Fascinating stuff! I didn;t realize that even the fermented vegetables had high histamine contents. I just read on a website that a healthy gut is full of enzymes that break down histamines before they can be absorbed into our bloodstream. Unhealthy gut = problems with too much histamine in our bodies. The content on this website seems professional enough but they are trying to sell something (
https://bodyecology.com/articles/histam ... ted-foods/). I probably shouldn't post without researching it more but - here it is, with that caveat. (I'm sure yawny you've already researched this and can correct if it's off base). More from the site:
"Two enzymes are responsible for breaking down histamine. They are DAO (diamine oxidase) and HNMT (histamine-N-methyl-transferase). When these enzymes aren’t working like they should—or if we are genetically wired to have underactive enzymes—we begin to show signs of histamine intolerance.
You can help the DAO enzyme do its job by making sure your diet is rich in vitamin C and vitamin B6.
There are a few factors that influence DAO activity. In women, the menstrual cycle can actually predict how much of this detoxifying enzyme is available. (10) For example, during the luteal phase (after ovulation), a healthy woman has higher levels of DAO. This means that it is easier for her to detoxify histamine after she releases an egg and before she menstruates.
But one of the most important factors that influences DAO activity is diet. ... a healthy small intestine is full of enzymes that break down histamine. When the small intestine is inflamed or leaky, there is less DAO and more histamine."
They point out that "histamine produced by gut bacteria actually regulates the immune system and has an anti-inflammatory effect." and go on to suggest healing leaky gut as a way of removing histamine intolerance (but only if you're not one of the people with a genetic intolerance): eating more soluble fiber while on a diet low in histamine-rich foods for a few months, then re-introducing histamine-containing foods.
From another site (
https://paleoleap.com/histamines/)
"The biggest nonfood source of histamines in most people’s bodies, though, is their gut flora. Some kinds of bacteria produce histamines, while others degrade them. Too many histamine-producing bacteria can fill up your “sink” faster than DAO can empty it..... DAO, the “emergency drain” in the histamine sink, is mainly produced by the mucous lining the intestinal wall. If the lining of the gut is irritated (by inflammatory foods like grains and legumes), DAO production decreases, and the symptoms of histamine overload only get worse.
To sum it all up, good gut health is just as important for histamine tolerance as it is for everything else. Unhealthy gut flora might even be able to create histamine intolerance problems in a person who would otherwise be completely healthy."
Their solution is the same: heal the gut. Here's their protocol for that:
"Gut healing on a low-histamine diet seems like a paradox, because the fermented foods that you need to heal are the same foods that are causing the problem! It is possible to restore normal gut flora without sauerkraut, though:
- > a well-chosen probiotic supplement. In this study, a supplement with two strains of bifidobacterium actually suppressed histamine release. In another study, Lactobacillus rhamnosus helped suppress histamine receptors.
If you’re not interested in micromanaging your probiotic strains, don’t worry: you have another option that might be even better. This new treatment is confusing, because it sounds almost the same: prebiotics are just one letter away from probiotics. Instead of a supplemental dose of gut flora in pill form, prebiotics deliver a tasty banquet of fiber to the flora that are already in your intestines. They’re basically a kind of carbohydrate indigestible to humans, but absolutely delicious to the bacteria.
Prebiotics require a little bit of caution: in people who have too few gut bacteria, they’re excellent, but in people who have too many, they’re just more fuel on the fire... If you feel bloated, gassy, and constipated afterwards, they’re not for you. " They also mention DAO supplements, vitamin B6, copper, and vitamin C.
Strangely, my favorite foods have always been what are considered high histamine. I could happily make a meal of pickles, sliced lemons with salt, or fluffy wheat bread. I’m definitely bitter about the loss.
Sometimes I wonder if the stuff we like becomes the stuff that's bad for us because we expose our bodies to too much of it. Maybe the threshold is really low.