Diet’s Power Against MCAS & Histamine Havoc

When the immune system detects a threat, histamines release our mast cells and our basophils. This is going to increase the permeability of our blood vessels and allow our immune cells to reach that affected area more easily. It has a purpose in our body. But sometimes it gets out of balance. That’s when we start to get histamine intolerance. I want you to think of it as the bathtub. We talked about what’s filling the bathtub and what’s clogging it. If you have this bathtub and it’s, you have this nice bath because you have things coming in, things coming in, but you have the drain and it’s coming in, it’s draining out. We have two problems. We either get the overload, where we’re having too many things come in to fill up the bathtub, or we get plugs in our drains, or we get both. That’s where we get the spillover, and we reach that threshold where we start to get all of these negative symptoms. The two enzymes that are responsible for metabolizing histamine in our body primarily are diamine oxidase, which is an enzyme produced in the intestine mucosa. That plays a vital role in regulating histamine in our gut. That’s where we’re going to talk about some of the foods. If that’s compromised and you’re not able to break down the foods that you’re eating, you’re going to get this histamine overload and you can get this response. We also have histamine n methyltransferase. That is going to detoxify histamine by methylating it. That’s going to make it safe to remove through the urine. A common trait with histamine intolerance is a deficiency in the diamine oxidase enzyme. The most common reason this gets depleted is underlying gut issues. We can have what we call dysbiosis, which is an imbalance of the good bacteria and the bad bacteria in our gut.

We can have things happen candida overgrowth. We can get parasites, we can have SIBO, we can have other things, invaders that come in and we start to have this change in that brush border. The enzyme becomes compromised and we can no longer break down that histamine load. Some telltale signs you have histamine intolerance are gut issues abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, skin issues like hives, and itchiness. Anxiety, respiratory symptoms like asthma, congestion, heart palpitations, brain fog, headaches, migraines, hormonal imbalances, PMS, and fatigue. We start to see these whole-body symptoms. so it can be confusing because as you see, a lot of these things overlap with other symptoms. Looking at okay, could some of the other symptoms I’m having all of these things be from histamine? We’re going to notice that when we see more of the allergic symptoms more of the rash is more of these reactions. But we can be getting our anxiety, our fatigue, and other symptoms from this histamine intolerance. We want to work on getting to the root. We want to look at the gut health. We want to look at dysbiosis. That’s a key factor. We want to look at enzyme deficiency in the diamine oxidase. We want to make sure we have enough nutrients or certain things vitamin C and Vitamin B6 can play a big role. I said, we want to make sure that we’re stabilizing the mast cells, that we’re healing leaky gut. I said we dive deep into that. But we also in the meantime, can work on a low histamine diet. This can be a big relief for a lot of people while we’re trying to get those root issues resolved. The goal of this low-histamine diet is not to avoid high-histamine foods forever. It’s actually to start to have strategies to identify your intolerances. I’m going to just start before we get into the foods, and give you some strategies to do this. Keeping a food and symptom diary. You don’t have to write down everything you eat all the time. But what I tell people is that when you have symptoms, write down what you ate 24 to 48 hours. Start to record your food. Start to look for patterns. Note the time, the quantity, and the specific food along with any other symptoms and the severity. This is particularly important when you’re having symptoms. If you can’t maintain that every day. Like I said, just make sure that you noted the 48 hours before you had a flare in your symptoms. You want to also make sure that when you’re doing something like this, you give it enough time. When we’re talking about histamine foods, you want to look at eliminating them for up to six weeks. It can take some time to see some of these differences. 

I know sometimes people say, well, I tried to eliminate that and I didn’t see a difference, and maybe they did it for a week or so and you couldn’t see the difference. But we do need to give that some time. Then when you’re reintroducing the food, do it one at a time. You want to observe any changes that you feel when you’re putting one food and you don’t want to just say, okay, I did it for this portion of time, and now I’m going to go back and eat everything again. We need to have that evaluation to see your symptoms and pay attention. You’re becoming that detective. It’s also good to just have patience and flexibility, recognizing that food intolerance can change over time. What triggers a reaction today might not be the same as in the future, so stay flexible and patient as you navigate these dietary changes. 

When we’re looking at high histamine foods, we’re looking at them in different ways. we have, first of all, foods that are high in histamine. I have resources at megmill.com/summit that give you lists of these. We have a lot of confusion around the site because there are a lot of different versions of the low histamine diet. A lot of people are doing it wrong and not always accurate. There’s also variation, so it’s not the same for each person. We have foods that are generally safe. We have variable foods. Then we have foods to generally avoid. Do you have some flexibility in that navigation and can pinpoint what’s working for you? Foods that are high in histamine are fermented: Aged cheeses, sauerkraut, avocados, dried fruit, certain fish, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, moldy foods, and cheeses. Vinegar is another one of bone broth, cured meat, canned foods, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, and olives. When we’re talking about this, I want to just point out that I’ve been pointing this out throughout the summit. But some of the foods that I just named bone broth, and fermented foods, are foods that are often used for gut healing. We’ve been talking about that. We need to do gut healing when it comes to histamine intolerance, but we also need to do it the right way, because some of the things that you could be told to do are aggravating you. I just to point that out because it is surprising for some people that what they’re doing to be healthy and to fix some of this can be backfiring for them. 

