To stop histamine overproduction, the main strategy involves a low-histamine diet (avoiding fermented/aged foods, alcohol, some fruits/veg), managing stress, ensuring good sleep, and potentially using antihistamines or DAO enzyme supplements, ideally with professional guidance from a dietitian to identify triggers and maintain a balanced diet.
Stopping a histamine dump involves avoiding triggers such as high-histamine foods, reducing stress, and using antihistamine supplements or medications. Long-term management strategies include maintaining a low-histamine diet and improving gut health.
Medical Conditions
Autoimmune disorders affect immune system function, which might lead to more histamine being released (11). Another condition causing elevated histamine levels is mastocytosis, rare disorder involving abnormal mast cell growth—the cells that make and store histamine (12).
Many people believe they experience a “histamine dump.” This phenomenon usually happens at night when your body releases a sudden surge of histamine. A histamine dump can interrupt your sleep and cause headaches, flushing, itching, anxiety, and a racing heart.
Typical symptoms of histamine intoxication include rash, erythema, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sensation of burning in mouth, swelling of tongue and face, headaches, respiratory distress, palpitations and hypotension.
Histamine intolerance (HIT) is assumed to be due to a deficiency of the gastrointestinal (GI) enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) and, therefore, the food component histamine not being degraded and/or absorbed properly within the GI tract.
The most common symptoms are rash, flushing, headache, and diarrhea. Less common symptoms include abdominal cramps, blurred vision, cold-like sensation, dizziness, nausea, sweating, and tachycardia. Severe reactions cause angioedema, tongue swelling, respiratory distress, cardiac arrest, and death.
To clear histamine, focus on a low-histamine diet (fresh, unprocessed foods), manage stress, get quality sleep, stay hydrated, and consider supplements like DAO or quercetin with medical guidance, as histamine is a natural body chemical, not something to "flush out" but rather to manage through diet and lifestyle to reduce overload.
People with mastocytosis have an increased risk of developing a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction. This is known as anaphylaxis. The increased risk of anaphylaxis is caused by the abnormally high number of mast cells and their potential to release large amounts of histamine into the blood.
Symptoms typically last a few hours or a day. In rare cases, symptoms can persist for a few days. Diagnosing the condition is often based on circumstance. For instance, outbreaks of typical symptoms affecting several people who have eaten the same contaminated product most likely indicates histamine toxicity.
Dysbiosis, leaky gut, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can impair DAO production and lead to histamine buildup. Nutrient Deficiencies: DAO enzyme function depends on certain nutrients, particularly vitamin B6, copper, and vitamin C. Deficiencies in these nutrients can exacerbate histamine intolerance.
So if you suffer from histamine intolerance, you should prefer calmer sports such as strength training, Pilates or yoga. Interesting fact: Cardio training releases histamine and other inflammation substances, but the effect only takes temporary (up to 72 hours).
When your estrogen levels rise, you release more of your own histamine. Histamine then stimulates your ovaries to release more estrogen - thus setting off a vicious cycle. In addition, estrogen stops your DAO from working well. If you are intolerant to histamine, you will not tolerate your own estrogen very well.
Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a very common and well-known nutrient to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation. Vitamin C is also required to produce the necessary enzymes for the process of histamine breakdown, making it a vital anti-histamine nutrient.
While no single "most powerful" natural antihistamine is definitively crowned, Quercetin is widely considered the top contender, acting by stabilizing mast cells to prevent histamine release, with Vitamin C and Stinging Nettle also being very effective natural options for allergy relief, often used in combination with Quercetin in supplements. Other beneficial natural remedies include probiotics, bromelain (pineapple), ginger, and turmeric for reducing inflammation and symptoms.
A Low Histamine Diet
This diet reduces foods that are known to be higher in histamine. These include: Avocado.
The "worst" autoimmune diseases are subjective but often cited for severity, impact on life expectancy, or organ damage, with top contenders including Giant Cell Myocarditis (highly fatal), Vasculitis (damages blood vessels), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) (multi-organ), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (nervous system), and Type 1 Diabetes (pancreas, life-long management). Other severe conditions include Scleroderma and Myasthenia Gravis.
That would be for example a gastroenterologist if you have stomach or bowel problems, a dermatologist if you have skin problems, an allergologist or an immunologist, because they need to make sure that you don't have any other illness.
Vitamin B12 supports the methylation process—a biochemical pathway that helps the body detoxify and regulate histamine levels. When B12 is lacking, methylation slows down, leading to higher histamine concentrations in the blood.
Medications like cromolyn sodium prevent mast cells from releasing histamine. Some food components called flavonoids — like luteolin and quercetin — have a similar effect.
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are known for their potential to support immune function and help manage inflammation. Using 3-5 grams of combined EPA and DHA daily may help manage symptoms associated with histamine overload.
If you are experiencing symptoms of high histamine, taking proactive steps to improve your gut health may just reduce those symptoms and discomfort. Targeted dietary changes, stress management and lifestyle adjustments, can all contribute to a healthy gut microbiome and reduce histamine intolerance symptoms.
Our study proved that amitriptyline enhances the histamine degrading processes in guinea pig, what might importantly contribute to lower histamine levels.
Cortisol, a stress hormone, does not directly trigger histamine release. However, stress may exacerbate allergic reactions, possibly through the impact of cortisol on the immune system. Therefore, while cortisol doesn't directly cause histamine release, it can potentially influence allergic responses.
Some possible causes that are being studied include: Heredity – Family history of food or environmental allergies. Location – Moving to a new location can seemingly increase your allergies due to new exposures. Some environmental allergies can also be culprits in triggering food allergy.