Tag: anti-inflammatory foods

  • Wondering why you react to EVERYTHING you eat?

    Wondering why you react to EVERYTHING you eat?

    Did you know that the act of digestion itself causes histamine release [1]? No, not many people do. I get so many emails from people who are convinced they have multiple amine, food intolerance or allergy issues because they react to everything they ingest. They explore salicylate, amine, oxalate, yeast and other issues obsessively, convinced that once they hit upon the right combination, food will magically be tolerable again.

    While some may be right, the simple fact is that if you have a histamine disorder (histamine intolerance, histaminosis, mast cell activation, mastocytosis), the very act of digestion requires histamine. So, the chain is: food in, histamine release, gastric acid rushed to the stomach to begin digestion. Then histamine release again from the food. If you’re on antihistamines, some of it will be blocked from attaching to the H1 or H2 receptor, so you’ll be having less respiratory or gastric symptoms. I’m always surprised that people seem to think that antihistamines somehow magically flush the histamine out from your body – that’s simply not the case. They just stop the histamine from binding to those receptors only, leaving it free to run around in your body causing inflammation and damage to your internal organs [2].

    You’ll find recipes full of foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties my books Anti-Recipes and The Anti-Cookbook

    CLICK HERE TO CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONALISED HEALING HISTAMINE PLAN. 

    Unfortunately, the receptors commonly not addressed with meds, H3 and H4, are the ones responsible for (among other things) modulating pain [3] and our mast cells/immune system [4], respectively, which explains why many people with histamine issues and mastocytosis still suffer from debilitating bone pain, depression, immune system dysfunction and others, in part (in my opinion) because they are not lowering their overall histamine burden – they’re relying on antihistamines to do the job for them. But of course antihistamines open the appetite [5], leading to more histamine roaming the body causing damage, except a little less damage to the H1 and H2 receptor areas. So you feel less respiratory and gastric issues (maybe) and are encouraged to eat “normally”, use cosmetic products like nail polish that are mast cell degranulation/histamine triggers [6], but continuing with life as you know it, learning to live with the fall out of flooding your H3 and H4 receptor controlled areas (pain and immune system), which then leads to more dysfunction and pain!

    Ok, I’m off the soapbox. Here’s the truly shocking bit.

    Just THINKING of food is enough to trigger histamine release!

    It was a complete surprise to me that for some reason that part never occurred to me: that digestion begins with the nerve impulses in the brain [7], which sometimes has a hard time distinguishing between fantasy and reality. I don’t mean that in a psychotic way, just that to the brain, intention is sometimes the same as action. That’s why visualization techniques are now being used to preserve motor skills in paraplegics [8].

    How to make this information work for you.

    The greatest relief I’ve experienced this last year is by making my peace with the fact that pretty much every food I put into my body will cause a reaction (thanks to the digestive process itself). By accepting this, I have taken the fear out of mealtime and allowed myself to focus on getting nutrition back into my body, rather than continuing to deprive my body of the nutrients needed for proper histamine metabolism, and creating an environment of fear at mealtime.

    I use food prep as an opportunity to practice a little mindfulness meditation. I observe my  food fears and then let them go. I experience the textures, the colours, and imagine the good they’re going to do for me. I visualise my enjoying sitting down to the meal, how it’s not going to bother me, and how this is all helping heal me. I imagine the food going down my oesophagus, into the stomach. I notice my mast cells not being disturbed by this process. And then I sit down to eat.

    And now for some practical advice!

    Rule out salicylate intolerance, mast cell activation disorder, and clean up your diet.

    The great Dr. Fuhrman passed on the most incredible advice to me via his forum. Juicing, smoothie’ing and souping it means you’ll need less enzymes to digest [9]. That should mean less need for gastric juices and histamine. Make the meals/juices low histamine and you’re on a roll.

    My personal approach is simply to include as many antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods as I can!

    You’ll find recipes full of foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties my books Anti-Recipes and The Anti-Cookbook

    CLICK HERE TO CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONALISED HEALING HISTAMINE PLAN. 

    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. 

