Managing Histamine Intolerance Through Gut Health

Histamine is a neurotransmitter involved in digestion, immune responses, and brain function. When we release excess histamine (MCAS), or when histamine accumulates due to impaired breakdown —often because of low activity of the enzyme diamine oxidase/DAO (histamine intolerance) —symptoms like headaches, joint pain, fatigue, skin rashes, and digestive issues can arise.

1. Gut Microbiome and Histamine: The gut microbiome plays a critical role in histamine regulation. Certain bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, are capable of breaking down histamine. An imbalance in these bacterial populations (gut dysbiosis) can lead to histamine build-up and exacerbate symptoms ​(Frontiers).

   Wonderfully, we can increase the leels of these essentail bacteria in our systems! Lactobacillus can be increased by eating foods including yogurt, kefir, onions, and garlic. Bifidobacterium strains are increased when we eat a varitey of fiber-rich plants including all fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and seeds. At the same time, we must reduce refined sugars and ultra processed foods that harm or crowd out these bacteria.

    

2. DAO Enzyme and Gut Health: DAO, produced in the gut, is responsible for breaking down histamine in food. Dysbiosis, or inflammation of the gut lining (often associated with conditions like leaky gut), can impair DAO production and function, leading to histamine intolerance. Research shows that maintaining a diverse microbiome can improve DAO levels and enhance histamine breakdown ​(Frontiers).

    

3. Overactive Immune Responses: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a condition where the body's mast cells release excessive histamine in response to immune triggers. This can lead to chronically high histamine levels, contributing to symptoms like hives, flushing, migraines, joint pain, heart palpitations, and digestive issues. Gut health plays a role here as well, since an imbalanced microbiome may worsen immune dysfunction, leading to further histamine release ​(Frontiers).

    

4. Eat More Plants for Microbiome Diversity: The #30PlantsAWeek challenge, encouraged by the American Gut Project, emphasizes the importance of eating 30 different plant-based foods weekly. It is less about the portion sizes, and more about the diversity of plant foods to create an equally diverse and strong microbiome. Studies indicate that plant diversity boosts gut microbiome diversity, increasing the presence of beneficial bacteria that may help degrade histamine and reduce symptoms of intolerance ​(BioMed Central).

    

   A balanced microbiome is crucial for maintaining proper histamine levels. Adopting the #30PlantsAWeek approach, along with other gut-healthy practices, can enhance microbiome diversity, improve histamine breakdown, and help reduce histamine intolerance symptoms. This is the focus of our work at Consider This Nutrition, and why each of our protein bars contain 8+ plant ingredients, a pinch of sea salt, and nothing else. They are also ISO lab tested for histamine/tyramine levels and that data is here on our website.