angrily to myself, bemoaning my fate. Despite being a healthy eater most of my life, and being an advocate of Dr Fuhrman’s Eat to Live nutritarian lifestyle (life beyond the dinner table), I was unable to apply it to my own life since finding out about my histamine condition.Why? My theory is because I no longer felt in control of my body. I was angry at it for betraying my trust and the years of love I had lavished on it. But the joke’s on me. I am in control of my body, to a certain extent anyway, and I plan to live every moment left to me, to its fullest. And that means being even better to myself than ever.
This is one of my older posts. I no longer travel with any foods, except for the plane (there’s just no way I’m touching that mess!) and I don’t need to do most of the stuff on my checklist, but it’s useful for people just starting out.
2015 UPDATE:
I no longer really travel with my own food, unless I’m going for more than a few weeks. The list of stuff I take with me has changed, in keeping with my new thinking on eating a high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory diet. You’ll find tons of info on that in my newer posts.
The most important update I have is on how to prepare for potential medical emergencies…read all the way down for more.
Hey Mtv generation – remember how NASA (used to) count off the shuttle blast? My trip to Kenya is T minus seven DAYS and counting. Those crazy science type geeks had the luxury of only needing to count to 10 before catapulting their tin cans into orbit, whereas I’m dealing with, like, a histamine type thingy.
Ok, I said what now??
It’s at this point in the pre-departure frenzy that I realise it’s time for a little perspective.
When I subtract the numerical value of possibly getting sick abroad/potential stress/intense preparation from the BENEFITS of travel (lovey time with significant other, kodak moments indelibly inked into psyche, client payout, adventure!), the pros still far outweigh the cons.
Good thing too otherwise the ants in my pants would hang up their spurs in disgust.
Since that’s not going to happen any time soon, I thought I’d share my obsessive ex-CNN/BBC international news producer inspired travel tips with you.
ACCOMMODATION
Cooking low histamine meals for myself takes most of the stress out of travel, so I always try to book an apartment rather than a hotel. Airbnb.com has hooked me up with beautiful, cost effective, apartments or rooms in houses (when on business trips). I always check to make sure the kitchen is available for my histamine food needs, and has the bare minimum equipment-wise.
LOCAL TRANSPORT
What’s the likelihood I’m going to jack up my histamine level rushing around town in microwaves (taxis) in the middle of summer? Yeah, high. Most of the not so developed world lacks AC in taxis. But one day I just said, enough! Given that I do a lot of travel to countries where the exchange rate is very much in my favour, I try to score the number of a good driver with a decent car. You’d be surprised at how little it costs to rent a nice sedan with driver in places like Egypt. Well, not that you’d want to go there right now (someday soon I hope), but you catch my drift. If the no AC situation is completely unavoidable, I try to plan long trips at night, I bring one of those little battery operated fans that squirt water in your face, load up a camelbak with ice cold water, and do a little meditation (and swearing) when we hit traffic.
T MINUS 14 DAYS (and counting…)
I usually keep a small notebook on hand with all my info. Into this goes my…
RESEARCH
Which foods are available at my destination?
Are there organic supermarkets? If so, find their location.
What’s the local transport situation like? Do I need a driver?
What’s the local word for organic supermarket? I use google translate or buy a phrase book.
Which herbs are available in the country?
Where are the best hospitals in the areas I’m traveling to? It’s easy to dig up this info by hitting the ex-pat online forums. People are usually more than happy to advise you and there’s often lists with ratings.
EATING OUT PREP
I usually eat (at least) a little at home. I’m so over “having” to sample the menu everywhere we go and then spending the rest of the evening driving myself crazy playing an ineffective round of histamine detective. Why is it a waste of time? Kitchens are often not as clean as needed for those of us with histamine intolerance/allergies/mastocytosis etc. Bacteria = histamine. ‘Nuff said.
What are the local words for: MSG, chemicals, food flavours, freshest, just steamed please? You’d think it wasn’t an issue, but asking something as simple as “is this food free from chemicals” or “was this cooked today” can turn into a complete nightmare/screaming match where MSG (and others) are an integral part of food culture, and insinuating that food isn’t fresh is as safe as ripping off a lady’s hijab in a crowded mosque durning Friday prayers, in downtown Kabul.
You know that little card I take to restaurants? I get that printed in the local lingo. You need to be 100% sure of the translation – I usually cross reference with google translate or another native speaker.
Very important, because the idea of food allergies is not taken seriously in most countries outside the west (or even in Europe!): I usually add – “I will die if you feed me these”. You really need to give them worst case scenario. If they kick up a fuss just smile, apologise that your partner desperately wants to eat there (citing whichever guidebook) and promise to leave a huge tip. A little charm goes a really long way.