    ——— REFERENCES ———-

    [1] www.physiol.med.uu.nl/…/ipweb/misc/…/digestive/secretion.doc

    [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14530789

    [3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3014298/

    [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine_H4_receptor

    [5] https://dev.healinghistamine.com/is-your-anti-histamine-making-you-fat/

    [6] https://dev.healinghistamine.com/my-top-10-histamine-non-food-triggers-and-how-i-deal-with-them/

    [7] www.physiol.med.uu.nl/…/ipweb/misc/…/digestive/secretion.doc

    [8] http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/flourish/200912/seeing-is-believing-the-power-visualization

    [9] http://www.drfuhrman.com/faq/question.aspx?sid=16&qindex=4

     

  • The Low Histamine Diet Foods FAQ

    WHICH FOODS ARE HIGH HISTAMINE?

    That depends on which list you follow. Histamine in foods varies depending on: the country grown in, whether pesticides were used, climate, transportation, ripeness when picked, how long on the supermarket shelf, bacterial contamination. In particular the level varies in flesh. The reason for which is that bacteria release histamine (and other amines) as the flesh decomposes. The freezing and thawing and re-freezing in particular that occurs in the typical farm to supermarket cycle leads to high histamine levels in food. For fish: how long since it was fished, how it was handled, if it was frozen and then thawed at any point, if it’s contaminated etc. Beef is generally hung for at least two weeks to tenderize the meat. This accounts for the high levels of histamine in the flesh. Some methods of slaughter, including halal (Muslim), do not involve long hanging times, and as such may be fresher.

    The Spanish DAO Society has this list.

    I have a list I was given by my practitioner (now retired). For legal reasons I am not allowed to share it, but all my recipe books are based on this list.

    And finally – your reaction to a food may vary from day to day depending on how high your histamine is that day. Some days just adding a smidge of histamine into an almost overflowing bucket can tip you over the edge.

    BAKING POWDER/SODA

  • Ayurvedic remedy helps fight flab, fix your thyroid and lower histamine levels!

    I’m taking a number of steps to help my body recover from any inadvertent histamine hiccups (ahem, cupcake incidents) I may subject it to. One of them is the food-coaching course I’m taking with my nutritional hero Dr. Fuhrman, and an intensive immersion into herbalism, which I’m sure to expand upon in coming years. I’m currently devouring the modern herbalism bible I’ve seen the Whole Foods naturopathic gurus toting when in deep consult with customers. I naturally started in the immune system chapter where I came across yet another ayurvedic miracle herb.

    (more…)

  • Tasty antihistamine hot beverages.

    I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my top hot beverages…

    As you can see from my picture here, the detox is going great! Ok, busted, that’s not me in the picture! But as you can see from plenty others on the site – I’m not looking too shabby!

    My natural antihistamine beverages…

    Valerian root

    Valerian extracts may have direct inhibitory effects on the contractility of the human uterus and this justifies the traditional use of this plant in the treatment of uterine cramping associated with dysmenorrhoea….Valerian extract reduced the maximal contractile response induced by acetylcholine, phenylephrine and histamine [1].

    When I was high histamine it was literally impossible to sleep. I would be up for days at a time. Very handy when I was a journalist working in war zones, but not so great when I have a 9am meeting to go through someone’s digital strategy. Generally when people tell me they’re very low histamine I ask how their sleep is. It’s a great indicator of how you’re doing diet-wise. I’m not discounting stress, but we know that also causes mast cell degranulation too!

    Now while the studies I read on valerian took great pains to stress that it’s not a hypnotic which knocks you into sleep, it’s an anxiolytic that reduces stress, helping you drop off. Ever wondered why antihistamines make you sleepy? There are a number of reasons – among them is that histamine controls your cicadian rythm/wakefulness hormones, so taking an anti-histamine would naturally make you fall asleep. Given that we know antihistamines make us fat and can cause toxicity syndrome, exploring natural antihistamine herbs could help lull you to sleep.

    Please do remember that many of us with histamine issues don’t do great with herbs and that they thin the blood, but I still find these herbs a great substitute for my once ubiquitous nightly glass of red wine. I find that the best way to get a good night’s sleep is to not eat too late.

    Olive Leaf tea

    Yet another traditional ayurvedic treatment. Olive leaf tea has been shown to exhibit “significant mast stabilizing activity”.

