This blog is going to look at Histamine and whether it could be a culprit responsible for digestive discomfort, especially for those of us with a history of inflammatory bowel disease or IBS.
For around five years I have experienced intermittent spasms and cramping in my large bowel with no other notable symptoms. Blood tests revealed no inflammation, the discomfort always occurred in the afternoon, and it eased after the food passed through me indicating something in my food choices was causing the response in the bowel. But what?
Conversations with friends and online research revealed this to be a very common occurrence so I set about researching a possible cause.
Initially I wondered whether the symptoms were due to poorly digested food so I dug out my slow cooker but the following day symptoms intensified. After three days of this painful mystery Google came to the rescue;
“Cooking methods significantly influence histamine levels through mechanisms such as moisture loss (which concentrates histamine)….”
Okay, so cooking methods change histamine levels of food but did this cause my symptoms? Besides knowing histamine is a chemical released by the body in response to the presence of an allergen (such as a wasp sting), and that it causes pain and swelling in sensitive bodily tissues, I knew nothing about it. Was it related to Crohn’s disease? Colitis? IBS? And if so how did cooking methods alter this relationshiop? I investigated further …….
AI is not my preferred source of information but this summary provided a bounty of helpful information;
There it is. In addition to everything I had discovered from almost fifteen years of intense research, I now understood how an excess of histamine in our bodies causes pain and discomfort throughout the digestive tract.
What I didn’t understand was how the histamine mechanisms worked. If I was to help myself I needed to become more familiar with how a normal healthy immune system responds to an allergen. This is the summary of an excellent article by ClevelandClinic.org;
When a foreign protein (antigen) enters a normally functioning body an immune response may be triggered. This occurs because these proteins come into contact with mast cells in tissues, or basophils in the blood, which release histamine into the blood stream. The histamine can then bind to any of the four histamine receptors (H1, H2, H3 or H4) causing the body to release a variety of chemicals that can cause a wide variety of symptoms including;
- Itchy skin (pruritis)
- Expansion of blood vessels (vasodilation)
- Flushing
- Narrowing of the airways (bronchoconstriction)
- Vascular permeability
- Inflammatory disorders
- Eczema
- Hay fever
- Digestive issues
Histamine intolerance occurs when you have a high level of histamine in your body. It can happen if your body can’t break down histamine properly.
(Source.)
I now understood. Consuming excessive levels of histamine would raise the levels in the body potentially triggering an immune response, whilst having insufficient Diamine Oxidase (DAO), the crucial enzyme that catabolises histamine, would mean levels remained elevated. This could prolong an immune response and cause pain to the delicate digestive tissues.
Considering this, my exam question became: “How do I prevent the build up of excessive levels of histamine in my body and hence the painful symptoms that followed?” There appear to be four answers to this question;
- Avoid foods that stimulate histamine production.
- Avoid foods that are naturally high in histamines.
- Avoid cooking methods that raise the level of histamines already present in the foods we choose.
- Check whether we are deficient in DAO.
1. Histamine Stimulators
When a food that stimulates histamine production is consumed it has a similar effect to a foreign protein or antigen. For example, with a peanut allergy, the immune system mistakenly treats proteins in peanuts as abnormal. The first time a person with a peanut allergy is exposed to peanuts, their immune system creates specific antibodies called IgE antibodies. This process is known as “sensitisation.” The IgE antibodies activate certain immune cells called mast cells. Mast cells are like the body’s alarm system. When activated by IgE antibodies, they release chemicals that cause the symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing.
Histamine Liberating Foods
- Citrus Fruits
- Chocolate
- Shellfish
- Nuts
- Alcohol
- Legumes
- Peanuts
So if we consume foods that are histamine liberating, like peanuts, then we may experience a similar reaction to a foreign protein (antigen).
2. Foods Naturally High In Histamine
Consuming foods high in histamine effectively bypasses the need for the stimulation of histamine production by mast calls and basophils. These increased levels of histamine will bind to histamine receptors resulting in an immune response. Rather than the mast cells being stimulated by a foreign protein and producing histamine, the histamine we consume directly binds to those same receptors triggering an immune response.
