The K6 Wellness Revolution
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The K6 Wellness Revolution
Not Just Allergies: The Hidden Impact of Histamines and MCAS on Your Health
Are your mysterious health problems actually histamine intolerance or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome? Those unexplained allergic reactions, chronic inflammation, digestive issues, headaches, skin problems, and fatigue might all stem from a common source—an immune system that's gone into overdrive, reacting too intensely to harmless triggers.
Sharon and Elena dive deep into the complex world of histamines and mast cells, explaining why these natural components of your immune system can sometimes go haywire, creating cascading symptoms that affect multiple body systems simultaneously. You'll discover why conventional allergy testing often misses MCAS and why seemingly healthy habits might be making your symptoms worse.
We break down the surprising truth about "health foods" that can trigger histamine reactions—bone broth, kombucha, avocados, aged cheeses, and fermented vegetables top the list. If your morning green smoothie leaves you feeling worse, not better, this episode reveals why. We explore personalized approaches to managing histamine overload, emphasizing that genetic factors determine which supplements and treatments work best for each individual.
Beyond diet, we share practical environmental modifications, stress management techniques, and innovative therapies like neural therapy that can help reset overactive immune responses. This conversation balances scientific understanding with practical, actionable advice for anyone struggling with histamine intolerance or suspected MCAS. Whether you're dealing with seasonal allergies that never seem to end or mysterious multi-system symptoms that conventional medicine hasn't solved, this episode offers hope through a root-cause approach to immune balance.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not medical advice – we do not diagnose or prescribe. This conversation is for educational purposes only. Please seek advice from your health practitioner.
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Welcome to the K6 Wellness Revolution podcast. I'm Elena, one of the practitioners here at K6 Wellness Center in Dallas, Texas, where we blend trusted expertise, compassionate care and a passion for helping you achieve optimal health, because wellness isn't just a goal, it's a revolution. Today, we're diving into a topic that affects so many people, especially during allergy season histamines and mast cell activation syndrome, or MCAS for short. If you've ever struggled with unexplained allergy-like symptoms, food sensitivities, skin issues or chronic inflammation, there's a good chance that histamines and overactive mast cells are playing a role. But what if there was a way to balance your body naturally and get to the root cause of these issues? To help us break it all down, I'm, of course, joined by Sharon, our fearless leader of K6 Wellness.
Speaker 1:Sharon and I have worked with countless clients dealing with histamine intolerance and mast cell activation, and today we're going to share our expertise and knowledge on how a holistic, naturopathic approach can help stabilize histamine levels, support immune function and reduce unwanted symptoms of getting to the root cause. So, whether you're dealing with seasonal allergies, chronic inflammation or unexplained sensitivities, this episode is for you. Let's get started. So, Sharon, why don't you kick us off with? Well, what the heck are histamines? That's a good question.
Speaker 2:I think everybody hears histamines. I'm like, oh yeah, it's a histamine reaction. But histamines are basically chemical compounds that our body creates and they play a crucial role in immune system function role in immune system function With regard to allergies. They promote inflammation and that happens by, like, dilating the blood vessels. You have increased blood flow, but you have it for a reason because that histamine reaction, by dilating blood vessels, it allows white blood cells, which are our immune system in action, to reach an infection or a site of injury and then start repairing that site or the injury or whatever. So histamines also do other things. We need histamines because it stimulates stomach acid production, which helps us digest our food, and if you don't digest your food, you can't absorb the nutrition from your food. But histamines also act as neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord and they help regulate sleep and appetite and a lot of other functions. And so I think in the context of this conversation, we're going to be looking at histamines not as the public enemy number one, because it's important to realize that anything our body makes is not all bad. It's not always all good, but people who become intolerant to histamines are actually experiencing their bodies not being able to break down those histamines. It's not that, oh, you make histamines, oh no, Everybody makes histamines.
Speaker 2:That can lead to allergic reaction type symptoms like watery eyes, a runny nose or GERD or reflux is one of them, Also urticaria or hives, itchy skin, things like that. So allergies in and of themselves it's a reaction to just something benign. I mean, it could be like a pollen or a food and it can result in you know those symptoms that we just talked about. But if you think about it, especially here in Texas, like ragweed, mountain cedar, those are things that we hear about a lot, right, and everybody complains about congestion and a runny nose and hay fever cedar fever as it's called in Central Texas and it's from histamines. But it's not because cedar is poisonous. Cedar actually makes a great closet. Right, we put cedar in our closets to keep bugs out, Helps, keep the moths away. But allergies are definitely just an over-response. Usually it's a histamine-mediated reaction and histamines are a needed substance in our body. But it can get out of hand and that's where we're going to go with a conversation today, and that's histamines, right?
