Histamine and the brain

Histamine responses/ Heightened Histamine issues.

Dr Fi Dann Ray MSc Applied Toxicology, MSc Chiropractic.

Nov’18

Histamine issues can be problematic during detox, and have some relationship to poor methylation (frequent when the liver is under stress or there are genetic hiccups in the methylation process) and to toxic metals and poor detox ability. Identifying and dealing with histamine issues can help assist the process of Toxic Metal and Chemical Detox.

Histmine intolerance

Histamine is produces by mast cells in the body. About 1% of the population cannot tolerate a ‘normal’ level of histamine in food. This is known as Histamine intolerance. Histamine toxicity can mimic food allergy, particularly seafood. Tuna, Mackeral, Mahi mahi, anchovy, herring, bluefish, amberjack and Marlin are particularly prone, even more so if not properly refridgerated[i].

Symptoms of Histamine intolerance include

• Sudden skin redness
• Itching and redness on the body
• Digestive issues such as nausea, vomiting, cramps, diahorrhea
• Drop in blood pressure, dizziness, palpitations
• Menstrual problems in women
• Headaches, migraine
• Red eyes, Swollen lips

The genes involved are Diamine Oxidase (DAO) in the gut and Histamine N-Methyltransferase (HNMT)in the skin, spinal cord and lungs etc .

DAO can be affected by:

• Some medications such as antibiotics block DAO
• GI disorders such as Leaky gut and Inflammatory bowel disease lower DAO
• SIBO/ Bacterial overgrowth lowers DAO

High histamine foods[ii]

• Fermented/ pickled vegetables (sauerkraut, kimchi).
• Fermented dairy (aged cheese, yoghurt).
• Soured cream and buttermilk.
• Tinned or cured foods.
• Processed meats.
• Fermented soy.
• Green tea, matcha tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate.
• All legumes (including peanuts) and tree nuts (regular nuts).
• Citrus fruits, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, grapes, pears and fruit juice.
• Avocado, eggplant, spinach, olives, tomato and tomato products (ketchup, tomato juice).
• Vinegar, bouillon and broth.
• Smoked fish.
• Any alcohol.
• Junk foods or drinks that contain artificial colours or flavors.

Check for Vitamin C ( not ascorbic acid as it is often made form fermented corn etc) and B6 need. Check whether P5P is a better form of B6, as many people can’t use the normal supplement form well.  Herbs to dampen down histamine release and so the histamine response is also very useful.

Histamine levels and prostaglandin E1 levels tend to be linked. PGE1 is from Omega 6 oils.   Supplementation with Omega 3 oils can assist.

Abnormal histamine levels in the body and brain.

Histadelia (high histamine)

High histamine in the brain is known as Histadelia. Signs of it include hyperactivity, compulsive behaviour, black depression, obsession with sex, abnormal fears, compulsive rituals, crying easily, increased mucus production, thinking of suicide. People typically have a high arousal state, don’t sleep well, are prone to addiction issues and tend to want instant fixes. They tend to love alcohol for its ability to quieten the mind. Heightened sensitivity to pain is frequent. They often have good, cavity free teeth due to increased saliva production. They also tend to have less body hair, tend not to gain weight and have relatively long fingers and toes. A long second toe is common.

Depression and schizophrenia are common and can tend to run in the family.

Histadelia is a under-methylation issue so supplementing with nutrition to boost methylation is recommended[iii].   Vitamin C, Calcium (as a buffered vitamin C helps both) and methionine are useful. Zinc and B6 are needed too. Avoid folate. Folic acid tends to worsen symptoms considerably (at 15mg/day), indeed this is a useful diagnostic indicator.

