Seriously, histamine is literally the bane of my existence…. it might also be yours. I’ve always been someone who had to be aware of histamine issues, I make sure to get enough DAO (a histamine degrading enzyme) through my high polyphenol count olive oil (yay healthy fats), but sometimes I do things that set off other imbalances which trigger my histamine to rise through the roof. For those on a carnivore journey you can opt out of the polyphenol part and utilize organ meats or kidney desiccated kidney supplements

I like coffee, problem is that it can create deficiencies such as magnesium deficiency. Did you know that this very common deficiency can cause histamine issues? Yup, low levels of magnesium will cause histamine to rise, it’s also connected to mast cells in the small intestine, liver, kidneys and even bone marrow.

So why is this such a big deal? Well mast cells dump inflammation into the bloodstream. This is a good thing when we are fighting infections, hormone imbalances or high cortisol but a bad thing when it’s constantly dumping it and we react in unsavory ways such as rashes, itchiness and all out histamine war.

Back to the DAO component, we need magnesium to produce it. This amazing histamine degrading enzyme also happens to regulate zinc (super important for those hashimoto’s patients!), calcium, copper, potassium and vitamin D (again super important for those with hashimoto’s). I’ve had many people ask me if they could supplement with DAO instead of adding in the high polyphenol olive oil I typically recommend. Yes you could if you can find it but it’s virtually impossible due to some of the patents out there that no one is using. If you do find it you may want to be sure that the new formulations actually contain DAO (many people have gotten tricked) and that you are cautious of the fillers being used. If you do find something good quality please be sure to let me know!

Other sources of DAO are organ meats, specifically kidneys. For those not following an animal based lifestyle you can also get it form pea sprouts. The trick with pea sprouts is that you will need to sprout them yourself, in water is easiest. You want to keep them in a dark room as the DAO response is higher in plants that are “stressed”, growing in darkness is something that stresses a plant. You will need to harvest them just before day 10 and if you want to reap the benefits of it being 5 times higher in DAO than sprouts grown in light you will need to blend them or juice them in order to break down the cell wall. Sprouting is pretty easy, check out this easy how to for water sprouting or this one for soil, you can also check out youtube for instruction videos.

Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common modern day deficiencies around, we can identify this when seeing anxiety issues, cramping of the legs, heart palpitations, brain function (hello fogginess) and so much more. I’m a fan of bisglycinate but also transdermal application (this means applied to the skin). Epsom salt baths, liquid magnesium sprayed or rubbed on the soles of the feet at bedtime or gel if you prefer are all ways to get more into your health regime.  Another massive trigger for histamine is heat, this includes hot baths so watch the temperature of the night time soothing soak.

Remember that all our systems work together so looking into a complete protocol rather than pieces is beneficial. Have you supported your liver and bile ducts? Are you supporting your adrenals? What about parasites (stay tuned for my article coming up on how parasites affect mast cells…)

If you would like to know more on how to regulate your histamine, support your systems and balance those hormones then maybe we need to  have a chat.

Want my histamine protocol? Have a look here