If you're suffering from a lot of mystery symptoms it could be histamine intolerance

Have you ever had a persistently runny nose or a big problem with daily headaches that you nor doctors couldn't explain? It could mean that you've been secretly suffering from an intolerance to histamine. But what does that mean?

Histamine intolerance is one of the most tricky medical conditions to diagnose since it presents differently in different people, and because it can come with a whole host of symptoms that don't make any sense!

However, having an intolerance to histamine doesn't you're sensitive to this chemical. It just means that your body is producing too much of it before you can get it out of your system, which causes the symptoms of histamine intolerance. But what is histamine and can this weird condition hurt you?

According to Healthline, histamine is a chemical produced by the body that plays a few important roles in keeping you healthy. It acts as a chemical messenger for the brain, triggers the release of stomach acid, and is important for your body’s immune reactions. 

Histamine is released after you’re injured or when you have an allergic reaction to something in your environment or that you’ve eaten. For most people, histamine isn’t a problem. But some individuals don’t have the ability to break histamine down properly. 

Human bodies can make two special enzymes that were designed to break down histamine and remove it from the body according to Verywell Health. These are called diamine oxidase (DAO) and histamine-N-methyltransferase (HNMT).

Photo by McGrath, A.P., Guss, J.M Wiki Commons

According to Verwell Health, DAO comes from your gut and removes histamine in your digestive system while HNMT comes from your nervous system. 

Without the right levels of DAO and HNMT, histamine can build up in the body and cause symptoms that mimic allergies. The reasons why your body’s enzyme levels could be off are complicated. But we know of several ways you can develop histamine intolerance and it mostly has to do with DAO. 

First, you could have a genetic mutation that limits your body’s ability to produce the enzymes needed to break histamine down in your gut according to Verywell Health, though the science behind this reason is not well known.

In 2020, researchers published an overview of our current understanding of histamine intolerance in the journal Biomolecules and wrote about what we know regarding how genetic variation plays a role in limiting one's ability to break down histamine. 

The researchers suggested “polymorphisms in genes encoding the enzymes” could be responsible for histamine intolerances but also noted that “certain pathologies or interactions with drugs” had the ability to negatively impair DAO activity in the body. 

If you don’t have a genetic mutation or a condition that would make you susceptible to histamine intolerance, you can still give it to yourself by eating too many histamine-rich foods or by ingesting things that inhibit or block DAO production in the body.

Alcohol, black tea, green tea, mate tea, and energy drinks can all inhibit or block the DAO according to Medical News Today, and foods like tomatoes, egg whites, fish, peanuts and most citrus fruits can release histamine in your body. 

If you suspect you might have histamine intolerance, be sure to visit your doctor, though they will probably recommend you start your treatment by following a low histamine diet. Avoid things like aged cheese and fermented products like sauerkraut and yogurt. 

Smoked meats like bacon, sausage, and salami are also off your menu and steer clear of spinach, eggplant, ketchup, vinegar, and canned fish such as mackerel. Medical News Today says all of these things are very high in histamine and will contribute to the problem. 

Histamine intolerance symptoms can be broad according to Healthline. But in some cases, they can include headaches, migraines, congestion, fatigue, hives, digestive issues, nausea, vomiting, or irregular menstruation cycles. 

Healthline added that in several cases of histamine intolerance, you could experience abdominal cramping, tissue swelling, high blood pressure, irregular heart rate, anxiety, dizziness, and the telltale sign of difficulty regulating body temperature. 

According to Web MD, only 1% of the population is susceptible to histamine intolerance, so you shouldn't worry too much. But if you think you could have a problem, you should definitely visit your family doctor and ask if histamine intolerance is what's causing your woes.