FAQs

Are Your Recipes Suitable For Kids?

Absolutely! But please be sure to consult with your doctor before adding new foods. It’s much harder with the little ones because of the communication issue. Though my projectile vomiting throughout childhood was a pretty good indicator! I am presently working on a kids book.

Does This Mean I’ll Never Eat Hight Histamine Food Again?

Not at all! You will be able to eventually, but the question is whether you’ll continue to hurt your body by increasing the inflammation in your body by eating crappy foods like ice cream, cookies or pizza, or will you use your lower histamine bucket level as an opportunity to add back a few foods/servings of foods with nutritional value? Remember, my goal was to lower my overall inflammation. To stabilise my body, not throwing it into turmoil at every meal. Once my body/brain understood that not all food causes severe agony, it responded by being calm when I ate. It was a very pleasant change from the days of my body going into complete meltdown at every meal. Please read up on the nocebo effect and how your brain could be tripping up your recovery. Just tell yourself to make every bite count. If what’s on the fork doesn’t help fight inflammation, give you nutrition or help you build bones, why is it there? Help yourself heal. Stop the hurt.

Elimination Is Now Working For Me, What Should I Do?

Yes, well elimination doesn’t really work for anyone. How will your body heal if you’re eating five “safe” foods that when added up together have the nutritional value of cardboard? I spent two years eating a low histamine standard diet. Ok that’s code for junk. I was eating all organic and so fooled myself into believing that I was being healthy. I kept cutting and cutting till nothing remained and yet I got sicker. And when I couldn’t face my five tasteless foods I’d then go on a complete bender eating anything that wasn’t nailed down. And yet when I finally understood what I had to do – add nutrition back to my diet, preferably with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods to balance any histamine in my diet, it (really) took less than a year to turn everything around. It’s really not about a low histamine diet, it’s about being as healthy as you can.

I Can’t Eat X In Your Recipe

I do my best to provide as many options/subs as possible for each recipe but I am only human, I can’t cater to every intolerance/allergy under the sun. I do appreciate that many people seem to enjoy taking the time to email me that they can’t eat this or that in my recipe but it does make me a little sad every time it happens. If you cannot tolerate a food then by all means email me, but please understand that a very quick internet search will most likely turn up subs for the recipes that I provide for free on this site. Please don’t worry too much about the specifics of my recipes – most ingredients are replaceable. It’s about the flavours that remain and creating a positive visual and olfactory experience. It took me a long time to get to where I am health-wise and acceptance-wise. I know what it’s like to look at foods/recipes and be upset that I can’t tolerate something in there. And then I decided to stop seeing the negative everywhere. Now every recipe I can’t eat is a challenge to fix it so that I can. But honestly I don’t care if something doesn’t taste 100% like it “should”. I’m happy with the experience. If you have purchased a cookbook and require a substitution, please email me.

Is The Low Histamine Lifestyle a Cure/Treatment?

No. There is no cure that we know of. But really, how many diseases/conditions really have a cure? It’s about managing symptoms, ideally being so good to yourself that you’re able to ignore the smaller persistent ones but eliminate the ones that significantly impair your quality of life. It’s about believing that you are not in fact ill. Not seeing yourself as handicapped, but rather appreciating what you can do, that there’s a whole world out there to enjoy and to be thankful for your relatively benign condition. If you’re having a hard time doing that I highly recommend volunteering in a hospital, working with the disabled or taking a trip to India, Africa or Asia. Believe me. You’re as lucky/healthy as you believe you are.

I’ve Been Low Histamine For A While Now And Was Feeling Much Better, So I’ve Been Eating ‘Normally’ For The Last Two Days And I Am Feeling Fine. I’m Cured!

