Confused by a negative histamine test result?
A negative histamine result doesn’t rule out mast cell disorder or some kind of chronic inflammatory condition. When I arrived to meet with my new doctor at the Virgen del Valle hospital in Toledo, Spain, I was a little surprised by the tests they ordered to diagnose me with mast cell activation. While very thorough […]
The Nocebo effect
I was recently interviewed by the wonderful Stacey Colino for an article she wrote for US News and World Report on the placebo effect’s evil twin, the nocebo effect. So here’s the deal: the placebo effect, once seen by the medical industry as a negative, because people being given sugar pills instead of real stuff […]
Moist zucchini cake gluten and egg free (paleo)
I fell asleep last night dreaming of a cake so moist that forks would slide through it like warm butter. Not sure why anyone was eating butter with forks in my fantasy but it seemed to make sense at the time. I often have intense sugar treat dreams when I’ve been exercising intensely or having […]
Histamine in fish safety margin not high enough says the WHO
A joint report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation Food Standards Programme Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products [1] really shocked me. They’re the people responsible for making sure that fish histamine levels remain below a certain threshold, one that prevents a really nasty kind of […]
Misdiagnosis: antibiotics as anti-inflammatories
For many the diagnosis of histamine intolerance or mast cell activation will come after decades of mis-diagnosis. Some of us will have been told it’s psychosomatic and prescribed antidepressants, benzodiazepines and sleeping pills, while others may have been told their severe gastrointestinal issues are caused by stomach bacteria, or chronic stuffed nose and frequent flu-like […]
Warming plant protein rich soup
You’ll notice there’s some ingredients here that are on some lists as high histamine. I talk quite a bit about how abandoning the low histamine/histamine intolerance diet is what I believe is helping me heal. But that doesn’t mean I’ve thrown all caution to the wind and am permanently out to lunch at Taco Bell. […]
A day in the life: my food and exercise schedule
Wondering what exactly I do to heal myself? When I share exactly what I do with people they’re often taken aback by the actual intensity of my healing schedule. I’m not suggesting this is right for you, or even for me. It’s just what’s working for me. Please do not use this as a template […]
Soap the Earth: unscented bath & beauty
There was a time in the not so distant past that I was unable to wash my body with anything other than a loofah and some sea salt. Washing my hair involved a pair of kitchen gloves, my head over the tub, a bottle of four ingredient shampoo clutched in my mitts, living in terror […]
Autumnal garden vegetable soup
The leaves turning various shades of orangey gold means heralds the arrival of soup season. I adore soup. It’s my first choice for lunch and often dinner. I remember being very excited on learning that the mast cell stabling and antihistamine quercetin is leeched from onions, green herbs and other healing foods, into the cooking water in […]
Scientists test implantable vagus stimulator to fight inflammation
In my recent post on the vagus nerve connection I shared some research on how faulty wiring in this heart, brain and stomach connection can cause us to overeat, affect our heart rate and state of mind, and that it may be involved in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. The vagus nerve […]