Speaker 1:There's such a confusion over exact histamines or mast cell reaction.
Speaker 1:So I think it's important to understand how mast cells function and what their significance is in allergic reactions, Because a mast cell is a type of white blood cell that your immune system makes, and it's found in mucosal and epithelial tissues throughout your body and all the areas that create a barrier between you and the outside environment, which are your skin, nasal passages, your GI brain, et cetera. They help protect you from parasites, bacteria and even toxins. You find them anywhere there is interaction between you and the environment. Toxins you find them anywhere there is interaction between you and the environment. So, when a threat is encountered, mass cells release substances that create an inflammatory response in order to neutralize the threat. You know they act like a shield in the best of circumstances and they burn down their own house in the worst of circumstances. I always picture a person lighting their shirt on fire in order to kill a mosquito that landed on their shirt.
Speaker 2:That is MCAS, and so MCAS is the acronym for mass cell activation syndrome, like you just mentioned. And when somebody's suffering from MCAS, I mean basically they're in a state of immune system dysregulation and they're burning the house down. I always think of those. I think we see all this hyperbolic or these crazy analogies, like people lighting themselves on fire to get rid of a bug or something like that. It's kind of crazy, but typical allergic reactions or an allergic response by the body, they go away on their own right. Like people say well, I had allergies yesterday but I'm better today. Or I had this itchy spot but it's gone. And your immune system or your histamine response is supposed to kind of act like the police right or a security guard. It's like they show up when there's a problem and then they go away. They fix the problem and they go away.
Speaker 2:If you have dysfunctional mast cells or a dysfunctional mast cell system, there's really no back off mode, right, it just keeps attacking and your mast cells release mediators that we consider them to be toxins, and they're the soldiers like keep fighting, keep fighting, don't stop, don't stop. Well, mast cell activation syndrome in and of itself keeps you in this inflamed state where you just continue to react to everything, you eventually begin to feel like you're allergic to everything in life, right, and I think you know especially like 20 years ago we called it multiple chemical sensitivities Just it was a very broad term like environmental illness. But I wonder how much of that is really just like mast cell activation syndrome in people who are very sensitive. Because, two, this affects multiple systems. It affects your gut immune axis. It gets noticed via the release of histamines which can affect, you know, ear, nose and throat, skin, gut, and I think that it's important to know. Okay, yes, there is this thing Just because you have a histamine reaction doesn't mean you have mast cell activation syndrome, but also the reverse of that is true.
Speaker 2:You don't actually have to have allergic symptoms to have MCAS. Some MCAS patients don't even test positive for allergies and we see that a lot People who get blood tests and that would be like an IgE test there's no immunoglobulin E and it's like technically then there's no allergy and it's like technically then there's no allergy. But MCAS is when it gets going. It's kind of like you turn the stereo up and you broke the knob and now you can't turn the volume down on your stereo and you really want it to be quiet and it won't be quiet. And that's kind of what happens with our immune system. It's like you can't figure out one thing to fix the whole situation. It just keeps going and going and going and the volume just is loud, loud, loud, with immune system overreaction.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's where understanding some of the common symptoms associated with MCAS can be helpful, because in the world that we're in right, we're dealing with a lot of people who have been to everyone else first and they come to us and we want to look outside of the box. So considering MCAS is an important thing that I always like to do. I know you too, Sharon, and a lot of the common symptoms associated with MCAS. They're symptoms that are just easy to think that something else is wrong. But some of the most common symptoms are basically allergy symptoms of hives and rash, but eczema, reddening of the skin, maybe dizziness and migraines, just to name a few. But migraines, they're actually almost always a result of histamine intolerance or MCAS. But some of the more serious symptoms that you can experience are tachycardia, low blood pressure, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, feeling winded, constipation or diarrhea Imagine that. But some of the more overlooked symptoms are edema, that's, swelling of your arms and legs or just the whole body, but swelling of the tissue, but also fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep apnea, insomnia, heat or cold intolerance, chemical sensitivity, irregular, heavy painful periods for women, and then also like digestive bloating.