Ah. How many times have people emailed or told me that the diet miraculously cured them? Loads. It’s a mistake I made myself back in the day. Not that I thought I was cured, but I would feel SO much better that I would run out and eat junk/sweets whatever. I’d eat junk for one meal and feel great! I’d eat another and feel even better. And then … BAM. It will always catch up to you. It’s important to understand the concept of the histamine bucket. The low histamine diet and other lifestyle modifications empty your histamine bucket, hopefully to a point where there’s a noticeable lessening of symptoms. It then takes a while to fill it up again. The trick is to keep it below the brim, thereby enjoying some stability. I think of inflammation in the same way. But in this case I’ve found that keeping my inflammation low for long stretches helped me heal in the long run. The two years I spent chasing my tail, eating low histamine for a few days then pigging out, meant that I didn’t significantly improve my health till 2012 when I fully committed to a low histamine, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory food rich diet. In my case I found that approaching these changes as a lifestyle rather than a diet made a world of difference. It’s all in the attitude.

Some Of Your Recipes Have Eggs, What Do I Do?

I have personally never bought a cookbook and thought: “I’m going to make every last one of these recipes”. Similarly I imagine that’s the case with my books. What I have frequently enjoyed in cookbooks is getting a little inspiration. That is what I hope people take away from my work. It’s about losing the fear of food and understanding that it has the potential to heal rather than just hurt. I hope my books will hold your hand through the minefield that is learning to enjoy food again, while appreciating that the standard american diet is poison. Many people find they can tolerate duck eggs instead. You can also sub 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seed for each egg. If you can’t do either please email me for a sub.

Wait, More Food To Eliminate? Where Does It End?

It’s all in how you look at things. I see every new discovery I make (oxalates, lectins) as an opportunity for further healing. Here’s the thing though: as with histamine, I do not believe in completely eliminating foods, unless they have little nutritional value, or my reaction to them has been so terrible that I won’t chance it again. I believe in moderation. I keep the high nutrient foods that bother me more on a long rotation.

What Supplements Does The Low Histamine Chef Take?

I’m not a big supplement person. Having tried (literally) hundreds (possibly thousands) over the years I finally threw in the towel in about 2008 when I realised they were doing more harm than good. I finally decided to properly give quercetin a go not too long ago. It rocked my world! That pretty much broke the dam as I used my research skills to figure out what else would likely make me feel better. I came up with: Twinlab quercetin and vitamin c (both mast cell stabilisers/antihistamines) Source Naturals Mangosteen (mast cell stabiliser & helps with high prostaglandins) Spatone iron supplement (basically just iron rich mineral water) Viridian Nutrition digestive enzymes (occasionally) Carlson Vitamin K2 (soy free)

What The Hey? There’s A Recipe For Ketchup On Your Website!

Yup, and why not? I’m no longer suffering 50+ symptoms and my inflammation is pretty much under control. Also, haven’t you heard, green/yellow tomatoes are lower histamine (in addition to other crimson pigementally challenged varieties). Check out my interview with Dr Janice Joneja for more on that. I find it interesting that no one has bothered to do the kind of testing that Dr Owens of the yahoo oxalate group has done . We know from her work that different varieties of fruits/veg/grain vary in oxalate levels. I’m quite sure that’s the case with histamine in foods. If someone knows of a lab offering histamine testing please let me know. Back to ketchup – mine follows my culinary philosophy – if you can make something that makes you happy without making you sick, go for it. It might not taste 100% like the original, but I’m after the visual and olofactory experience. And I guarantee you, if it’s on this site, it’s a hell of a lot healthier than anything else you’ll find out there.

What If I Can’t Tolerate Some Of The Ingredients In Your Books?

Please email me. I do my best to respond within a few days but I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the volume of (general) histamine emails I receive on a daily basis. Bear with me but in the meantime please keep an eye out for my new forum where I will be posting this information so that I can address more than one person at a time.

What Is Your Nutritional Philosophy?

Simple: elimination diets don’t heal. It’s not about what you cut but rather about what you add back. It’s not about low histamine. We’re dealing with an inflammatory condition so clean living and a healthy diet makes all the difference. In my case I have chosen to focus on mast cell stabilising/histamine lowering bioflavonoid-rich antihistamine and anti-inflammatory foods to help my body recover from years of abuse. And we’re not even talking about my abuse really – it all begins in the womb. Read Dr Fuhrman’s “Super Immunity” for more on how our mother’s nutritional choices during pregnancy affect our health. Food isn’t the enemy; it’s our partner in healing. Nothing goes in unless I can justify some positive outcome from it. Quotes: “A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.” Aesop. “Thou shoulds’t eat to live rather than live to eat.” Socrates. “Nature performs the cure, the physician takes the fee.” Benjamin Franklin. “Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. No, really.” Yasmina Ykelenstam, the Low Histamine Chef. Yes, placing myself here amongst some of the greatest thinkers/writers of all time is tongue in cheek!