Then we also have foods that trigger the release of histamine. These foods aren’t necessarily always high in histamine, but they can trigger your immune system to release a high amount of histamine. Those are things alcohol, bananas, chocolate, and citrus fruit. Egg whites, milk, nuts, papaya, pineapple, pork, shellfish, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes. There’s a lot there. That’s why I have the resources for you. We also have things that block diamine oxidase. Things like tea. Black tea, or green tea. We can also see those decrease the production of diamine oxidase. We want to make sure that we’re looking at all of those things. Another thing that we have to think about when we think of histamine and this is tricky, is that freshness matters. Histamine can increase as food ages. it’s very important to eat fresh foods is important when you’re you’re looking at your meats, that you’re buying your meats more freshly. That you’re flash freezing. Sometimes people set their whole week up, but that’s not great. If you have histamine intolerance. Because if you cook it and then it’s sitting for over 24 hours, it’s growing those histamines. Flash freezing is your friend because we want to if we’re going to cook early or even get things out away, put them in the freezer so we can lower that histamine load. 

You can also take a diamine oxidase supplement. I have those also linked in our summit resources because that can be very helpful. That can be your friend, especially when you’re going out and you’re at a restaurant, you don’t know how much histamine is necessarily in your food. Then we also can add foods that are supportive because, we don’t want to always be focusing on limiting, limiting, limiting. We also can think of more supportive things. Things like apples and apple skin, artichokes, arugula, chamomile, ginger, pomegranates, onions, and chives. You want to add those foods in that are that are mast cell stabilizing, that are beneficial for you and everyone has a different tolerance. It’s unique when we’re trying to increase our stomach acid to digest our foods, we can often drink apple cider vinegar. I have histamine issues. I can tolerate this point vinegar most of the time depending on the threshold. But I was drinking apple cider vinegar to increase my stomach acid, and improve digestion, and my face turned red and my nose turned red. I thought, okay, I’m having a histamine reaction. Can’t do that now. You have to learn. Okay, maybe you can tolerate at some point there’s going to be a point where depending on what’s going on or the threshold that you had can point you to a different level, but you’re always paying attention. Once you become that detective, I just see so many people start to be able to identify these things, and then it’s enlightening. It’s like, every time I had an all I had a migraine because of the histamine levels. I never knew that. now I can make that choice and change and it can make a huge difference in my health. We start to find these connections and it’s so enlightening. Then you’re powered. That’s where we want you to be when you’re ready to introduce the foods. As we said, you want to introduce very small amounts of the foods at a time. For instance, reintroducing cheese with just a little cube of cheese. Then after you eat that small portion, closely monitor your body’s response over the next 24 to 48 hours. 

Typically, a histamine reaction can include, as we said, skin flushing, headache, nasal congestion, and gastrointestinal discomfort. We start to see any type of flare, though, and even anxiety. We can see some fatigue. You want to keep a detailed diary of your reactions. If you don’t notice any adverse reactions within 48 hours, you can slightly increase the portion and then continue to eat that food. It’s important to just reintroduce only one food at a time, so you can pinpoint that reaction. Remember, freshness is key. we always want to make sure that we’re getting the foods that are as fresh as possible. if you’re consistently getting a reaction to the same foods, then it’s good just to keep that food in particular out of your diet for a little while until you can get some of the root causes worked on. Now we want to go a little bit deeper into other foods because this is going to even become trickier. That’s why it is good too, to pay attention at the summit, and listen to people. Working with a practitioner can be helpful because the low histamine diet on its own can be difficult to navigate. But we can also add other reactions. Some people have reactions to oxalates. Oxalates are natural compounds found in many foods, especially plants, nuts, and seeds, so they’re a part of the plant’s defense mechanism. When you eat certain plants, you ingest these oxalate. A lot of people don’t have issues with oxalates and moderate amounts. But when we have high-level oxides, especially in more sensitive people, we can start to see an oxalate intolerance. This occurs when the body struggles to process and excrete high levels of oxalate, leading to symptoms. We often see joint pain, urinary issues, fatigue, gastrointestinal discomfort, leaky gut, and mast cell activation syndrome. It can further trigger mast cell activation and exacerbate our symptoms. 

Some things that make you more likely to have oxalate issues can be mold. It can be fungus, leaky gut, dysbiosis, glyphosate exposure, a genetic variant, even low nutrients B1, and B6, or even an overload of vitamin C. High oxalate foods can be vegetables like spinach a big one. Beets, rhubarb, sweet potatoes. You can see kiwi, blackberries, pomegranate, plantains, buckwheat, brown rice, cashews, almonds, sesame seeds, and chocolate. Low oxalate foods are. Most fruits are low oxalate, some of the other than some of the ones we mentioned. Leafy greens lettuce and cabbage. Cruciferous vegetables broccoli and cauliflower. We have olive oil. White rice normally supports people. That’s why we provide all of these lists. You have a very clear idea and strategies to navigate all of these food conditions. Here are some strategies just in general, when you’re reducing your oxalates. Don’t go cold turkey. Gradually wean yourself off them. You can have more symptoms if you completely cut them out. You can balance your oxalate intake by consuming calcium-rich foods with your meals because calcium can bind oxalates and reduce their absorption. That’s something that you want to consider. You want to stay hydrated. Adequate hydration is key to facilitating oxalate excretion. You can change your cooking technique. Boiling high oxalate foods can reduce their content. Those are some things you can do while you’re learning if oxalates are bothering you. 

