Wondering why you react to EVERYTHING you eat?

Did you know that the act of digestion itself causes histamine release [1]? No, not many people do. I get so many emails from people who are convinced they have multiple amine, food intolerance or allergy issues because they react to everything they ingest. They explore salicylate, amine, oxalate, yeast and other issues obsessively, convinced that […]

Histamine’s role in fibrocystic breast disease

Suffering from breast lumps? Histamine plays an important role in Fibrocystic Breast Disease. One of my many health scares, before my histaminosis/histamine intolerance diagnosis, was breast cancer, finally ruled out by lumpectomy. I had another cancer scare a few years later – doctors insisted on another lumpectomy, which I refused. It took me another seven […]

These probiotic strains help fight allergies (rather than causing them)

Baby bacteria lowers histamine levels

I’ve been exploring the catch-22 of probiotic supplementation for some time now. The dilemma? Probiotics are necessary for proper intestinal function – the histamine lowering enzymes diamine oxidase and monoamine oxidase live there, so fixing up our poop tube seems like a good idea right? Not so simple. Probiotic supplements are fermented (a no go […]

The Histamine Survival Series – Restaurants

‘Tis the season to head to warmer climes and enjoy a little dining…but eating out is no picnic when you have histamine intolerance/histaminosis/mast cell activation/mastocytosis. And yet this has never stopped me from trying (and succeeding).  My top tip for surviving restaurants is PREPARE! 1. I have a couple of restaurants who have my allergies/preferences […]

The Low Histamine Diet Foods FAQ

WHICH FOODS ARE HIGH HISTAMINE? That depends on which list you follow. Histamine in foods varies depending on: the country grown in, whether pesticides were used, climate, transportation, ripeness when picked, how long on the supermarket shelf, bacterial contamination. In particular the level varies in flesh. The reason for which is that bacteria release histamine […]

Ayurvedic remedy helps fight flab, fix your thyroid and lower histamine levels!

I’m taking a number of steps to help my body recover from any inadvertent histamine hiccups (ahem, cupcake incidents) I may subject it to. One of them is the food-coaching course I’m taking with my nutritional hero Dr. Fuhrman, and an intensive immersion into herbalism, which I’m sure to expand upon in coming years. I’m […]

Playing histamine detective is easy – here’s how I do it.

Update: nowadays I wish I hadn’t tried so hard to play histamine detective. In the end I believe it became counter productive, causing my amygdala to become hypersensitised and give me a fear of food. Read all about that here. My decade (plus) as a journalist for CNN and the BBC definitely prepared me to […]

Suffering from make up allergies or reactions? Try wearing nudes…

Suffer from make up allergies/reactions? Ever noticed nudes bother you less? Me too! An interview with Ilia Beauty founder Sasha Plavsic at the fabulous Being Content in London revealed why. Ilia’s Neon Angel has my vote as one of the top all-time greats of the natural beauty worldI asked Sasha if she thought make up allergies were […]

The Histamine Detox

THIS IS AN OLD POST, BUT RELEVANT TO PEOPLE STARTING OUT. CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW I MOVED PAST THE ELIMINATION. THE LOW HISTAMINE DETOX WEEK 1 BLOOD. I NEED BLOOD! I’ve just had my blood work done. Not only will your test results tell you it’s safe to embark on a high nutrient low […]

Stressed out uterus?

I’m not just going for a catchy headline here – turns out that valerian root is not only a powerful anxiolytic (natural chill out pill) overall, it’s also an antihistamine which helps with menstrual cramps. I mean seriously, the study is actually called: Relaxing effects of Valeriana officinalis extracts on isolated human non-pregnant uterine muscle. […]