Which List Do You Personally Follow?

I no longer follow lists. Please see “Why do you use X food”.

Which List Do Your Books Use?

My books do not follow any particular list (for all the reasons outlined in “Why do you use X food?”). Dr. Janice Joneja’s list is the closest I come to following one. I know this complicates things a little for me marketing-wise, but I strongly believe we should not follow other people’s food histamine list beyond the first few months. All my recipes are highly adaptable as well as usually offering possible substitutions.

Why I Am Now More Sensitive?

Are you, though? Or is it just that your body is no longer in a chronic state of inflammation/panic and so you’re able to discern what is doing what? I thought the same thing initially. Then I stopped and took stock – my reactions were way way down overall, I was making incredible progress with the brain fog, and I was no longer running to the loo every few minutes. But I became accustomed to feeling better and any little set back made me really angry/fretful that I was sliding backwards or that I wasn’t actually on the right track diet-wise. That said, when we eat less of one thing (i.e. high histamine foods), we end up eating more of something else. That something else could be bothering you. Please continue reading this FAQ for more information.

Why I Am Reacting To Everything I Eat

1. You may have a concurrent issue/intolerance. For example tyramine, salicylate, benzoate, fructose, gluten, dairy, grain, sugar, citric acid. 2. Digestion causes histamine release. I’ll admit, this one threw me for the longest time. Histamine is required for digestion and as such is released in the gut every time we eat. Realising that I am going to react to all foods, no matter what kind, was a huge relief. I stopped stressing and learned to ignore it. 3. You’re not as low histamine as you think you are. People frequently write to me complaining that, though they’ve been diagnosed, the low histamine diet/histamine intolerance diet isn’t working for them. Upon going over their food diary, I find that they are not at all on a low histamine diet. It’s important to be honest with yourself and understand that it will take some time to remember all the foods you’re supposed to be avoiding, in addition to all the other rule (no leftovers etc). Give yourself a chance but always keep your practitioner in the loop. 4. You’re low histamine but on a SAD (standard American diet). Here’s the secret that few practitioners tell you: histamine is only part of the problem. Most of us have unstable mast cells (or just too many of them) that are constantly leaking inflammatory agents, histamine among them. So we should really be eating a low histamine, interleukin, heparin et al diet (I jest but you get the idea right?). So really it just makes sense to eat and anti-inflammatory diet overall. I know it’s done me a world of good. 5. Your brain is psyching you out. I found a number of very interesting studies showing that allergic responses can be triggered (Pavlovian style) in the absence of an allergen. Just thinking something bad is going to happen can make it happen. You can read more about the nocebo effect here. I also encourage you to read up on brain plasticity, positive thinking and hyper aroused amygdalic response. 6. You have not worked on your other triggers. Stress, heat, vibration, altitude, chemicals, beauty products. They all cause histamine release. You’ll find more on beauty product triggers here. 7. You’re following someone else’s list. One of the questions I’m most commonly asked is about which list to follow. I do not believe in following other people’s lists. Here’s why: A. Everyone is different. B. You may have other sensitivities that affect your response to certain foods and as such will get upset when you cannot eat certain foods on the allowed list.

Why Do You Believe Anti-Inflammatory Foods Are So Important?

