Month: January 2023

Your Thyroid and Mast Cells: The Connection

Health issues rarely come in one. Your body is an interconnected system of cells, organs, tissues, hormones, and so on. If one thing goes wrong, chances are it will affect other areas of your body too. This is the thing with your thyroid.

Thyroid disease doesn’t just happen on its own. Your diet, lifestyle, and overall health all play a role. Increasing evidence suggests that your mast cells may also play a role in thyroid disease.

In this article, I want to discuss the connection between your thyroid and mast cells. You will learn what your thyroid is and what thyroid disease is. You will learn about hypothyroidism and its symptoms. I will go over the function of your mast cells and what mast cell activation syndrome is. You will learn about the connection between your thyroid and mast cell activation. I will discuss the connection between your thyroid, histamine, and your gut health. Finally, I will offer some natural strategies to improve your thyroid and mast cell health and overall well-being.

What Is Your Thyroid?

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland found right in front of your neck. It produces thyroid hormones that your body needs for energy. Your thyroid hormones support your digestion, breathing, heart rate, mood, weight, and other areas of your health (1, 2).

What Is Thyroid Disease

There are a variety of different thyroid diseases that can affect your thyroid health, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, goiter, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, and thyroiditis. For the purpose of this article, the thyroid disease I want to discuss is hypothyroidism, as it may be the most connected to mast cell activation issues.

What Is Hypothyroidism 

Hypothyroidism is caused by an underactive thyroid. It means that your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough of some crucial thyroid hormones. Hashimoto’s disease is the most common form of hypothyroidism. It is an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks your own thyroid. However, you can have non-autoimmune hypothyroid issues as well (3, 4, 5).

Causes of hypothyroidism:

• Nutrient deficiencies
• Environmental toxins
• Inflammatory diet
• Food sensitivities
• Gluten
• Chronic infections
• Heavy metals
• Mold
• Leaky gut syndrome
• Chronic stress
• Poor sleep
• Hormonal imbalances

Symptoms of hypothyroidism:

• Fatigue
• Sluggishness
• Sleepiness and sleep issues
• Increased sensitivity to cold
• Constipation
• Muscle weakness
• Muscles aches, stiffness, or tenderness
• Joint pain and stiffness
• Dry skin
• Brittle nails
• Hair loss
• Puffy face
• Depression
• Concentration issues
• Memory issues
• Brain fog
• Irregular periods
• Heavy periods
• Enlarged tongue
• Goiter (swelling of the thyroid)

Mast Cells and Histamine

Mast cell activation issues may be connected to your thyroid health. Before I get into this connection, I want to go over what are your mast cells, what histamine is, why you need them, and potential problems.

What Is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Your mast cells are essential for your immune and overall health. They are white blood cells that store histamine and other inflammatory mediators. They are located in your digestive tract, respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin, and blood. 

When your body is attacked by an allergen, toxin, or other triggers, it will lead to mast cell activations. Your mast cells will cause an allergic response and release histamine along with other chemicals. This protective mechanism is essential for your immune health.

However, if your mast cells become dysregulated or overactive, it can turn into a serious issue. Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) means that your mast cells release too much histamine and other chemicals. This can lead to a variety of symptoms and affect your entire body. You may develop MCAS due to a variety of triggers, including mold, chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, allergens, medications, infections, viruses, food, and alcohol. 

Symptoms of MCAS may include the following:

• Rashes
• Hives
• Itching
• Heart palpitations
• Low blood pressure
• Headaches
• Chest pain
• Weight changes, including rapid weight loss or weight gain
• Digestive trouble, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
• Loss of appetite or low appetite
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Vision changes
• Weakness
• Dizziness

What Is Histamine Intolerance

Histamine gets a bad rap because of anti-histamine medications. The  ‘anti’ part of anti-histamine, may make you believe that histamine is bad. It’s the opposite. Histamine is absolutely necessary for your health.

It is a chemical that supports your body in getting rid of allergens. It also supports your digestion by releasing hydrochloric acid to break down food and your brain health by serving as a chemical messenger. Too much of a good thing is rarely good, though.

If your body is releasing too much histamine and your body is unable to keep up and break down all the excess histamine, it will lead to histamine buildup. Histamine intolerance means that there is too much histamine in your body. 

Under normal circumstances, your body sends enzymes to break down excess histamine and prevent build-up. If you have too much histamine or you don’t have enough of these enzymes, it won’t be able to break everything down, which can lead to histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance can affect your entire body and lead to widespread symptoms.

Symptoms of histamine intolerance include the following:

• Itchy skin, eyes, ears, and nose
• Eczema or other types of dermatitis
• Hives
• Red eyes
• Facial swelling
• Crawling sensation on the skin or the scalp
• Tightness in the throat
• Difficulty regulating body temperature
• Sudden drop in blood pressure when standing up
• Low blood pressure
• Fast heart rate
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Difficulty falling asleep or sleep issues
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Irritability
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Congestion or runny nose
• Seasonal allergies 
• Asthma
• Migraines and headaches
• Hair loss
• Acid reflux
• Diarrhea
• Abnormal menstrual cycle
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome vs Histamine Intolerance

I believe that MCAS is the primary cause of histamine intolerance, but it may not be the cause for everyone. But considering the similarities between the symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance, you may feel confused. 

Are these two conditions the same? No, they are not the same. Though symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance can be similar and are both caused by high levels of histamine, MCAS and histamine intolerance are not the same.

If your body has too much histamine and it can’t handle it, you may develop histamine intolerance. This usually happens due to a high-histamine diet. However, stress, poor sleep, environmental toxins, certain medications, and other factors may add to your histamine bucket as well. If your body has trouble breaking down the extra histamine, it will lead to histamine build-up and histamine intolerance. 

While histamine intolerance simply means you have too much histamine in your body, you develop MCAS if your mast cells get triggered all the time. If you have MCAS, your mast cells get triggered by mold, allergens, or other triggers, they will release histamine and other chemicals into your body. Increased histamine release from mast cell activation can lead to too much histamine in your body. This can lead to a wide range of symptoms that are very similar to the symptoms of histamine intolerance. 

As I mentioned before, MCAS is one of the primary causes of histamine intolerance. However, it is not the cause for everyone. You can have histamine intolerance without MCAS. You can also have MCAS without histamine intolerance. But you may have both MCAS and histamine intolerance. I see patients who have both conditions regularly (1, 2, 3). 

If you have both conditions, your body will have increased difficulty breaking down the excess histamine. This can lead to widespread symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance. To figure out, whether you are dealing with symptoms of MCAS, histamine intolerance, or both. I recommend working with a functional medicine doctor who is well-versed in both conditions. (Tips: My team and I would love to help you with your diagnosis and treatment. Schedule your consultation here.)

To learn more about MCAS and histamine intolerance, I recommend reading my book, The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More. 

The Connection Between Thyroid Health and Mast Cells

Research, including a 2015 study published in Mediators of Inflammation, has found that mast cell activation may play a role in a variety of autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis (6). I have written an in-depth article about the connection between mast cells, histamine intolerance, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune issues. You can check out this article here.

It’s logical to assume that mast cell activation may also play a role in autoimmune thyroid issues, thyroid disease, and overall thyroid function. Though there is limited research on this connection, we have increased evidence on the topic. A 2016 review published in Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacología y Terapéutica has found that mast cell activation may be linked to autoimmune thyroid issues (7).

According to a 2019 review published in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, thyroid antibodies can attach to the surface of your mast cells (8). When they bind to your mast cells, your mast cells may activate. It seems that if you have too many thyroid antibodies due to Hashimoto’s disease, it may lead to increased mast cell activation. This may increase your risk of MCAS and histamine intolerance (8).

Researchers also found that your mast cells may be able to synthesize and store your T3 hormones. This means that when your mast cells are activated, they not only release histamine and other chemicals, but they may also be affecting your thyroid hormone levels and thyroid function (8).

The review has also found that in hypothyroid conditions, an increased number of mast cells are common (8). A 2022 study published in Animals has also found an increase in mast cells, mast cell degranulation, and histamine in hypothyroidism (9). More mast cells can mean increased mast cell activation. This can lead to the increased release of histamine and other chemicals and consequent symptoms (8).

Researchers have also found that histamine can affect the release of TSH. Thus having an underactive thyroid may increase the chance of developing MCAS and histamine intolerance. Moreover, it seems that your mast cells may not only play an important part in autoimmune thyroid disease and thyroiditis but also in the follicular variants of papillary thyroid cancer (8).

The Connection Between Histamine and Thyroid Health

I also want to touch on how your gut health may play a role in the connection between mast cell issues, histamine intolerance, and thyroid disease. Just to recap, hypothyroidism may increase the number of mast cells. Since your mast cells are responsible for histamine production, more mast cells can lead to increased histamine release. This may lead to histamine intolerance and related issues.

In a healthy body, DAO enzymes can clean up excess histamine. If you have too much histamine, your body may not be able to handle it all. On top of that, if you have low DAO enzyme production, it will further decrease histamine breakdown. This will lead to increased histamine levels. The combination of high histamine levels, low DAO enzyme levels, and a high-histamine diet can set you up for small bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), gut health issues, and histamine intolerance.

A 2007 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has found that people with hypothyroidism were significantly more likely to have SIBO compared to those without (10). According to a 2012 study published in the Medicinal Clinics of North America, SIBO may be present in over half of those with hypothyroid issues (11). 

SIBO and gut microbiome imbalance may lead to decreased DAO production, increased mast cell activation, an increase in histamine-producing bacteria, and an increased risk of histamine intolerance. Increased mast cell activation may be negatively affecting your thyroid hormone levels and thyroid function (8). However, thyroid dysfunction itself may lead to further mast cell activation (9). 

On the top of that, increased mast cell activation, histamine intolerance, and a high histamine diet may increase gut health issues. As you can see, this can quickly turn into a vicious cycle of thyroid dysfunction, mast cell activation, histamine intolerance, microbiome imbalance, and gut health issues. We need to address all these underlying and interconnected issues to improve your health.

To learn more about the connection between thyroid health and histamine, I recommend reading this article I’ve written. To learn more about the connection between your mast cells, histamine, and your gut, I recommend this article.

Recommendations for Thyroid and Mast Cell Health

Here are my recommendations to improve your thyroid and mast cell health naturally:

Get a Full Thyroid Panel

I recommend that you work with a functional medicine practitioner (hint: call our office and schedule your consultation here).

A full thyroid panel checks for:

• Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
• Thyroxine (Total & Free T4)
• Triiodothyronine (Free T3 & total T3)
• Reverse T3
• Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO)
• Thyroglobulin antibodies

Why should you work with a functional medicine doctor instead of your regular healthcare provider? Most healthcare providers don’t use a complete thyroid panel and only look at your TSH. This doesn’t tell the full picture, and many issues may be missed. 

If your thyroid doesn’t make enough T4 or T3, you have an underactive thyroid. This may indicate an autoimmune thyroid condition, Hashimoto’s disease. If your thyroid makes too much T4 or T3, you have an overactive thyroid condition. In most cases, this is an autoimmune condition, Graves disease. Most doctors only test for TSH instead of ordering a full thyroid panel, and they fail to diagnose thyroid issues. Your TSH may still be fine, while your T3 or T4 may be off already.