T MINUS 1 WEEK (and counting…)
THE SURVIVAL’LIST
EQUIPMENT
Magic Bullet blender
Nut milk bag
Vacuum packed herbs (if not found locally)
Zucchini corer (I love me some stuffed zukes!)
FOODS
Olive oil Japanese rice crackers
Dried mango/banana/apples
Coconut oil
Light organic olive oil for frying (if not found locally)
Thai rice noodles
Sweet potato flour (if not found fresh)
Chickpea flour
Brown rice flour
Rice pasta
Quick cook gluten free oats (if staying in hotel), pin head oats otherwise
Fresh fruits (if not much found locally)
Raw blue agave syrup (‘cause I’m a realist. I will break down and want something sweet at some point!)
Now this is a lot of grains for me. I usually take a ton just in case, and then end up giving them away to locals when I leave. They’re really just an emergency back up.
BATH AND BEAUTY
Yoga mat (for yoga and for folding up and standing on in the shower to prevent drain backwash)
Waterproof shoes, with a heel of some sort to wear in the shower
Africa and the Middle East aren’t known for great drains. The chemical laden backwash alone, not to mention your partner’s shower offerings (Get your mind out of the gutter! I mean shampoo) can turn a trip miserable faster than the repressed masses can overthrow a government (covered a few of those in my time…).
BOOKS/AUDIO
Meditation, chanting, healing visualisations.
I’ll post part two as my departure date approaches. T-Minus 6 days, and counting…don’t forget to check out my post on mast cell degranulation/histamine release triggers.
VACCINATIONS
It is of course super duper important to follow all medical advice regarding vaccinations. Should you have any concerns, I would change travel plans to a country not requiring the vaccines. You may also want to check out my post on vaccinations here.
PREPARING FOR MEDICAL CARE OR EMERGENCIES
This is the advice I give people about to travel, in addition to following all your doctor’s and embassy’s:
Identify the nearest local hospital of decent size, have a driver you have hired who you can get to come find you on a moment’s notice. This is dicey in many second or third world countries where people don’t prioritise answering their phone or understand what constitutes an emergency. My personal choice would be to rent a car and then make sure to drive to the hospital a few times to know where it is (do not bother calling an ambulance in most Arab or African countries – mostly due to traffic). Go in to the hospital, ask to speak to a department head and see if your meds are available there. Then I would find a local fluent English speaking doctor somewhere in town near you. Get your doctor back home to call him with your specific protocol should something happen – I would especially be sure to give him the safe anaesthesia list you can find on most mastocytosis society websites, or that your doctor has. Pay this local doctor a sum to be on call for you – get his mobile number, make sure he answers 24/7 and call him a few times at weird hours to make sure. Then, if you need to be admitted somewhere, call him immediately, then your doctor in your country. Have the local guy meet you at the hospital, while on phone with your guy. Local doc will then pass on information.
It’s complicated but effective and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Happy travels!
It’s finally here! Man Food – a high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredient filled book geared towards guys, women who love to work out, yoga like they mean it, or just load up on healing nutrients. Features my personal shopping list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods.
The Anti-cookbook and all liquid Anti-Detox Book, don’t treat any conditions, but feature a plethora of the high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory ingredients that have been instrumental in helping me feed myself on a limited diet. The Anti-cookbook features a six page list of antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods and comes in regular and Paleo.
The Low Oxalate Cookbook features antihistamine and anti-inflammatory rich recipes.
Don’t miss the Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide for non-toxic beauty tips, the skinny on histamine releasing (mast cell degranulating) beauty ingredients, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory beauty alternatives and the top brands natural brands I’ve found.
I’ve just had my blood work done. Not only will your test results tell you it’s safe to embark on a high nutrient low histamine diet, checking in with your doc is a must before changing something as crucial as your diet. Lay out your plans for the next few weeks and ask for his blessing. When you bring back your test results to him, he’ll have to eat a number of his words. I usually like to squeeze an “well if you manage to do that through diet I’ll eat your test results.”
It has happened.
Honest.
Not that they actually went through with it, but for them eating their words is just as hard.
DETOX YOUR KITCHEN
I’m blessed to live with a man who is as healthy an eater as I am. More so even. Luckily he loves my tasty low histamine food – when I’m whipping up new recipes for the low histamine recipes books or blog anyways. Otherwise I’ll sometimes just skip real food and brew up whatever’s in the fridge, zap it in the blender and call it soup! Here’s the thing. I wasn’t always able to live with marmalade or gingerbread cookies lurking in the cupboard. The idea of Ben and Jerry’s languishing in the freezer, unattended, forlorn, made it impossible for me to sleep without a midnight skulk into the kitchen for “one last” spoon, till not a scraping was to be had.
At that point I just said “Stop the insanity.” Yes, I watched a lot of 80s informercials and lusted after Susan Powter’s incredible charisma! But that’s what I did. I cleared out EVERYTHING that was on the high histamine lists. Nothing remained but a pack of rye crackers, two measly carrots and a shaker of himalayan sea salt.
