The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

Hello, this is Karen Nichol, Family Nurse Practitioner, and you are listening to itchy and bitchy a podcast that provides answers to your many unanswered health questions.

I've spoken to many of you listeners out there about the comprehensive online course I have created to help address the symptoms that so many women experience in their 30s, 40s, and early 50s.

It has been an absolute joy to get to know some of you wonderful people.

I would love to have the opportunity to talk to more of you about the course to see if it is a right fit for you.

There is a link on our website itchy and bitchy.com and on our Facebook page I and B podcast where you can schedule an appointment for a Zoom call with me.

Again, this is a Zoom call with me. It is not a webinar. When you make an appointment, I will be sitting at my desk waiting for you to join the one-on-one Zoom call.

Today, I am going to talk to you about something called histamine intolerance.

Many of you might know the word, obviously, antihistamine like azuretech or alegra, claritan. I'm going to talk to you about histamine levels in the body.

histamine is a chemical that sends messages to the brain which signals the release of stomach acid for digestion and is released as part of the immune system's response to an injury or allergic reaction.

An intolerance to this chemical happens when the body cannot break down enough of it in the intestines causing histamine levels in the blood to rise.

We don't break it down in our gut so the levels in the blood will rise.

This typically results from having low levels of an enzyme that breaks down histamine.

Genetic predispositions are the most likely cause of having low levels of these important enzymes.

And one of those enzymes is diamine oxidase, abbreviated DAO, diamine oxidase, DAO.

It is the main enzyme that breaks down digested histamine. It is the predominant cause of histamine intolerance when we have low DAO levels.

Another enzyme that breaks down histamine in the body is called histamine in methyl transferase, histamine in methyl transferase, and that's abbreviated HNMT, which is the most active in the central nervous system, meaning the brain and the spinal cord.

So when there is insufficient HNMT made by the body, brain receptors are impacted.

So there may be an increase in the symptoms of histamine intolerance that can include neurologic symptoms like heightened anxiety, mood swings, and even Parkinson's disease.

I've talked to you in the past many times about MTHFR genetic mutations, and it is believed that around 50% of people have the MTHFR genetic mutation.

An MTHFR, which is methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, is an important enzyme that is of critical importance in the converting of folic acid into another essential compound that is needed for a process called methylation.

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