Speaker 1:So to the untrained eye it can take time to isolate these issues down to mast cell activation, because that covers a lot of different systems. A good indication, though, is if these problems all become chronic and if the symptoms begin to build on each other, and my favorite rule of thumb is that if two or more systems in the body are having symptoms, you probably have MCATs. And you know, is everyone at risk for it? No, not everyone's at risk for histamine intolerance either, but some people have a predisposition, and you know, MCAS can express itself with a genetic predisposition, but also from exposures. Toxins are a big one, and you know, when the mast cells become dysfunctional to a point where they don't turn off, that's when you start getting these symptoms stacked on top of each other. And hey, it's important to remember, though, that even past emotional traumas and upsets can act as a trigger or added assault to the immune system.
Speaker 2:That's true. I mean, the emotional assaults are just as real as an infection or a physical reaction to a food, if you will. And those allergic symptoms that we get are the outward manifestation of elevated histamines. Right, whether it's itchy skin or sneezing or watery eyes or GERD. If your histamine production's increased, of course, those outward allergy symptoms, whatever your flavor is, is going to likely increase as well. So you know, it could be the itching, it could be hives, it could be a flushing right when you're, just like I have hot flashes or I turn red and I can't control it Headaches, like you said, and migraines and then just general congestion. I think it's very easy for people to just excuse round.
Speaker 2:It's more likely to be food and not environmental or pollen related, but boy, has the face of of health changed. I think the whole paradigm is very different and that's because of the increased number of toxins that we have in our environment. But you know, we have to look a little more closely. If you're presenting, I think, for our listeners out there, if you're presenting with rapid heart rate or tachycardia, if you've got ongoing GERD no matter how you change your diet, or the hives and the flushing, the headaches and nothing makes it go away you've got to really consider is this more than just histamine? Or is maybe my immune system a little more involved than I realized?
Speaker 1:Well, and it isn't easy to test for a specific histamine or MCAS number, which can make it a little difficult because histamines themselves don't last in circulation very long before the body clears them out. So when you're testing blood levels it's not going to be very helpful or accurate, because typically a histamine sensitive or MCAS person is going to experience a flare up that then subsides to a more manageable state until the next exposure. You can always look at the inflammatory markers in labs, but even then I don't think that's always helpful or accurate. I find the symptoms themselves to be a lot more telling than anything. And when you have a practitioner who's familiar with MCAS which I like to think that you and I are we know how to spot the sooner than later. Therefore, we are able to begin supporting it right away, or at least sooner than later.
Speaker 2:Right. And because we are in functional medicine, because we're a holistic health coach, we're a traditional naturopath. Yes, I'm a family nurse practitioner, but nobody lands here at K6 Wellness Center on your first go right. You're here because somebody else at least one somebody else wasn't able to solve your problem, am I right?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:It's the chronic, chronic unresolved health issues that we see. So when we hear somebody talk about what we've just discussed, like Elena's saying you know, um, the ongoing problems with test results that don't necessarily correlate with the physical symptomology, I mean our spidey senses are all over it because it's like, ooh, this might be the immune system, right, it could be MCAS. But yeah, and you have to consider if you're a person, if you're listening to this and you're like, wow, I wonder if I have this. I mean, again, there's no MCAS test, right, but you've got to consider how do you respond to pollen in the air? But even things like chemicals, especially the scented products and I always ask people if I am suspecting phenolics and phenolics are biochemical derivatives of a lot of chemical compounds that are found in nature, but it's also synthetic fragrances. But even like the smell of cut grass is a phenolic, right. But chemicals and scented products, especially the synthetic ones, foods, pesticides, herbicides, vocs, things like that those can definitely trigger a mast cell response. Heavy metals and mold toxins can too. Weather changes, where the barometric pressure is changing or we have higher or lower humidity, that can be a problem. But even things like breast implants for women, it's a foreign object right that can be a toxin to a very aggravated immune system.
