Day 17: Is Histamine Intolerance Behind Your Weird Symptoms? June 2021

Day 17: Is Histamine Intolerance Behind Your Weird Symptoms? June 2021

Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Me too! It’s miserable. 

 

Being allergic to pollen means your body releases lots of histamine in response to pollen. 

 

When your body has too much histamine, it can cause symptoms collectively known as histamine intolerance. As well as the usual allergy symptoms (sneezing, blocked nose, itchy and watery eyes etc.) you can get some other strange symptoms caused by histamine intolerance too. 

 

Too much histamine can be either due to excess production of histamine by your body (for example due to an allergy), or not being able to break down histamine very well.  OR… both!

 

Histamine intolerance symptoms impact many different system in the body, including:

 

  • Head: headaches & migraines
  • Mood: anxiety, irritability, brain fog
  • Stomach: acid reflux, nausea, stomach pain
  • Intestines: bloating, diarrhea, constipation
  • Heart: heart arrhythmia, dizziness
  • Sinuses: drainage, congestion
  • Skin: hives, itching, flushing,
  • Circadian Rhythm: sleep problems, insomnia, early waking

 

Most people with histamine intolerance have several of the symptoms above.

 

There are two enzymes that help to break down histamine in the body (DAO and HMNT), and you can have genetic variations that decrease the activity of these enzymes, meaning your body cannot break down histamine as effectively. 

 

Turns out I have variations in both these enzymes. 

 

DAO

 

HMNT

Some bad news: it turns out wine can make allergies worse. If you’ve noticed you’ve been sneezing more after a glass of wine, histamine (and sulfites), found in wine, can be to blame as they exacerbate seasonal allergies. 

 

Both chemicals are also found in beer, spirits and some foods. Red wines are the biggest culprits when it comes to histamines, having between 60 to 3,800 micrograms per glass versus white wine, which has between 3 and 120. Gin and vodka are much lower in histamine than wine, so during allergy season it might be sensible to steer clear of the wine and have a gin with sparkling water and lemon instead!

 

Alcohol also decreases the histamine degrading enzyme DAO, so yet another reason why you might notice your symptoms are worse after a drink.

 

High-Histamine Foods

 

Foods like cured, smoked and tinned meats including bacon, salami and tuna are usually high in histamine. As are cheeses like stilton, cheddar, camembert and parmesan.

 

To reduce histamine, opt for fresh meat and fish and younger cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella.

 

I love cured and smoked meats, cheese and wine! But I’ve noticed that I do react to foods like salami when my hayfever is also bad. I’m definitely feeling better at the moment because I have been working on optimising my nutrition this month and I’ve cut out most cheese.

 

#JoyfulJune 

 

Taking in the Good (write down three good things that have happened or that you have noticed)

 

  • Having lunch at the Beacon in Tunbridge Wells with my sister. 
  • Getting the site ready for my bee hive! 
  • Reading with my 5yr old before bed. 

 

What good things will you remember about today, the only Thursday 17th June 2021 we will ever have?

 

Until tomorrow,

 

Chloe x

 

About Me

Hello, I’m Chloe. I’m a nutrition and health coach and I’m on a mission to inspire & support women so they can go from feeling fatigued to feeling fabulous! 

I help women who are FED up of being overweight, addicted to sugar and feeling tired ALL THE TIME to lose weight and optimise their health by fixing hormonal, digestive, autoimmune and energy issues.

 

My step-by-step programme, Revitalise, (https://store.chloearchard.com/28-day-revitalise) will help you lose weight, get back your energy, restore vitality and create lifelong health using the power of beautiful & delicious REAL FOOD. 

 

I’m here to make it easy for you to eat healthy, delicious food without counting calories or feeling deprived. You’ll reset your relationship with food, shift your mindset and build new habits for a complete health transformation!

 

Disclaimer: All information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing. I am a nutritional educator and do not dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment. While nutritional support can be an important complement to your medical care, a nutritional therapy program is not a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a disease, illness, or injury by a medical provider. Nutritional evaluations and lifestyle assessments are not intended for the diagnoses of disease. 

 

Disclaimer: chloearchard.com is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Buying through our affiliate links does not cost you anything but helps us keep this website up and running. Thank you!

 

All information provided within this blog post is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this blog post. The information provided in this blog post is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the author. However, you as the reader must be responsible for consulting with your own GP or other health professional on matters raised within. chloearchard.com will not accept responsibility for the actions or consequential results of any action taken by any reader.

 

The material in this blog post may include information, products or services by third parties. Third Party Materials comprise of the products and opinions expressed by their owners. As such, chloearchard.com does not assume responsibility or liability for any Third Party material or opinions. The publication of such Third Party Materials does not constitute our guarantee of any information, instruction, opinion, products or services contained within the Third Party Material. Publication of such Third Party Material is simply a recommendation and an expression of our own opinion of that material.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.