Functional medicine doctors also use a slightly different range. This helps us to detect preclinical thyroid issues before full-blown thyroid disease. 

Checking your thyroid levels will not only help us with the proper diagnosis. Your test results can guide us in creating an individualized treatment plan. Regular testing can help us check your progress and adjust your treatment plan if needed.

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory, Thyroid-Friendly, and Low-Histamine Diet

I recommend following a low-histamine, anti-inflammatory, thyroid-friendly, nutrient-dense, whole-food diet. Remove inflammatory foods, including refined sugar, refined oils, canned and processed meat, artificial ingredients, junk food, and highly processed foods. Eat lots of greens, vegetables, herbs, spices, fruits, healthy fats, and organic meat.

Add lots of thyroid-supporting foods to your diet, including organic vegetables, wild-caught fish, olive oil, coconut oil, low-sugar fruits, such as cherries, cantaloupe, and berries, grass-fed and pasture-raised animal products, seaweed, herbs, and herbal tea. My book, The 30-Day Thyroid Reset Plan: Disarming the 7 Hidden Triggers That Are Keeping Your Sick, has some great recommendations for thyroid-friendly foods and meals.

However, if you are dealing with mast cell activation or histamine intolerance, along with thyroid issues, you have to follow a low-histamine diet. For example, fermented food and apple cider vinegar are great options for healthy individuals or those with thyroid issues without mast cell activation or histamine intolerance. However, if you have mast cell activation or histamine intolerance, you need to avoid fermented foods and apple cider vinegar as they are high in histamine. 

Remove high-histamine foods and foods that can increase your histamine load. High-histamine foods that you should avoid include age cheese (e.g., goat cheese), citrus fruits, canned and cured meat (e.g., pepperoni, salami, bacon, lunch meat, hot dogs, and canned meat), dried fruits (e.g., apricots, dates, raisins, figs, and prunes), fermented foods (e.g., kefir, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and vinegar), fermented alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and champagne), legumes (e.g., beans, lentils, soy, and peanut), certain nuts (e.g., cashew and walnuts), soured foods (e.g., buttermilk, sour milk, sour cream), smoked fish and certain types of fish (e.g., mackerel, mahi-mahi, anchovies, sardines, tuna, and fish sauce), certain vegetables (e.g., avocados, tomatoes, eggplant, and spinach), vinegar-containing foods (e.g., pickles and olives), and all overly processed foods because of the high histamine load from preservatives. 

Avoid histamine-liberating foods that are low in histamine but trigger histamine release in your body, including alcohol, nuts, bananas, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, chocolates, wheat germ, cow’s milk, shellfish, and many artificial preservatives and dyes. Avoid DAO enzyme-blocking foods and drinks, such as alcohol, black tea, green tea, mate tea, and energy drinks.

Try new recipes. I recommend all the low-histamine recipes in The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More and my recipe books, Fifty One Low Histamine Air Fryer Recipes and Low Histamine Cooking in Your Instant Pot.

Try Some Mast Cell-Stabilizing and Histamine-Reducing Foods and Supplements

You can boost the benefits of your anti-inflammatory, low-histamine diet by adding some foods that may help to reduce your levels of histamine and stabilize your mast cells. Quercetin helps to reduce histamine. Add quercetin-rich foods to your diet, such as grapes, apples, cranberries, black plums, cherries, black currants, chokeberries, blueberries, olive oil, cruciferous vegetables, kale, romaine lettuce, chicory greens, red leaf lettuce, cabbage, sprouts, asparagus, snap peas, peppers, and red onion. You may also try a quercetin supplement.

I also recommend adding foods that can help to stabilize your mast cells, including onion, peaches, nettle, apples, chamomile, moringa, watercress, Thai ginger, and fiber-rich foods. You may also try a DAO enzyme supplement to support histamine breakdown and HistoRelief. 

HistoRelief is a synergistic blend of nutrients that provides natural support to balance your immune response. This blend features Tinofend®, a patented and clinically researched extract derived from the plant Tinospora cordifolia, which has a powerful ability to support immune regulation and immune response. As a result, it boosts your body’s ability to fight interstitial cystitis symptoms. It includes quercetin, nettle leaf, vitamin C, and bicarbonate salt to help inhibit histamine release, supports normal histamine metabolism, and improves immune health.

Reduce Your Histamine Load

Beyond a high-histamine diet, certain lifestyle choices may add to your histamine load as well. I recommend improving your lifestyle to reduce histamine intolerance. These lifestyle practices may also support your thyroid health, hormonal health, and overall health and wellness.

Reduce Your Stress Levels 

Chronic stress can increase histamine intolerance, trigger mast cell activation, and impact your thyroid health. To reduce stress and improve sleep, I recommend practicing breathwork, meditation, positive affirmation, journaling, yoga, grounding, and time in nature for stress and anxiety reduction. Taking an Epsom salt bath is another great way to relax your muscles, calm your mind, and detoxify your body. 

Get Enough Sleep Sleep

Inadequate and poor sleep is another major root cause behind histamine intolerance, MCAS, and thyroid issues. Make sure to sleep at least 7 to 9 hours a night. I recommend that you reduce your stress levels throughout the day but especially in the evening time to support sleep. Take a bath, read a good book, listen to some music, journal, try coloring, and spend time with your family. Avoid sugar, alcohol, and heavy food in the evening. I recommend investing in a supportive mattress, comfortable and supportive pillows and blankets, and quality, organic cotton sheets.

Move Your Body

A lack of movement may also increase the risk of histamine intolerance and thyroid problems.. Moving your body is a great way to reduce stress, improve detoxification, support hormonal health, support lymphatic flow, boost your mood, and support your overall health. Stay active throughout the day by taking a stroll in the park, stretching regularly, dancing to your favorite songs, playing with your kids or pets, and finding creative ways to incorporate movement. A standing desk or treadmill desk may be a great idea. Exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes five days a week and move your body regularly. I recommend getting 10 to 15K steps in a day if you can. Add resistance and strength training to your routine. 

Remove Toxins

Toxin overload can increase chronic inflammation, mast cell activation, histamine release, histamine intolerance and thyroid dysfunction. I recommend reducing your exposure to environmental toxins. Use a high-quality air filtration system for better indoor air. Drink purified water to avoid toxins from your tap water.  Avoid conventional cleaning, hygiene, body, and beauty products as they are loaded with chemicals. Choose natural, organic, and homemade options instead. Reduce the use of plastic and avoid BPA completely. Choose glass, bamboo, wood, organic cotton, silicon, and other natural alternatives instead of plastic. Avoid overly processed food products that can contain artificial ingredients. Choose organic food whenever possible.

Reduce Your Mast Cell Triggers

There are a number of triggers that can lead to mast cell activation and related histamine release and symptoms. Mast cell triggers tend to come from your environment. Common triggers of MCAS include mold, allergens, chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, and viruses.

Improve Your Gut Health

As you’ve learned your gut health and gut microbiome imbalance may be closely connected to thyroid disease, mast cell activation, and histamine intolerance. We have to address all areas of the puzzle. Improving your gut health is critical for improving your symptoms and regaining your health. Along with a gut-friendly anti-inflammatory diet, I recommend that you take a high-quality probiotics supplement to support your gut microbiome balance. For further gut-supporting supplements and a specific gut-health protocol, I recommend working with a functional medicine practitioner, like us.

Try Thyroid-Supporting Nutrients

You may also try to add some thyroid-supporting nutrients to your regimen:

Selenium

Selenium is a great nutrient for thyroid function. It may help to protect your thyroid from too much iodine exposure. It may also be important for the conversion of T4 into T3. Selenium may also help to reduce inflammatory activity, which may reduce the risk or symptoms of autoimmune thyroid disease (12). The best part of selenium is that you don’t even need to supplement. Food form is usually better. Only two Brazil nuts a day should cover your selenium needs. Fish and organ meat are also great sources.

Iodine

Iodine is absolutely critical for thyroid hormone synthesis (13). Being a woman at child-bearing age, pregnancy, and being vegan may increase your risk of deficiencies. Children are also at a higher risk. Seaweed, fish, eggs, and beef liver may be good sources of iodine. Iodized table salt has also become popular in the past decades to reduce deficiencies. 

However, too much iodine can also be a problem, especially if there is a selenium deficiency present too. It’s important that you only supplement with iodine if you have an actual deficiency and use a thyroid-specific supplement with a proper iodine-selenium balance.

I recommend that you start with your diet first instead of reaching for expensive supplements. I recommend that you work with a functional medicine practitioner and get some blood testing done before any supplementation. We can help you spot your actual nutrient deficiencies and specific needs. We can figure out what you may benefit from beyond your diet. This will prevent you from spending money on supplements that you may not need and only using the ones that actually support your health and well-being. 

Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for your immune system, bone health, muscle health, brain and mental health, and other areas of your health (14). Vitamin D deficiency may also increase your risk of hypothyroidism (15). Sunshine is the best way to boost your vitamin D levels. However, with our indoor lifestyle, cold climates, and fear of harm from UV damage, most of us don’t meet our needs from sunshine alone. 

Cod liver oil is a fantastic source of vitamin D, A, and E, and omega-3 EPA and DHA. These nutrients may all help to support your immune health and reduce inflammation. For some people, cod liver oil supplementation is enough. Others may require additional vitamin D supplementation.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that may also help to protect your body (16). Lemon, lime, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and other citrus are great sources of vitamin C. However, citrus may be triggering histamine intolerance. Some people notice that they can tolerate some citrus fruits and others they cannot. That is why they are on my maybe list. I encourage you to see how you respond. I could always tolerate lime, but couldn't tolerate lemon for a while. Other great and low-histamine sources of vitamin C include kiwi, bell pepper, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Curcumin and Resveratrol

Curcumin is the active compound of the spice turmeric. Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in the skin of grapes, red wine, berries, and pistachios. They offer antioxidant, immune-supporting, and anti-inflammatory benefits that may help to reduce the risk and symptoms of autoimmunity (17, 18). Thus they may help with autoimmune thyroid issues (19, 20). You may benefit from consuming food rich in curcumin and resveratrol. You may also benefit from supplementation.

Iron

Iron deficiency may increase the risk of issues with thyroid hormone production It may reduce thyroid peroxidase activity in the thyroid. However, too much iron can also become an issue. Too much iron may increase the risk of thyroid issues and iron toxicity (21). 

Don’t take iron supplements, unless you actually need it. Consume iron-rich foods, including beef, liver, oysters, clams, and venison. Get your iron levels tested. If your doctor finds iron deficiency, you may benefit from iron supplementation, usually only short-term.

Zinc

Zinc is a powerful mineral that is essential for your immune health and hormonal balance. It plays a role in the conversion of T4 to T3 and supports normal T4 and T3 levels (22). Food rich in zinc include oysters, red meat, poultry, and lobsters. Broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, kale, and garlic also contain plenty of zinc.

