My mast cells trigger histamine sensitivity.

Hello friends!

Today I want to share my experiences with histamine sensitivity. As a woman over 40 I am in the perimenopausal phase. This is a quite bumpy ride from time to time since progesterone is declining and estrogen shoots up high one day and is down low the next. I have probably always had a minor histamine sensitivity. I concluded this when I started to read more around symptoms and how certain foods that I have eaten made me feel. But this is now escalating. The reason why is because estrogen stimulates mast cells to release histamine and down-regulates the DAO enzyme that clears histamine. At the same time histamine stimulates the ovaries to make more estrogen. (1) So as you can tell this becomes a vicious cycle.

My situation

For me I have noticed that I get more symptoms at two different occasions in my cycle. First one is when estrogen normally is supposed to be high at the ovulation phase. Second one is when my progesterone dips just before the period and I become estrogen dominant.

What is a mast cell?

So what is a mast cell you might wonder? Well it is a type of white blood cell that are part of your immune system. They help you fight infections, but they are also involved in allergic reactions. Mast cells grow in your bone marrow, your gastrointestinal tract, your skin, and your airways.

What role has histamine in the body

Histamines actually has a crucial role in many of the body’s functions. We are always producing histamines and they are involved in and regulates about ten different systems. It is a neurotransmitter, and it is a part of our central nervous system. It assists in building stomach acid so we can digest the foods that we eat. It helps to regulate our hormonal system etc.

How the body handles histamine

So, we produce histamine so that it can do what it needs to do and then we have enzymes that helps to break down the histamine. This in order to not build up too much of it in the body. We build histamine and then break it down, we build it and break it down. That is how it is suppose to work in a perfect body.

Common symptoms with too much histamine

• Bloating, wind, and other gut issues
• Skin disorders such as itchy skin and hives
• Lips or tongue swell and get numb
• Congested nose, runny nose, and sneezing
• Headaches and migraines
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness
• Burning sensation in the mouth
• Insomnia
• Heavy periods and breast tenderness
• Urgency to urinate
• Anxiety

Triggers

Besides the whole hormonal aspect of perimenopause there are other triggers that also can cause a histamine reaction. Important to keep in mind is that encountering these triggers while also in the roller coaster of hormonal imbalances will escalate the symptoms further.

You can also get too much histamine due to stress, chronic inflammation, alcohol, and food sensitivities, especially cow’s dairy. Another reason could be intestinal dysbiosis because some species of gut bacteria manufacture histamine.  Or you can be stuck with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) as this impairs DAO activity and makes it harder to get the histamine out of your system.

In short the triggers can be categorized as follows

• Histamine containing foods
• Histamine triggering foods
• DAO enzyme blocking foods
• Inflammatory foods such as gluten, sugar, fried foods, processed foods, excessive red meat, and dairy

Treatments

I have searched and found the following treatments and mitigation strategies. The fastest lifestyle changes you can do is to reduce histamine-containing, triggering and DAO enzyme blocking foods along with avoiding the inflammatory ones.

Other things you can try are

• Supplementing with Vitamin B6 as it is an essential cofactor of DAO
• Improve gut health
• Lower the estrogen in the body by eating phytoestrogen foods
• Boost your progesterone in the luteal phase as this is a natural mast cell stabilizer and upregulates DAO
• L Glutamine 500mg daily as this is a natural antihistamine (2)
• Quercetin 500mg x 2 can be taken with a meal, as it is a natural mast cell stabilizer
• Saunas and steam rooms and hot baths may help to sweat out some of the histamine

Examples of histamine containing foods 

Some ground principles are that aged and fermented products usually have more histamine in them. So try to go for as fresh products as possible.

• Canned fish such as tuna, mackerel, and sardines
• Vinegar
• Hard aged cheeses
• Avocado, spinach, aubergine
• Shellfish
• Yeast
• Salami, sausages, bacon
• Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha
• Bone broth and fish stock
• Chocolate

Examples of histamine triggering foods

These foods do not contain much histamine, but it triggers the body to liberate more histamine.

• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Papaya
• Banana
• Tomatoes
• Cacao
• Cow’s milk
• Dried fruits, nuts
• Shellfish

Examples of DAO enzyme blocking foods

These foods block the DAO enzyme that it supposed to break down the histamine in the small intestine.

• Alcohol
• Energy drinks
• Black tea
• Green tea

Further reading on my blog

To all women out there – do not lose hope

Reflecting on stress from a female perspective

Did you try keto as a woman and lost your period?

Menstrual cycle variation