    “According to Ayurveda, Olea europea is used in treatment of leprosy, dysentery, vaginal and uterine complaints, inflammation,burning sensation, fatigue, asthma, leucoderma etc. In the present study the histamine induced dose dependent contraction of goat tracheal chain and guinea pig ileum preparation was significantly inhibited (p< 0.01) by the aqueous extract of leaves of Olea europea (800 ug/ml and 100 ug/ml). Olea europea at the doses of 100and 200 mg/kg,i.p.,exhibited significant (p< 0.01) mast cell stabilizing activity against clonidine induced peritoneal mast cell degranulation in rats. Thus the present study revealed that the extract of olives of Olea europea has significant antihistaminic (H1 receptor antagonist) activity.” [2]

    Green/White tea

    I was told I could drink up to two green teas daily, because they would help lower my histamine level. Thing is, too much caffeine can aggravate symptoms, as can pretty much any dried herb. So I just dunk the bag a couple of times and then toss it.

    The bioactive compound epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea, has been shown to target histamine-producing cells producing great alterations in their behavior, with relevant effects on their proliferative potential, as well as their adhesion, migration, and invasion potentials. In fact, EGCG has been shown to have potent anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, and anti-angiogenic effects and to be a potent inhibitor of the histamine-producing enzyme, histidine decarboxylase [3].

    I have actually found that I do better with white tea, which is basically the same, just unfermented, but I have now cut all caffeine out of my diet (I just don’t need it anymore).

    Guava leaf tea

    I’m really loving this stuff. Not for the taste really, but because guava leaf tea has been proven to inhibit mast cell degranulation (histamine release) in rats. I seem to tolerate it much better than the fruit itself.

    Holy Basil tea

    I’m not a big fan of aniseed/licorice. But this tea rocks my world! As I mentioned in my post “Holy basil! Anti-inflammatory and antihistamine superstar” – holy basil is as effective as Zantac/Rantidine at treating gastrointestinal upset. You can also find green tea/holy basil blends.

    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.

    Take a peek at my other low histamine and antihistamine cookbooks for more high nutrient recipes.

    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. 

    ———-REFERENCES———

    [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19178774

    [2] http://jpronline.info/index.php/jpr/article/download/223/187

    [3] http://www.springerlink.com/content/18480505ht4q2228/

    [4] http://www.springerlink.com/content/n1426040742tn4r8/

  • Got allergies? You need this natural antihistamine in your medicine cabinet

    yellow berried nightshade
    yellow berried nightshade

    Here’s an interesting headline for you: nightshade flower as effective a mast cell stabiliser as commonly prescribed sodium cromoglycate. This definitely brought a smile to my face, given that most of us in the allergic world only have to hear the word nightshade to run a mile in the opposite direction. It also confirmed that some foods we’re told are bad for histamine related conditions, may have benefits that far outweigh the modest amount of histamine they release. Unless you’re allergic to them!

     AS EFFECTIVE AS COMMONLY PRESCRIBED MAST CELL STABILISER/ANTIHISTAMINE

    (more…)

  • There’s more to the low histamine lifestyle than elimination!

    UPDATE: there is a ton of misinformation flying around on the internet. I’m constantly flummoxed by how people will attribute feeling awful to chickpeas or a banana rather than the taco bell, potato chips or chocolate they also had. I have yet to see any scientific study showing high histamine content in chickpeas. On the contrary, sprouted chickpeas are high in DAO, the histamine degrading enzyme. Even a high histamine food can lower or raise histamine, because different parts of the plant have varying properties. Raspberry fruit for example is listed as high histamine, but it also contains antihistamine quercetin. Raspberry leaves meanwhile are scientifically proven to have antihistamine properties.

    I have over the last few years called a number of labs to ask how histamine testing is done, and trying to get an accurate list made. But I haven’t been able to.

    You know why?

    Because according to the labs I have spoken with, it is impossible to measure histamine accurately in vegetables and fruits, because the level is too LOW for the tests to pick it up correctly. Most of the lists you find on the internet were put together by polling readers on what they feel is high histamine, or just copied from other incorrect sources.

    So here’s a tip, please stop worrying about whether chickpeas are high histamine, and a little more effort into avoiding processed foods full of gut damaging emulsifiers, stop roasting foods because this oxidising cooking method causes histamine release, and definitely do not go gunning after healthy foods while you’re still indulging in potato chips. Fixing a histamine problem is all about fixing the body as a whole, and eating junk food and worrying about the histamine status of vegetables, beans and pulses isn’t going to get us anywhere.

    All scientific references to the statements I just made can be found in this post.