Speaker 2:And dental materials, some dental implants, surgical meshes we see a lot of men who have hernia repairs with the surgical mesh and they come back years later and they're like I have all this pain and they don't feel like it was. It was fine for a while and then it wasn't fine and I think more advances are being made in this arena. But it's hard, with meshes specifically, just to go down a little rabbit trail because once you've implanted something in the body it's kind of hard to just go take it out, especially if you're covering up, you know, a hernia or a tear in a wall, that mesh you can't just pull it out. So person who say may have just been susceptible to histamine reactions could, with any of these exposures, now become a very sensitive person to not just one or two things but seemingly everything in their environment, everything they eat, everything they smell, everything they touch.
Speaker 1:Well, and the food is a big one. There's a lot of high histamine foods that a healthy person can handle, no problem. But if you have a susceptibility and or you have been exposed to a toxin or an experience that is going to trigger this, some of these healthy foods that we eat and promote in the health world have high levels of histamines, and some of these all right. So alcohol, that one's not too surprising.
Speaker 1:Alcohol is shocking right, but beer, wine and champagne are going to be the worst. And processed meats those aren't really healthy for anyone, but it could also be smoked or cured meats. And then cheeses that's a big one. Aged cheese is very high histamine. And then how about this one? Avocados? They're a healthy food, right? Well, good fiber If you can handle the histamines. They are naturally high in histamines. And then some vegetables like, well, tomatoes kind of technically a fruit, but we'll call it vegetables tomatoes, eggplant and spinach. And then other very healthy things, some tropical fruits like pineapples and bananas and papaya, or citrus fruits and strawberries. You know these are common health foods. Then, hey, they get even better Fish. Not everyone loves fish, but that can be high histamine. The really surprising ones are bone broth, kombucha, sourdough bread and all fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. These things have naturally high levels of histamine and if you have a hard time breaking them down or your threshold has been lowered, these health foods could actually exacerbate all of your symptoms.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting too to me, you know, when we consider the high histamine foods and I actually just finished with a client earlier talking about histamines and you know we're seeing all this finally like on this low histamine lifestyle and all of these GI problems are now resolving and endoscopies are looking better and it's like oh yay, we're making progress. But when you look at the foods that you have to avoid, it's like whoa, these are healthy foods, like you were saying. You know the fruits and the vegetables. But it's interesting too because there's overlap If you look at a lot of problems with people, not just with mast cell activation, but it plays in or overlaps with, like oxalates intolerant people and then even people who tend to have gout or uric acid buildup and you get these crystals because they can't eat high purine foods and they should be eating, you know, no smoked or cured foods. You know, yeah, wine and beer. You know the fermented or distilled.
Speaker 2:well, I guess not distilled right, because tequila and vodka are technically better, it's important to know but it is interesting that what's healthy for one person, you know, not necessarily healthy for another person, and some people do have to form their diet around a more low histamine diet, and that's something that we try to be aware of with people. How do you feel when you eat this food? Because a lot of times when you're in it and everything you eat has a lot of histamines, maybe because you're a vegetarian or vegan, because isn't dairy also a higher histamine food and you know, is it?
Speaker 2:is it the histamine or is it a true food allergy?
Speaker 2:And sometimes it takes working with somebody very experienced to be able to differentiate out. With somebody very experienced to be able to differentiate out, you know an allergic or intolerant reaction, sensitive reaction, that maybe you're just lacking some enzymes, or maybe you need a probiotic, or maybe you have some histamine issues. But I think another component that we have to discuss is hydration, because truly everything works better in your body when it's hydrated. And especially if you're eating an inflammatory diet and I would consider or define an inflammatory diet as a diet that includes a lot of processed foods, or just one that's deficient with healthy proteins and healthy fats and healthy sources of fiber like fruits and vegetables, that would be an inflammatory diet. Things with lots of labels, right, and of course added sugars and chemicals would fall in there.
Speaker 2:But if you're eating an inflammatory diet, your body's defenses are going to stay in this constant state of inflammation, like the guard is always up. We are ready to fight, and that can really set you up for a failing immune system or even autoimmune symptoms. And you know tests for autoimmunity that come back positive or inconclusive or non-specific, but it's important to understand that. Wow, yeah, your body is angry and inflamed and we can see it too with some of our other testing, like the thermography testing. It'll just show high levels of hyperregulation, if you will, but I think it's helpful to know.
