Watch the vlog here!
Crude, it’s allergy season, and I haven’t had allergies for years, but I have them this year. I don’t know if you saw my vlog on Finding your meditation rhythm, but the first scene! Did you see those pollen clouds light up behind me as I walked through the field? That’s pollen today. And the Cottonwoods have been on fire. I was driving down the road the other day, and it looked like it was snowing. I wanted to film the blizzard, but I didn’t have my camera.
I haven’t had allergies in about 20 years, and I have them now. Twenty years ago, my allergies were much worse. I was taking Allegra. I would step outside and could feel my head and sinuses instantly swell shut. I would get a headache, and it would feel like I was swimming in cotton. I’m running around Mount Hood today because I don’t have allergies up here in the mountains.
The last time I went about eliminating my allergies, it was all based on supplements. I was facing the same situation I’m facing today. Long term stress had gotten the best of me. My digestive health was weak, and I had gained weight that I couldn’t get off. I was experiencing a lot of inflammation, and the allergies were just one more step in the inflammation process.
What happens when you have a histamine reaction in the body? The simple response is the body identifies a substance as a foreign invader and mast cells covered with the correct IGe antibody move to the scene. These mast cells attack the invader and start a response to remove the invader from the body. Part of that response is releasing histamine at the site. Histamine causes an inflammation response to remove the invader from the body. Histamine would cause your sinuses to inflame, your nose to run, and to sneeze. These are just three inflammation strategies your body can use to eliminate a foreign invader.
When you’re looking for supplements, you’ll want supplements that support two strategies. The first is to reduce the histamine reaction. The second would be to support the overall immune system. All of the information here is supported by research, and you can find links in the video description below or click on the link to my blog, and you can find the research information there.
Let’s look at four supplements that fit that bill.
The first is vitamin B3 as nicotinamide. There are two types of B3, niacin, and nicotinamide. Now to make this crazier, niacin is also known as nicotinic acid, and nicotinamide is also known as niacinamide. So, the one ending in “amide” is the supplement. The research on this supplement has shown this supplement taken internally reduces symptoms of bronchial asthma. Nicotinamide has been reported to reduce asthma and hay fever in people. You can also use B3 nicotinamide topically, and it has shown to have anti-inflammatory effects with acne and reduce signs of aging.
The next supplement is Vitamin C. Here is the neat thing about vitamin C. The research on this supplement suggests vitamin C is a natural antihistamine. A research study reported after taking 2g of vitamin C, blood histamine levels reduced by almost 40%. And the exciting thing about histamine in this study was the study found excess histamine levels slowed the movement of immune protection cells called neutrophils to the site of injury. So, histamine is a critical messenger molecule in the body, but when in excess, it harms the body like when we have an allergy response.
When I first managed my allergies with supplements, vitamin C was the last supplement I added to my regime. And that was the icing on the cake. I was finally able to eliminate all symptoms of allergies.
There is an enzyme in the body that breaks down histamine, and that enzyme is Diamine Oxidase or DAO. Click here to learn about enzymes and dosing. Every enzyme in the body needs specific raw materials. One of the critical elements required for Diamine oxidase is B6. There are many common medications that we take today that interfere with the function of Diamine Oxidase, some through the reduction of B6. Medicines that may reduce B6 in the body are high blood pressure medications, tuberculosis, asthma, and arthritis medications. Other substances impact the ability of Diamine Oxidase to function effectively because they release more histamine into the body. Aspirin is one of these substances. Chronic inflammatory concerns like IBS release more histamine into the digestive tract. Things we consume daily impact vitamin B6 levels like alcohol.
And being that B6 is water-soluble, we don’t store it in the body. If you are not using supplements, B6 is dependent on food choices. Our food processing has impacted the nutritional content of foods. We know that, but we don’t look at food processing impacts as additive. So, using nitrogen fertilizers instead of nutrient-rich soil to grow foods reduces the nutrient value. Sterilization methods, such as heat, irradiation, pasteurization, reduce nutrient content. Shelf life reduces nutrient content. Cooking reduces nutrient content. When we start to look at it this way, the numbers look different. If each loss was only 2%, we might say that by the time we get the food to the table, we’ve lost 10% of the nutritional value, and that’s o.k. But that’s not what happens. Some of these processes can lose 50% of nutrition. That’s where supplementing becomes effective.
Now, there are also a few companies that produce Diamine Oxidase from pork kidneys. Diamine oxidase (DAO) is a digestive enzyme naturally produced in your kidneys, thymus, and the intestinal lining of your digestive tract. You need to take this enzyme right before you eat as it has a short half-life. This enzyme won’t reduce the amount of histamine your body produces. Nor will it replace the amount of Diamine oxidase your body produces. What it does is provide more Diamine Oxidase in the intestinal tract to help break down the histamine your body produced and reducing the amount of histamine that can enter your intestinal tract.
