Histamine intolerance begins in the gut

Histamine plays important roles in your body, including in your veins' ability to allow things in and out, mucus secretion for defence, and neurotransmission or messaging.

Histamine is also found in the stomach lining where it helps secrete gastric acid, important for digesting proteins, absorbing vitamins and minerals, and inhibiting bacterial growth in gut infections and SIBO.

But too much histamine can result in headaches, allergies and food sensitivities, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), nasal congestion, rashes, fatigue, digestive problems and more.

In our gut we have strains of histamine-producing bacteria like Enterococcus faecalis, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Lactobacillus gasseri, Escherichia coli, Morganella morganii and Proteus mirabillis.

We also have strains of histamine degrading bacteria including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

An imbalance in these bacteria is what causes problems .

In short, if histamine-producing bacteria overgrow and outnumber histamine-degrading bacteria, histamine build-up and intolerance may emerge.

This gut flora imbalance is called dysbiosis.

Dysbiosis and other gut problems like constipation and a compromised gut–brain connection can also result in SIBO – Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, where bacteria tha doesnt belong damnages the small intestine. SIBO is a key cause of histamine problems.

Interestingly in IBD and IBS patients, histamine-secreting bacteria were significantly higher than in healthy controls. In IBS, Klebsiella aerogenes is a key culprit. In IBD, Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae may play a significant role in inflammation.

What does this mean?

It means that

• Eradicating gut health problems like dysbiosis and SIBO are a priority for resolving histamine intolerance

• Having a healthy gut microbiome is vital for preventing gut disease, inflammation and low immunity

• Crowding out bad bacteria with good ones is vital, feeding them plenty of fibre

All of these things are possible with testing, and nutritional protocol.