Histamine causes massive inflammation in the body. Rather than just blocking the receptors with antihistamines, we need to give the body ammunition to help it deal with it. Why do you use X food? Don’t you know it’s high in histamine?:: I get a lot of emails asking why my books include this or that food – after all, don’t I realise it’s high histamine? We’re usually speaking of chickpeas, bananas, sunflower seeds or blueberries, rather than burgers, spaghetti, whatever. That’s because in my cookbooks you will never, ever, find junk food or any medium/high histamine food that’s nutritionally null. Interestingly I am often asked this question by people who still feel it’s OK for them to indulge in pizza (no tomato though!), or the “infrequent” Taco Bell; those who still drink coffee or black tea (with just one spoon of sugar!), or who restrain themselves to “only licking off the frosting” when baking cupcakes for the family. Present them with the idea of eating a banana though, and they run a mile. Then there’s those who absolutely cannot part with their scented hair products, formaldehyde-rich nail polish and commercial make-up brands (all histamine triggers – read more here), who constantly question how I can eat the odd tomato or macadamia nut. Consider this: • I live on raw/natural foods. • No commercial bath products touch my skin. • I have five pieces of make-up made from hemp and flax seed oil. • I do not use commercial nail polish. • I do not eat anything from a packet. That may be why I am able to tolerate (high nutrient) higher histamine foods. At the end of the day, not enough is known about the delicate histamine balance in the body to prevent me from gaining essential nutrients from higher histamine foods. But that doesn’t mean you’ll find them in my books! My primary answer is that lists vary according to the ripeness of the fruit when picked, whether pesticides were used, method of testing, bacterial contamination, mode of transport, variety of fruit/veg and more. Add in that reactions vary depending on how overloaded you are that day, what other intolerances you may have, whether the food has any other benefits (antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, high in nutrients). Not to mention that the very act of digestion itself causes histamine release, which pretty much explains why sometimes I react to everything I eat. There’s just too many variables. I was given a list, years ago, and (eventually) followed it like gospel. But I kept ignoring the advice that, if left unchallenged, my immune system would stage a revolt against the low histamine foods too (true dat!). What I did follow blindly, was the “allowed” list, to the point of ignoring my body’s pleas to make it stop. Eventually I understood that there wasn’t a one-fits-all list and that the only way I was going to get better was by making my own list of high nutrient antihistamine foods. The list I was given mostly agrees with the one used by the Mastocytosis Society of Canada. I mostly use this list, as created by allergy expert Dr. Janice Joneja, and featured on the Mastocytosis Society of Canada‘s website. I vary in that I eat mango and other pitted fruit like peaches (but not plums and apricots). My personal diet is based on a list given to patients by my nutritional role model, Dr. Fuhrman. My more personal answer is that it shouldn’t really matter whether chickpeas have double the histamine of an apple. What matters more is your reaction to it, and what other good the nutrients in that food do for you. Your food diary is indispensable for this reason. This is of course contraindicated when you have a history of anaphylaxis and really can’t afford to eat now and ask questions later. Here’s the interesting part: Did you know that some foods/supplements lower inflammation by raising histamine? I reported that Lactobacillus reuteri causes histidine to convert to histamine, but this particular histamine raises cAMP (this is good), and kills inflammation. Once again, more proof that histamine is not all bad. In a similar vein, did you also know that researchers are experimenting with histamine as a way of shrinking cancer tumors? I found an amazing study that finds histamine, (once again), specifically histamine metabolised from the amino acid histidine which is created by our bodies (mostly with the help of alimentary sources like egg white, rice, sesame seeds, nuts and beef) lowers inflammation, thereby restricting tumor growth. (Read the full study here.) That’s the plan. Unfortunately some of us are let down when our bodies don’t do what they’re supposed to! To summarise: going low histamine while still eating a standard diet doesn’t necessarily kill inflammation. It just deprives the body of nutrition. Anti-inflammatory foods, the kinds that stop cancer, are often also antihistamine and therefore may be better for us than nutritionally average foods with little benefit. So who’s to say that completely cutting out all higher histamine foods is a good thing? Maybe our body needs a fresh supply of high nutrient foods to help it keep the negative effects of histamine in check. I really need more information on that but there is enough for me to justify trying to keep introducing high nutrient higher histamine foods. Not junk.

Why Don’t You Believe In Taking Pharmaceuticals?