Speaker 2:Hey, you know, these are some of the higher histamine foods, because, for all of you listeners out there, if you're going, oh, do I have hay fever, or is it the food? Is it the histamine in the food or is it the food? Is it the histamine in the food? Pay attention to how you respond to these foods. You know, go back, rewind, listen to these foods. You can even look up, you know, do a Google search on high histamine foods and then start paying attention to how your body reacts when you eat those foods.
Speaker 1:And you know we listed the foods, but I want to just reiterate some of these health foods that people can overdo and not realize that that's what's keeping them from losing weight. I think the most common combination is a bone broth, protein smoothie with spinach, bananas and avocado.
Speaker 2:It's one of my favorite.
Speaker 1:I know it's yummy, it's delicious, but I've had so many people make smoothies with that every morning and then, when we discover that histamines might be a problem and I say, hey, let's just try not doing that for a week or two, it is unbelievable how quickly they notice results. Or for the people whose allergies just won't clear up in allergy season. You know allergies are common, but they aren't normal right.
Speaker 1:So just to our listeners if that's your morning smoothie and you think you might have a histamine problem, you can try removing that before you even come see us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think you and I like we've done the gene tests and stuff and things that I feel great on, you're like uh-uh, I can't.
Speaker 1:Right? Well, and you know the same applies to supplements, right? There's a lot of different supplements and herbs that are really effective in supporting the body's immune response to histamines and MCAS, but they're not going to be the same thing for everyone. The best example is the most popular and potent natural antihistamine, quercetin. And it can be amazing, right, you do love it. I do not, because I've learned it's not amazing for everyone.
Speaker 1:I had experienced this personally but I didn't understand why, like why, did I always feel so awful on quercetin? Then I did my genetic test and discovered that my genetics don't do well with high-dose, long-term use of quercetin as my histamine or immune defense. So I'm always very careful with quercetin until I know a person's genetics, because I don't want to do to anyone what I've experienced and done to myself. So I you know a little tidbit.
Speaker 1:One of the safest approaches that I like to use is DAO enzymes. Those are typically safe for everyone. I always say consult your practitioner first, but those are typically a safer thing for breaking down histamines in the food that you might be consuming. And of course, there could always be a unicorn out there listening who could react to even those. But to date, all of my clients have done really well with this and it's once again going to be helpful for what you're consuming, more than the histamines in the air. But you've got to start somewhere and DAO enzymes can be very helpful for onset of migraines which, like I said earlier, are usually triggered by histamines.
Speaker 2:And it's so interesting because used to like before I even heard of MCAS, I had learned in school that for any migraine or headache, if you take a thousand milligrams of quercetin and a thousand milligrams of CoQ10, which is an extraordinary amount of- both it'll kill almost every headache and I have found that to be true. But there are a handful of people through the years where I've told that to and they're like that did not help.
Speaker 1:I want to go back. It could be the right remedy for a migraine perhaps, but maybe they're one of those people who don't handle the quercetin. Yeah yeah, and you know a couple other little tidbits. I just love to throw out there that even menstrual cramps can be triggered by histamines and exacerbated by histamines. So the DAO enzymes can be very helpful for any of you ladies out there who maybe experience bad menstrual cramps around your cycle, and progesterone can also be very helpful with MCAS. However, you do always want to consult a healthcare provider before you begin any sort of hormone support like that, because, once again, it's not going to be one size fits all.
Speaker 2:Right, and some people just don't respond as well to herbals or nutritional supplements like they do to pharmaceuticals, especially in the histamine category. For years we have told people look, quercetin and nettles is a great natural antihistamine, antihistamine. But if you can't tell a difference we should probably try a second generation antihistamine. I don't, I try not to use Benadryl just because those first generation antihistamines tend to make you really drowsy. And if you have to, you know function. It's going to be difficult, but there are. You know, when I say second generation histamine, I'm personally a little partial to levocetirazine, but even some of the and that's like Zizol, but Allegra or Claritin or Zyrtec or you know, some of those types of medications do actually work better for some histamine intolerant people or histamine overloaded people or MCAS patients, and it's sometimes it's trial and error. Sometimes you just have to keep trying until you find what works best for you, because it's not about a protocol, it's. You know, ultimately you're a unique individual and how you got to where you are is your your own journey.