    I spend a lot (a LOT) of time on the net chatting with people who are in various stages of eliminating high histamine foods. While going low histamine does mean binning a number of high histamine foods, eliminate too many and you could end up worse off in the long run. I know because I spent a number of years doing it myself. Cut cut cut was all I did, but I soon became reactive to the “safe” foods and I just wasn’t getting any better overall.

    A little dabbling in supplements showed me they’re (mostly) out. I just don’t tolerate them. So I eat them instead. I’m quite convinced that their magical qualities, in balance with other nutrients, renders them effective, thought I do realise I’d have to wear a trough around my neck to ingest a therapeutic dose (100mg per kilo??) of some herbs.

    Why this emphasis on nutrition rather than antihistamines? Well, antihistamines only work on one or two of the four (known) histamine receptors. Is that bad? Depends – do you enjoy eating obsessively till obesity? How about suffering from chronic infections, liver damage, heart failure or antihistamine toxicity? I personally don’t. Also, my experience on them was, ok, I can eat more – well – I don’t have a choice really – I’m desperate to fill every minute of my day stuffing my face (read is your anti-histamine making you fat). Oddly, if you eat enough, you’ll need more antihistamines! It’s a vicious cycle of filling your bucket, then instead of emptying it, fooling your body into thinking it’s ok to fill it even more.

    Take these examples:

    SWEET POTATO is high not only in quercetin, but also in histamine-lowering rutin, and has anti-ulcerative properties.  And if that’s not enough for you, sweet potato extract has recently excited scientists by suppressing the growth of stomach cancer, colon cancer and leukemia cells.

    OREGANO contains polyphenols with antihistamine properties.

    CHICKPEAS…amongst their many nutritional benefits, they’re a particularly good source of plant-based diamine oxidase (DAO – this is the histamine degrading enzyme)

    Recently, it has been found that DAO from pea seedlings shows higher activity compared to commercial porcine kidney diamine oxidase (PKAO).  Read the full study here.

  • Holy Basil! Anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine superstar

    Holy Basil! Anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine superstar

    Basil flowers in the garden

    Not only is Holy Basil tasty in just about any Thai or Vietnamese dish – turns out it’s an anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine herb that’s as effective as Ranitidine/Zantac at treating H2 (histamine) induced ulcers, preventing mast cell degranulation and anaphylactic shock. How do’you like them apples?

    I like Holy Basil a lot better than them apples…but just to clear up any potential confusion, Holy Basil is also known as Sweet Thai Basil or by it’s proper names: Ocimum tenuiflorum and Ocimum sanctum. (source: Wikipedia)

    Holy Basil’s activity as an anti-histamine has been found to affect histamine’s H2 receptor, great news for those with histamine intolerance/histaminosis/mastocytosis/mast cell activation disorders with gastrointestinal complaints. I’d be interested to know if it’s anti-inflammatory effects are in part due to it’s high Vitamin K content. Don’t forget that Vitamin K (as I mentioned in this post), is a potent anti-inflammatory, is found in many foods like cauliflower, which is also high in Vitamin C.

    Holy Basil prevents mast cell degranulation, helping treat allergic disorders

    “Basophils, mast cells, and their preformed de novo synthesized mediators, play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders. These molecules are potent vasoactive and bronchoconstrictor agents and they modulate local immune responses and inflammatory cell infiltration (17-18).Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated mast-cell stimulation is an important initial event in the development of type I allergic reactions such as asthma and atopic disorders. Clinical studies have found a close association between asthma and serum IgE levels, as well as IgE-dependent skin test reactivity to allergens. Antigen challenge, in sensitized animals, results in the degranulation of mast cells, which is an important feature of anaphylaxis. O. sanctum ethanolic extract showed marked protection against the mast cell degranulation following antigen challenge in sensitized animals. Mast cell stabilizing activity of extract may be attributed to the presence of anti-inflammatory mediator release, which is known for their mast cell stabilizing potential against antigen-antibody reaction and/or due to the suppression of IgE antibody production, which is responsible for degranulation mast cells. This antianaphylactic and antihistaminic effect may be due to the stabilization of the mast cell membrane, suppression of IgE, and inhibition of pathological effects induced by the release of inflammatory mediators in test extract treated animals.

