Histamines and Nitrates

You might be able to try an elimination diet to see if it is a specific food. I know the tomatoes & strawberries are in the Nightshade family and they are a more common allergy than foods high in histamine. For some people they just need to cut out histamine foods for awhile then once the body is able to clean itself up you can re-introduce foods back in. If it is really histamine I would advise against eating leftovers or preparing food days in advance.

danielbwest wrote: »

Hi everyone,
Does anyone here have intolerances to histamines or nitrates, or both? If you find yourself in the same boat, how have you adapted?

Hey Daniel,
Yup, I react to both of these. I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, which is a type of Mast cell Activation Disorder (MCAD). One of the things that this can do is make the body have high histamine levels. A histamine intolerance is where, as you might already know, the body may not make enough of the enzyme DAO to break down the histamine, so it builds up. I just make too much, so it builds up due to that.

Some people I know of who have this disorder were actually misdiagnosed with histamine intolerance first, because there can be some very similar symptoms, and some doctors are more familiar with histamine intolerance than MCAD.

So, as to what can help - first, honestly? I'd suggest checking out Facebook for anyone who thinks they have this, and look up some of the mast cell disorder support groups - just search for mcad, mcas, or mast cell disorder and they pop up. One reason is that these folks can give recommendations for doctors who can test for it/are familiar with histamine problems in people that are NOT normal allergies. It can be really helpful.

Second, the enzyme that breaks down histamine is actually available over the counter. I believe it's called 'Histamine block,' although I usually see it available online. I don't know a lot about it, but I know some folks with histamine intolerance found it helpful.

Third - you learn how to cook from scratch. There's really no other choice, because you will find SO many of the foods you want to eat will be high in histamine, or have nitrates, or both, and you just have to learn to cook so you can eat food safely. AND the longer the cooking time, the higher the histamine levels. And the longer something sits after it is killed/picked, the more the histamine builds up (in every food we eat, as a byproduct of the natural break down as things age). So no crock pot cooking, or eating leftovers, either - it's every meal from scratch or freeze it immediately and thaw it right before use.

And then you learn to try and pack foods, and make completely new recipes using foods you've never tried before, and...well, it's a HUGE change and it takes a while to really get the hang of it (like a year or more). But...you feel tremendously better, so it can definitely be worth it.

Fourth - low histamine diet. A good starting place is Dr. Joneja's - http://www.mastocytosis.ca/MSC%20HT%20Restricted%20Diet%20Nov2012.pdf

Re: the diet - foods are on here for multiple reasons. They may be high in histamines themselves. Or they may cause degranulation of mast cells, which means a release of histamines (like alcohol). Or they may contain substances that inhibit the breakdown of histamine by DAO, or via some other method. But the diet plan doesn't SAY which food is included/excluded for which reason. AS a result, each person may have some foods on the bad list which are okay, and some that are worst, depending on how their body works (like, someone who has huge amounts of DAO may have no issue with DAO inhibiting foods.). But it's a good starting place, and you'll notice that most of these foods on the list, if not all, don't have nitrates added.

Although a word of warning - try to add IN nutrient dense foods if you are taking OUT foods, so you aren't running into problems with nutrient levels, you know?

Another possible help for the diet is a gal called the low histamine chef. She has a mast cell disorder AND histamine intolerance, and she made a couple cookbooks for foods that fit the diet. She also has some good interviews with experts on histamine issues. http://thelowhistaminechef.com



Fifth - you might want to explore mast cell stabilizing bioflavonoids. These are compounds found in plants that simply act to stabilize mast cells, which makes them less likely to release histamine. Luteolin and quercetin are two most well known. quercetin can be found as a supplement, or you can find lists online for foods high in this. Olive leaf tea is one, as an example.

Oh, some words of warning on nitrates - you can't assume that the label 'nitrate free' is accurate, because for all intents and purposes, it's not. It's an industry sleight of hand. Typically on products with that label, instead they'll have ingredients like 'celery extract' listed on the label. The thing is, an 'extract' in industry terms is not something like vanilla extract. It is simply ANY substance that was originally 'extracted' from the mentioned ingredient, in this case celery. And nitrates are is usually extracted from celery - so essentially, the source of nitrates changed, but companies can still put them in with this trick and legally say they are 'nitrate' free. :-/


Hope that might help a bit!