Tag: histamine

  • 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

     

  • Histamine’s role in fibrocystic breast disease

    Histamine’s role in fibrocystic breast disease

    Suffering from breast lumps? Histamine plays an important role in Fibrocystic Breast Disease.

    One of my many health scares, before my histaminosis/histamine intolerance diagnosis, was breast cancer, finally ruled out by lumpectomy. I had another cancer scare a few years later – doctors insisted on another lumpectomy, which I refused. It took me another seven years of persistent cancer fears to find the answer in a number of studies. One of the tell tale signs (that my docs should have paid attention to) was that the lumps were small, there were quite a few of them and they would completely disappear at times.

    “Two mechanisms are proposed which could lead to mast cell degranulation in breast tissue. First, low progesterone levels lead to decreased intracellular cAMP levels in mast cells which enhance mast cell degranulation. Second, low progesterone levels lead to increased solubilization of breast collagen during tissue turnover. Susceptible individuals may undergo an allergic reaction to soluble collagen resulting in further mast cell degranulation. The degranulation products histamine and heparin may stimulate increased stromal proliferation and vascularization respectively. We provide evidence for the occurrence of histamine release by demonstrating an increased incidence of allergic symptoms in white women with fibrocystic breast changes.” Read the full study here.

    I no longer suffer from this. If you’d like to learn how I did it and gain the tools to build your own healing plan irrespective of food lists, click here. 

    I find it a little amusing that one of my most accurate histamine level barometers is my chest. Though I’m sure to lose your respect at this point (I promise to work hard to regain it), I must quote Lindsay Lohan’s masterpiece, ‘Mean Girls’:

    Karen: Well… I’m kinda psychic. I have a fifth sense.
    Cady: What do you mean?
    Karen: It’s like I have ESPN or something. My breasts can always tell when it’s going to rain.
    Cady: Really? That’s amazing.
    Karen: Well… they can tell when it’s raining.

    As soon as I feel those little lumps I know I’ve seriously fallen off the wagon and it’s high time I clamber back on up.

    This doesn’t give you a get out clause from monthly self exams. I know it’s boring, so why not ask your better half to do it for you?

    mean girls
    Karen: There’s a 30 percent chance it’s already raining.
  • These probiotic strains help fight allergies (rather than causing them)

    These probiotic strains help fight allergies (rather than causing them)

    Baby bacteria lowers histamine levels
    Baby bacteria lowers histamine levels

    I’ve been exploring the catch-22 of probiotic supplementation for some time now. The dilemma? Probiotics are necessary for proper intestinal function – the histamine lowering enzymes diamine oxidase and monoamine oxidase live there, so fixing up our poop tube seems like a good idea right?

    Not so simple.

    Probiotic supplements are fermented (a no go for histamine intolerance/histamine related disorders) and some strains actually raise histamine and tyramine in the body. The good news is that strains commonly found in babies can actually lower histamine, helping us fight allergies and lower our overall histamine burden.

    Lactobacillus casei (TISTR 389) andLactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (TISTR 895) were found to produce BA (biogenic amines). The highest levels of histamine (1820.9 ± 3.5 mg L−1) and tyramine (5486.99 ± 47.6 mg L−1) formation were observed for the TISTR 389 strain, while TISTR 895 produced only histamine (459.1 ± 0.63 mg L−1) in the decarboxylase broth. Biogenic amine potential was not observed for the Lactobacillus acidophilus,Lactobacillus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, and Lactobacillus plantarum strains studied. This study confirmed that BA formation is strain dependent and not related to the species. Read the full study here.

    English translation…

    The BAD

    Lactobacillus casei was shown to produce histamine and tyramine, while Lactobacillus Bulgaricus increased histamine alone.

    The NEUTRAL

    Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus Lactis, Lactococcus Lactis, and Lactobacillus plant arum did not have any effect on biogenic amines like histamine and tyramine.

    And now for…The GOOD

    One of the perks of being the member of a highly educated online community who are incredibly proactive in their own healthcare, is that they often help fill in the missing links. Today I was reminded of studies I found last year which talked about the histamine-lowering effects of two strains of probiotic bacteria, Bifidobacterium infants, Bifidobacterium longum, commonly found in infant intestines. The studies also noted that the longum species had significant IgE mediation action. This means it could prove helpful to those with allergies. Read the full study here.

    Does this mean you can cure your histamine intolerance/histaminosis/mastocytosis with a histamine-lowering probiotic? Doubtful. Could it be helpful? Possibly. Why the cautious optimism? Because I have experienced a variety of reactions to supplements over the years. But if you’re going to try probitic supplementation, this might be a good place to start.

    I would not recommend starting this, or any supplement, without consulting your doctor. If you do try, please go slowly. If you prefer to go the nutritional route, a diet low in histamine is a good place to start – check out my post on pre-bioitic foods here.

  • 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…)
  • Suffering from make up allergies or reactions? Try wearing nudes…

    Suffering from make up allergies or reactions? Try wearing nudes…

    Suffer from make up allergies/reactions? Ever noticed nudes bother you less? Me too! An interview with Ilia Beauty founder Sasha Plavsic at the fabulous Being Content in London revealed why.

    Ilia’s Neon Angel has my vote as one of the top all-time greats of the natural beauty worldI asked Sasha if she thought make up allergies were the driving force behind the sudden global interest in natural beauty. I mean, in a world where the Gisele Bundchen’s of the modeling world are ditching the mainstream and flocking to natural brands like RMS, surely something’s gone awry?