    Experimental results indicated the potent benefits of O. sanctum in the treatment of asthma and related conditions. The findings from various studies reveal that the antihistaminic and antianaphylactic activity of extract which is mainly due to its mast cell stabilizing potential, suppression of IgE, and inhibition of release of inflammatory mediators. Thus use of O. sanctum leaves proved the strong rationale behind the mentioned therapeutic activities [1].”

    Holy Basil is as effective as Ranitidine/Zantac at treating H2 receptor induced GI complaints

    “This study was conducted with the aim of comparing the efficacy of ocimum sanctum against gastric and duodenal ulcers. The hydralcoholic extract of the plant exhibited significant ulcer protective effect against gastric ulcers in pyloric ligated rats as well as against duodenal ulcers in histamine treated guinea pigs. In both these models of peptic ulcer, significant ulcer protective effects were observed with 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg of ocimum sanctum, which were comparable. These effects were also comparable with ranitidine which was used as the standard drug for comparison in both the models. The antiulcer activity of ocimum sanctum could be due to its antisecretory, anticholinergic or antihistaminergic properties. In view of this therapeutic potential, more studies are required to establish ocimum sanctum as a standard drug for peptic ulcer [2].”

    They’re using high amounts of Holy Basil in the studies.What do you think? Would you consider adding Holy Basil to your diet as an anti-inflammatory or histamine blocker to help treat your histamine intolerance, histaminosis, mastocytosis or mast cell activation?

    WONDERING HERE TO START? HERE’S A FOUR WEEK COURSE & MEAL PLAN TO TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF HEALING HISTAMINE

    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. 

    ————REFERENCES—————

    [1] http://www.ispub.com/journal/the-internet-journal-of-pharmacology/volume-7-number-1/pharmacological-basis-for-antianaphylactic-antihistaminic-and-mast-cell-stabilization-activity-of-ocimum-sanctum.html

    [2] http://www.ispub.com/journal/the-internet-journal-of-gastroenterology/volume-11-number-1/comparison-of-efficacy-of-ocimum-sanctum-against-gastric-and-duodenal-ulcers-in-animals.html

     

  • Dr. Oz: “inflammation is waging a war on our bodies”

    Cauliflower
    Anti-inflammatory superstar cauliflower

    AN INVISIBLE WAR

    Dr. Oz calls inflammation an “invisible civil war raging in your body. Undetected it can cause heart attacks, stroke and cancer.” According to him, the problem begins when inflammation does not resolve following its role in healing an injury, causing your immune system to go haywire, turning your best friend into your worst enemy.  This ties in to all my reading of this last year. Yes, inflammation is a serious concern when it unnecessarily stokes the immune system into over reacting to everything. Inflammation isn’t just dangerous to those of us with inflammation-induding histamine related disorders like histamine intolerance, histaminosis, mastocytosis and mast cell activation, it’s relevant to anyone with an interest in minimising their cancer, stroke and heart attack risk.

    CONDITIONS LINKED TO INFLAMMATION

    CANCER

    HEART ATTACK AND STROKE

    PRE-ECLAMPSIA – excessive maternal inflammatory response to pregnancy…(here’s a study on histamine in pregnancy)

    And that’s where the low histamine diet comes in, at least for me. Histamine causes inflammation. Controlling its intake, especially when already dealing with a histamine-related issue, is a good first step, as is adding more anti-inflammatory foods to the diet. A word of caution here: just because something is anti-inflammatory doesn’t mean that you might not have a histamine reaction to it. We’re talking a straight up classic histamine/IgE mediate allergy or food intolerance here.

    So, now you’re aware of why you need to be fighting inflammation, but what’s the best way to do it? I take a three pronged approach: diet (check out my low histamine cookbooks for recipes), supplements and lifestyle.

    MY TOP ANTI-HISTAMINE & ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS

    CAULIFLOWER – my favourite recipe.

    Vitamin K status, as measured by plasma phylloquinone and phylloquinone intake, was significantly inversely associated with the overall inflammation index, which represented the sum of the normalized deviates of the individual markers. Secondary analyses of the individual markers demonstrated significant (p<0.01) associations with 5 of the 14 markers. A two-fold higher plasma phylloquinone concentration was associated with 15 percent lower CD40 ligand, three percent lower intracellular adhesion molecule-1, eight percent lower interleukin-6, four percent lower serum osteoprotegerin, and four percent lower tumor necrosis factor receptor-2 concentrations in multivariable-adjusted analyses. Usual dietary phylloquinone intake was also significantly (p=0.01) inversely associated with C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, interleukin-6, lipoprotein phospholipase A2 mass, myeloperoxidase, osteoprotegerin, and urinary isoprostanes.

