Additional Causes and Effects of Excessive Histamine

As we’ve already learned, histamine is a chemical within our bodies at all times. It is created and stored within specialized cells and helps the immune system in defending the body against foreign infection and unwelcomed substances.

In addition, histamine also acts as one of the brain’s ‘messengers’ and aides in releasing gastric-acid to facilitate digestion within the stomach. Research has demonstrated that there are many people who are hypersensitive. This hypersensitivity can result in excessive amounts of histamine when it is exposed to allergens in the environment or in the foods that are consumed. Elevated levels of histamine can cause a variety of reactions and symptoms, ranging from mild distress to full blown allergic reactions.

High levels of histamine may trigger itching on one side of the body or both. The itching is caused when other ty pes of inflammation and irritations are triggered by excessively high levels of histamine. Likewise, large amounts of histamine can cause watery, itchy red ey es, nasal congestion, runny noses, sneezing, irritation to the ey es and ears, and post nasal drip. This ty pe of reaction is usually in response to airborne allergens.

Asthmatic reactions can also occur when there are excessive histamine levels in the bloodstream. This potentially serious and chronic condition takes place when there are increased mucous secretions in the respiratory sy stem. Wheezing, difficulty with breathing and tightness of the chest are common sy mptoms. Over production of histamines can cause swelling in deep tissue, resulting in swelling of the digestive tract, throat, mouth, and restrict breathing, sometimes fatally. A very severe reaction to high levels of histamine can cause Anaphy laxis.

Various symptoms of this potentially life threatening condition may include a sudden dip in blood pressure, abdominal pain, diarrhea, swollen and reddened skin, nausea, vomiting, nasal congestion, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, dizziness and fainting.

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What is Histamine?

When a person has an allergy, the body produces antibodies as a way to safeguard itself from intrusion. As a response, countless antibodies attach to the surface of the cells within bodily tissue. There they wait for the next attack by an allergen that the body has identified as a potential threat. While on guard, they collect assorted chemicals from blood as it circulates through the system, resulting in inflammation.

When another assault takes place, the allergen is bound by specific antibodies and a chemical is released. Histamine, one of these specially designed chemicals contributes to the allergic response set up within the body. Histamine is associated with sneezing, runny noses, itching, and many of the other discomforts associated with allergic reactions.

Anti-allergy medications, referred to as antihistamines, are designed to prevent the histamines from binding to ‘receptors’. Allergic reactions have two phases. There is an early phase, caused when the chemicals are released that can happen immediately after exposure to an allergen. A late phase reaction, occurring when inflammatory cells are brought in for back-up, can occur many hours after exposure. Allergic reactions may cause hives on the skin’s surface. Usually hives appear on the arms, legs, and torso, but they may occur on other parts of the body as well. A severe allergic reaction, such as the one our daughter experienced, can cause swelling within the mouth, tongue, and throat.

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Common Symptoms of Food Allergies

Hives are one of the many visible signs of a food allergy. I’ve learned through my research that certain foods may trigger a variety of problems. As we have already seen, there is a connection between inflammation and several illnesses, diseases, and food allergies, many of which are related to gluten.

As we have just learned, there are many substances that can prompt an allergic reaction. What I found most alarming was the direct connection between certain foods, particularly those containing gluten (the protein in wheat) and food allergies! It’s important to note that gluten and milk cause two of the most common food allergies which emphasize the advantages of a gluten free dairy free diet!

Allow me to elaborate. A food allergy is caused by the immune-sy stem’s response to certain proteins found in food. As in other ty pes of allergic reactions, certain foods can cause the release of histamine. A variety of sy mptoms can result, from a runny nose, and sneezing, to hives, stomach cramps, and diarrhea, to anaphy laxis (an extremely serious condition that occurs rapidly occasionally resulting in death).

And if that’s not alarming enough, this reaction could potentially happen at any time. Any one who has an allergic reaction may have any where between a very minor to a major reaction (as my daughter did). Whenever the offending food is consumed, certain antibodies may be activated that can bind with the food particles and stimulate an autoimmune-inflammatory reaction. As we have learned, inflammation of any ty pe can interfere with the body ’s ability to heal and metabolize food properly. Additionally, these food allergens are usually not properly digested and build up in the liver, kidney s, and all of the organs that are associated with detox within the body. After eliminating glutens from their diet, many people no longer experience allergic reactions to food. The common sy mptoms include those that we have already identified. The following chart shows the many sy mptoms and signs of food allergies.

Common Symptoms of Food Allergy
-Skin :  Itching, Skin Redness/Hives Eczema, Swelling (usually on the face)
-Mouth and Eyes : Itching, Numbness Edema, Redness and Tearing
-GASTROINTESTINAL : Nausea, Pain Vomiting, Diarrhea, Abdominal Pain
-RESPIRATORY : Nose/Larynx/Throat/ Lungs : Itching/ Dry/Tightness Shortness of Breath Chest Pain/Tightness : Swelling, Hoarseness, Wheezing, Cough, Respiratory Distress
- HEART AND CARDIOVASCULAR : Chest Pain/ Tightness/Feeling Dizziness/Faintness : Fainting, Loss of Consciousness Hypotension or shock (low blood pressure), Abnormal Heart Beat
OTHER : Feeling of Impending Disaster : Uterine Contractions (women)

However, many signs are not quite so obvious. It took me a long time to make the connection between my painful joints and the large amounts of gluten that I was consuming! (I also want to point out adults and children don’t always react to food allergens in the same way.)