In Patrick Holford’s Optimum nutrition for the mind[iv], the following suplements are recommended: A low protein, high complex carbohydrate diet is recommended. 2g/ day Vitamin C, 15mg zinc, 5mg manganese, 50mg B6. Some people may need double this. 500mg Calcium and 500mg methionine 2x day. He also suggests homocysteine lowering nutrients (B2, 6, methyl-12, TMG, folic acid in combination with these at or below 400mcg)

Methylation is a process involved in detoxification as well as other vital body processes so can be assisted by liver and detox support too.  The use of herbs to dampen down histamine responses and histamine release is useful too.

Histapenic (Low Histamine)

Histamine being too low also causes issues – paranoia, suspicion, ears ringing, may see or hear abnormally, make plans but can’t carry them out, high pain tolerance, hyperactivity in children. They also tend to have more body hair than the average and tend to be overweight. Dr. Linus Pauling in Orthomolecular Psychiatry gives us a composite case history of a low histamine person[v]:

“The patient is a hyperactive male child who is unnaturally healthy. For example, the rest of the family may get head colds, but this low histamine child misses the cold, or the virus infection fails to produce a rhinitis. He is hypo-allergic … he may show no signs of pain even when seriously bruised or when a venous blood sample is obtained. Corporal punishment is relatively useless because a slap causes little pain. The child is constantly active and sleeps poorly. His attention span is short so learning is poor. Although his ability in some areas may be high when tested, a high degree of disperceptions may be present, such as sensory, time, body, self, and perception of others.”

Children on a diet high in refined and junk food, and relatively low in protein are prone to low histamine. High copper and low zinc are highly linked to low histamine. Testing for copper levels can predict histamine. An antiepileptic drug, Dilantin, can also cause low histamine over time due to folic acid destruction.

Supplement with Vits B3, 6, 12 and folic acid, vitamin C, zinc and manganese. Increase protein in diet.

Histamine and Autism

Histamine in the brain stimulates the release of various neurotransmitters – seratonin, dopamine, noradrenaline.  The histaminergic system (HS) has a vital role in behaviour, cognition and sleep.Abnormalities in the HS are implicated in many neurological disorders such as Tourettes and ASD.

Diagram from Essia et al (2018)

The HS also mediates neuroinflammation, microglial activation and cytokine release in the brain via histamine receptors. Neuroinflammation, and the decreased neuronal connectivity due to microglial activation are features of autism. ASD brains do not have differences in the HS genes compared to normal brains, but did have very altered patterns of their expression, both in areas of the brain and volume of proteins[vi]. There appeared to be quite some similarity between ASD and TS here. It is also notable that asthma and allergies are more common in the ASD and TS populations, as would fit abnormailities in the HS, particularly higher histamine levels.. Looking at the role of Histamine in the central nervous system as having a significant role in neurological dysfunction, there are considerable overlaps in symptoms and genetic factors with Schizophrenia[vii].

Finally…

From this information, regulating the histamine system via nutritional, detox and dietary interventions should greatly help a large number of people with mind and body symptoms that have been hard to understand, and for those with neuropsyhiatric disorders.

[i] https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/related-conditions/histamine-toxicity

[ii] https://www.dietvsdisease.org/histamine-intolerance/

[iii] http://www.drkaslow.com/html/histadelia.html

[iv] Holford, P. Optimum nutrition for the mind. 2007

[v] http://www.joanmathewslarson.com/HRC_2006/Depression_06/D_roller_coaster.htm

[vi] Wright, C., Shin, J. H., Rajpurohit, A., Deep-Soboslay, A., Collado-Torres, L., Brandon, N. J., Hyde, T. M., Kleinman, J. E., Jaffe, A. E., Cross, A. J., … Weinberger, D. R. (2017). Altered expression of histamine signaling genes in autism spectrum disorder. Translational psychiatry, 7(5), e1126. doi:10.1038/tp.2017.87

[vii] Eissa, N., Al-Houqani, M., Sadeq, A., Ojha, S. K., Sasse, A., & Sadek, B. (2018). Current Enlightenment About Etiology and Pharmacological Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 304. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00304