Among the hard lessons I’ve learned along the way is that, not only were the medical community’s only available treatments useless to me, they were also counterproductive and potentially dangerous. My daily medical journal digs soon turned up that pharmaceutical mast cell stabilisers and antihistamines cause long-term damage. Interestingly, it was noted that people on these types of medication experienced an increase in appetite. If there’s one thing those of us with histamine disorders could do without, it’s being driven to eat more, thereby consuming even more histamine. In my case, and in those of many I’ve encountered online, antihistamines gave me a sweet tooth I’d never had previously. And if there was one thing I really didn’t need was more encouragement to drown my sorrows in another tub of Ben & Jerry’s. Included among the scary side effects of the first line of treatment for histamine disorders is the following: H2 receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors like Zantac and Omeprazole can create new food allergies; leave the young and elderly vulnerable to pneumonia and life threatening bacterial infections like Clostridium Difficile; and create vitamin b12 deficiency or even stomach cancer. Meanwhile, H1 receptor antagonists like Claritin (Loratadine) are causing hormonal disruption to the point of affecting penile development, exerting cocaine like effects on the brain (Benadryl), as well as the more widely acknowledged weakening of the immune system, weight gain, mood disturbances and depression. Throw in that recent studies show antihistamines actually make allergies worse overall, and you have to ask yourself why these medications are still the first line of treatment. Check out what Dr Janice Joneja had to say about the rebound effect of antihistamine.

Why Don’t You Eat Flour/Grain?

I’ve been wary of grains ever since my initial diagnosis of histamine intolerance back in 2010. Even though I tested negative for coeliac, I knew it bloated my tummy and made my lady parts hurt. I was told wheat was inflammatory and that rye was a little better. After many talks with my hista-sista The Reluctant Raw Foodist, we sat up and took notice that ALL inflammatory foods made us feel much worse, no matter whether or not they were supposedly low histamine. And so a new diet philosophy was born and grains were tossed out the window. Additionally, it now makes total sense that grains are a problem as they’re high oxalate (LINK TO POST).

About Histamine-Related Conditions

Could You Please Tell Me If X Medical Condition Is Related To Histamine?

Yes! So can Google ???? I pretty much guarantee that if you type in “X histamine” you will find what you’re looking for. If you need help interpreting it, I’ll be happy to help. I do get upwards of 30 emails a day to answer at times, so please bear with me, it can take me up to a month to respond at times.

Food In Just One Of Many Histamine Triggers. What Are The Others?

According to the list given to me by Drs. Matito and Escribano at the Virgen Del Valle Hospital in Toledo, Spain: FACTORS THAT CAN EVOKE THE RELEASE OF MAST CELL MEDIATORS 1. PHYSICAL AGENTS Frequent Heat: Use mildly warm water for bath or shower. Do not rub briskly with towel to dry off. When drying hair, use hair dryer only on warm heat. Cold Pressure: Scalp trauma can occur in patients with skin lesions in this area. Avoid Darier’s sign (friction of skin lesions), this procedure can evoke a massive mast cell mediators release, especially in large lesions (mastocytomas). Rarely Endoscopies (panendoscopy, rectoscopy, colonscopy) Manipulation of GI system/intestines during surgery 2. EMOTIONAL FACTORS Stress (frequent) Anxiety (frequent) 3. MISCELLANEOUS Infection or Fever of any etiology (frequent in children) Teething in children (frequent) Vaccination in children (infrequent) 4. DRUGS & MEDICATION Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are used as analgesic and antipyretic medication. This group includes: Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), mefanamic acid, butibufen, diclofenac, fenbufen, fenilbutazone, flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, indometacine, ketoprofen, ketorolac, meclofenamate, metamizole, nabumetone, naproxen, propifenazone … among others Acetaminophen is usually well tolerated in mastocytosis, in this sense it is not initially restricted. Opioids and morphine derivatives. These drugs are used in anaesthesia, analgesic and cough therapy. This group includes: morphine, codeine, buprenorphine, meperidine, dextromethorphan, dimemorphan, fentanyl, tramadol … among others. Alcohol: Rare <0.5% (REMA, unpublished data, 1984 – 2006). Muscle relaxants and induction agents used in general anesthesia. Beta-blockers are restricted during general anesthesia, and in cases whom suffered previous anaphylactic episodes. Local anesthetics: Exception using amide-derivatives. Contrast Media used for various radiological studies: Rare. Interferon Alpha : Rare. Clorodeoxiadenosine or Cladribine (2-Cda): Rare. Only one case was reported (J. Sheik, Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, personal communication, September 2002). Hydroxyurea: Rare. It was reported in only one case (L Escribano, personal communication, June 2007). Colloids: Substances with high molecular weight used to treat hypotension or hypovolemia, such as dextran (infrequent). Find out more triggers on the Mastocytosis Society of Canada site

How Do I Get a Diagnosis?

