What does histamine do in your body?
Histamine is produced by your body itself. It is a biogenic amine that also works as a neurotransmitter. Histamine is an important substance in several processes in your body. If you have too much histamine in your body, it can cause problems. This happens when you eat something that your body cannot tolerate well and to which you are intolerant or allergic.
Histamine, asthma, eczema & allergies
Some people are more sensitive to histamine than others, and conditions such as asthma, eczema and allergies involve an overreaction of the immune system to substances that are basically harmless to the body. The body then produces a lot of histamine, which manifests itself in a variety of symptoms. Supplements can support people who suffer from hypersensitivities.
What are histamine symptoms?
Histamine symptoms manifest themselves differently for everyone. Symptoms that may indicate hypersensitivities include: hay fever, eczema, gastrointestinal complaints, hyperactivity, mood swings, itching, headaches, restlessness, behavioral problems, skin rashes, repeated infections or colds, chronic cough and fatigue.
Histamine & hypersensitivity
In an allergy, the immune system overreacts to an actually harmless substance, the body reacts to a mosquito as if it were an elephant! An intolerance is a reaction of the body to a substance outside the immune system. An intolerance is therefore more difficult to detect through mainstream medical testing because - unlike with allergies - there are no traces of antibodies in the blood, although sometimes an intolerance can be diagnosed because it is discovered that your body is deficient in a particular enzyme. Intolerances and allergies are both forms of hypersensitivity: your body cannot stand something. The symptoms of hypersensitivities often vary by person and age. Babies, for example, suffer from eczema relatively often, but these symptoms may disappear later in life or shift to respiratory or behavioral issues, for example. For example, it is common for eczema and asthma to alternate in a person who suffers from this.
What is high in histamine?
When you are hypersensitive to histamine, it is important to consume foods that do not contain too much histamine or release histamine. Examples of histamine releasing foods are strawberry, alcohol, chocolate, cinnamon, egg whites, tomato, seafood and pork. Foods high in histamine include spinach, fish that is not fresh, Parmesan or aged cheese, red wine, yogurt and fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut.