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 […]
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 […]
Herbs treat SIBO as effectively as antibiotics
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a pesky issue which means that there’s abnormal numbers of normal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. SIBO may cause intestinal symptoms ranging from diarrhoea and weight loss to anaemia and malabsorption. It’s believed to cause/aggravate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) [1] and some, like Chris Kresser, say it’s closely […]
The vagus nerve inflammation connection
What’s the vagus nerve and why should you care about it? Research on the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the stomach, has been coming fast and furious in the last few years since I’ve been reading up on it. The nerve, hereafter referred to as the VG “interfaces” (I quote wikipedia here) […]
Histamine intolerance and exercise
A lot of you have been telling me that any kind of exercise, for as little as five minutes, has you feeling dizzy, sick, or just generally hisamine-y. There’s a couple of reasons for that, which I’ll cover just below. In my case, when trying to get back into shape in 2008, my trainer refused […]
Can hypnosis prevent histamine reactions?
Did this image of an Indian dude charming a snake pop into your head like it did mine when I first considered the idea of hypnosis? Hypnosis has come a long way since the early days of freaky Sigmund Freud-like men waving a pendulum across the gaze of a googly-eyed female being treated for hysteria, […]
The rosacea-histamine-mast cell connection
It wasn’t so long ago that a post I wrote on eczema being a mast cell/histamine intolerance related issue went pretty viral. A recent re-post on my Facebook page generated an impressive number of requests for me to look into whether rosacea is also one. Well, guess what folks – it sure is! Sadly it […]
Handheld histamine measuring device invented
Incredible news! I’ve been sitting on a piece of the juiciest information I have come up with in years, because I’ve been waiting to hear back from a research scientist who is on leave – but I just can’t wait anymore… Scientists at Flinders University in Australia have invented a “revolutionary” method for testing food […]
Leaky gut: the mast cell (histamine), Crohn’s disease connection
You know how people with mast cell issues have, erm, less than stellar memories? Well, I came across a piece of research last year that confirmed something I already believed, but had no proof to back up; and then promptly forgot to share it with all you lovely people. In my defence, I spend several hours […]