    WATERCRESS

    Histamine release inhibitors in watercress (Nasturtium officinale) were isolated using a monitoring system with antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. Of the 15 compounds isolated, flavonols and megastigmanes significantly inhibited histamine release. Two flavonols, 3-O-sophorosides of rhamnetin and rhamnazin, were new compounds. To investigate the inhibitory mechanism, the effects of rhamnetin, rhamnetin 3-O-sophoroside and an isolated megastigmane glucoside on the increase in the intracellular free calcium concentration were examined at a concentration providing 60% inhibition of histamine release. The results suggest that these compounds did not affect the calcium influx at that concentration. The structure-activity relationships of the megastigmanes on histamine release were also investigated.

    QUINCE

    We examined the effect of a crude hot-water extract (HW) of quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) fruit on type I allergy in vivo and in vitro. The oral administration of the quince HW-added diet to NC/Nga mice for 63 d showed a significant decrease in the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions under conventional conditions. The concentration of IgE in the serum collected from mice fed with quince HW was also lowered in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, we found that quince HW inhibited the release of beta-hexosaminidase from rat basophilic leukemia cell line RBL-2H3 after a 24-h treatment. The quince HW fraction of less than 3 kDa reduced the mRNA expression of the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI) gamma subunit. These results suggest that quince HW had an inhibitory effect on type I allergy by suppressing IgE production and IgE-mediated degranulation.

    GREEN TEA

    The human body is made of some 250 different cell types. From them, only a small subset of cell types is able to produce histamine. They include some neurons, enterochromaffin-like cells, gastrin-containing cells, mast cells, basophils, and monocytes/macrophages, among others. In spite of the reduced number of these histamine-producing cell types, they are involved in very different physiological processes. Their deregulation is related with many highly prevalent, as well as emergent and rare diseases, mainly those described as inflammation-dependent pathologies, including mastocytosis, basophilic leukemia, gastric ulcer, Crohn disease, and other inflammatory bowel diseases. Furthermore, oncogenic transformation switches some non-histamine-producing cells to a histamine producing phenotype. This is the case of melanoma, small cell lung carcinoma, and several types of neuroendocrine tumors. The bioactive compound epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea, has been shown to target histamine-producing cells producing great alterations in their behavior, with relevant effects on their proliferative potential, as well as their adhesion, migration, and invasion potentials. In fact, EGCG has been shown to have potent anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, and anti-angiogenic effects and to be a potent inhibitor of the histamine-producing enzyme, histidine decarboxylase. Herein, we review the many specific effects of EGCG on concrete molecular targets of histamine-producing cells and discuss the relevance of these data to support the potential therapeutic interest of this compound to treat inflammation-dependent diseases.

    CORIANDER

    Ethanolic extract of fruits of Coriandrum sativum, leaves of Datura stramonium and Azadirachta indica showed a significant (p<0.01) inhibition of carrageenan induced rat paw edema and the results are presented in table -2. The extract of C. sativum, D. stramonium and A. indica showed 40.81%, 39.43% and 46.47% edema inhibition respectively after third hour at 200 mg/kg dose. Maximum activity was found at 3.0 hr intervals with each dose. Among these plant Azadirachta indica showed maximum anti-inflammatory activity every hour. The inflammation induced by carrageenan is biphasic in nature. The initial phase of edema has been attributed to the release of histamine and serotonin; the edema maintaining during the plateaue phase, attribute to kinin like substances and the second accelerating phase of swelling is attributed to the release of prostaglandin [12, 13]. Since the extract of C. sativum, D. stramonium and A. indica inhibited the carrageenan induced edema that involves release of histamine and serotonin in the first phase; hence the inhibitory effect of the extracts could be partly due to inhibition of mast cell mediator release.

    LIFESTYLE

    Yoga and meditation help you fight inflammation.

    SUPPLEMENTS

    Dr. Theoharides’ Neuroprotek quercetin supplement is not only the cleanest, but also the most effective that I have come across in years. I will soon be selling it through my site, in the meantime please visit my good friend’s website to order.

    You’ll find the Dr. Oz inflammation episode here.

GET STARTED HEALING HISTAMINE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HISTAMINE DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX