The antihistamine diet is intended for people who have diagnosed histamine intolerance or deficiency of the DAO enzyme. It allows you to improve the he alth and well-being of the patient and minimize the unpleasant symptoms associated with histamine intolerance such as: dyspnoea, urticaria, redness of the face. What is the antihistamine diet and what products should you avoid?

The antihistamine dietis used to relieve the body with diagnosed histamine intolerance. Thanks to it, you can avoid the unpleasant symptoms associated with this disorder. They appear as a result of increased consumption of histamine with a simultaneous failure (or lack) of the enzyme that breaks it down. The antihistamine diet is an elimination diet and it consists in excluding products containing histamine.

What is Histamine?

Histamine is a biogenic amine, a tissue hormone that plays an important role in our body. It is important for stimulating the circulation, controlling heart rate and regulating blood pressure.

It is also important for regulating immune function, metabolism and appetite control.

Plays the role of a neurotransmitter, because it is responsible for good sleep quality, hence disturbances in its secretion can lead to insomnia.

It has a signal function, because it informs the body about the threat and protects against the intrusion of pathogenic germs. It occurs in many places in our body, which is why when we are intolerant of it, we have such a variety of symptoms, e.g. skin, respiratory, circulatory.

Histamine intolerance - where does it come from?

Histamine is produced by the body's own cells or supplied externally with food. They produce and store it, among others:

  • basophils,
  • histaminergic neurons,
  • whether enterochromatophilic cells in the intestinal mucosa.

In addition, they produce it, but no longer store it:

  • platelets,
  • dendritic cells,
  • or T-limocytes.

When needed (e.g. we are bitten by an insect), these cells release histamine, which travels to specific tissues.

In addition to the internal production of histamine, the accumulation of this amine in the body cantake place under the influence of external delivery - from food products.

Histamine is made from the amino acid histidine - a protein abundantly found in food such as:

  • meat,
  • fish,
  • dairy.

However, vegans are not free from consuming this biogenic amine as it is found in:

  • cereals,
  • kasach,
  • mushrooms
  • and any product that contains protein - even vegetable.

What does histamine intolerance depend on?

Whether we have a histamine intolerance depends on how efficiently our body breaks down histamine.

Even a he althy person who has no intolerance to it can react violently to histamine. It is enough for him to eat huge amounts of it, which his body cannot cope with at the moment, for the consequences to be dire. This was the case in 1973, when over 32 people in the United States got poisoned by eating canned tuna. Although no one died, many people were hospitalized because of it.

Most people are good at breaking down this biogenic amine on a daily basis because they have two enzymes that support it:

  • intracellular HNMT (histamine N-methyltransferase)
  • and extracellular - DAO enzyme.

The problem appears when there is a disturbance in the secretion of these enzymes, especially the external enzyme DAO. Then, insufficiently fast breakdown of histamine in the body can lead to intoxication.

What are the causes of a DAO enzyme deficiency?

This could be a result of a congenital or acquired DAO deficiency. In the former case, not much can be done.

Acquired DAO shortage may be a consequence of, for example :

  • intestinal dysbiosis,
  • parasite infections,
  • inflammation of the mucosa,
  • or consumption of certain medications.

Antihistamine diet - what is it?

The antihistamine diet is designed to relieve the body when histamine intolerance is diagnosed.

The symptoms of this intolerance are not pleasant because they include:

  • dry mouth,
  • increased thirst,
  • itchy skin,
  • hives,
  • nausea,
  • headaches.

They are also not safe for he alth - because they include:

  • tachycardia,
  • swallowing problems,
  • shortness of breath,
  • diarrhea,
  • visual disturbance,
  • sudden drop in blood pressure.

The antihistamine diet avoids foods that are high in histamine and those that lead to suddenrelease from cells.

In addition, it places emphasis on providing food with three important cofactors necessary for the proper activity of the DAO enzyme, so:

  • vitamin C,
  • vitamin B6
  • and copper.

Antihistamine diet - what foods should you avoid?

The most histamine is contained in long-ripening or fermenting products. In addition, the increase in histamine in the product is influenced by smoking, drying and long-term storage. Therefore, people with histamine intolerance should avoid:

  • blue cheeses,
  • cheese,
  • rennet cheeses,
  • as well as long-maturing cold cuts such as: ham, white sausage or label.

Fish are very tricky when it comes to high levels of histamine, especially those with dark meat, that is:

  • tuna,
  • mackerel,
  • as well as anchovy,
  • or follow.

They contain a lot of histidine which is converted into histamine. The longer the period passes after killing them, the more histamine increases. Other fish can also contain very large amounts of histamine, caused by various types of bacteria on their gills, skin and digestive tract.

If these fish have been gutted too late or gutted too late, active microbes can significantly increase the amount of histamine in the meat.

The higher concentration of this biogenic amine also depends on the way the product is stored and the temperature. The higher the temperature, the higher the histamine level will be. In turn, s alting has an inhibitory effect (e.g. herrings that are heavily s alted contain a small amount of histamine).

In addition to the fish listed above, people who have problems with the breakdown of histamine should avoid fermented products, such as :

  • sauerkraut,
  • pickled cucumber,
  • or wine.

The general rule is that it is best to eat fresh food, because the longer they stay (even in the fridge), the more histamine they contain.

In addition, it is worth avoiding products that can release histamine from cells, such as :

  • strawberries,
  • chocolate,
  • bananas,
  • soybeans,
  • pineapples,
  • avocado,
  • porcini mushrooms,
  • pears,
  • black tea,
  • green tea,
  • yerba mate,
  • licorice,
  • mustard,
  • citrus,
  • papaya,
  • tomatoes,
  • mushrooms.

In addition, you must avoid food additives such as:

  • benzoates,
  • amaranth,
  • patent blue,
  • erythrosine,
  • glutamate,
  • indigo carmine,
  • sorbic acid,
  • sulfites,
  • choline yellow,
  • tartrazine.
  • Antihistamines: action, use, side effects
  • Food allergy: causes, symptoms, treatment

Category:

Diets