That’s the million dollar question. It only took me 30 years, but to be fair, I was living in the middle of nowhere seeing medical practitioners who were barely one step above witch doctors. To quote mast cell specialist Dr Afrin: “You will not find another disease besides systemic mast cell disease that better illustrates the old “four blind men and an elephant” problem. There are lots of factors that go into every specialist looking at a patient with mast cell disease from a different perspective, seeing only the problems that they’ve been taught to see in their own domain. And in the first 13 years of my career post-fellowship, I practiced that way, too. As just one example, I can’t begin to count the numbers of patients I’ve seen in that time who’ve had “anemia of chronic inflammation.” Mysterious anemia, nobody knows why, no clear source of the chronic inflammation, and we just leave it at that. And it’s acceptable in the medical community to just leave it at that. For lots of reasons (many relating to our healthcare financing systems), the physician can’t spend nearly as much time with each patient as would be needed or desirable to get to the root of every mystery. So the hematologist sees the anemia, the gastroenterologist sees the irritable bowel syndrome, the rheumatologist sees the fibromyalgia, the cardiologist sees the palpitations, the neurologist sees the migraine headaches and neuropathy, and so on and so forth. We all just constantly miss the elephant.” “Patients accumulate large problem lists, and after they figure out, after about 2-3 years of symptoms, that their symptoms aren’t going to kill them, and they’ve learned that no doctor is going to be able to figure out a diagnosis, they stop reporting their symptoms. They may well continue to regularly suffer a wide range of symptoms, but they simply stop volunteering such information to the clinicians they see, because such abnormality has become their new normality. So it really is critical, in trying to clinically detect whether mast cell disease might be present, for the clinician to take the time to take a complete review of systems.” Read more on the meandmymastcells site. This seems to apply to histamine disorders in general.

What Are Histamine Intolerance, Mast Cell Activation And Mastocytosis?

Histamine intolerance, mast cell activation and mastocytosis are all characterised by an excess of histamine. Naturopathic practitioners and European doctors seem to be more familiar with histamine intolerance, or unfamiliar with mast cell activation and mastocytosis (depending on how you want to look at it). HIT is usually thought to be as a result of a lack of the histamine degrading enzymes DAO and HNMT. Mast cell activation and mastocytosis meanwhile are attributed to faulty genes/mast cells. I was originally diagnosed with histamine intolerance. I kept searching for clarification because my symptoms seemed so much worse than anyone I knew (other than my hista-sista The Reluctant Raw Foodist) and was eventually diagnosed with mast cell activation. What’s the difference between them? Who knows, really. Not many of the people with mast cell activation and mastocytosis have been tested for enzyme dysfunction – there’s only a few of us so far who know that we lack DAO and have mast cell activation. It seems to me that I run across many many people with mild histamine issues. I would be tempted to call these people histamine intolerant rather than convincing them they have mast cell activation/mastocytosis. But that’s just my thoughts on it

What Are Symptoms Of Histamine Intolerance / Mast Cell Activation / Mastocytosis ?

