Did you know that histamine can cause bloating, headaches, hot flashes, dizziness and anxiety during menstrual estrogen cycle peaks? These symptoms can also worsen at certain times of your menstrual cycle.
Histamine and estrogen are intrinsically linked, and symptoms are usually worse around the time of ovulation and the following weeks before your period. What’s exciting is that sometimes, all symptoms can be improved by changing the type of food you eat.
It is no coincidence that a high incidence of people who acquire histamine intolerance are women, as the common link is excess estrogen. Studies have found estrogen to have significant effects on the mast cells of the immune system. Mast cells release histamine granules during the activation of the immune system. These cells are most abundant in sites that are most exposed to the environment – skin, airways, gastrounrinary and gastrointestinal tracts. In numerous studies, it has been demonstrated that estrogen, particularly its form called estradiol, can elicit activation of mast cells. Aside from triggering mast cells to release histamine, estrogen can also down-regulate the enzymes DAO and MAO, which break down histamine. This may explain why symptoms of histamine intolerance are common at the start of the menstrual period (during ovulation and just before the period starts) and during peri-menopause, when estrogen levels are on the rise. Women can even be more sensitive if they are also taking estrogen supplements.
Do you suffer from intense and baffling symptoms mid-cycle and the days before your period?
When I first became histamine intolerant, the information on hormones was pretty limited.
However, our understanding of hormones has expanded rapidly since then, and we now know how to improve estrogen clearance and test for DNA histamine intolerance and hormone levels. Did you know that progesterone helps to clear estrogen and prevent estrogen dominance?
In reality, the question is whether the ovaries produce too much estrogen and whether the body is processing the hormones well.
The way we process estrogen has everything to do with histamine tolerance. Histamine can raise estrogen levels, and when estrogen levels are high, more mast cells are stimulated to release more histamine.
Histamine can be the reason for:
- menstrual-related headaches and period pain
- perimenopause symptoms
- hot flushes
- anxiety or low mood before a period
- bloating before a period
- recurrent mid-cycle symptoms such as migraines and dizziness
- insomnia
- hormonal-associated fluctuations in allergies and asthma
- worse interstitial cystitis before a period
(Please note it’s important to remember that it may not be histamine causing these symptoms, and you should seek advice from your doctor, naturopath or other health care provider for severe symptoms.)
Histamines can cause skin reactions.
Histamines can cause hives, itching, and flushing, which can be mild or severe. In addition, many women with very severe skin reactions have found that changes in their menstrual cycles can trigger responses.
Have you ever noticed that you get hot flushes and red cheeks after a few glasses of wine? These hot flush menopause symptoms, called formication (a feeling like ants walking under the skin), can be worse when consuming foods containing histamines.
Histamine intolerance can also sometimes explain eczema, rosacea, and acne flares.
Histamines can cause respiratory reactions.
Histamines can trigger sneezing, allergic rhinitis, nasal congestion, throat clearing, coughing, and asthma.
So, when I have a client experiencing digestive or hormonal symptoms and frequent nasal congestion or hay fever, I will often investigate possible histamine intolerance.
Histamine reactions in women can often occur before their menstrual period due to cyclic estrogen changes and during perimenopause when oestrogen levels fluctuate widely.
What can you do?
Start tracking your menstrual cycle.
You can start tracking your symptoms simultaneously with your menstrual cycle to help you notice if any of your symptoms are related to fluctuations in oestrogen levels.
Keeping a journal or using period tracker apps such as Clue will help you to note everything relevant, including symptoms such as stool changes, headaches, itching, sneezing, hot flushes, insomnia, clotting, anxiety and low mood.
Reduce histamine-containing foods.
At the times of your cycle when you expect symptoms, stick to fresh, unprocessed, and non-fermented foods. Avoid leftover, slow-cooked, aged, dried, and over-ripe foods.
Also, avoid high histamine foods before your period that can cause symptoms, including alcohol, ripe avocado and dairy products.
Histamine intolerance testing.
Your health practitioner can guide you in implementing an antihistamine diet. This diet is one of the easiest ways to test for histamine intolerance. If you have a positive response when you are required to reintroduce specific histamine-containing foods and notice a reaction, you’ll know what food or combination of foods is causing it.
Food intolerances
Many foods containing histamine are considered healthy foods, and without health practitioner guidance, you should never permanently eliminate healthy foods from your diet. However, if certain foods are causing symptoms, please get help to heal your histamine intolerance and balance your estrogen levels so you can return to a balanced diet.
You may also discover that you are intolerant to other foods that don’t contain histamine. In this situation, food intolerances (further testing is also available to determine these) cause an immune response in your body, and histamine is released into the bloodstream.
Have you noticed if there are any foods that upset your stomach or cause symptoms? Common histamine-trigger foods can include additives and preservatives, coffee, tea, cured meats, seafood, eggplant, citrus fruit, tomato, avocado, spinach, eggplant, and pork.
Restore your gut microbiome
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is another common reason for histamine intolerance.
Bacterial, parasitic, or yeast infections or other imbalances in your gut microbiome can all play a role in histamine reactions. Therefore, I recommend GI map microbiome testing to determine your gut microbiome profile.
Would you like to work with me?
I’m very excited to help support women on their health journey to improve the quality of their lives by reducing their symptoms and histamine intolerance. In addition, I would like to help every woman learn how to enjoy a wide variety of foods that are right for them.
SO LET’S GET STARTED INVESTING IN YOUR HEALTH AND BEGIN YOUR WELLNESS JOURNEY. Book a time NOW.
This blog is for information only and is not intended to replace medical advice. Please seek assistance for any medical concerns.
References
Bonds, R. S., & Midoro-Horiuti, T. (2013). Estrogen effects in allergy and asthma. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 13(1), 92-99. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3537328/
Briden, L. (2016). The Curious Link Between Estrogen and Histamine Intolerance. Retrieved August 15, 2016 from http://www.larabriden.com/the-curious-link-between-estrogen-and-histamine-intolerance/
Ede, G. (n.d.). Histamine Intolerance: Understanding the Science. Retrieved August 15, 2016 from http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/histamine-intolerance-science/
Maintz, L., Schwarzer, V., Bieber, T., van der Ven, K., & Novak, N. (2008). Effects of Histamine and diamine oxidase activities on pregnancy: a critical review. Human Reproduction Update, 14(5), 485-495. http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/5/485.full
Munoz-Cruz, S., Mendoza-Rodriguez, Y., Nava-Castro, K., Yepez-Mulia, L., & Morales-Montor, J. (2015). Gender-Related Effects of Sex Steroids on Histamine Release and FcεRI Expression in Rat Peritoneal Mast Cells. Journal of Immunology Research, 2015 (2015). http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/2015/351829/
Zierau, O., Zenclussen, A. C., & Jensen, F. (2012). Role of sex hormones, estradiol and progesterone, in mast cell behaviour. Frontiers in Immunology, 3(169). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3377947/
