Hi Friends,
Happy Wednesday Friends!
How many of you are familiar with HISTAMINES? Histamines are chemicals released by your immune cells thatmcause ALLERGY symptoms. Hence, “anti-histamines” are allergy medications.
The many manifestations of histamines vary in different parts of your body. In the nose it causes nasal congestion and sneezing🤧. In the skin it can cause itching, hives, and eczema. In the GI tract it can cause abdominal pain, nausea🤢, and diarrhea. It can also trigger headaches🤕! High levels of histamines can also affect your mood and cause anxiety. It can even affect your sleep and cause insomnia😧!
What causes histamine reactions? Some of us are more sensitive to histamines due to genetic tendencies🧬, while others become “histamine intolerant” due to a damaged gut microbiome. Normally, there’s an enzyme called DAO (diamine oxidase) in the lining of our GI tract, which helps to break down histamines from your food. If your gut microbiome is damaged due to a bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis) or Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), this reduces the function of the DAO enzyme, making it harder for your body to handle high histamine foods. Common foods high in histamines are shown in the diagram above and include cheese🧀, wine🍷, vinegar, fermented foods (like sauerkraut), chocolate🍫, soy sauce, and bone broth. There are many more, so avoiding histamines can be challenging. Healing your gut is the key to improved toleration of high histamine foods! 🙌 💯
The great news is we carry a supplement that is a rich blend of antioxidants to help reduce histamine reactions. Histamine Support is a “natural” anti-histamine blend of vitamin C, quercetin, stinging nettle, bromelain, and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). These antioxidants reduce histamine release by your immune cells. They also strengthen your immune system towards viral infections! Histamine Support is best taken 2 capsules twice a day after food (or 30 minutes in advance of foods that trigger histamine reactions). I’ve received great feedback from my patients who use Histamine Support to manage their allergy symptoms.
Stay healthy!
Rajsree Nambudripad, MD
Dr. Rajsree is a caring and compassionate physician, who is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Integrative/Holistic medicine. She is passionate about helping patients optimize their health through a preventative approach involving healthy lifestyle, dietary changes, targeted nutritional supplementation, and optimizing hormones. Her practice is unique in the personalized attention she devotes to each and every patient.