As per Mastocytosis Canada’s website: Also check Dr. Theoharides site for more information. (I had about 56 of these 58 symptoms – I now have around 3 – 5, intermittently and very mildly) Skin rash, spots, redness, hives, persistent fatigue, itching, flushing & severe sweating, joint, bone pain, headaches, tachycardia (racing heartrate), eyes tearing/dry, eye pain, persistent body/tissue pain, difficulty exercising, vertigo, episodes of low body temperature, unexplained Vitamin B12 deficiency, scents/odors/chemical reactions, difficult menses (females), numbness & tingling in face and extremities, skin feels on fire, unexplained anxiety, sudden drops in blood pressure, fainting, persistent diarrhea, vomiting, unexplained weight loss, cognitive impairment, sinus problems, chest pain, vision problems, hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, swelling & inflammation, odd reactions to insect stings, anesthesia difficulties, anemia, thyroid problems, decreased bone density, unexplained weakness, shortness of breath, sunlight sensitivity, temperature (hot/cold) sensitivity, difficulty with foods, drinks, anaphylactoid reactions, anaphylaxis, gastrointestinal pain, bloating, unexplained medication reactions, enlarged liver/spleen, liver/spleen/bladder/kidney pain, enlarged lymph nodes, frequent urination, recurring infections, neuropathic pain, constipation (MCAS), iron deficiency, unexplained bruising, bleeding, malabsorption, intermittent tinnitus or hearing problems, skin lesions or sores (mastocytosis). My symptoms: UTI symptoms/peeing 20-30 times a night, constant unexplained anxiety, mania and depression, sleepiness, constipation, vertigo, fibrocystic breasts, buzzing in fingers and feet/legs, blurry vision, severe itching, numbness in one side of face, muscle spasms, stabbing pain in lower and upper back, severe right lower quadrant pain (mistaken for appendicitis), nystagamus (involountary eye movements), eye floaters, monthly ovarian cysts that would rupture, severe lymphocytosis, severe bone pain, freezing cold in summer, raynaud’s (ice cold hands and feet), menopausal symptoms (sweating at night, hot flashes), breathlessness, severe nausea, vomiting, shaking, vertigo, anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid shock, severe palpitations, passing out after eating/paralysis, all over rash and hives, leg cramps, asthma like symptoms, seizures, eyes rolling back into head, unexplained bruising, nightmares, night terrors, neuropathy (neuropathic pain), constipation, persistent diarrhea, recurring infections, sinusitis, enlarged lymph nodes, constant tinnitus, liver/spleen/bladder/kidney pain, weird reactions to medicines, hives, severe gastrointestinal pain and bloating, persistent skin rash, spots, redness, hives, persistent fatigue, severe insomnia, migraine, feeling like I’m coming down with the flu (for weeks), tachycardia (racing heart rate), eyes tearing/dry, eye pain, passing out while exercising, very low body temperature, scents/odors/chemical reactions, difficult menses (cycle all over the place), numbness & tingling in face and extremities, skin feels on fire, sudden drops in blood pressure, fainting, vomiting, unexplained weight gain, severe water retention, cognitive impairment/brain fog/unable to remember my phone number (also known as organic brain syndrome), severe hair loss (a third of my hair), mouth sores, swelling & inflammation, odd reactions to insect stings (passed out, BP drop), anesthesia difficulties (two severe reactions), anemia, unexplained weakness (too weak to raise my head off the pillow when bed bound for weeks, shortness of breath, temperature (hot/cold) sensitivity. Oh and here’s a fun one: the veins in my hands would pop out. Really pop out! I now have one – three of these, once in a while, mildly. These symptoms would rotate. Why so many? Mast cells are involved in almost every body process. Wondering how I beat these symptoms? Sign up to my mailing list for more, or check out one of my cookbooks for the recipes that helped get me here.

What Conditions Have A Histamine / Mast Cell Element To Them ?