Then we have salicylates. Salicylates are a group of naturally occurring chemicals found in many plants, including fruits and vegetables, and are also present in everyday products toothpaste, and even certain medications. You have to be careful of salicylates outside of food. Salicylates can be a trigger for some people with histamine issues and mast cell activation syndrome, especially if you have mold toxicity because it can consume the pathway in the liver that metabolizes salicylate. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, including headaches, tinnitus, which are ringing in your ear, skin issues, respiratory problems, nasal congestion, and fatigue. We’re seeing some of these overlapping symptoms. When you have salicylate issues you can have aspirin allergies and GI disturbances. We’re looking at these different food groups and navigating okay what is bothering you. Like I said, it’s individual. But these are common ones that we can see that people can react to. We see salicylates in many foods like blueberries and citrus foods. It can be in sweet potatoes, broccoli, or bell peppers. Now almonds, pine nuts. Now one. This is what I have to note. You’re seeing that these lists aren’t all consistent. Maybe, broccoli is high in salicylates, but it’s not high in histamine or oxalate, so it’s looking at the combinations and navigating. That’s why I say you have to become a detective. It’s good to have resources that help guide you because they’re not all the same foods. It can start to feel like, I can’t eat anything. What can I eat? people do start to get food fear. I do want you to use this as a navigational tool, not as food fear. You’re empowering yourself with knowledge rather than feeling like, I can never eat anything again. 

We also then have lectins can be another group that sometimes can be an issue for people. lectins can trigger an immune response sometimes lead to inflammation and exacerbate mast cell symptoms and leaky gut. Leptin intolerance will recur when the body reacts negatively to the proteins and lead to symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, joint pain, and skin issues. We look at, we want to pay attention to foods that are high in lectins too. That can be certain grains, beans, or lentils. We can have certain nuts, plants, melons, squash, cucumbers, nightshades, and GMOs. That’s another thing that you just want to pay attention to. 

To cooking strategies again, that you can use to reduce lectins or boiling and soaking. that can help reduce the left content in food. Then you can also remove the skins and seeds from the fruits and vegetables. That can lower their lectin content. Another food group that we can have problems with is FODMAPs. Again, another thing that we’ve been talking about is the underlying dysbiosis that’s occurring. This diet is used when we have SIBO. That is small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. We can see this correlation with sometimes people having issues with high FODMAP food. There’s a great app by Monash University that is called FODMAP that you can put on your phone. It’s a great resource. For anyone who’s following a low FODMAP diet, I recommend it because it can. It just gives you green, yellow, and red, and it can be a great tool just to have in your pocket to be able to tell what foods right away are High FODMAPs. Telltale signs of having issues with FODMAP foods include gas, bloating, belching, diarrhea, stomach pain, the IBS symptoms. You want to avoid things like artichokes, asparagus, cauliflower, onions, garlic, peas, butternut squash, and apples. Those are some of the higher FODMAP foods. If you do feel you are being bothered by the high FODMAP foods, you’ll also want to look into, getting tested for SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Beyond that, we can have individual food sensitivities. I do a whole nother talk on the different types of food reactions, so check that out, because we can see a lot of people having this immune response from the foods that we in it’s an individualized manner. 

But becoming a food detective is so important here. I’m not saying that all of these foods will bother you. I just want you to be aware that it can be very individualized and if you’re armed with knowledge and you have the patience, you can reduce your symptoms significantly. While we’re working on the root cause, remember the idea is to use this diet as a tool, not a solution. It’s a great tool to use. While we’re working on identifying the root cause and getting a long-term solution. I think you’ve probably seen through this talk how complicated it can be when you’re dealing with this condition. As you can see, a diet can be so complicated when we’re dealing with this condition. 

Listen to the people at this summit and work with a healthcare professional who can help you navigate the complexity. I see such a huge difference for people when you don’t feel this overwhelmed, when you’re able to have a roadmap when we’re able to give you resources, when we’re able to help you pinpoint what’s going on, and then actually give you tools of what you can do, because that’s the thing. It’s not all about eliminating. We have to also make sure that you’re nourished and that we’re giving you the tools to stay nourished. If you’d like more information, then definitely reach out. We help people all over the world and stay tuned for after the summit finishes because I’ll be hosting a series of classes to help guide you. Be sure to add megmill.com to your safe list and I’ll be in touch after the summit. Like I said it’s hard to set a list of all the foods in this online event. I do have summit resources for you where we have more complete food lists. You can go to megmill.com/summit to find those. If you have a friend or relative who you think needs to hear this, be sure to share and if you’d to get permanent access to the summit and all of the interviews, reach out to [email protected] and the team will help you get it all sorted out. Have a great day! Take care.