Can Bone Broth Help My Histamine Intolerance?
A histamine intolerance has become quite common for people, although it is still considered rare with apparently 1% of the population suffering from it. Unfortunately, many doctors will not recognise this condition and are therefore unable to help you treat it. It’s not because they don’t want to help, but more because they don’t know how. Having been contacted recently by a few of my customers, I felt that it was really important to cover this as a topic, as it is related to poor digestive health, but can bone broth help my histamine intolerance? Despite belief, bone broth can help. Please read on…
First of all, I will cover a bit more about histamine intolerance.
What is a histamine intolerance?
A histamine intolerance can present symptoms that can be distressing for you. It is not a well-documented condition and is considered rare but is mostly common in people who have developed too much histamine in their body, as opposed to not enough.
Histamine is a nitrogenous compound (simple terms means that it is made of mostly nitrogen). Nitrogen is important in the life cycle and the human body needs it for protein synthesis, amino acids, the function of the immune system, the brain and hormones [1]. Drugs, medical conditions, the environment, nutritional deficiencies, and diet can lead to histamine intolerance [2]. The body gets all the histamine it needs from its cells, but histamine is also found in certain foods. [3]
What causes histamine intolerance?
As with most conditions, it always relates to the health of the digestive system. It is only through up-to-date science and research that we are understanding the importance of having a healthy gut. Let’s take a closer look at the link.
Having a histamine intolerance means that a digestive enzyme responsible for breaking down histamine found in food is not working as efficiently as it should. This enzyme is called diamine oxidase, or DAO, and is the primary enzyme that breaks down ingested histamine. I believe that digestive enzymes become deficient because of gut inflammation. Inflammation of the gut raises the temperature and as a result, enzymes become denatured, meaning they are no longer efficient. Therefore, focusing your diet on anti-inflammatory food is important.
It’s also important to mention that some conditions and some medications can prohibit the efficiency of DAO. Here is a list of other interferences [4]:
Common factors that interfere with DAO and HMNT levels include many prescription drugs, for example:
- airway medications, such as theophylline
- heart medications
- antibiotics
- antidepressants
- antipsychotics
- diuretics
- muscle relaxants
- pain medications
- gastrointestinal medicines
- nausea and gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD
- malaria drugs
- tuberculosis medications
The list also includes over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and painkillers, such as:
- acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
- indomethacin (Indocin)
- diclofenac (Voltaren)
- naproxen
Other influencing factors include:
- alcohol
- intestinal conditions or injuries that compromise the gut lining and affect digestion
- liver conditions
- vitamin B-6, vitamin C, copper, or zinc deficiencies
- extreme or chronic stress
- low oxygen states
- injury or trauma
- temperature extremes
A lot of food and drink contain histamine. Higher histamine levels are produced the longer you cook food, and this is why people may have reactions to some foods that are cooked or left to ferment for longer periods. This includes fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, cheese, alcohol, yoghurt and pickled foods [5]. Junk food and refined foods can also cause digestive problems, but this could be associated with gut inflammation rather than histamine.
Can bone broth help my histamine intolerance?
Unfortunately, due to the censorship of bone broth in the UK and Europe this article does not contain any information about bone broth and histamine intolerance. Bone broth has not been approved for making health statements due to a lack of science and a lack of support for science for this nourishing drink. Getting food products approved on the health register is extremely complicated, difficult, and expensive. We would love to pursue the ability to make health statements about our products, but we have been stopped at all given opportunity. No universities want to work with us, no hospitals want to work with us, no scientists and no doctors. After years of applying for funding, support from the industry and much more, we have been refused and any time we try, we are instantly shut down.
How else can I improve the symptoms of my histamine intolerance?
As the body is unable to produce enough of the DAO digestive enzyme, taking a DAO supplement with your meals could help (except broth). Supplements should only be taken for a maximum of 12 weeks at a time.
Taking a B6 vitamin could also help, as well as taking milk thistle supplements for the same amount of time.