Histamine is a neurotransmitter. Think of it as a messenger, letting your body know something is wrong. Your body releases histamine when it detects an allergen or in response to an injury. Histamine is benefical to the body for example it helps create acid to digest food and also is released to help us sleep. It's very important, but the issue is when we have too much histamine or a histamine overload and we get symptoms of histamine intolerance.

Histamine is inside mast cells which are located all around the body. The mast cells have antennas on the outside know as IgE (see photo below). When an allergen such as food, pollen or dust enters your body and attaches to the IgE, the IgE triggers the mast cell to release histamine. This creates the symptoms of histamine.

Histamine intolerance isn’t actually an intolerance to histamine but is in fact a sign that your body has built up too much histamine and is unable to break it down and detox it byproperly. Your body has two ways to get rid of histamine. The enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) which is found in the gut and HNMT which is located in the skin, muscles and tissues. If they can't detox histamine fast enough and you have too much histamine then sadly you will have symptoms of histamine intolerance.

1. Itching skin or hives (urticaria)
2. Headaches or migraines
3. Nasal or sinus issues
4. Nausea or vomiting
5. Menstrual cramping or irregular periods
6. Digestive issues such as
7. bloating or diarrhoea
8. Skin Flushing (turning red)
9. Low blood pressure or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
10. Red, watery, or itchy eyes

1. You can have a genetic issue where you do not have enough DAO or your HNMT is not functioning correctly.

2. You develop histamine intolerance or an overload of histamine. This means your body can't break down and detox it fast enough.

3. Your immune system becomes over reactive, this maybe because you have a 'leaky gut' this is where you intestines or tight junctions become inflammed so to protect itself it produces histamine