Histamine Intolerance is a common issue that manifests with symptoms such as hives, irritability, profuse sweating or becoming red in the face when exercising, exercise-induced asthma, psoriasis, eczema, insomnia, nosebleeds, anxiety, and sweaty hands and feet.

Too much histamine in your body can contribute to symptoms such as flushing, runny nose, sleep difficulties, and/or headaches. These pesky symptoms can result from slowed enzyme activity in your histamine pathway. 

Some people react to food-derived histamines (fermented foods, aged cheese, wine, etc.). 

Others are more sensitive to the histamines created by probiotics or gut bacteria. 

And still, others are sensitive to histamines in their environment (seasonal sinus issues, runny nose, etc.)

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Causes

Dietary changes and environmental factors are thought to contribute to the increase in allergies seen over recent years. Increased consumption of a “Western diet” including fewer fruits and vegetables and more processed grains, fats, and meats leads to a significant decrease in dietary intakes of beneficial compounds such as flavonoids, antioxidants, and polyphenols found in fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Resources 

• Good Article 

• Histamine Intolerance Awareness

• Histamine Intolerance Originates in the Gut

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Histamine-containing foods: Histamine, a part of the body’s biological defense system, is also found in many common dietary sources such as fish, meat, cheese, fermented foods such as miso, pickles,

sauerkraut, aged food such as parmesan, smoked food such as smoked salmon, red wine, champagne, fish, acid food such as tomatoes, citrus fruit, vinegar, alcohol, citrus juices, and leftovers.

🌸Avoid aged, fermented food. Eat only the freshest meat and fish available to you. 

🌸Avoid aged cheese, especially parmesan, considered a great offender.  

My naturopath told me to eliminate:  gluten, beans and lentils, onions, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus, whole-grain bread, and grains. I saw a big difference right the way! No hives!!

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Other foods contain histidine, which is converted to histamine during digestion by certain bacteria in the gut. At healthy levels and in the right places, histamine is needed for a normal digestive process and sleep-wake cycle, and for a functioning immune system. On the other hand, too much histamine can cause unpleasant side effects like rashes, itching, stuffy nose, swelling, headache, and gastrointestinal complaints.*

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Environmental Stress: it worsens histamine intolerance and can also contribute.

For me, it is conventional laundry products' smell coming from neighbors' laundry rooms.

• Choose always organic laundry products. I hope there will be more awareness and protection from unhealthy cause-effect from fragrances.

• If you are allergic to dust mites wash your bed sheets with water at higher temperatures.  

• Choose organic skincare and organic hair products without harsh preservatives such as sodium benzoate classified 3 on ewg.org, identified as capable of causing contact urticaria.

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Enzyme DAO and HNMT

People with histamine intolerance often have low levels of either of two very specific enzymes—diamine oxidase (DAO) and histamine-N-methyltransferase (HNMT)—that process histamine in your body.

Some of us people do not produce enough of this important enzyme called DAO, produced by our digestive system to help break down histamine.

For this reason, we need to follow a low-Histamine diet and avoid external stressors,s and supplements with anti-histamine supplements.

I listed here all the products to help you with histamine. I found them to great for my occasional hives.

I also create a diary where I record the food I had after a hives episode to help to spot the food that creates intolerance.🌸 A healthy gut is a key factor in normal histamine metabolism and healthy histamine levels throughout the body.*

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🌸 If you are dealing with Hives, Urtica, and Histamine Intolerance I can recommend a naturopath in Los Angeles. He is Stephen V. Meeneghan, LAc

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Anti-Histamine products

🌸Here you can find natural supplements and tea that helped me with my hives.

I listed here all the products to help you with histamine. I found them to be great for my occasional hives.

I also suggest you keep a diary where I record the food I had after a hives episode to help to spot the food that creates intolerance.

I recommend you to use organic unscented products for your shower and skincare and this Allergy-free Certified Organic cotton clothing brand.