Check Out the Health Babes’ Guide to Balancing Your Hormones

To learn more about your hormones and learn how to improve your hormonal health naturally, I recommend our book (co-authored by Dr. Krystal Hohn and myself) The Health Babes’ Guide to Balancing Your Hormones: A Detailed Plan with Recipes to Support Mood, Energy Levels, Libido, and More. This book is not only full of information but with an easy-to-follow plan and easy-to-make, delicious hormone-friendly recipes.

Final Thoughts

Your thyroid health and your mast cells may be connected. Underlying mast cell activation issues are not uncommon in thyroid disease. If you are dealing with thyroid health issues, I recommend looking into potential underlying mast cells and histamine-related issues and addressing them as well.

If you are dealing with symptoms of MCAS or histamine intolerance, I invite you to schedule a consultation with us. We can help identify the root cause of your condition and recommend a personalized treatment plan to repair your body and regain your health and well-being. Schedule your consultation here. You can also get started on your own with my Histamine Online Program.

Sources I: 

1. Thyroid test National Institute of Health. National Institute of Diabates and Digestive and Kidney Disease link Here
2. Beynon ME, Pinneri K. An Overview of the Thyroid Gland and Thyroid-Related Deaths for the Forensic Pathologist. Acad Forensic Pathol. 2016 Jun;6(2):217-236. doi: 10.23907/2016.024. Epub 2016 Jun 1. PMID: 31239894
3. Fasano, A. (2012). Leaky gut and autoimmune diseases. Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology, 42(1), 71–78. PMID: 22109896
4. Mu, Q., Kirby, J., Reilly, C. M., & Luo, X. M. (2017). Leaky gut as a danger signal for autoimmune diseases. Frontiers in Immunology. PMID: 28588585
5. Pollard, K. M., Hultman, P., & Kono, D. H. (2010). Toxicology of autoimmune diseases. Chemical Research in Toxicology. PMID: 20078109
6. Xu Y, Chen G. Mast cell and autoimmune diseases. Mediators Inflamm. 2015;2015:246126. doi: 10.1155/2015/246126. Epub 2015 Apr 5. PMID: 25944979
7. Rojas, J. Mast cell activation disease associated with autoimmune thyroid disease: case report and review of literature Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacologica y Terapeutica 2016
8. Landucci E, Laurino A, Cinci L, Gencarelli M, Raimondi L. Thyroid Hormone, Thyroid Hormone Metabolites and Mast Cells: A Less Explored Issue. Front Cell Neurosci. 2019 Mar 29;13:79. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00079. PMID: 30983971
9. Baccari. Animals. 2022. Mast Cell Population and Histamine Content in Hypothyroid Rat Tissues. 
10. Lauritano, E.C., Bilotta, A.L., Gabrielli, M., Scarpellini, E., Lupascu, A., Laginestra, A., et al. Association between hypothyroidism and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007;92:4180–4. Link here
11. Almandoz, J.P., Gharib, H. Hypothyroidism: Etiology, diagnosis, and management. Med Clin North Am. 2012;96:203–21. Link Here

Sources II: 

1. Ventura M, Melo M, Carrilho F. Selenium and Thyroid Disease: From Pathophysiology to Treatment. Int J Endocrinol. 2017;2017:1297658. doi: 10.1155/2017/1297658. Epub 2017 Jan 31. PMID: 28255299
2. Chung HR. Iodine and thyroid function. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Mar;19(1):8-12. doi: 10.6065/apem.2014.19.1.8. Epub 2014 Mar 31. PMID: 24926457
3. Aranow C. Vitamin D and the immune system. J Investig Med. 2011 Aug;59(6):881-6. doi: 10.2310/JIM.0b013e31821b8755. PMID: 21527855
4. Mackawy AM, Al-Ayed BM, Al-Rashidi BM. Vitamin d deficiency and its association with thyroid disease. Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2013 Nov;7(3):267-75. doi: 10.12816/0006054. PMID: 24533019
5. Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017 Nov 3;9(11):1211. doi: 10.3390/nu9111211. PMID: 29099763
6. Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017 Oct 22;6(10):92. doi: 10.3390/foods6100092. PMID: 29065496
7. Meng T, Xiao D, Muhammed A, Deng J, Chen L, He J. Anti-Inflammatory Action and Mechanisms of Resveratrol. Molecules. 2021 Jan 5;26(1):229. doi: 10.3390/molecules26010229. PMID: 33466247
8. Abdelaleem MM, El-Tahawy NFG, Abozaid SMM, Abdel-Hakim SA. Possible protective effect of curcumin on the thyroid gland changes induced by sodium fluoride in albino rats: light and electron microscopic study. Endocr Regul. 2018 Apr 1;52(2):59-68. doi: 10.2478/enr-2018-0007. PMID: 29715188
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by Peter Saydak

Lectins and Histamine Intolerance: The Answer to Your Symptoms

You’ve cleaned up your diet. You removed refined sugar, gluten, and refined foods. There is no junk food near your kitchen. You started following a low-histamine diet. Yet, you are still having symptoms. You might’ve noticed some symptoms subsiding, but others are sticking around. What can be the issue? If you are still experiencing symptoms, such as digestive issues, joint pain, fatigue, skin problems, and so on, you may be reacting to another food. Lectins may be the culprit and the missing piece.

Lectins can trigger mast cell activation, histamine intolerance, and chronic inflammation. High-lectin foods can cause and worsen unwanted chronic symptoms. So let’s talk about lectins for a moment.

In this article, you will learn about lectins. You will learn what lectins are. I will discuss potential problems with lectins and the symptoms of lectin intolerance. I will go over the list of foods that are high in lectin. You will learn about histamine intolerance and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) and the difference between the two. I will discuss the connection between lectins, mast cell activation, and histamine intolerance. Finally, I will offer some natural solutions for lectin intolerance and histamine intolerance.

What Are Lectins

Lectins are a form of carbohydrate-binding proteins. They are found in various plant foods. They are particularly high in beans, legumes, wheat, bell peppers, squash, and nightshades.

Though lectins are commonly referred to as anti-nutrients, they are not completely bad. Lectins offer support for cell communication and cell development. They may also support your immune health by helping immune regulation and immune response (1, 2, 3).

For most people, consuming lectin in moderation in well-cooked foods doesn’t cause any health issues. For other people, however, eating lectin-rich foods, especially in moderate or higher quantities, can turn into a problem. Since lection may increase the risk of chronic inflammation, it can lead to digestion issues, leaky gut syndrome, nutrient deficiencies, and related health issues. If you have histamine intolerance and have already removed all high-histamine foods yet, still struggling with symptoms, you may also be dealing with lectin intolerance.

Problems with Lectins

According to a 2020 study published in Foods, lectins can act as dietary allergens that may lead to allergic reactions (4). Lectins may increase the risk of chronic inflammation and immune reactions. Since lectins may decrease the absorption of zinc, iron, calcium, and phosphorus, it may lead to nutrient deficiencies and related health issues. 

Lectins can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and other digestive issues. They may increase your risk of gut microbiome imbalance and leaky gut syndrome. Microbiome imbalances and leaky gut syndrome may further increase chronic inflammation, gut health issues, chronic symptoms, and the increased risk of autoimmunity.

A 2015 review published in Alternative Therapies has found that lectins may increase autoimmune reactions (5). A 2000 review published in the British Journal of Nutrition has found that lectins may increase symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (6). However, eliminating lectins and other problematic foods can reduce symptoms. 

Symptoms of Lectin Intolerance

Symptoms of lectin intolerance may include:

• Gas, bloating, and abdominal cramps
• Nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach
• Fatigue, tiredness, and sleep issues
• Painful and swollen joints
• Skin rashes and other skin problems
• Allergy-like complaints
• Hormonal fluctuations
• Neurological symptoms

Foods High in Lectin

Foods high in lectin include:

• Beans, including kidney beans, fava beans, mung beans, garbanzo beans, and lima beans
• Peas, including green peas and yellow peas
• Other legumes, including lentils, peanuts, and carob
• Corn
• Nuts, including ground nuts
• Wheat, oats, buckwheat
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Nightshades, including peppers, tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes
• Conventionally raised meat when raised on corn and soy
• Vegetable oils, including corn, soybean, and sunflower oil
• Dairy (cow milk), as most cows produce A1 dairy casein protein beta-casomorphin-7, which is a protein similar to lectin

Risk Factors for Lectin Intolerance

You may develop lectin intolerance for a variety of reasons. The main risk factors for lectin intolerance and risk factors for increased symptoms of lectin intolerance may include:

• Frequent use of antibiotics
• Gut microbiome imbalances
• Leaky gut syndrome
• Following a vegan or vegetarian diet high in high-lectin foods, especially legumes and/or grains
• Autoimmune disorders or family history of autoimmune disorders
• Joint problems of rheumatoid arthritis
• Poor sleep and fatigue
• Neurological issues
• Mental health issues
• Skin conditions

Lectins and Histamine Intolerance

Lectins may be a problem if you have histamine intolerance or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) in a variety of ways. 

What Is Histamine Intolerance?

When you think about histamine, I’m positive that anti-histamines for allergies come to mind first. Because of the ‘anti’ part of anti-histamine, histamine often gets a bad rap. Yet, histamine is absolutely essential for your immune health and overall well-being.

Histamine is an important chemical that helps to remove allergens as part of your immune response. It also aids digestion by releasing hydrochloric acid to break down food and bacteria and supports your brain and mental health by serving as a chemical messenger between your brain and the rest of your body.

At healthy levels, histamine is a good guy that supports your health. Too much histamine, on the other hand, can turn into a serious health issue. If your body is releasing too much histamine and cannot break down excess histamine, it will cause a histamine buildup. This histamine buildup is called histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance can affect your entire body, including your gut, brain, lungs, and cardiovascular system, causing widespread symptoms (7). 

Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance

Symptoms of histamine intolerance can affect your entire body. They can be widespread, affecting many areas of your body at the same time. Some people may only experience a couple of random symptoms, others may experience every histamine intolerance symptom possible. Some may only experience mild symptoms, while others experience severe symptoms that seriously interfere with their lives. 

As you will notice, many symptoms of histamine intolerance are similar to lectin intolerance. This overlap may not be a coincidence. Lectin intolerance may also worsen your histamine intolerance symptoms, and histamine intolerance may worsen lectin intolerance. Unless you address both, it may turn into a never-ending vicious cycle.

Symptoms of histamine intolerance include the following:

• Itchy skin, eyes, ears, and nose
• Eczema or other types of dermatitis
• Hives
• Red eyes
• Facial swelling
• Crawling sensation on the skin or the scalp
• Tightness in the throat
• Difficulty regulating body temperature
• Sudden drop in blood pressure when standing up
• Low blood pressure
• Fast heart rate
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Difficulty falling asleep or sleep issues
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Irritability
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Congestion or runny nose
• Seasonal allergies 
• Asthma
• Migraines and headaches
• Acid reflux
• Diarrhea
• Abnormal menstrual cycle
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

What Is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Your mast cells are white blood cells. They are located in tissues throughout your body, including your digestive tract, respiratory tracts, skin, reproductive organs, surrounding nerves, and blood. Since your mast cells store inflammatory mediators, including histamine, they play an important role in your immune health. When your body encounters allergens, toxins, or other foreign invaders, it will have an allergic reaction. Your mast cells will trigger an allergic response causing the release of histamine and other chemicals.

