How to support your mood #10: histamine & mood.

As well as the itchiness, rashes and runny nose we associate with histamine, there is the lesser known, but equally troublesome, impact of histamine upon mood and sleep.

I’ve written before about how oestrogen upregulates histamine release and downregulates the DAO enzyme responsible for degrading histamine in the gut. This oestrogen/histamine vicious cycle can contribute to difficulties settling into a supportive HRT regime and an array of unpleasant symptoms.

These unwelcome symptoms can include eczema, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, asthma, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, migraine, difficulties with memory and concentration and insomnia, as well as anxiety and depression.

The mast cells which break down to release histamine have both oestrogen and progesterone receptors.

Oestrogen causes the mast cells to breakdown to release histamine, whereas progesterone is supposed to stabilise mast cells and stop histamine release. Progesterone is also supposed to upregulate the DAO enzyme which is responsible for breaking down histamine in the gut.

However, in cases of progesterone intolerance it appears that the body is reacting to progesterone as though it were a foreign allergen (like pollen). (This is also called progesterone hypersensitivity in the literature).

This situation can be made worse by genetic SNPs (variations in our DNA) on the enzymes which breakdown histamine. As well as DAO, the enzymes NAT2, HNMT, MTHFR, MAOB, ALDH2 and GPX1 are also involved in histamine breakdown and clearance.

SNPs on any (or all!) of these enzymes may result in histamine being cleared more slowly than desirable with the unwelcome consequence that histamine-driven symptoms take longer to disappear. Caffeine and alcohol also slow down histamine degradation. Poor availability of the co-factors which the enzymes need to work efficiently can make histamine degradation even slower still (think vitamins B2, B5, B6, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc).

So, where to start?

If you suspect that histamine and/or progesterone intolerance are impacting your mood, I recommend ordering both the Histamine Report and the Hormones Report from Lifecode Gx. Once we know which of your enzymes need support to function efficiently, we can make a carefully targeted plan to help you avoid whichever undesirable symptoms are being triggered by your histamine burden.

If you’d like to order the Lifecode Gx reports, please book a free Zoom call with me and we can discuss which reports will be most helpful to you.

Sources:

Foer, D. and Buchheit, K.M. (2019) ‘Progestogen hypersensitivity: presentation and natural history’, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 122(2), pp. 156-159.