Citrus makes me sweat???

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FL_Hiker
FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
edited June 2018 in Food and Nutrition
I have this weird problem.. when I eat any kind of citrus or citric acid (gummies, oranges, pineapples, lemons, etc.) I break out in a quick visible sweat on my face, and then it's gone after a few minutes. Anyone else have this or know what causes it? I'm curious! Another weird thing when I drink alcohol my face turns bright red, even if it's just a little bit. Not sure if those things are related?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    No idea on the citrus, but have you ever read about this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    edited June 2018
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No idea on the citrus, but have you ever read about this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction

    Interesting! I'm not Asian at all though! Even did the ancestry DNA test and I'm Native American, norweigen, welsh, German, Italian among a few other things (AMERICA!).. looks just like what happens to me though! It's embarrassing... 😳
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
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    I'm half Native too and I always turn bright red after some alcohol,I also start sneezing and get congested immediately
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9270

    Is all I could find about it. A lot of people seem to be on google searching for answers to it though. You're certainly not alone.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited June 2018
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    A histamine reaction could do it.

    Brief summation- the body uses histamine for all sorts of natural processes, and almost all food can contain differing levels of histamine as a by-product from breaking down after death or during ripening/rotting, or can contain substances that can trigger the body to release histamine.

    Usually none of this histamine is a problem, but if the histamine levels get too high, then you start to have issues. This happens during an allergic reaction, for example. Or alcohol flush.

    Alcohol flush can happen to anyone, not just those of certain ethnicities, actually. One major deciding factor for many though is histamine levels. Alcohol triggers histamine release( chocolate does too, to a much lesser extent). You can find some articles on using anti-histamines to eliminate alcohol flush, although the flush usually indicates your histamine levels are rising and you should stop drinking, so might be better to keep it, you know?

    Histamine intolerance is another thing that can keep histamine levels elevated so you are more likely to have an alcohol flush. It can develop later in life. I mention it because for some folks, elevated histamine can trigger the sweats AND citrus is one of the substances that can do it for some people (it is on some low histamine lists as a potential trigger).

    Might be worth exploring, in part because if your histamine levels are elevated, you are at risk for an allergic reaction. :-(
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No idea on the citrus, but have you ever read about this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction

    Interesting! I'm not Asian at all though! Even did the ancestry DNA test and I'm Native American, norweigen, welsh, German, Italian among a few other things (AMERICA!).. looks just like what happens to me though! It's embarrassing... 😳

    Anthropological speaking, there are only three ethnicities with distinctive bone features: Caucasian, Negroid and Mongoloid. Native Americans and Asians are both Mongoloid. My ethnic mix has all three so my skull has a really odd shape. :)
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    edited June 2018
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    Thanks y'all! Interesting more people don't have the citrus problem. I've brought it up with my doctors and they said they haven't heard of it and look at me like I'm crazy lol 😳. I've eaten citrus my whole life with this problem but never had any other sort of reaction, sounds like I should be careful though.
  • strongwouldbenice
    strongwouldbenice Posts: 153 Member
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    I don't get a reaction to citrus but I do get the alcohol flush, only I get it on my chest and upper arms. I've spent many hours on google trying to determine why it happens, I've just accepted it at this point. Bodies are weird.

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