Though the activation of your mast cells is important, overactivation and other mast cell activation issues can become a problem. Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a complex health issue that involves a number of different systems in your body leading to an array of symptoms. MCAS may develop due to a variety of triggers, including mold, chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, allergens, medications, infections, viruses, food, and alcohol. If you have MCAS, some or all of these triggers can cause your mast cells to release inflammatory mediators, including histamine resulting in unwanted symptoms (8, 9, 10, 11). 

Symptoms of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

Symptoms of MCAS will impact more than one part or system of your body. Symptoms may vary from person to person. Symptoms of MCAS may include:

• Rashes
• Hives
• Itching
• Heart palpitations
• Low blood pressure
• Headaches
• Chest pain
• Weight changes, including rapid weight loss or weight gain
• Digestive trouble, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
• Loss of appetite or low appetite
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Vision changes
• Weakness
• Dizziness

Are MCAS and Histamine Intolerance the Same?

MCAS and histamine intolerance are not the same. If you have histamine intolerance, you have  a build-up of histamine from high-histamine foods, stress, environmental toxins, and other histamine-promoting factors that your body cannot break down properly. If you have MCAS, your mast cells get triggered by allergens, mold, toxins, medications, infections, pain, stress, and other triggers, causing an immune response and mast cell histamine release. 

MCAS can cause histamine intolerance. In fact, I’ve found that MCAS is one of the most common driving factors for histamine intolerance. However, you can develop histamine intolerance without MCAS. You may also have MCAS without symptoms of histamine intolerance. Though you may have both conditions, it is absolutely possible to only have one.

Lectins, Mast Cell Activation, and Histamine Intolerance

Now that you understand what histamine intolerance is, let's talk about the connection between lectins and histamine.

Gut Microbiome Imbalance and Leaky Gut Syndrome

I have already talked about how lectins may increase gut microbiome imbalance, gut inflammation, intestinal permeability, or leaky gut syndrome. According to a 1999 review published in the BMJ, lectins may be able to pass through the gut wall and open the gut barrier (12). Lectins may also be able to bind to the gut mucosa causing further gut health problems. As I broke down in this article, leaky gut syndrome, gut microbiome imbalances, and gut infections are some of the main underlying causes of histamine intolerance that can further trigger your symptoms.

Triggering Mast Cell Activation and Histamine Release

A 2020 study published in Foods has found that lectins may act as dietary allergens that may lead to allergic reactions (4). They can aggravate allergies, allergic reactions, histamine release, histamine intolerance, and further sensitivities to other foods.

Your mast cells are home to hundreds of different kinds of receptors. These receptors on the outside of your mast cells help your body notice anything foreign, pathogenic, toxic, or harmful coming their way. A toll-like receptor is a specific receptor on your mast cells that helps to recognize mold, bacteria, viruses, lectins, and other problematic substances. 

Coming into contact with lectins, your mast cell toll-like receptors may set off mast cell activation, especially if you have lectin intolerance, lectin sensitivity, or mast cell activation problems. An overactivation of your toll-like receptors will lead to the release of histamine and other inflammatory mast cell mediators to protect you from harm. However, if you are consuming high-lectin foods regularly, it will lead to increased mast cell activation and histamine release, which can lead to chronic inflammation and chronic symptoms.

Furthermore, if you have leaky gut syndrome, lectins can pass into your bloodstream, where they can further activate your mast cells and other immune cells. This can lead to a further release of histamine and increase histamine intolerance symptoms. 

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is an antibody that allows your body to recognize allergens. IgE also plays a role in lectin sensitivities and lectin allergens. If you have pre-existing mast cell activation or allergies, lectins may make your symptoms worse when IgEs recognize lectins. A 2007 study published in Clinical and Experimental Immunology has found that foods high in lectins, such as potatoes, may activate mast cells and basophils in those with allergies tendencies and food sensitivities (13). Researchers found that removing high-lectin foods helped to reduce symptoms.

Autoimmune Conditions

Furthermore, there may be a link between autoimmune conditions and lectins. Lectins may increase the risk of autoimmunity and may further trigger existing autoimmune conditions. According to a 2015 review published in Alternative Therapies and 2000 review published in the British Journal of Nutrition, lectins may increase autoimmune reactions (5, 6). 

Many people with histamine intolerance and MCAS also have an autoimmune condition. For example, I see patients all the time with Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune thyroid condition) and histamine intolerance. You can learn more about this connection between your thyroid and histamine intolerance here. Irritable bowel diseases (IBDs), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are common underlying issues behind histamine intolerance as well.

Solutions for Lectin Intolerance

Lectin intolerance can come with uncomfortable chronic symptoms. Fortunately, you can reduce lectin intolerance with the help of some simple dietary and lifestyle strategies. Here is what I recommend:

Learn a Better Way to Cook Lectins

High-lectin foods generally cause the most issues when you are eating them raw. The good news is that most high-lectin foods are rarely or never eaten raw. However, not preparing them carefully or undercooking them can cause problems too.

Soaking high-lectin foods, especially beans and legumes, before cooking them is important. Boiling, stewing, or using other high-heat cooking methods may also help to reduce lectin levels significantly, making them safe to consume for most people.

However, this may not be enough. If you have poor gut health, chronic inflammation, or other chronic health issues, you may not tolerate lectin well even when prepared and cooked properly.

Some high-lectin foods may have other problems besides lectin too. Beans and legumes are high-histamine foods that can also cause histamine intolerance. Wheat is high in gluten which can increase the risk of gluten-related chronic inflammation, food sensitivities and intolerance, gut symptoms, leaky gut syndrome, and other health problems. Many high-heat cooking methods can increase histamine in your food, increasing histamine intolerance. If you have problems with high-lectin foods despite preparation and cooking, you may benefit from a low-lectin or lectin-free diet.

Try a Low-Lectin or Lectin-Free Diet

If cooking high-lectin foods appropriately and only eating them at moderate amounts doesn’t help, you may benefit from a low-lectin or lectin-free diet. Remove high-lectin foods from your diet, such as beans, legumes, and nightshades. Consume only low-lectin and/or lectin-free foods. Try a low-lectin or lectin-free diet for about a month and see if your symptoms improve. 

If your symptoms improve, you may choose to stay on a low-lectin diet completely. However, once you repair your gut health and reduce chronic inflammation, you may be able to reintroduce well-cooked high-lectin foods in moderate amounts. If you are ready to reintroduce them after 2 to 3 months, begin with a small amount and watch your body’s reactions. If you are reacting to certain high-lectin foods, remove them from your diet. If you are still reacting to all high-lectin foods, stay on a low-lectin diet.

Improve Your Gut Health

Your gut health affects your entire body. Poor gut microbiome imbalance and leaky gut syndrome may increase chronic inflammation, histamine intolerance, lectin intolerance, and related symptoms. Along with a gut-friendly anti-inflammatory diet, I recommend that you take a high-quality probiotics supplement to support your gut microbiome balance. 

Follow a Low-Histamine Diet

If you have both histamine intolerance and lectin intolerance, you may benefit from a low-lectin AND low-histamine diet. I recommend following a low-histamine, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense, whole foods diet. Remove inflammatory foods, including refined sugar, refined oils, canned and processed meat, artificial ingredients, junk food, and highly processed foods. Remove high-histamine foods. Follow a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, and low-histamine diet rich in greens, vegetables, herbs, spices, fruits, healthy fats, and organic meat. Try new recipes. I recommend all the low-histamine recipes in The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan and Low Histamine Cooking in Your Instant Pot. If you want to go a step further, you should join my Histamine Reset Online Program. 

Lower Your Histamine

Reducing your histamine levels is more than just diet. Following a low-histamine nutrition plan is key to your recovery. However, poor sleep, stress, environmental toxins, and other factors can also increase your histamine load. Improving your sleep, reducing stress, reducing environmental toxins, supporting your liver and gut, and other strategies can all play a role in lowering your histamine bucket and improving your health and well-being. You may also benefit from certain supplements for histamine intolerance.

I recommend that you work with a functional health practitioner (hint: my team and I) to check for histamine intolerance. If you are dealing with symptoms of histamine intolerance, I recommend that you follow my Histamine Reset Plan outlined in my Histamine Online Program.

Look Into Salicylate and Oxalate Issues

If you are following a low-histamine and low-oxalate diet and still noticing issues with certain foods and have some of the same symptoms, it may be time to look further. Oxalates and salicylates are two other food compounds that can cause similar symptoms to histamine intolerance and lectin intolerance. Histamine intolerance can come hand in hand with problems with oxalates and salicylates. You can learn about the connection between oxalates, salicylates, and histamine intolerance by reading this article.

Final Thoughts

Lectins are a form of carbohydrate-binding proteins found in various plant foods, such as beans, legumes, wheat, bell peppers, squash, and nightshades. Lectin intolerance, histamine intolerance, and mast cell activation often come hand in hand. Without addressing all, you cannot eliminate all your symptoms. You may benefit from a low-histamine and low-lectin diet.

If you are dealing with symptoms of lectin intolerance histamine intolerance or MCAS, I invite you to schedule a consultation with us. We can help identify the root cause of your condition and recommend a personalized treatment plan to repair your body and regain your health and well-being. Schedule your consultation here. You can also get started on your own with my Histamine Online Program.