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Identifying Hives

Ty pical hives appear on the surface of the skin as raised, reddish bumps (welts). Many times they are accompanied by itching and general discomfort, such as stinging or burning. They range in size any where from between a fraction of an inch to the size of a small dish. The entire area of skin may become swollen and inflamed. The skin around the eyes may swell, and the lips may become swollen. As mentioned earlier, hives may appear suddenly or over a period of time. Although welts are a common occurrence they are not always a symptom of an allergic reaction.

When a person does break out in hives, they usually appear on one part of the body then spread rather rapidly to other parts of the body. It’s not unusual for the welts to grow larger and merge with other hives (or welts). Occasionally these welts can expand over very large surfaces of the skin.

The spreading of the hives can cause sensations like shivering, burning, and intense itching. The welts may appear and disappear, then reappear over the course a few minutes or several days. Hives are associated with allergic reactions to many types of allergens, including those associated with food allergies.

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Understanding the Root of Inflammation and Coeliac Disease

To understand how food and allergies are related to inflammation, it helps to understand how digestion occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. Every time we eat, the food is first ground up by our teeth. It then travels down the esophagus to the stomach and is further broken down, by enzy mes and acids, into a soft paste-like substance. The food then travels into the small intestines where the nutrients are absorbed. The remainder of the digested food travels into the large intestines and the most of the last remnants of salt and water are absorbed before the waste is eliminated by the body. This process can take between 24 and 72 hours depending on the general health of the intestines.

This description is very basic, and the entire process is far more involved than what I’ve described here. The point is that when every thing is working in a healthy manner, proteins are broken into single amino acids and fats are metabolized into fatty acids, and carbohy drates are broken up into simple sugars. When every thing is in good working order, these nutrients are properly absorbed, without causing an allergic reaction. However, if the cells lining the intestinal tract are hy persensitive, there may be a resulting imbalance and a strong possibility that the food cannot be properly digested.

Food Allergies and Coeliac Disease 

As I’ve mentioned, this is an overly simplified explanation. However, the point that I want to stress is that there is a direct link between food allergies (particularly in this case to gluten) and many health conditions like asthma, arthritis, eczema, and heart diseases. Since more than 70% of the cells that support the immune sy stem are located in the lining of the digestive tract, it isn’t surprising that when food isn’t right for y our needs, y our sy stem will be thrown into a mode of attack. While many foods are healthy, foods that y ou are allergic to are responded to like toxins, harmful invaders. Blood flow increases and the intestines become inflamed.

Coeliac disease (or celiac disease) is one of the conditions that can result from the body ’s inability to stop the inflammation process in the digestive tract. The resulting pain and fatigue are sy mptoms of the small intestine’s difficulty in absorbing proper nutrition. When this happens they react to certain food particles as foreign substances. One of the primary causes for the disease is gluten sensitivity or, in other words, gluten intolerance that can often be remedied with a gluten free celiac diet.

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Food Allergies in Adults versus Children

When very young children (or babies) experience food allergies, they may be the result of prenatal or hereditary factors. Allergies may also be the result of intestinal cell damage that can occur if a child is fed formula, rather than breast milk, or solid baby food at too early an age. This damage often occurs if the intestines are still too immature to handle the foods.

When food allergies develop later on in a person’s life, the allergy is generally the result of chemical or phy sical damage within the cells of the intestines. For example, food poisoning may cause permanent intestinal damage, when the toxins cannot be properly handled and eliminated. When this happens, an auto-immune response can be activated that causes inflammation within the intestines and throughout the entire body. The vulnerable parts of the body usually suffer the most. When damage takes place over time, inflammation (tissue and organ damage) may result in an imbalance that becomes chronic. For this reason, repairing the damage to tissue and organs begins with pay ing attention to food intake and proper digestion. Along with allergies, the serious health issues previously mentioned: arthritis, heart disease, skin problems, and asthma often can be remedied, at least in part, by changing our diet and focusing on the foods that can be properly digested.

The longer food allergies persist, the greater the damaged caused. The best measure is to take a serious look at the possibility of food allergies and gluten intolerance within y our family, and start making healthy changes as soon as possible in order to avoid illness, disease, allergies and infection.

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What is Inflammation?

Let’s get right to the heart of the matter. Inflammation is now considered to be a ‘silent killer’. We all know that inflammation is y our body ’s way of responding to injury. Whether y ou fall and scrape y our knee, fight a bad head cold, or come out in hives (as our daughter did), the resulting inflammation is y our body ’s way of combating the attack to the sy stem.

Inflammation of any ty pe is like a ‘Band-Aid’. Basically, it is the body ’s way of protecting itself from any assault. It serves a useful purpose as a way of repairing itself from the damage that bacteria, fungus, virus, injury, and toxins can cause. Inflammation is a process that allows our body to heal.

Whenever any part of our body is damaged, our sy stem immediately engages and starts to fight the enemy. Most of the time, the assault is so minor (acute) that we aren’t even aware our body is in an attack mode. As soon as the threat leaves, our sy stem returns to its normal state.

However, when our bodies are required to fight off an assault over an extended period of time, the condition becomes chronic. After a while, the inflammatory reaction fails to cease on its own. This causes stress to the body , ultimately resulting in a weakened state of health.

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