{"id":3285,"date":"2021-05-03T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betternutrition.com\/2020\/03\/31\/could-you-have-histamine-intolerance\/"},"modified":"2021-05-03T11:56:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T17:56:34","slug":"could-you-have-histamine-intolerance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betternutrition.com\/conditions-and-wellness\/allergies\/could-you-have-histamine-intolerance\/","title":{"rendered":"Could You Have Histamine Intolerance?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many years, I suffered from thyroid issues that were driven by gut problems, heavy metals, and viruses. If you read my first book, The 30-Day Thyroid Reset Plan<\/em>, you may know a little about my story. But what most people don\u2019t know is that one of the most significant issues\u2014in addition to my thyroid symptoms and general ill health\u2014was mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) and, therefore, histamine intolerance. Mast cells (white blood cells) are responsible for releasing histamine. This isn\u2019t a bad thing unless your body isn\u2019t equipped to break down histamine properly or you\u2019re producing more histamine than your body can handle, which happens to be the case with MCAS.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until I started learning about histamine intolerance as a functional medicine practitioner that I finally began to piece together the puzzle. I realized that my symptoms and food sensitivities were being driven by histamine intolerance. I created the plan outlined here. Most of the symptoms I suffered are gone, and I now live a pretty normal life day-to-day.<\/p>\n

What Is Histamine?<\/h2>\n

Histamine is a chemical your body makes that plays a number of different roles, but its main function is to get rid of allergens. When histamine is released, it causes inflammation to alert the body of potential pathogens. This is a natural part of the body\u2019s immune response, and for those who don\u2019t suffer histamine intolerance, enzymes later break down the histamine to prevent it from building up and causing ill health.<\/p>\n

Histamine is also involved in digestion through stomach acid as well as the central nervous system, where it works as a neurotransmitter, delivering messages between the body and the brain.<\/p>\n

When Histamine Becomes a Problem<\/h2>\n

Histamine can become an issue when it builds up. This can occur when the body is suffering from certain metabolic disturbances, such as a defect in enzyme-producing genes, that make it difficult to break down and metabolize histamine in the proper way. When this happens, histamine can affect the brain, gut, lungs, and cardiovascular system, causing a number of unwanted symptoms, including:<\/p>\n

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The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan<\/h2>\n

Phase 1: Eliminate<\/h3>\n

If you have histamine intolerance or suspect that you do, the first step is to
\nremove high-histamine and inflammatory\u00a0foods from your diet for 1\u20133 months. It\u2019s very important to keep a food diary as a way to help determine which foods are triggering immediate symptoms.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll have to keep these foods out of your diet forever. The diet may be a temporary measure until your histamine levels stabilize and you start to feel better. However, you may find that you have to keep some foods out of your diet forever.<\/p>\n

High-Histamine Foods<\/h3>\n

Foods that are problematic for those with histamine intolerance include:<\/p>\n