Sources:

1. Lagarda-Diaz I, Guzman-Partida AM, Vazquez-Moreno L. Legume Lectins: Proteins with Diverse Applications. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Jun 12;18(6):1242. doi: 10.3390/ijms18061242. PMID: 28604616 

2. Jiang QL, Zhang S, Tian M, Zhang SY, Xie T, Chen DY, Chen YJ, He J, Liu J, Ouyang L, Jiang X. Plant lectins, from ancient sugar-binding proteins to emerging anti-cancer drugs in apoptosis and autophagy. Cell Prolif. 2015 Feb;48(1):17-28. doi: 10.1111/cpr.12155. Epub 2014 Dec 9. PMID: 25488051

3. Lepenies B, Lang R. Editorial: Lectins and Their Ligands in Shaping Immune Responses. Front Immunol. 2019 Oct 9;10:2379. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02379. PMID: 31649680

4. Barre A, Damme EJMV, Simplicien M, Benoist H, Rougé P. Are Dietary Lectins Relevant Allergens in Plant Food Allergy? Foods. 2020 Nov 24;9(12):1724. doi: 10.3390/foods9121724. PMID: 33255208

5. Cordain L, Toohey L, Smith MJ, Hickey MS. Modulation of immune function by dietary lectins in rheumatoid arthritis. Br J Nutr. 2000 Mar;83(3):207-17. doi: 10.1017/s0007114500000271. PMID: 10884708

6. Food Immune Reaction and Autoimmunity. Alternative therapies. 2015. Link Here

7. Maintz L, Novak N. Histamine and histamine intolerance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 May;85(5):1185-96. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/85.5.1185. PMID: 17490952

8. Afrin LB, Self S, Menk J, Lazarchick J. Characterization of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Am J Med Sci. 2017;353(3):207-215. Link Here

9. Frieri M, Patel R, Celestin J. Mast cell activation syndrome: a review. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2013;13(1):27-32. Link Here

10 Akin C, Valent P, Metcalfe DD. Mast cell activation syndrome: Proposed diagnostic criteria. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010 Dec;126(6):1099-104.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.08.035. Epub 2010 Oct 28. PMID: 21035176

11. Petra AI, Panagiotidou S, Stewart JM, Conti P, Theoharides TC. Spectrum of mast cell activation disorders. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2014;10(6):729-739. Link Here

12. Freed DL. Do dietary lectins cause disease? BMJ. 1999 Apr 17;318(7190):1023-4. doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7190.1023. PMID: 10205084

13. Pramod, S. N., Venkatesh, Y. P., & Mahesh, P. A. (2007). Potato lectin activates basophils and mast cells of atopic subjects by its interaction with core chitobiose of cell-bound non-specific immunoglobulin E. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 148(3), 391–401. Link Here

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by Peter Saydak

Mold May Be Driving Your POTS: The Connection Between POTS, Mold, Nervous System Function, Gut Health, and Histamine

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) affects between 1 to 3 million people in the United States. POTS a type of dysautonomia that causes excessive tachycardia and other symptoms upon standing. Lying down tends to improve the fast heartbeat, lightheadedness, and feeling of fainting.

Addressing POTS can be complex. In my practice, I’ve found that there are usually an array of underlying health issues that can contribute to the condition and worsen symptoms. Nervous system issues, gut health problems, and histamine intolerance are common driving factors behind symptoms. 

Another potential underlying issue that’s rarely talked about is mold exposure. However, uncovering underlying mold exposure may be the missing piece you’ve been looking for on your recovery journey. Understanding the root causes of your issues is essential for finding the right strategies and a key to improving your health.

In this article, I want to discuss the connection between mold and POTS. You will learn what POTS is. Additionally, you will understand the symptoms and causes of POTS. You will understand what mold is and the common symptoms of mold toxicity. Furthermore, I will discuss the connection between mold and POTS. I will also discuss the connection between mold, histamine intolerance, and POTS. I will also explain the connection between mold, gut health, and POTS. You will understand why uncovering mold toxicity, histamine intolerance, and gut health issues is important for addressing POTS. Finally, I will offer some strategies for addressing mold, histamine intolerance, and gut health issues to improve your health and well-being.

What Is POTS?

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a type of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used for various medical conditions that are related to your autonomic nervous system (ANS). Your ANS is responsible for your body’s automatic functions. These functions include your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation, temperature regulation, and anything else that you don’t have to consciously think about. 

POTS affects somewhere between 1 to 3 million people in the United States alone and a lot more worldwide. It is a type of orthostatic intolerance (OI) linked to excessive tachycardia or abnormally rapid heart rate and other symptoms upon standing. In OI, the blood that returns to the heart upon standing up is excessively reduced in volume. This can cause lightheadedness, fainting, and an incredibly rapid heartbeat (an increase in over 30 beats per minute or over 120 beats per minute total within 10 minutes of getting up). Lying down tends to improve POTS-related fast heartbeat, lightheadedness, and feeling of fainting (1, 2, 3).

Though you may develop POTS at any age, about 75 to 80 percent of affected individuals are women between the ages of 15 and 50. Some women experience more POTS episodes or more severe symptoms before they begin their period (1, 2, 3). 

Symptoms of POTS

Symptoms of POTS may include:

• Increased heart rate (30 beats/minute resting heart rates, increase to 120 or over when standing)
• Fainting
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Shaking
• Sweating
• Bloating, cramping, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal issues
• Sleep difficulties
• Shortness of breath

Causes of POTS

The exact cause of dysautonomia is not yet completely understood. While in some cases, they may be inherited, in other cases, it may be the result of a degenerative disease, prolonged inflammatory reactions, injury, or another disease. Symptoms often begin after pregnancy, trauma, major surgery, or a viral illness (1, 2, 3). 

Your gut health may also play a role, as well as mast cell activation. I have already written about the potential connection between POTS and other dysautonomia, small intestinal overgrowth (SIBO) and gut health, and histamine intolerance. You can learn about this connection here.

In this article, I want to discuss a less talked about driving factor behind POTS: mold. Mold exposure and mold illness can lead to a long list of chronic symptoms and health issues. One of these health issues is mast cell activation and histamine intolerance. You can learn more about that connection here. Another issue is POTS. Chronic mold exposure may be driving your POTS symptoms. 

Reducing mold exposure and improving mold illness may reduce your POTS symptoms as well. But before I get into this connection, I want to talk about mold and mold illness for a moment.

What Is Mold?

Mold is a fungus known for its ability to grow on almost anything and thrive under many conditions, especially in a warm and moist environment. There are many forms of mold. Some grow indoors, and some prefer the outdoors. There are about 1,000 species of mold in the United States, with the most common types being Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Memnoniella, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys.

Mold exposure inside buildings is very common. Mold particularly loves to hide and grow in your bathrooms, kitchen, basement, behind old wallpaper, under the carpet, and just about any area that are warm, damp, and wet. Areas with water leakage and water damage are also at high risk for mold.

Mold releases mycotoxins in the air and lead to consequent health issues. Unfortunately, these mycotoxins can spread far and wide. You may initially have mold in one tiny spot in your home, but its microscopic spores can travel far. You may breathe them in through the air. 

Chronic exposure to mold can be dangerous. It can lead to mold toxicity symptoms, including fatigue, brain fog, headache, skin issues, respiratory problems, and nausea. Mold exposure and mold toxicity may also increase the risk of POTS symptoms. You will learn about the connection between mold and POTS once I go over the most common symptoms of chronic mold exposure.

Symptoms of Mold 

Signs and symptoms of chronic mold exposure and mold toxicity may include:

• Fatigue
• Muscle and joint pain
• Symptoms of allergies
• Chronic sinus congestion or runny nose
• Asthma flare-ups 
• Coughing and sneezing
• Coughing
• Throat pain
• Eye irritation
• Skin infections, rashes, and other skin issues
• Nosebleeds
• Nausea or digestive issues
• Headaches or migraines
• Mood changes
• Brain fog
• Numbness or tingling
• Vertigo or dizziness
• Tinnitus
• Rapid heart rate
• Anxiety
• Histamine intolerance or mast cell activation issues

Signs of Mold in Your Home

Do you have mold in your home? There are a number of signs you can look for, including:

• Musty smell in your home
• Rotten smell coming from the walls or the floor
• Black or white, fluffy or slimy spots on your clothes
• Spots, spores, fuzz, or other signs on your furniture
• Spots, spores, fuzz, or other signs on or under your carpet or rugs
• Black or grey spots or other signs on the grout between the tiles or elsewhere in your bathroom
• Peeling or warped wallpaper
• Spotted walls
• Bubbling paint
• Black spots or musty odor coming from your AC
• Past or present water leakage (e.g., flooded sink or toilet, moisture in your water heater closet, or leaky water tank) or water damage
• Flare-ups in allergy and asthma
• Chronic respiratory issues
• Feelin itchy and skin issues
• Constant fatigue or muscle pains
• Other symptoms of mold illness (as explained earlier)

If you think that there is mold in your home, you can use an at-home mold kit to test for mold. You may also hire a professional mold inspector, however, that may cost more money.

The Connection Between Mold and POTS

Mold mycotoxins can enter your body through inhalation, eating mold-contaminated food, and through your skin. Mold mycotoxins can lead to pro-inflammatory cytokine production, chronic inflammation, and all kinds of issues. Some people believe that this can increase your risk of dysautonomias, such as POTS.

If you search the internet, you will find some case studies on functional medicine websites on functional medicine websites, doctors finding success with POTS patients once addressing mold. I have personally seen patients with POTS who struggled to see significant improvements despite dietary changes and supplementation. Once we realized that their home was infested with mold, we were able to address the issue through a protocol addressing mold and removing mold from their home. Addressing mold toxicity was one important piece of the puzzle that helped them to feel better.

There are three ways mold may increase your risk and symptoms of POTS:

• Mold may affect your nervous system function and may lead to neurological symptoms, including balance issues and other symptoms associated with POTS
• Mold may cause chronic inflammation, mast cell activation, and histamine intolerance, which can increase your risk and symptoms of POTS
• Mold may also affect your gut health and increase your risk of gut infection, which may lead to neurological symptoms of POTS and histamine intolerance triggering symptoms of POTS

Let’s look at these three areas where mold and POTS may be connected:

Mold, Your Nervous System, and POTS

At this point, there hasn’t been any larger-scale research on the potential link between mold and POTS. However, some research evidence suggests that there may be a connection. There is increasing evidence that suggests that mold exposure may lead to neurological symptoms. 

A 2003 study published in the Archives of Environmental Health  has also found that living in a home with mold may lead to neurological issues (7). Participants experience neurological dysfunction, including balance issues, inability to walk straight with their eyes closed, and memory issues.

A 2009 study published in Toxicology and Industrial Health has found that mold and mycotoxin exposure from water-damaged and mold-infested buildings may lead to neurological and neuropsychiatric issues (8). They found that mold may lead to coordination, balance, and movement issues, which is a common issue in POTS when standing.

A 2020 research published in Safety and Health at Work has found that working at water-damaged and moldy hospitals exposes hospital workers to high levels of mold, which may affect their central and peripheral nervous systems (9). The study has found that, as a result, affected workers experience arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), brain fog, multiple chemical sensitivities, pain, and fatigue. POTS patients commonly experience arrhythmias. Arrhythmia from mold issues can also increase arrhythmia and rapid heartbeat from POTS. Increased fatigue from mold combined with fatigue from POTS may also worsen your condition.

A 2020 review published in Antibodies (Basel) has also found that mold exposure can increase inflammation, autoimmunity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and POTS (10). The review mentions a 2018 study published in Autoimmune Reviews. The study has found that mold exposure and mold hypersensitivity syndrome may be risk factors for POTS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) (11). Furthermore, a 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and a 2020 review published in Clinical Immunology has both found that mold exposure-related autoantibodies may play a role in the development and symptoms of POTS and autoimmune dysautonomia (12).

Mold, Histamine Intolerance, and POTS

Another potential link between mold and POTS may be histamine intolerance. Chronic mold exposure leads to ongoing inflammation, which may increase your risk of histamine intolerance. Chronic inflammation may force your mast cells to over-produce histamine in order to protect your body from mold mycotoxins. If your body is unable to keep up with all the excess histamine, it can lead to histamine intolerance and related symptoms.

According to a 2007 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, mold mycotoxins may increase histamine response and allergy and asthma symptoms (12). According to a 2006 study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, mold exposure and mold illness can increase allergic response (13).

Research suggests that prolonged inflammatory reactions due to histamine intolerance and mast cell activation may increase the risk and symptoms of POTS. According to a 2005 study published in Hypertension, MCAS and POTS is a common doubled-diagnosis (14).

