Could histamine be the problem with your haywire hormones?
With Hayfever season in full flow I thought it would be a good time to talk about histamine and how it can impact our hormones. There is lots more going on than just taking an anti-histamine and I hope this blog will be able to help you a little further.
Do you experience itchy, red, watery eyes? Runny nose? Sneezing? Itchy/hive-like skin? That’s histamine for you!
Do these symptoms get worse around ovulation or your period? Histamine could be the missing link to you resolving your symptoms.
Histamine is an integral part of the immune system response. It helps wake us up in the morning, gets our digestive process going, plays a role in our metabolism and is a neurotransmitter affecting serotonin, dopamine and GABA (and therefore our mood). So by taking an anti-histamine this is not only impacting your symptoms (yay) but also impacting other areas of your body that you need on a daily basis (boo!)
There is an increase in the number of people diagnosed with hay fever and I’m sure many of us have experienced these symptoms at some point in our lives. This is part of the body’s natural allergic response - when we’re exposed to an allergen, our immune cells release histamine which helps to open up the blood vessels, allowing our white blood cells to move to the affected areas and attack the allergen. Now this is great as it’s part of the body’s healing mechanism to restore health, however it does cause some uncomfortable and irritating symptoms and what can we do about it?
Histamine isn’t just triggered by an external thing but can be triggered by internal processes, the food we eat and much more. It is easier to think of histamine intolerance as a bucket. When the bucket is full, symptoms occur. When the bucket is empty, we experience no symptoms. High-histamine foods can act as cups of water filling the bucket and eventually, when the bucket is full, we experience the symptoms of histamine intolerance e.g eating a histamine-rich food in the morning, but not experience symptoms until the histamine threshold is reached, which could happen at the next meal, or even days afterwards.
Ok, so how does this impact my hormones, I hear you ask!
The relationship between histamine and oestrogen is complex but HIGHER levels of OESTRADIOL (our most potent form of oestrogen in the body) can:
Cause mast cells (the immune cells that released histamine) to release MORE histamine
Slow the breakdown of histamine from your body
Both causing an INCREASE in symptoms. Histamine and Oestrogen impact each other so if one if high, it is likely to increase the other and a vicious cycle emerges.
So if your are suffering with hormonal imbalance and signs of oestrogen excess such as weight gain, mood swings, irregular cycles, fluid retention, swelling and tender breasts, decreased libido, heavy periods, brain fog this is likely to make your hay fever and allergies much worse. Going back to the bucket analogy, you have increased levels of histamine due to an allergy which is filling up the bucket, if then you consume foods high in histamine and have excess oestrogen circulating too either due to low progesterone which isn’t able to counterbalance the effects or poor detoxification of oestrogen (which can be down to a number of factors include poor gut microbiome diversity) this can cause the bucket to fill up quickly and overflow and that’s when you notice you symptoms getting worse, this is usually around ovulation or before/during your period.
Ok, so what can be done?
Avoid foods high in histamine (alcohol, leftovers, chocolate, processed meats, dry aged cured meats and cheeses) around ovulation and leading up to your period
Avoid foods that trigger histamine release (especially food additives like some food dyes and preservatives such as benzoates and sulphites) which can cuase the body to release more histamine
Avoid foods that block the DAO enzyme (the enzyme that supports the breakdown of histamine), this includes alcohol and some medications
BUT also addressing the root cause of your issues will likely lead to more long-term symptom resolution too which includes:
Supporting a healthy and diverse gut microbiome as some less favourable micro-organisms that live in your bowel also make histamine from food materials that are incompletely digested
Avoid compromising your gut lining (including NSAID intolerance, coeliac or gluten intolerance, bowel disease, or increased intestinal permeability) as this can lead to a deficiency in the DAO enzyme and lead to reduced breakdown of histamine
Ensure you are eating a diverse diet to avoid deficiencies in Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and Copper which are integral in regulating our histamine release and breakdown
Supporting hormone balance and adequate oestrogen detoxification so this doesn’t exacerbate histamine release (oestrogen detoxification requires a healthy gut microbiome and adequate liver detoxification through all 3 phases - cruciferous vegetables, sulphur containing foods like garlic and onion and citrus foods an all help support these pathways).
As you can see histamine and our hormones are carefully linked and can impact each other, what we eat can make a huge difference in not only our histamine response and breakdown but also in supporting hormonal balance too. Whilst anti-histamines may help they don't address the bigger picture or seek to solve the underlying cause.
If you think histamine may be a factor in causing your hormonal symptoms and you would like to get to the bottom of what is going on so you can finally feel some relief click the link here and book in a free chat or download your free copy of the Problem Free Period Guide.