Speaker 2:So we want to give you the thing that works for you and not make you try to fit into a mold that we've preformed because you're not going to feel better and it just won't give us the result that we want. But you know, ultimately with with MCAS, we can remove the triggers, which is smart. We can remove the triggers, which is smart. We can cure infections, we can manage symptoms right With enzymes, with the antihistamines, but sometimes those mast cells still don't want to calm down and that is, I think that's where we really see the become chronic for people, don't you agree?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's a big deal.
Speaker 2:So for us, we find it very important, like we said earlier, you know all of these things that can trigger it, be it chemicals or foods or hormones or heavy metals, or you know, medical implants of some sort. We tend to go in there and start peeling back Like let's find out what toxins there are, let's look at infections, let's look at your past traumas, and that can be surgeries or it can be divorces. Right, it could be getting fired from your job, it could be losing a child or a spouse, anything emotional trauma, whatever stress there is that could complicate your healing process. And it's not, I think, healing from MCAS.
Speaker 2:What's tricky with it is that it's not simple and it's not a perfectly linear process, especially when there are emotional triggers like memories and childhood traumas or unresolved grief or other issues. And you know, occasionally, you know we try to do the emotional work. We try to address and resolve all of these other things, detox whatever we need to do with respect to what a person can handle Because I think sometimes we forget this is or patients come in and they're like, oh, I have MCAS because so-and-so told me, and then whatever it is they tried to resolve it with was exactly the thing you shouldn't do, because it just triggers more histamine, right and your body's already not working down histamine, so you know, and occasionally like over-the-counter antihistamines.
Speaker 2:but we try to be creative and we try to do emotional clearings, like emotion code and other things. But one of my favorite things is neural therapy and neuralotherapy is. We've talked about this before. We have an episode about neurotherapy, but it's really from Germany.
Speaker 2:All the good stuff is and it is, oh, it's the use of procaine, which is in the same classes like benzocaine, tetracaine, novocaine. You know the shots that you get to dead and like if you're going to get stitches or have dental work done. It's a local anesthesia. But we use it in such a way subcutaneously, intravenously, intramuscular and then sometimes just deeper injections trying to get close to certain ganglion in the body, that we want to modulate the function of the autonomic nervous system. So sometimes it's just kind of helping to better balance your sympathetic and your parasympathetic nervous system response, sympathetic being oh crap, the bear is chasing me, and parasympathetic is more like I'm going on vacation and laying in a hammock. Being able to calm the nervous system down can be very helpful. And the nice thing with procaine is that it's not an allergenic substance in general. I mean, I guess anybody could be allergic to anything there's always a unicorn, there's always a unicorn, there's always a unicorn.
Speaker 2:We've never had anybody Knock on wood, but being able to just give somebody relief and the thing is okay, the anesthetic part of it only persists in the system. I think the half-life is 20 minutes, but the ongoing autonomic effect is just that it's ongoing. It's a longer term issue. It helps to break up adhesions in the fascia. It helps break up scarring and all of these things, like even where there's mesh and I've and I've worked on some, some mesh issues and I've worked on some, some mesh issues it helps the body calm down. So where we can go into a specific area, inject a little procaine, not cause harm. Number one love that.
Speaker 2:But then number two, provide positive feedback to the nervous system. Everything is okay. Then we get that neuroimmune communication or that relationship, and that connection is more constructive and more balanced, and I think that's really important. It's a tool. Right, it's not the end all be all, but it is a tool, just like the energy work that we do, the desensitizations using acupressure technique. All of it's really important.
Speaker 1:Well, and there's not a lot that we get to use in the holistic world. That is an immediate fix. You know, because so often when you're getting to the root cause it takes a little time but the neurotherapy is as close as it gets to an immediate fix, is as close as it gets to an immediate fix. I absolutely love, love, love using that for our MCAS and histamine clients, because you know a lot of MCAS people can't tolerate those supplements. They don't handle a lot of medications and they certainly can't handle detox protocols. So we have to be even more gentle than gentle and we've had great results doing our allergy desensitizations, our clearings for histamines and all things associated with MCAS. So I love that tool as well. And then when some supplements are appropriate, you know we're always going to customize that to the individual.
Speaker 1:I'm never going to give one blanket recommendation for everyone. I love it when people like friends or someone who hasn't come in here yet, or asking for a friend, it's like what's the one thing you know, especially for allergies? Well, there's not one thing. Part of every protocol that I'm going to do is probably going to have gut health repair work. You know, right, everyone's got some gut problems and MCAS is a big indication, but no two clients will do the exact same thing. It just it's not going to happen. People are too unique for that.