Histamine is a chemical that is responsible for a variety of functions in your body, including getting rid of allergens as part of your immune response, communicating with your brain, and triggering stomach acid release for optimal digestion. In a healthy body, at normal amounts, histamine release is beneficial. 

To get rid of excess histamine body releases enzymes to break down histamine build-up. However, if your body has too much histamine and/or your body doesn’t have enough DAO enzyme, it cannot clean up the extra histamine, causing a buildup. If you have MCAS, your body cannot turn off the release of histamine leading to histamine intolerance (15, 16). 

Histamine intolerance means that you have too much histamine, which can lead to various health issues. Symptoms of histamine intolerance include fatigue, headaches, irregular heartbeat, acid reflux, digestive problems, cramps, itching, sleep troubles, and anxiety. You may notice that some of these symptoms are very similar to symptoms of dysautonomia and POTS.

This is not surprising, considering your entire body is connected. However, this also means that your symptoms can drive each other. Chronic inflammation, histamine intolerance, MCAS, and POTS can turn into a vicious cycle with chronic symptoms.

Mold, Gut Health, and POTS

Chronic mold exposure can increase your risk of gut health issues, including gut infections. Mold mycotoxins exposure may compromise your intestinal immunity. This may lead to a susceptibility to viral, bacterial, and parasitic gut infections. A 2013 review published in Toxins (Basel) has found that ochratoxin, a mold toxin, may trigger viral gut infections and increase the effects of gut parasitic infections (17). The review suggests that treating underlying mold toxins is just as important as treating these gut infections.

But if mold can drive gut infections and gut health issues, it may also contribute to related nervous system symptoms. Your gut is in constant communication with your central nervous system (CNS) through the vagus nerve and autonomic nervous system (ANS). According to a 2018 review published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the microbiota-gut-brain axis is a two-way communication system (18). Your gut health can affect your nervous system and your nervous system health can affect your gut.

Understanding the connection between the gut and the nervous system may help to understand neurological and neurodegenerative issues.  If your enteric nervous system inside your gut experiences imbalance, it affects your autonomic nervous system as well and can lead to chaos all over your body. According to a 2017 study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, your gut health may play a role in neuropsychiatric issues (19). 

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) may increase your risk of various chronic health issues, autoimmune conditions and neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and fibromyalgia. Stress on your immune system can also cause an increase of norepinephrine from your sympathetic nervous system. This will result in a flight-or-fight reaction. Since your gut microbiome balance is also closely connected to your nervous system, a gut flora imbalance may lead to serious issues. 

Gut bacteria imbalance is stress on the body and can result in the release of norepinephrine. As a result, SIBO can lead to dysautonomia symptoms, including symptoms of POTS (20, 21, 22, 23). One study by Dr. Lenny Weinstock has found that 27 out of 35 patients (69 percent) with POTS also had SIBO. Connecting the dots between these research findings, it is critical that POTS patients get tested for SIBO and receive treatment for it if they have it (24).

To add to the issue, gut infections and other gut health problems can drive histamine intolerance and mast cell activation, which, as you know, may contribute to POTS. Your gut is full of histamine receptors. Under normal circumstances, this is not a problem. However, if you are experiencing gut health issues and gastrointestinal diseases, the expression of these histamine receptors can be altered (25). 

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Physiological Pharmacology has found that both leaky gut syndrome and gut inflammation can lead to a gut bacterial imbalance that may contribute to histamine intolerance (26). According to a 2016 study published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, about 30 to 55 percent of people with digestive issues also have histamine intolerance due to the overgrowth of histamine-producing bacteria (27). 

A  2010 study published in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine has found that SIBO, which is a specific type of gut dysbiosis, can lead to a lower or loss of tolerance to dietary histamine (28). A 2010 review published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology notes that the symptoms of histamines and SIBO often overlap, indicating that at least some people have both conditions (29). 

This doesn’t mean that everyone with SIBO will have histamine intolerance. While, SIBO, other gut health issues, and histamine intolerance often co-occur, this is not always the case. Some people with SIBO, never develop histamine intolerance. Some people with histamine intolerance do not have SIBO or other gut infections. However, testing for underlying gut infections is just as important as testing for underlying mold illness if you are dealing with histamine intolerance. Checking for signs of mold exposure, mold illness, gut infections, and histamine intolerance may uncover important pieces of your POTS puzzle and may help your recovery.

Symptoms of mold illness, SIBO, other gut health issues, histamine intolerance, MCAS, and POTS can all overlap. Some symptoms, such as fatigue, may characterize all issues. Other symptoms may characterize only a couple of them. However, when these issues coexist, symptoms can drive each other, leading to a complex problem. To improve your health, you have to address all areas of the puzzle.

Recommendations for Mold, Histamine Intolerance, Gut Health, and POTS

If you’ve been exposed to toxic mold and experiencing symptoms of POTS, I have good news for you. You can resolve your symptoms by using simple natural solutions. Here is what I recommend: 

Remove Mold from Your Home and Reduce Mold Exposure

First things first, if you have mold in your home, you need to remove it (unless you can move to a mold-free home!). If the mold-affected area is over 10 square feet or 1 square meter, call a professional mold remediation specialist. The problem is bigger than you can handle on your own. However, if you are only dealing with a smaller area, you can probably take care of it yourself.

You may try these self-removal options to take care of your mold problem:

• Try a mix of one teaspoon of baking soda and 2 cups of water to use on affected surfaces
• Use undiluted white vinegar on hard surfaces in your bathroom and kitchen
• Try using hydrogen peroxide spray on moldy surfaces

Don’t forget about addressing any underlying problems that may drive mold:

• Remove any moldy and old rugs, carpeting, paint, or wallpaper
• Clean or dispose of any moldy shower curtains, clothing, and other items
• Fix moisture leaks and water damage issues
• Reduce indoor humidity and keep it between 30 and 50 percent
• If you hang your clothes to dry, ideally, do it outside
• Always wipe down wet tiles after you shower
• Keep the detergent compartment of your washing machine open
• Make sure your home is ventilated well
• Use a high-quality indoor air filtration system
• Check your indoor plants and keep the mold off of them
• Clean and repair the roof gutters of your home
• Direct any rain or melted snow or ice away from your house
• Keep your home clean
• Check for signs of mold growth regularly and address any mold immediately

A word on exposure at work:

Unfortunately, mold exposure may happen at your work. At least half of the buildings in North America are affected by mold. This can be difficult if you are unknowingly exposed. If you can use a high-quality air filtration system at your office or office area. Talk to HR and encourage them to do regular mold checks and use prevention strategies. If you notice any signs of mold, speak with HR immediately. If there is an ongoing mold issue at your job, you may want to consider looking for new employment if it’s possible.

Get Tested for Mold Toxicity

If you have symptoms of mold toxicity or have been exposed to mold, it is important to get tested. Working with a functional medicine doctor, like myself, can help you with this. Just schedule a consultation today.

Detoxify Your Body from Mold

If you have been affected by chronic mold exposure and mold toxicity, you need to detoxify your body from mold. Here is what I recommend:

• Check house & workplace for mold exposure (consider ERMI test)
• Get body tested for mold toxicity
• Detoxify Your Body from Mold
  • Hydrate well
  • Support detoxification through sweating ie. infrared sauna
  • Consider working with a practitioner to help with mold protocol
• There are various other products I use to address mold depending on the person’s history and tolerance to supplements.
• Recover Your Body from Histamine Intolerance and MCAS
  • Eat a low-histamine diet
  • Support your liver
  • Consider histamine supporting supplements like quercetin, nettle & others. My HistoRelief supplement has a blend of these ingredients & more.

Support Your Gut

Chronic mold exposure and mold illness can lead to gut infections and gut health issues. Gut microbiome imbalances and gastrointestinal problems can increase the risk of histamine intolerance and POTS. If you are dealing with gut imbalances, supporting your gut health is key.

Follow a healthy gut-friendly diet rich in greens, vegetables, sprouts, low-glycemic index fruits, herbs, spices, grass-fed meat, pasture-raised poultry, wild-caught fish, and wild game. If you are not dealing with histamine intolerance, you may add some probiotic-rich fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented herbs, yogurt, kefir, or kombucha. However, since fermented foods can drive histamine, if you have histamine intolerance or MCAS, avoid these foods.

If you are dealing with both histamine intolerance and gut health issues, I recommend working with a functional medicine practitioner (like me) to test your gut and see if opportunistic bacteria, yeast overgrowth, parasites, H. pylori and/or leaky gut can be what is driving your histamine issue. 

Support Your Body with an Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Strategies

Following a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and following healthy lifestyle strategies, such as moving your body, reducing stress, and sleeping enough, are critical for your recovery. I recommend that you follow an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet. Remove inflammatory foods, including refined sugar, refined oil, artificial ingredients, gluten, food sensitivities, deep-fried food, junk food, and overly processed foods. Eat lots of greens, vegetables, sprouts, herbs, spices, fruits, grass-fed meat, pasture-raised poultry, pasture-raised eggs, fresh wild-caught fish and seafood, and wild game. Drink plenty of water, at least ten glasses per day

Move your body throughout the day. You may try dancing to your favorite songs, taking a stroll in the park, stretching regularly, and playing with your kids or pets. Exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes five days a week and move your body regularly. I recommend getting 10 to 15K steps in a day if you can. Add resistance and strength training to your routine. 

To reduce stress and improve sleep, I recommend practicing breathwork, meditation, positive affirmation, journaling, yoga, grounding, and time in nature for stress and anxiety reduction. Taking an Epsom salt bath is another great way to relax your muscles, calm your mind, and detoxify your body. Make sure to sleep at least 7 to 9 hours a night.

Recover Your Body from Histamine Intolerance and MCAS

As you’ve learned, histamine intolerance is a common consequence of mold exposure or mold-related gut health issues and a common underlying issue behind POTS. If you are dealing with histamine intolerance, addressing mold toxicity and eating an anti-inflammatory diet won’t be enough.

If you have histamine intolerance or MCAS, I recommend that you follow a nutrient-dense and low-histamine diet. Eliminate all histamine foods for one to three months. After this Elimination phase, slowly re-introduce them one by one following The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan. To understand each step of this simple yet refined system, I recommend that you read my book, The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More where I explain everything about histamine intolerance and each phase of the plan in detail. You will also find my favorite low-histamine recipes to nourish your body. 

To support your body and reduce histamine intolerance, I recommend HistoRelief. It is a synergistic blend of nutrients, including Tinofend®, quercetin, nettle leaf, vitamin C, and bicarbonate salts, that provides natural support to balance your immune response, inflammation reduction, and histamine release.

Final Thoughts

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) affects between 1 to 3 million people in the United States. It’s a form of dysautonomia that causes an abnormally rapid heart rate and other symptoms upon standing. Mold exposure, nervous system problems, gut health issues, and histamine intolerance are common driving factors behind symptoms. Addressing the underlying causes of the problem is key for improving your health.