STOP LUSTING
The supermarket was my next challenge. I found myself lingering in the naughty aisles, having nervous breakdowns over whether I should take home a box of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. After all, they were the first brand in over a year (compulsive label reader right here) that didn’t have soy (which I’m allergic to). But I was in TOTAL denial. Really, the minute amount of soy lecithin in those cookies was the least of my worries. For despite being organic, sugar was the first ingredient on the list (meaning it’s the main ingredient), and white sugar makes me degranulate faster than a bag of demerara being attacked by cannabinoid receptor testing rodents.
The answer was simple. Yes I could have the cookies as long as I was prepared to spend the next few days in a histamine induced coma, hugging the toilet like my long lost war buddy. Eventually I was not ok with that. So now I order my groceries online. I have a regular low histamine shopping list and I run out for fresh foods or get an organic seasonal box delivered right to my door. I do still love going to the supermarket, and occasionally bad stuff still does happen, but now my poison is usually dried mango, olive oil rice crackers, or other such tasty treats. It’s funny how taste buds adapt so quickly…
FIND YOUR CRACK
Ok, I’ll say it. Histamine is addictive. That’s why it’s so hard to say goodbye to the foods we know hurt us. Our bodies tremble with desire, every neuron in our brain cries out, feed me histamine! It’s funny how the foods we crave the most are usually the most harmful. I ate soy sauce obsessively at almost every meal, for years, till finding out that I was allergic to it. How about that. It would make me tremble, making it almost impossible to work the chopsticks I insisted on using at almost every meal. You try picking up cornflakes with those suckers, I was almost there. Yup that’s how devoted I was to the ‘sticks.
I started small, choosing 10 high histamine foods that I knew would make a huge difference in my quality of life. They were soy products – and believe me I was tempted to split them up: tamari, shoyu, edamame, tofu etc – but I managed to restrain myself, shellfish, processed foods, canned foods, leftovers, tomato paste, white sugar, chocolate, balsamic vinegar. I saved the rest for another day. This whole journey I’ve found that setting myself small, realistic goals helps me feel a sense of acheivement and excitement on this path.
CUT OUT THE CUTTING
If I knew then what I know now…darn it I would have healed a hell of a lot faster! Cut cut cut was all I did. I needed some nutrients in my low histamine life, but I was just too scared to add anything new. What I wasn’t taking into consideration was that my body was running out of ammo. It desperately needed reinforcements but I was too clueless to know how. The histamine-lowering diamine oxidase enzyme doesn’t just make itself you know. DAO requires a steady supply of nutrients.
In the last three years I have learned so very much about natural antihistamines and the role of inflammation in histamine disorders. I’ve been steadily adding natural antihistamines to my diet. Fresh thyme, oregano, holy basil, sweet basil, coriander, parsley, peppermint, mint, sweet potato, butternut squash, chickpeas, lentils. Ok, so some of them bothered me a little, especially when I introduced them, but in the long run I kept the ones my immune system finally accepted, and just kept the other ones on a long rotation. I’ve tried to add more foods from the part of the world that I’m from – the idea being that I was born with enzymes for those foods – and it’s definitely working. Before you go running out to buy a sackful of Big Macs, let me just add that I mean indiginous, natural foods.
In total I decided to add five new, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods to my diet.
One of the most important steps I took in the cutting and re-nutritioning phase was to track my diet. I’m talking nutrients, calories, moods and symptoms. The best tool I’ve found for this is www.fitday.com. You can add your moods/reactions in the journal section. This diary proved invaluable in my recovery. See I’ve not only eliminated high histamine foods, but also anything that has really bothered me. I can’t tell you the relief nowadays that I can consult my diary and see that rye causes bloating, which in turn causes UTI/IC symptoms, which drive me up the freaking wall. See, thing is, there’s a lot to keep track of. And despite my seemingly reletntless work ethic and encyclopedic medicinal herb reference of a brain, I can’t remember everything. I might stop eating rye for a few months, then eat it every few days for a week and then freak out trying to work out why on earth I’m running to pee every five minutes. Now I just look it up, and order is restored in my universe. It sounds exhausting, but you know what, so is not knowing that the hell is wrong with you and then spending weeks suffering and chasing your tail. Organisation is the way to do it! I’ve found that setting up a few basic processes helps me lead a normal life. Well, as normal as it’s gonna get!
The diary/nutrient count allowed me to write up a plan of which nutrients I needed to get back into my diet. I then held onto this list till the second week…
So that’s my round up of all the logical stuff I did in week one of my detox. Next up will be a list of my hardcore meal choices for the week!
Don’t forget to check out the low histamine cookbooks for more information on food preparation and plenty of recipes.
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