     

    Sasha reckoned it was more likely that women are just better informed nowadays and have begun to question why they’d use dirty brands (my words not Sasha’s!) over natural ones when they can now get the same texture, staying power and on trend shades hitting the catwalk each season.

    This season’s Ilia line was created to be more of a fashionista’s indulgence than your average Birkenstock clad granola muncher’s. Interestingly Sasha tells me that the organic angle isn’t their main selling point (their line is up to 85% organic). They’re now competing with the titans of the cosmetics industry based on their gorgeous colour palette. It’s obviously working – they’ll be setting up shop in Barney’s in New York City – certainly not something I expected to hear! It makes me very hopeful that we’ll soon see other brands breaking free of their hippy shackles.

    Check out their stunning Voila lipstick below. Nothing like a neon-ish coral to bring out the beach bunny in me.

    Ilia Beauty’s Voila coral lipstick. 

    Unfortunately a dab of this shade confirmed what I already knew – there was no way I could wear it without getting a very bad headache. Standard for me with my weirdo histamine medical condition. Sasha was kind enough to enlighten me: nude lipsticks contain far less pigment than any other shades. Red colours may affect some people simply because of the sheer quantity of pigment required.

    I’m guessing it’s also because we’re really not meant to be painting on layer after layer of beetle blood onto our lips every day. Though Sasha pointed out that some companies also use red food dye instead.

    How do dirty make up and cosmetics drive up histamine levels? Some studies point to up to 60% of what we put on our body being absorbed into our bloodstream. I doubt our bodies would react very well if we ate the cosmetics, so why put them on the skin? I did ask Dirk (Budka) a few times about why my histaminosis/histamine intolerance flares up when I wear most make up. In my case it’s a combination of high histamine/potential make up allergies and a bad case of hypersensitivity disorder. I’ve said it before, if you’re not improving on a low histamine diet (following diagnosis and following the low histamine list) then you should really examine what you’re putting on your skin. It took me years to accept that cosmetics were doing me in. You can read more about that in my upcoming Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide.

    Thing is I can’t honestly say I won’t run back to Being Content on Monday (or order online) to pick up a tube of Ilia’s Voila. It’s just too stunning not to. Headache be dammned, I’ve done much worse in the name of beauty! Or…I could just whip out my brand new tube of Ilia’s ‘Humble Me’ – a tasteful nude with my name all over it. So sue me, I love a sexy nude lip.

    You can pick up a tube of Ilia in your shade at Being Content on Bulstrode Street in London or from their online store. You’ll probably bump into me there…and don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for a 10% discount on the upcoming Low Histamine Beauty Survival Guide.

     

  • 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/

  • The Histamine Detox

    The Histamine Detox

    Fotolia_43424524_XS-1-287x287

    THIS IS AN OLD POST, BUT RELEVANT TO PEOPLE STARTING OUT.

    CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW I MOVED PAST THE ELIMINATION.

    THE LOW HISTAMINE DETOX WEEK 1

    BLOOD. I NEED BLOOD!

    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.

    HERE’S HOW I MOVED PAST THE ELIMINATION. 

     ANALYSE THIS!

    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.

     

  • Stressed out uterus?

    I’m not just going for a catchy headline here – turns out that valerian root is not only a powerful anxiolytic (natural chill out pill) overall, it’s also an antihistamine which helps with menstrual cramps. I mean seriously, the study is actually called:

    Relaxing effects of Valeriana officinalis extracts on isolated human non-pregnant uterine muscle.

    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…Read the full study here.

    Told ya I wasn’t making it up! 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 brew mine into a tea and try a sip. If my nose doesn’t stuff up then I go for it. I’ll be posting my findings over the next few days as I round up the rest of my research. I find that the best way to get a good night’s sleep is to stay low histamine and not eat too late. The not eating late thing is pretty obvious – I like to let the histamine unleash its worst before I’m getting ready for bed. I also try to do a little (very) light relaxation yoga where I pretty much just hang out upside down for about 30 minutes…

    If you’re looking for low histamine inspiration, don’t forget to check out my low histamine recipe books.

  • 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…)

  • 5 top tips to kickstarting your histamine intolerance recovery

    Tropical Fruit Cup
    Tropical Fruit Cup – On the Go Cookbook

    A lot of people ask me how I’ve got from total histamine intolerance breakdown to where I am. While I do believe my recovery is still a work in progress, I thought I’d share how a combination of militant food planning, 30 minutes of inflammation fighting yoga and daily chanting (OM!) have allowed me to reach a far better place than I have ever been.

    Thanks to my years studying nutrition (unofficially) through the teachings of Drs Fuhrman, Weil, Oz and others, I was well aware my new low histamine diet had the potential to be unhealthy and counter-productive, if applied strictly, and blindly.

    To acknowledge something and to implement it are two very different things. It took me a while to get my sea legs. I floundered around for some time, terrified to add new foods or even entertain the idea of being proactive in my recovery. But I knew I had to take action when I began to approach meal time with fear and hatred, focusing on the food rather than the state of my broken body and mind. I was now eating the same five foods every single day, usually in large amounts, not understanding why I wasn’t “recovering”.

    (more…)

GET STARTED HEALING HISTAMINE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HISTAMINE DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX