Histamine, a natural compound that is a key factor in digestion, is an important neurotransmitter and an essential component of immunological protection. Unfortunately it can get out of balance for many resulting in any variety of symptoms .
People who have difficulty balancing histamine levels in their body or histamine intolerance (also known as HIT) might get annoying reactions like stuffy nose, red eyes, itchy skin or hives. Other common symptoms are gastric hypersecretion manifested with stomach pain (especially when eating), diarrhea, nausea and migraines.
Research supports that oral supplementation with the DAO (diamine oxidase), the enzyme that degrades food-derives histamine, can improve symptoms in patients with histamine intolerance.
Research Shows Diamine Oxidase Supplementation Improves Symptoms in Patients with Histamine Intolerance
“All symptoms improved significantly during the [4 week] oral supplementation of DAO. During the follow-up period, without DAO supplementation, the symptoms sum scores increased again. The symptom intensity score was reduced for all symptoms. We have demonstrated, a significant reduction of every HIT-related symptom and its intensity due to DAO oral supplements.” — Read the full study.
A second study also concluded that people who exhibited a histamine intolerance, the majority of whom had lower serum DAO levels, benefited from DAO supplementation.
Excerpt:
Intolerance to various foods, excluding bona fide coeliac disease and lactose intolerance, represents a growing cause of patient visits to allergy clinics. Histamine intolerance is a long-known, multifaceted clinical condition triggered by histamine-rich foods and alcohol and/or by drugs that liberate histamine or block diamine oxidase (DAO), the main enzyme involved in the metabolism of ingested histamine. Histamine limitation diets impose complex, non-standardized restrictions that may severely impact the quality of life of patients.
We found that 10 out of 14 patients had serum DAO activity<10 U/mL, which was the threshold suggested as a cutoff for probable histamine intolerance.
Moreover, 13 out of 14 patients subjectively reported a benefit in at least one of the disturbances related to food intolerances following diamine oxidase supplementation.
Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2016 Mar;29(1):105-11. doi: 10.1177/0394632015617170. Epub 2015 Nov 16., Manzotti G, Breda D, Di Gioacchino M, Burastero SE
More About Histamine
Our bodies need histamine in balance. The two ways to maintain histamine balance are through histamine intake and histamine degradation and removal from the body.
The body gets rid of histamine through a chemical reaction that requires an enzyme called DAO (diamine oxidase). DAO is referred to as the histamine neutralizing enzyme. You naturally make the DAO enzyme in your intestinal mucosa cells.
However, you can have low DAO enzyme activity for many reasons, including poor gut health and inflammatory GI diseases that affect the integrity of the gut lining. (Typically, we also naturally make less DAO as we age.) The Umbrellux DAO supplement is designed to boost DAO levels in the body.
Several nutrient cofactors are also necessary to support the DAO pathway including iron, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, copper and Vitamin C.
A second pathway in the body’s tissues also degrades histamine — via the HNMT – Histamine N-Methyltransferase enzyme. The B vitamins, especially Vitamins B12, Folate and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) are essential nutrient cofactors for the HNMT pathway.
The Histamine Cascade Sequence….From Mast Cells to an Out of Control Inflammatory Response
When there is a foreign intruder, the body first sends a chemical signal to a type of white blood cell called mast cells, to release histamines.
This is part of a natural, healthy inflammatory response that signals other chemicals from your immune system to step in to address the intruder and do repair work. However, when the onslaught of foreign intruders becomes chronic, (such as when there is a leaky gut barrier), the inflammatory response can get out of control and the release of histamines can overwhelm the body.
Read more about the science behind the histamine cascade.
