Today I’d like to tell you a story about the humble histamine
molecule, and how it, along with its chemical friends, can wreack complete havoc in your body.
Many people are aware of histamine because they take antihistamines to block allergy symptoms. What you may not be aware of is that histamine, being a chemical in your blood stream, is not confined to your respiratory tract and eyes. When histamine goes out of balance it can cause some major problems in other parts of your body as well. You can have skin issues, digestive issues, chronic pain, and even anxiety and other psychiatric issues that are linked to excess histamine in your body. If you experience an increase in any of these symptoms when your season allergies are acting up, or when you are exposed to certain foods, chemicals or environmental allergens, there is a decent chance that histamine is playing a role.
Histamine is a chemical that causes inflammation. Your body releases it, along with other inflammatory chemicals, in order to take care of an assault on the body such as an infection or an injury. You can most easily see this when you get a cut, and then notice swelling, redness and pain. This is crucial to keeping us alive. However, it’s not so great if your immune system is releasing these chemicals willy nilly in repose to things such as tree pollen, certain foods, mold, or other triggers.
How do you know if histamine is causing your symptoms? This can be a complicated question to answer. There are tests that can be done, but it is often tricky to figure out a clear answer. In my practice, if I have a high level of suspicion that this is going on, I will often have people start with either taking an over the counter antihistamine and/or using herbal therapies that can slow down histamine release. We also use vitamins and minerals that help the body clear out histamine and other inflammatory chemicals. If this works, it’s a good clue that histamine is causing problems in your body.
I wish I could say that once we do this it is a simple thing to bring a body back into balance. Unfortunately, because the body is an incredibly complex ecosystem, there are many factors that come into play. In addition to therapies that prevent histamine release and speed up its degradation, we also have to look into other things that may be causing your body to be in a chronically inflamed state. This means looking into food and environmental triggers, digestive issues, chronic infections, detoxification systems, mitochondrial functioning, hormone balancing, sleep (or lack there of), stress etc…
I know this can seem overwhelming, but healing a histamine overload is doable. It just takes making small incremental changes guided by a skilled practitioner. If you think you may have an excess of histamine in your body, I recommend consulting with a naturopathic physician, or other skilled healthcare provider. That being said, there are a few things that you can try yourself to get the ball rolling. Here are a few of my go to therapies. There are many more of course, but this can be a good place to start.
For slowing down the release of histamine:
- Green tea: 2 cups per day (avoid drinking this in the late afternoon or evening)
- Chamomile Tea: 1 strong cup in the evening (use 2 teabags or 1 tablespoon of loose her. Let it steep for 15 minutes)
- Luteolin: 100 – 200 mg twice daily
- Quercetin: 500 mg daily twice daily
For speeding up histamine degradation:
- Magnesium – 100 -200mg per day
- Vitamin C- 1000 mg per day (this also helps slow histamine release)
- B complex supplement (take as directed on the bottle)
If you believe you are struggling with histamine excess and would like to talk more about it, you can schedule an appointment here.
As always, these recommendations are not meant as a replacement for medical care. Please talk to your doctor before taking any new supplement, especially if you are on any medications or other supplements, are pregnant or are breastfeeding.
