Histamine is a chemical compound that is naturally present in the body and food. It plays a role in the body’s immune response and is released as the first inflammatory mediator in an allergic reaction or reaction of ‘fight or flight’.
In other words, when we are exposed to physical or emotional stress - whether real or perceived stress - histamine is released. This action may trigger various pathways associated with facial reddening, including vasodilation (opening of capillaries beneath the skin’s surface, thereby allowing a rush of blood to the face) erythema (acute accentuation of redness), and urticaria (rash and/or hives.)
How art thou rosier than moi?
Due to the genetically determined efficiency of histamine metabolism, some people are more sensitive to histamine build-up than others. Individuals with an inherently fast histamine metabolism can maintain an efficient rate of histamine breakdown, thereby escaping the trigger threshold for histamine-induced symptoms. To find out more about your genetic predisposition to histamine sensitivity and to order a 3X4 nutrigenomics test, click here.
The science behind a blush
Although commonly confused with an allergic response, histamine intolerance does not have an IgE-based mechanism. Histamine-sensitive individuals, (estimated to be approximately 1% of the population) are simply deficient in the enzymes Diamine Oxide (DAO) and histamine-N-methyltranferase (HMNT) which are the primary agents for histamine catabolism.
Which foods will put you in the hot seat?
There is no such thing as a histamine-free diet. Almost all foods contain histamines. However, some contain particularly high levels and others (histamine liberators) may simply trigger an internal histamine release by mast cells. Both of these may lead to undesirable histamine levels in the body, particularly for people who are genetically more inclined to flush than to flush out histamines.
Despite the explanation above, science is rarely simple. All things being equal, it should make sense that limiting foods with a high histamine content, should solve the problem, but things are seldom equal. In studying the histamine content of different foods, it has been discovered that histamine variations may occur as a result of the degree of ripeness; varying storage conditions and the degree of bacterial contamination within the same food. Hence, scientific studies have produced mixed results.
Food tolerance also appears to differ between individuals. Thus, a ‘trial-and-error’ approach with the use of a food diary (eliminating all potential histamine triggers and re-introducing them one at a time) may be the best approach to determine individual tolerance guidelines.
A ‘red herring’?
If facial redness is the result of histamine intolerance, flushing may be accompanied by other symptoms including:
- Digestive intolerance (diarrhoea, bloating, and abdominal pain)
- Hypotension (low blood pressure)
- Tachycardia (racing heart)
- Rhinitis (nasal congestion)
- Conjunctivitis (reddened, irritated eyes)
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Irritability
However, non-histamine-related causes of facial redness include:
- Rosacea
- Spider veins
- Seborrheic dermatitis
- Social anxiety disorder
DNA testing will confirm whether or not histamine responsiveness is a prime suspect behind involuntary blushing, or if it is just a red herring. To order a DNA lifestyle test kit, click here.
A rosy solution- rules for a histamine-restricted lifestyle:
Histamine intolerance cannot be cured, it can simply be managed by identifying and limiting individual trigger foods and medications, and by managing gut dysbiosis.
To gain personalised insights into the health of your gut bacteria, click here to order the Viome Gut Microbiome Test.
Although for reasons of practicality and nutritional balance, histamines in food cannot be avoided completely, low-histamine foods can certainly be prioritised. These include:
- Fresh or frozen meat, chicken, and fish
- Cooked egg yolks
- Fresh vegetables (except tomato), eggplant, and spinach
- Fresh fruit (except citrus), strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and pineapple
- Grains (except wheatgerm)
Fresh food, or food that is cooked from frozen and eaten immediately appears to be preferable to cooked food that has sat at room temperature or has been stored in the fridge and reheated.
Lastly, although more extensive research and dose-specific trials are required to examine the potential of dietary flavonoids as natural anti-histamines, studies have demonstrated a promising association between quercetin intake and the reduced production of histamines by mast cells. With this in mind, increasing daily consumption of quercetin in the form of red onions, red grapes, blueberries, broccoli and kale, can do no harm.