Opposite is a short list of foods known to be high in histamine but please see below for a downloadable .pdf.
High Histamine Foods
- Aged cheeses
- Processed meats
- Fermented Foods
- Alcohol
- Canned, smoked, tinned & dried fish
- Eggplant (Aubergine)
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
3. Cooking Methods
We touched on this earlier. It was the light bulb moment for me. Only after using my slow cooker (now taking pride of place at my local charity shop) for three straight days, and reacting consistently each afternoon following, did I finally reach for Google asking;
“How do different types of cooking affect histamine levels in the body?”
Here was Google’s response. (It appears this was heavily drawn from this study.)
(I would add that steaming is another safe way of preparing food.)
Remember the question I asked you above? Is this the answer? If we were to consume steamed salmon on day one, pan fried salmon on day two and tinned salmon on day three, might we experience reactions on days three and four not because of what we ate but because of how it was prepared and cooked?
Processed foods spring to mind here. Can you comfortably consume pre-packaged, processed food? Despite hours of checking labels it was often a mystery to me how consuming something like a simple soup with healthy ingredients gave my body a serious attitude problem the next day. Could the various symptoms we experience be due to the excessive processing of our food whereby it is prepared in giant vats for hours and then packaged into convenient plastic containers so that we can reheat it?
4. DAO (Diamine Oxidase)
“Diamine oxidase (DAO) is a digestive enzyme produced in your kidneys, thymus, and the intestinal lining of your digestive tract.
Its primary function is to break down excess histamine in your body (1).
Histamine is a naturally occurring compound that helps regulate specific functions of your digestive, nervous, and immune systems……
DAO keeps histamine levels in a healthy range to avoid uncomfortable histamine-induced symptoms.“
The references above clearly suggest a shortage of DAO results in higher histamine levels remaining in the body. But does this necessarily imply a relationship between IBD and a deficit of DAO activity?
“It has been observed that in IBD patients the activity of the DAO enzyme is 50% lower compared to healthy patients, this data supports the hypothesis that individuals with a mutation in the DAO enzyme can show susceptibility to ulcerative colitis; as well as an increased secretion of histamine in the intestine. DAO would be a useful marker for predicting the risk of recurrence or complications in IBD.”
The good news is not only that DAO levels can be established by a blood test, but if levels are found to be low, then it can be supplemented.
Additional Suggestions
In the excellent article “High histamine foods and IBS”written by Martin Cohen published on The IBS & Gut Health Clinic (Source) a number of other helpful ideas are suggested;
- Histamine Blood Test
- Tryptase Blood Test
- Probiotics (and why some work whilst others do not)
- Natural Anti-histamines
- Mast Cell Stabilisers
Anti-Histamines
- Quercetin
- Vitamin C
- Bromelain
- Nettles
- NAC
Mast Cell Stabilisers
- Luteolin
- Curcumin
- EGCG
- Resveratrol
- Omega-3
Martin covers many of the subjects addressed in this blog and lists the common nutrient deficiencies that can arise following a low histamine diet including;
- Vit B12, Vit B6, Vit B9, Vit C & Vit D
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Calcium
- Iron Zinc
- Copper
- Magnesium
- Protein
I recommend his article whole-heartedly.
Food List
Included below is a link to a downloadable ‘Histamine Friendly’ food list. Please note this is a list of food that I have discovered work for me and it must not be taken as any kind of dietary recommendation. Please feel free to use, modify and change it as you see fit in whatever way works best for your body.
And that’s about all I can tell you. My journey along this path of learning about my body continues. This particular experience has turned my gaze to nature to observe how we are the only species that processes and cooks our food. Every other species consumes what runs, flies, swims and grows in its natural form. Is this where human beings create problems for ourselves?
The intention for this whole website has been to share my experiences in the hope it helps you overcome Crohn’s disease. This blog is no different. Please remember I am not a doctor neither do I hold any medical qualification. All information in this and other articles on my site should not be taken as medical or dietary advice, it is intended to record my experience dealing with Crohn’s disease. Therefore please talk medical issues through with your doctor before deciding whether / how to treat your own symptoms.