Histamine

Multiple Allergies

Responding to nurses' questionnaires in hospital, I noticed that patients often said that they are prone to multiple Allergies. I could have told them that, in fact, there is only one issue, that is, histamine sensitivity.

Floyd Chilton

Floyd Chilton was a robust teenager, but his sister, Daisy, suffered from chronic infantile rheumatism. Floyd noticed that foods which his medical advisers encouraged Daisy to eat (e.g. Salmon) made her worse rather than better. When Floyd became a medical research scientist, he discovered that the problem was farmed salmon, not wild salmon. Farmed salmon (in America) is fed on sunflower seeds, leading to an excess of Omega 6 oils, which causes sensivity (to Histamine)  in some people, leading inflammations such as rheumatism, Arthritis, Asthma, Hay fever, Mouth-ulcers, Migraine, etc.  

Chilton later went off the rails somewhat when he sought to establish a general theory of inflammation, (in his book "Inflammation Nation"), instead of focusing on the small percentage of people that are histamine-sensitive. Chilton surmised that Cholesterol is a general cause of inflammtion. He included eggs (inter alia) among the forbidden foods. Eggs, however, are not Inflammatory, but additives used in the American fowl industry (but not in Europe) are. 

The Genesis of Histamine

When Fish or Meat is slaughtered, Histamine immediately begins to accumulate, ever more rapidly, in the flesh, unless refrigerated. In the European Union, Histamine is well controlled by universal refrigeration, not so in other parts of the world. 

The smoking, preservation, fermentation, or maturation of food makes them rich in Histamine, as do many additives.

All fruit, once harvested, will detiorate, and will also develop an excess of Histamine, if not kept cool and fresh.

Histamine is actually present in every cell of the human body and plays an important role in the immune system, triggering Inflammation in response to bacteria, viruses or fungi. An overactive immune system, however, causes undue release of Histamine, resulting in unwanted inflammation. Most people are blessed with enzymes that neutralise the excess Histamine. Others need to be alert to avoid excessive Histamine in food.,

The foods to avoid are preserved, matured and processed foods, as well as over-ripe fruit and all left-overs, unless kept refrigerated, and many additives.

Neither Sugar nor white Bread contain Histamine. However these cause a glucose spike that invariably sets off a Histamine trigger. 

Some fruit and vegetables, like tomatoes, strawberries and spinache, are often cited as histamine-rich, but this is only so when the fruit is over-ripe. Firm, fresh, fruit is safe. Spinache, while histamine-rich, is not a problem, because the histamine is there controlled by other nutrients.

Red meat is also often cited as histamine-rich, but this is because American meat often contains offending additives.

The answer to histamine sensitivity is to stick to fresh meat, fish, eggs, fruit, legumes and vegetables, and avoid all sugar and wheat (unless genuinly fully-whole-grain).