How to support your mood #11: target your inflammation.

Fascinating research suggests that inflammation triggers histamine release which then:

i.      Dampens serotonin release, and

ii.     Inhibits SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) - intended to make our serotonin hang around for longer.

Although the research has only been done in mice so far, these mechanisms make sense.

Inflammation means that the immune system has been activated and this immune response triggers the release of histamine. The role of histamine is to increase blood flow to the area of the body which is under attack, so that there are sufficient immune cells present to mount an effective response. This is beneficial in the case of infections where the immune cells manage to shut down the infection promptly. However, inflammation can also be triggered by stress, blood sugar instability, incomplete digestion, food intolerances, constipation and the allergens which we encounter daily. So, if we are in a perpetual state of inflammation, with upregulated histamine release, this can have a massive impact on our mood.

Serotonin is our happy hormone. SSRIs such as Sertraline allow our serotonin to stay in circulation for longer to dampen anxiety and boost mood. However, research suggests that ‘there is no reliable evidence that long-term antidepressant treatment is beneficial and there are legitimate concerns that it may be largely ineffective’ (Hengartner, 2020).

Why might that be?

It is possible that when an inflammatory response triggers the release of histamine in our brains, the histamine directly prevents serotonin release (by attaching to inhibitory receptors on serotonin neurones).

It is also possible that SSRIs increase the amount of histamine in the brain, which then prevents the release of serotonin. Therefore, there is much less serotonin around for the SSRIs to protect. Of course, this then has an adverse impact on mood.

The researchers suggest that these findings in mice, if translated to humans, could lead to the development of new drugs which reduce histamine in the brain.

I say we need to go upstream and look at cutting off inflammation at source. If what the research is saying is correct, if we can inhibit inflammation, we inhibit histamine release and we remove the barrier to serotonin release and support the action of SSRIs (if prescribed). This could have a considerable impact upon our mood. 

Let’s look at our histamine buckets.

Reducing our histamine burden and doing all we can to identify and remove our inflammatory triggers may go a long way towards boosting our mood.

Any questions, do not hesitate to ask below.

If you’d like to get to work, please book a free Zoom call with me and we can make a plan of attack:

Sources:

Hersey, M. et. al. (2022) ‘A tale of two transmitters: serotonin and histamine as in vivo biomarkers of chronic stress in mice’, Journal of Neuroinflammation, 19, 167.

Hengartner, M. (2020) ‘How effective are antidepressants for depression over the long term? A critical review of relapse prevention trials and the issue of withdrawal confounding’, Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, doi: 10.1177/2045125320921694.