Histamines, Hormones, Estrogen & Diet

How histamine can increase circulating estrogen

histamines


What is Histamine?

Histamine is a compound found in the tissues of our body, in the brain, the central nervous system, as well as regulating physiological function in the gut. Interestingly, there are histamine receptors found in the uterus.

Histamine is released from your body during times of stress or due to an allergic reaction. It is part of your body’s protective system, designed to respond to danger and as such it causes an inflammatory response which can happen very rapidly. During times of damage it causes dilation of your blood vessels and tightening of your muscles. When this swelling reaction takes place, it puts pressure on your nerve endings and causes pain.

There are various types of histamines having different roles in the body. Histamine is known to act as a neurotransmitter in the brain, interacting with and altering levels of other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin.

Histamine is also an excitatory neurotransmitter which communicates important messages from your body to your brain. As opposed to serotonin which is a calming neurotransmitter.  It has also been found that histamines play role in the function of the central nervous system and histamines that cross your blood brain barrier affect your perception of pain. 

Another role of histamine is that it controls your circadian rhythm, and when histamine it too high it can cause insomnia, so when we take an anti-histamine it helps makes us feel sleepy.  Additionally, too much histamine can cause anxiety.

Histamine Break Down

Histamine is part of your body’s natural immune response. After it’s released, it’s either stored or broken down by certain enzymes.

The histamine in your central nervous system is broken down primarily by histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT). Histamine in your digestive tract is broken down primarily by diamine oxidase (DAO).

If you have deficiency in these enzymes (especially DAO), then you will likely have issues breaking down histamine.

DAO activity lessens when you take anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or aspirin or certain antidepressants. Your environment and emotional wellbeing also play a role.

Adrenal Fatigue

Excess histamine influences your adrenal glands. Your adrenals play an important role in regulating histamine release and inflammatory reactions with the release of cortisol, your stress hormone, which is an anti-inflammatory agent.

Over time, due to being overworked your adrenal glands become fatigued and gradually produce less cortisol which allows histamine to cause further inflammation of tissues.  This becomes a vicious cycle of inflammation and fatigue.

Estrogen Dominance

Histamine stimulates your ovaries to make more estrogen, and estrogen then stimulates your mast cells to make more histamine. Estrogen also down-regulates the DAO enzyme that you need to clear histamine.

This results in a vicious cycle of estrogen → histamine → estrogen → histamine.

Histamine and Stress Relation

Histamine release can be influenced by stress which includes physical or emotional stress. Having endometriosis is very stressful and may play into the increase of histamine release.  Stress also plays havoc with your stress hormones, namely cortisol.  At first your body will pump out cortisol, but over time they can become burnt out and start to reduce their output of much need cortisol, and cortisol helps to control inflammation.

Natural Ways to Reduce Histamine

Although traditional histamine blocker and antihistamine medications are available, over time these medications actually deplete DAO levels in your body.

Here are some natural ways to reduce histamine

Quercetin

Quercetin occurs naturally in a variety of plant-based foods and can help reduce the release of histamine. Quercetin also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  Quercetin is found foods with dark red colouring especially plumbs, cherries, black-currants and blueberries.

Bromelain

Bromelain is often used in digestive enzyme supplements and is also found in pineapple. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C can help block histamine which is available in many fruits and vegetables including kale, broccoli, watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe.

Nettle

Nettle is another good natural antihistamine and nettle has many other benefits including vitamins and minerals and is very good for detoxing.  Nettle can be taken as a tea and mixed with mint makes a really good tea blend.

Foods High in Histamine

It’s good to be aware of which foods have higher histamine levels. If you are eating these all the time then you could be adding additional histamine load to your body.

Foods that have higher levels of histamine:

  • Fermented foods (sauerkraut, vinegar, soy sauce, kefir, yogurt, kombucha, pickles, etc)
  • Cured meats (bacon, salami, pepperoni, lunch meats, and hot dogs)
  • Most citrus fruits
  • Dried fruit (raisins, dates, cranberries, etc)
  • Avocados
  • Eggplant
  • Spinach
  • Tomatoes
  • Bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Chocolate
  • Cow’s Milk
  • Nuts
  • Shellfish
  • Sour cream
  • Aged cheese
  • Alcohol
  • Many artificial preservatives and food dyes


Pay attention after you eat these foods to see if you have a reaction. As with all things, moderation is key.

As with most things, a big issue in keeping histamine under control is to reduce stress in your body: from the foods you eat, to what you put in and, on your body, to the environment you spend your time in and how you consciously respond to the emotional stress in your life.

Extract from – ‘Healing from the Inside Out – Your Guide to Healing Endometriosis’ by Carolyn Levett


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