Autism Gastroenteritis Fibrocystic Breast Disease Peripheral Neuropathy Sjögren’s syndrome Pots Migraine Narcolepsy Schizophrenia Crohn’s Asthma Arthritis Heart Attacks Chronic Uti Symptoms/Interstitial Cystitis IBS Stress Depression Urticaria Multiple Sclerosis Epilepsy Hormonal Imbalances Fibromyalgia Vulvovydinia & Endometriosis References Mast cell activation and autism Allergic Mastocytic Gastroenteritis and Colitis: An Unexplained Etiology in Chronic Abdominal Pain and Gastrointestinal Dysmotility Histamine and epidermal growth factor in women with fibrocystic changes of the breast. Histamine H3 receptor Brief Report: First identification of H4 histamine receptor in healthy salivary glands and in focal sialadenitis in Sjögren’s syndrome Hyperadrenergic Postural Tachycardia Syndrome in Mast Cell Activation Disorders Histamine and histamine intolerance1,2,3 Histamine Disorders Urinary excretion of N-methylhistamine as a marker of disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Critical role of mast cells in inflammatory diseases and the effect of acute stress Mixed organic brain syndrome as a manifestation of systemic mastocytosis. Chronic hives (urticaria) Cutting edge: both activating and inhibitory Fc receptors expressed on mast cells regulate experimental allergic encephalomyelitis disease severity. Histamine H3 receptor antagonists in relation to epilepsy and neurodegeneration: a systemic consideration of recent progress and perspectives Neuroinflammation Role of female sex hormones, estradiol and progesterone, in mast cell behavior Role of mastcells in chronic inflammation, depression and pain Pain Down There? It’s called Vulvodynia – An anti-histamine / anti-inflammatory diet could help.

What Is A Mast Cell ?

From Wikipedia: A mast cell (also known as mastocyte and labrocyte) is a resident cell of several types of tissues and contains many granules rich in histamine and heparin. Although best known for their role in allergy and anaphylaxis, mast cells play an important protective role as well, being intimately involved in wound healing and defense against pathogens.

What Is A Degranulation?

From www.meandmymastcells.com Each mast cell holds hundreds of little granules that contain chemicals. In normal circumstances, mast cells release these chemicals when they perceive that the body is under attack from invading germs, viruses or parasites. These chemicals have a toxic effect on the invader and usually kill them, which is really what we want. However, these chemicals also have a moderate negative impact on healthy tissues. So, although mast cells are good for us as they protect us from foreign invasion, there is a bit of collateral damage when mast cells perform their normal, everyday duty. Nothing that we can’t tolerate, but some damage nevertheless. The release of the chemical granules by the mast cell when it receives a signal that we are invaded by nasties is called ‘degranulation’. Too Much Of A Good Thing Now, in mastocytosis, we have a mast cell “population explosion”. Due to a genetic defect, our body keeps creating mast cells and disregards the signal to stop when enough mast cells have been produced. So, we have an overabundance of these critters. And since mast cells are very difficult to kill, that overabundance increases day by day. Mast cells are good, in normal circumstances. But you know what they say about too much of a good thing … If a normal amount of mast cell causes a certain level of collateral damage on our tissues and nerves, imagine what happens when we have an oversupply of mast cells degranulating.

About My Books And Services

Can You Create A Personalised Diet For Me?

I would be doing you a disservice if I tried. I am still working on my nutritional training with Dr Fuhrman.

I Didn’t Realise I Was Buying A Digital Book. Why Are They Digital Only?

Didn’t Realise I Was Buying A Digital Book. Why Are They Digital Only? Really? Lol, how’d you miss that? I have quercetin and diet to thank for my lack of brain fog nowadays! It says in the description, at least twice, that the books are digital only. Why? Because Amazon want to take up to 70% of sales, digital or not. Sadly as conventional publishers haven’t copped on to the incredible number of people suffering from histamine disorders, I have no author advance with which to fund my research, hours spent writing, creating recipes, taking photos, building my website, paying for graphics, web hosting, travel to and from photo shoots, travel to interviews, the cost of equipment and funding myself while I work double shifts to get two jobs done. Hope that’s OK with you ????

Will Your Books Make Me Feel Better?

I’m not a doctor and as such my books are neither a treatment nor a diet. They are simply a collection of the high nutrient antihistamine and anti-inflammatory recipes I have developed over the years. They are meant to serve as an inspiration, as a starting point for those overwhelmed by the idea of cooking healthy foods with limited ingredients. I cannot tell you what to eat and I do not believe that people should continue to follow lists once the really high histamine foods are eliminated.

What If I Needed A Refund?

Please understand that these are digital books and as such I have no way of knowing whether the books will be used anyway or passed around amongst friends. If you are totally unable to use the book, despite substitutions offered, please contact me.

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