I recommend that you follow my strategies for addressing mold, histamine intolerance, and gut health issues to improve your health and well-being.

If you are dealing with mold illness, histamine intolerance, MCAS, POTS, or other chronic health issues, I invite you to schedule a consultation with us. We can help identify the root cause of your condition and recommend a personalized treatment plan to repair your body and regain your health and well-being. Schedule your consultation here. You can also get started on your own with my Histamine Online Program.

 

Sources: 

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39. SIBO, Restless Leg Syndrome and More with Dr Lenny Weinstock. Link Here
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by Peter Saydak

Hair Loss, Mast Cells, and Histamine: What’s the Connection?

You are shedding hair everywhere you go. Your brush is full of hair after each time you use it. Your shower drains are clogged. You notice some hair thinning or a receding hairline. What’s going on, and what can you do about it? Nobody likes to lose their hair. It can be frustrating or even embarrassing. Yet, many people struggle with hair loss for a variety of reasons.

Genetics, age, hormones, stress, medications, health issues, and so many other reasons can cause hair loss. One of the least talked about factors behind hair loss are mast cell activation and histamine intolerance. Yet, addressing potential underlying mast cell issues and histamine intolerance can reduce hair loss, improve hair health, boost your health, and skyrocket your confidence.

In this article, I want to talk about how hair loss may be linked to mast cell issues and histamine intolerance. You will learn about hair loss, different types of hair loss, and their potential causes. You will learn what mast cell activation syndrome and histamine intolerance are. I will go over how mast cell activation and histamine intolerance may be causing your hair loss. You will understand why I don’t recommend antihistamines for mast cell or histamine-related hair loss. Finally, I will share my best natural strategies for hair loss, mast cell activation problems, and histamine intolerance. Let’s get into it.

What’s Normal Hair Loss

Hair loss or shedding hair is normal to a certain extent. If you lose 50 to 100 hairs a day, that’s considered normal. Most healthy people have about 100,000 hairs on average, making this hair loss not noticeable at all. Since new hair will replace the ones you shed, such normal hair loss will not lead to a visible difference (1).

When Hair Loss Becomes a Problem

Losing more than 50 to 100 hairs a day is not normal if it happens on an ongoing basis. Losing too much hair and your body not replacing the lost hair can lead to a receding hairline, bald patches, and other signs of hair loss. 

Hair loss is also known as alopecia. It is more common in men and older adults. However, it can occur at any age, in anyone, sometimes even children. Depending on the issue, it may be sudden and fast or more gradual. In some cases, it may be temporary. For example, hormonal fluctuation, stress, pregnancy, chemotherapy, and other medical treatments may cause temporary hair loss. In other cases, hair loss is permanent. For example, middle-aged and older men often experience hair loss that continues with age.

Signs and Symptoms of Hair Loss

If you have hair loss, you may experience the following symptoms:

• Receding hairlines
• Widening part on your hairline
• Bald patches that likely increase in size over time
• Loose hair
• Shedding too much hair when brushing your hair
• Losing hair in the shower and possibly clogging the drains
• Itching or redness if there is a specific underlying hair or skin condition
• Pain if there is a specific underlying hair or skin condition

Types of Hair Loss

There are a variety of different types of hair loss. Each type of hair has a specific reason.

Androgenic alopecia:

This type of hair loss affects about half of the population. It is a hereditary condition. It is responsible for both male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness. Most people don’t experience symptoms until middle age. However, children, teens, and young adults can experience the condition as well (2).

Alopecia aerate:

This type of hair loss is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. It is characterized by bald patches on your head and loss of the eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair in other areas (3).

Telogen effluvium:

This type of hair loss is usually the result of a traumatic event, extreme stress, emotional shock, physical shock, or serious illness. It may also develop due to hormonal shifts, such as menopause, pregnancy, or giving birth. It may happen because of endocrine issues, malnutrition, and certain medications (4).

Anagen effluvium:

This type of hair loss happens because of chemotherapy, radiation, and other medical treatments. It is a rapid hair loss that’s temporary. The hair tends to regrow after the treatment is over (5).

Traction alopecia:

This type of hair loss can develop due to physical tension and pressure on the hair and head, such as pressure from braids or tight ponytails (6).

Tinea capitis:

This type of hair loss develops because of a ringworm that leads to small and itchy bald patches. If it’s addressed with an antifungal treatment, it is temporary and short-term (7).

Other types of hair loss:

Other issues may also cause hair loss, including lupus and lichen planus (8, 9). Mast cell activation issues and histamine intolerance may also trigger or increase hair loss. In the next sections in this article, I will discuss the potential connection between hair loss, mast cell issues, and histamine.

Hair Loss, Mast Cells, and Histamine 

Mast cell activation issues and histamine intolerance may trigger or increase hair loss. Before I get into this connection, I want to go over what are your mast cells, what histamine is, why you need them, and potential problems.

What Is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Your mast cells are essential for your immune and overall health. They are white blood cells that store histamine and other inflammatory mediators. They are located in your digestive tract, respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin, and blood. 

When your body is attacked by an allergen, toxin, or other triggers, it will lead to mast cell activations. Your mast cells will cause an allergic response and release histamine along with other chemicals. This protective mechanism is essential for your immune health.

However, if your mast cells become dysregulated or overactive, it can turn into a serious issue. Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) means that your mast cells release too much histamine and other chemicals. This can lead to a variety of symptoms and affect your entire body. You may develop MCAS due to a variety of triggers, including mold, chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, allergens, medications, infections, viruses, food, and alcohol. 

Symptoms of MCAS may include the following:

• Rashes
• Hives
• Itching
• Heart palpitations
• Low blood pressure
• Headaches
• Chest pain
• Weight changes, including rapid weight loss or weight gain
• Digestive trouble, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
• Loss of appetite or low appetite
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Vision changes
• Weakness
• Dizziness

As you will learn later, MCAS may also lead to hair loss.

What Is Histamine Intolerance

Histamine gets a bad rap because of antihistamine medications. The  ‘anti’ part of antihistamine, may make you believe that histamine is bad. It’s the opposite. Histamine is absolutely necessary for your health.

It is a chemical that supports your body in getting rid of allergens. It also supports your digestion by releasing hydrochloric acid to break down food and your brain health by serving as a chemical messenger. Too much of a good thing is rarely good, though.

If your body is releasing too much histamine and your body is unable to keep up and break down all the excess histamine, it will lead to histamine buildup. Histamine intolerance means that there is too much histamine in your body. 

Under normal circumstances, your body sends enzymes to break down excess histamine and prevent build-up. If you have too much histamine or you don’t have enough of these enzymes, it won’t be able to break everything down, which can lead to histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance can affect your entire body and lead to widespread symptoms.

Symptoms of histamine intolerance include the following:

• Itchy skin, eyes, ears, and nose
• Eczema or other types of dermatitis
• Hives
• Red eyes
• Facial swelling
• Crawling sensation on the skin or the scalp
• Tightness in the throat
• Difficulty regulating body temperature
• Sudden drop in blood pressure when standing up
• Low blood pressure
• Fast heart rate
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Difficulty falling asleep or sleep issues
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Irritability
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Congestion or runny nose
• Seasonal allergies 
• Asthma
• Migraines and headaches
• Hair loss
• Acid reflux
• Diarrhea
• Abnormal menstrual cycle
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome vs Histamine Intolerance

I believe that MCAS is the primary cause of histamine intolerance, but it may not be the cause for everyone. But considering the similarities between the symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance, you may feel confused. 

Are these two conditions the same? No, they are not the same. Though symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance can be similar and are both caused by high levels of histamine, MCAS and histamine intolerance are not the same.

If your body has too much histamine and it can’t handle it, you may develop histamine intolerance. This usually happens due to a high-histamine diet. However, stress, poor sleep, environmental toxins, certain medications, and other factors may add to your histamine bucket as well. If your body has trouble breaking down the extra histamine, it will lead to histamine build-up and histamine intolerance. 

While histamine intolerance simply means you have too much histamine in your body, you develop MCAS if your mast cells get triggered all the time. If you have MCAS, your mast cells get triggered by mold, allergens, or other triggers, they will release histamine and other chemicals into your body. Increased histamine release from mast cell activation can lead to too much histamine in your body. This can lead to a wide range of symptoms that are very similar to the symptoms of histamine intolerance. 

As I mentioned before, MCAS is one of the primary causes of histamine intolerance. However, it is not the cause for everyone. You can have histamine intolerance without MCAS. You can also have MCAS without histamine intolerance. But you may have both MCAS and histamine intolerance. I see patients who have both conditions regularly (1, 2, 3). 

If you have both conditions, your body will have increased difficulty breaking down the excess histamine. This can lead to widespread symptoms of MCAS and histamine intolerance. To figure out, whether you are dealing with symptoms of MCAS, histamine intolerance, or both. I recommend working with a functional medicine doctor who is well-versed in both conditions. (Tips: My team and I would love to help you with your diagnosis and treatment. Schedule your consultation here.)

To learn more about MCAS and histamine intolerance, I recommend reading my book, The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More. 

The Link Between Hair Loss, Mast Cell Activation, and Histamine

Your mast cells and mast cell activation issues may play a role in hair loss in a variety of different ways.

Male and Female Pattern Hair Loss Due to Inflammation

According to a 2010 review published in the Journal of Inflammatory Research, inflammation may be an underlying factor behind the male pattern and female pattern hair loss (11). Furthermore, according to the review, high levels of inflammation and mast cell infiltration have been found in about one-third of tissue samples in male pattern hair loss. 

According to one of the studies, perifollicular inflammation may be present in almost three-fourths of all male pattern and female pattern hair loss samples. Based on these results, researchers believe that addressing underlying inflammation and mast cell activation may help to reduce male pattern and female pattern hair loss.

Autoimmune Hair Loss due to Stress and Immune Dysfunction

According to a 2018 review published in Skin Appendage Disorders, immune dysfunction and high stress, can increase the risk of autoimmune hair loss issues, such as lichen planopilaris and alopecia areata (12). Immune dysfunction and immune-mediated inflammation can increase mast cell degranulation, perifollicular inflammation, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and related hair loss. 

Stress itself may lead to temporary hair loss. However, researchers found that chronic stress is often the trigger of mast cell degranulation and inflammation. This may lead to an autoimmune reaction and autoimmune hair loss.

Hair Loss Due to Mast Cell Degranulation

According to a 2017 study published in the International Journal of Trichology, mast cell degranulation may increase the risk of telogen effluvium (13). In this study, researchers compared the scalp biopsies of patients with various different hair loss. They found higher levels of mast cells in telogen effluvium than in other types of hair loss they examined. 

Other studies, including a 2014 study published in PLoS One and a 2003 study published in the Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, have found increased mast cell degranulation and inflammation in alopecia areata and scarring alopecia as well (14, 15). According to a 2020 review published in the Journal of Biomedical Science, mast cell activation may also increase androgenic alopecia, cicatricial alopecia, and other hair loss disorders (16).

Hair Loss and Skin Microbiome

According to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, your skin microbiome may also play a role in mast cell-related hair loss (17). The study found that the scalp microbiome may activate toll-like receptors and trigger progenitor cells from a type of skin cell called keratinocytes to become mast cells. 