This supplement is taken for food sensitivities. Click here to learn about food sensitivities. And that could be foods that you think don’t work well in your system and cause gas, bloating, upset stomach, heartburn, diarrhea.
And then the thought is if I’m supplementing with the enzyme, why do I need B6. B6 is a coenzyme. B6 does more than create Diamine oxidase. To have enzymes, all coenzymes must be present. A coenzyme is a non-protein substance needed to have functioning enzymes. So, if you’re short on B6, you will never make enough Diamine Oxidase. But, being a coenzyme, B6 is needed in the production of critical neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin, supporting the central nervous system, and assisting with creating the myelin sheath that encases nerves.
O.k., what’s another supplement? Calcium.
Calcium is a critical component of liver function. It regulates almost every liver task we know. And many of us learned the liver is responsible for detoxing in the body. Low calcium levels in the liver can dysregulate critical functions in the liver, including bile acid secretion. Problems with bile acid secretion can aggravate IBS and reduce the effectiveness of digestion. We’ve already seen inflammation in the digestive tract increases histamine levels.
Calcium is also critical for the stress response. Studies have shown that more calcium is released into the system when presented with a stressor. The aftermath of the stressor has shown a slight decrease in tissue calcium. The reduction in tissue calcium can compound over time, and low calcium can increase stress, anxiety, irritability. All these things increase histamine release in the body.
What to learn how to detox your liver naturally? Click here.
I marry supplements with Chinese Herbs, especially when I’m having symptoms that just suddenly appeared. It takes a long time for supplements to work. You’ll be able to see some improvement in a month. Yet, to replace all your current cells with new, healthier cells will take time. The average lifespan of a blood cell is three months. And there is the timeframe needed to uptake the nutrition and incorporate the nutrients in the body. Chinese Herbs can work quickly and support your supplements, decreasing the time to improve from a year to months. The thing about Chinese Herbs is they are usually specific to you. So, the herbs you take for your allergies may be different than the herbs your friend takes for allergies. If you want to add in Chinese Herbs, make an appointment with a Chinese Herbal practitioner and get herbs specific for you. You can similarly use herbs and supplements. You can take herbs for the symptoms during allergy season to get immediate relief and change formulas to build up your immune system after the allergy season. Or, you can take vitamin and mineral supplements to build up your immune system. Vitamins and minerals are usually a long-term solution to get all the materials your body needs to make the enzymes and stuff to protect your body. The vitamins and minerals don’t typically offer you immediate relief. You may have to do either herbs or supplements for a couple of years rigorously and then intermittently for spot therapy.
That’s it you guys, until next time, I’ll catch you on the other side.
CITATIONS
Bekier E, Wyczó?kowska J, Szyc H, Ma?li?ski Cz: The Inhibitory Effect of Nicotinamide on Asthma-Like Symptoms and Eosinophilia in Guinea Pigs, Anaphylactic Mast Cell Degranulation in Mice, and Histamine Release from Rat Isolated Peritoneal Mast Cells by Compound 48/80. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1974;47:737-748. doi: 10.1159/000231265
Gehring W. Nicotinic acid/niacinamide and the skin. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2004;3(2):88-93. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2130.2004.00115.x
Johnston CS, Martin LJ, Cai X. Antihistamine effect of supplemental ascorbic acid and neutrophil chemotaxis. J Am Coll Nutr. 1992;11(2):172-176.
Johnston C.S. (1996) The Antihistamine Action of Ascorbic Acid. In: Harris J.R. (eds) Subcellular Biochemistry. Subcellular Biochemistry (Ascorbic Acid: Biochemistry and Biochemical Cell Biology), vol 25. Springer, Boston, MA
Matsuo H, Yokooji T, Morita H, et al. Aspirin augments IgE-mediated histamine release from human peripheral basophils via Syk kinase activation. Allergol Int. 2013;62(4):503-511. doi:10.2332/allergolint.13-OA-0536
Fabisiak, A., W?odarczyk, J., Fabisiak, N., Storr, M., & Fichna, J. (2017). Targeting Histamine Receptors in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Critical Appraisal. Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility, 23(3), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm16203
Tiratterra, E., Franco, P., Porru, E., Katsanos, K. H., Christodoulou, D. K., & Roda, G. (2018). Role of bile acids in inflammatory bowel disease. Annals of gastroenterology, 31(3), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.20524/aog.2018.0239
Malinovská V, Matonoha P, D’Andrea V, Malinovský L, Zechmeister A. Uloha kalcia v mechanismu p?sobenà stressogennÃch hormon? [The role of calcium in the effect of stress hormones]. Cas Lek Cesk. 1991;130(22-23):631-634.