They also noticed a change and an increase in mast cell behavior, immune inhibition, and increased inflammation. They found that in alopecia areata, a change in the skin microbiome of the scalp can interfere with immune cells, leading to hair loss. On the other hand, they found that in androgenic alopecia, the skin microbiome interferes with how mast cells behave, leading to symptoms and disease.

Hair Loss and Histamine Intolerance

A 2022 study published in Experimental Dermatology has linked high histamine levels to scalp inflammation and scalp or hair issues (18). A 2021 review published in Dermatology and Therapy has found that using antihistamines may help to reduce symptoms and improve hair growth in certain hair loss, such as androgenic alopecia (19). 

These results indicate that histamine intolerance can increase the risk of hair loss. This, however, doesn’t mean that antihistamines are the answer. In the next sections, I will discuss potential problems with antihistamines and what to do instead.

Hair Loss, Estrogen Dominance, and Histamine

Estrogen Dominance may also play a role in hair loss. According to a 2012 study published in PLoS One, estrogen can lead to hair cycle retardation (19). According to a 2012 study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, excess estrogen may increase hair loss due to an ESR2 gene variation (20).

Noting the potential role of estrogen dominance here is important because estrogen dominance and histamine intolerance are often linked. I’ve written about the histamine-estrogen connection in this article. Histamine, estrogen, and progesterone are closely linked in your body. They need to be in balance for ideal health and function.

Estrogen plays many roles in your body, including stimulating mast cells to make more histamine. By stimulating your mast cells, estrogen can increase the chances of a histamine response and histamine intolerance. Though men can also develop estrogen dominance and histamine intolerance, women are at a higher risk. This is not surprising since women tend to have more estrogen than men, which can increase the risk of histamine intolerance as well.

A 2012 study published in Frontiers in Immunology has found that estradiol, a form of estrogen, can affect mast cells and trigger asthma (21). According to a 2013 study published in Current Opinions in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, estrogen may increase the risk of histamine-triggered allergies and asthma (22).

If your estrogen levels are normal and you are leading a healthy lifestyle, keeping your histamine levels at bay should not be an issue. However, if you are dealing with estrogen dominance and/or histamine intolerance, this can turn into a vicious cycle.

Estrogen will trigger your mast cells to release histamine. Increased histamine levels will lead to higher estrogen levels. As a response, all that excess estrogen will prompt your mast cells to create even more histamine, which will lead to even more estrogen in your body. As this cycle continues, it will lead to more and more symptoms of histamine intolerance and estrogen dominance. The connection between estrogen dominance and histamine intolerance may explain increased hair loss.

What About Antihistamine for Hair Loss?

As I mentioned, according to a 2021 review published in Dermatology and Therapy,  that using antihistamines may help to reduce symptoms and improve hair growth in certain hair loss, such as androgenic alopecia (23). According to a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition, antihistamines, corticosteroids, and cryotherapy combined may be effective for hair loss (24). According to a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition has a 2018 review published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings, antihistamines may help to reduce hair loss by targeting mast cell-related histamine release (25). 

However, using antihistamines may not be a smart idea. Antihistamines are simply a bandaid that may offer a temporary solution but may also lead to further issues down the line. Antihistamines can interfere with your body’s ability to create enzymes that break down histamine. They may decrease your body’s ability to handle histamine and histamine intolerance by itself. 

Moreover, like many medications, antihistamines can cause uncomfortable side effects. Supporting your body’s ability to decrease mast cell activation and lower histamine intolerance naturally is a much better and safer idea. In the next section, I will share how to support your body in reducing mast cell activation and histamine intolerance through diet, supplementation, and lifestyle. This way, you may reduce hair loss naturally.

Natural Strategies for Hair Loss, Mast Cell Activation, and Histamine Intolerance

Reducing histamine intolerance and addressing mast cell activation issues may help to reduce hair loss and improve your hair health. Here is what I recommend:

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory & Low-Histamine Diet

I recommend following a low-histamine, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense, whole foods diet. Remove inflammatory foods, including refined sugar, refined oils, canned and processed meat, artificial ingredients, junk food, and highly processed foods. Remove high-histamine foods. Follow a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, and low-histamine diet rich in greens, vegetables, herbs, spices, fruits, healthy fats, and organic meat. Try new recipes. I recommend all the low-histamine recipes in The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More and my recipe books, Fifty One Low Histamine Air Fryer Recipes and Low Histamine Cooking in Your Instant Pot.

Remove Certain Histamine-Increasing Foods

I recommend certain foods from your diet that can increase your histamine load. High-histamine foods that you should avoid include age cheese (e.g., goat cheese), citrus fruits, canned and cured meat (e.g., pepperoni, salami, bacon, lunch meat, hot dogs, and canned meat), dried fruits (e.g. apricots, dates, raisins, figs, and prunes), fermented foods (e.g., kefir, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and vinegar), fermented alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and champagne), legumes (e.g., beans, lentils, soy, and peanut), certain nuts (e.g., cashew and walnuts), soured foods (e.g., buttermilk, sour milk, sour cream), smoked fish and certain types of fish (e.g., mackerel, mahi-mahi, anchovies, sardines, tuna, and fish sauce), certain vegetables (e.g., avocados, tomatoes, eggplant, and spinach), vinegar-containing foods (e.g., pickles and olives), and all overly processed foods because of the high histamine load from preservatives. 

Avoid histamine-liberating foods that are low in histamine but trigger histamine release in your body, including alcohol, nuts, bananas, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, chocolates, wheat germ, cow’s milk, shellfish, and many artificial preservatives and dyes.  Avoid DAO enzyme-blocking foods and drinks, such as alcohol, black tea, green tea, mate tea, and energy drinks.

Try Some Mast Cell-Stabilizing and Histamine-Reducing Foods and Supplements

I recommend adding some specific foods to your diet to reduce histamine and stabilize your mast cells. Quercetin helps to reduce histamine. Add quercetin-rich foods to your diet, such as grapes, apples, cranberries, black plums, cherries, black currants, chokeberries, blueberries, olive oil, cruciferous vegetables, kale, romaine lettuce, chicory greens, red leaf lettuce, cabbage, sprouts, asparagus, snap peas, peppers, and red onion. Furthermore, you may also try a quercetin supplement.

You may try some foods that help to stabilize your mast cells, including onion, peaches, nettle, apples, chamomile, moringa, watercress, Thai ginger, and fiber-rich foods. You may also try a DAO enzyme supplement to support histamine breakdown and HistoRelief. HistoRelief is a synergistic blend of nutrients that provides natural support to balance your immune response. This blend features Tinofend®, a patented and clinically researched extract derived from the plant Tinospora cordifolia, which has a powerful ability to support immune regulation and immune response. As a result, it boosts your body’s ability to fight interstitial cystitis symptoms. It includes quercetin, nettle leaf, vitamin C, and bicarbonate salt to help inhibit histamine release, support normal histamine metabolism, and improve immune health.

Move Your Body

A lack of movement can also increase the risk of histamine intolerance. Moving your body is a great way to reduce stress, improve detoxification, boost your mood, and support your overall health. Stay active throughout the day by dancing to your favorite songs, taking a stroll in the park, stretching regularly, and playing with your kids or pets. Exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes five days a week and move your body regularly. I recommend getting 10 to 15K steps in a day if you can. Add resistance and strength training to your routine. 

Reduce Stress and Improve Sleep

Stress and poor sleep are major contributing factors to histamine intolerance and can trigger MCAS as well. Stress may also contribute to hair loss, telogen effluvium specifically. To reduce stress and improve sleep, I recommend practicing breathwork, meditation, positive affirmation, journaling, yoga, grounding, and time in nature for stress and anxiety reduction. Taking an Epsom salt bath is another great way to relax your muscles, calm your mind, and detoxify your body. Make sure to sleep at least 7 to 9 hours a night.

Improve Your Gut Health

Your gut health affects your entire body. Poor gut flora can increase your risk of histamine intolerance and related health issues, including hair loss. Poor gut health can also increase hormonal imbalance and estrogen dominance-related hair loss. Along with a gut-friendly anti-inflammatory diet, I recommend that you take a high-quality probiotics supplement to support your gut microbiome balance.

Remove Toxins

Toxin overload can increase chronic inflammation, mast cell activation, histamine release, and histamine intolerance. I recommend reducing your toxin load. Drink purified water to avoid toxins from your tap water. Use a high-quality air filtration system for better indoor air. Reduce the use of plastic and avoid BPA completely. Choose glass, bamboo, wood, organic cotton, silicon, and other natural alternatives instead of plastic. Avoid conventional cleaning, hygiene, body, and beauty products as they are loaded with chemicals. Choose natural, organic, and homemade options instead. Avoid overly processed food products that can contain artificial ingredients.

Remove Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are artificial hormone-mimicking compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen and contribute to estrogen excess or prevent the beneficial effects of natural estrogen in your body. Xenoestrogens can increase estrogen dominance and related issues, including histamine intolerance and related hair loss. I recommend that you remove xenoestrogen-containing products, including conventional cleaning, body, and beauty products, and choose natural and organic alternatives.

Try Some Topicals and Supplements for Hair Health and Hair Loss

There are a number of topicals and supplements you may try to reduce hair loss and improve hair and scalp health. Research, including a 2021 study published in Scientific Reports and a 2015 study published in Skinmed, has shown that massaging coconut oil or geranium on your scalp may help to improve hair growth, hair health, scalp health, and scalp microbiome health (26, 27). A 2012 study published in The Journal of Dermatology has found that using onion juice may support circulation in the scalp and boost hair growth (28). According to a 2017 study published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, geranium oil may also be great against hair loss (29).

According to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Clinical Aesthetic Dermatology, biotin supplementation may help to reduce hair loss (30). A 2021 review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology has found that vitamin D may also help to reduce hair loss (31). According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, supplementing with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids for 6 months may decrease hair loss in women (32).

 A 2009 study published in the Annals of Dermatology has found that zinc supplementation may be helpful for hair loss (33). According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, red ginseng extract may also improve hair growth and hair health (34). 

According to a 2019 review published in Dermatology and Therapy, deficiencies in vitamin B, C, D, and E, iron, zinc, and selenium may all increase the risk of hair loss (35). Thus it may be a good idea to check for deficiencies in any of these vitamins and minerals and adjust your diet and supplementation protocol accordingly.

Final Thoughts

Hair loss is a fairly common problem, especially in older people and men. However, hair loss can occur at any age due to a variety of issues, including stress, hormonal changes, medications, and health issues. Mast cell issues and histamine intolerance can both play a role in hair loss. If you are dealing with hair loss, I recommend looking into potential underlying mast cells and histamine-related issues.

If you are dealing with symptoms of MCAS or histamine intolerance, I invite you to schedule a consultation with us. We can help identify the root cause of your condition and recommend a personalized treatment plan to repair your body and regain your health and well-being. Schedule your consultation here. You can also get started on your own with my Histamine Online Program.

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by Peter Saydak