Speaker 1:But hey, one thing though I think you would agree with this, sharon. You know Rife has many helpful benefits across the board and it really does compliment most people as well, and that's our frequency therapy, where we're using specific frequencies to stimulate certain pathways in the body, and there are frequencies that help to stabilize the immune system or that may help with some of the acute symptoms like the itching or insomnia, things like that. So I do love using that, you know when it's appropriate. But my favorite if anyone's listened to any of our podcasts, you know I'm going to do my shameless plug for our 3x4 genetic test, because I think it's one of the most important things we offer for a long-term, successful plan.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I'm at the point where I don't even want to start working on histamines or MCAS with the client if they haven't done this test, because there are too many things that can make it worse if you don't know the person's genetics. Case in point once again, the quercetin example.
Speaker 1:And the last thing I want to do is to make anything worse before someone gets better, but especially for someone who's already dealing with an existence that is triggered by pretty much everything in life and that's just so hard to navigate. But when you're looking at the genetics, it can give us so much insight into the best remedies and protocols for your you know healing path.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's. You know, the genetics really help provide that, that idea of okay. Here are your possible tools and solutions, and here are ones that are not going to go well for you, because all anybody you know a lot of, I don't want to say anybody but a lot of people come in going, oh, I have MTHFR, and for us we're like, yeah, so does everybody, but depending on which one you have, you know which. For those of you out there that don't know it, it's a genetic, it's an aberration from normal genetic function that causes some of your folic acid to be wasted, function that causes some of your folic acid to be wasted, and folic acid, or folate, is important for your cells to repair themselves, for your DNA to repair. It's a lot to do with neurological function and we don't want to just guess on that kind of thing and we do have the benefit of these great tests like the 3x4. But I think too, you know, to the epigenetic part of it knowing. Okay, this is the genetic backbone, but what about your ongoing stress? What about your lifestyle? Or your environmental exposures and other influences? External influences are going to play a role here, because all of those things increase your reactions, they can increase your sensitivity through repeated exposures, because if your body can't break down histamines, and every time you encounter something it continues to produce more histamines it's just fuel on a fire, and we don't want to do that. And so ultimately, your ability to tolerate any kind of perceived threat or trigger becomes reduced and more reduced.
Speaker 2:I remember one of my people early on. She worked in a store that had a lot of scented products, scented candles, and she always complained about headaches and every time and this was way back when, like I didn't do a lot of, I was just like doing my naturopath thing. It was pretty simple and you know kind of just computerized EAV testing. I was like phenolics are so bad for you, and phenolics again being smells and biochemical derivatives and you know natural or synthetic fragrances. And then so I would do acupressure, desensitization. The headache would go away, she'd go back to work and then by the end of her shift it would be back again. And I finally told her I was like you got to quit your job, you've got to go to work in an unscented environment because we realize, like it's those candles, she's fine when she goes in, she's not fine when she comes out, and over time, because she didn't quit that job, she started to have more symptoms in other areas and she became more intolerant, and I think that that's a really good example about not. That time I hadn't even heard of MCAS, right, but I knew that, the repeated exposure. You know I was. I was just hauling buckets of water out of a sinking boat and it was damage control. We weren't getting on top of anything. So I think it's important to reduce those environmental exposures where we can.
Speaker 2:And that makes you know, lifestyle practices very, very important, so different things that people can do in in your life. If you're one of these people's, just be mindful of variety. Um, we, we assume like, oh, I'm a creature of habit, I eat the same thing every day, I do the same workout every day, I do the same everything every day and that's fine till it's not fine, that's great, but it's not true for everybody. And if you are a person who has allergies, who has histamine reactions, I would just challenge you to start, you know, implementing a little bit of variety in your life and have some balance, because even people who eat, like you said, elena, all the healthy things the bone broth, the sourdough bread, the kombucha, the sauerkraut. They can be very susceptible to a histamine imbalance and foods can make it worse and foods can make it better, but it's not the same food, right? So foods that can help, just for people who want to take notes on this you know ginger can help calm histamine reactions, but it doesn't work for everybody.
Speaker 2:Thyme, the herb or the seasoning that's really high in vitamin C and it's an anti-inflammatory and we use it as an antimicrobial. Um, it's really good for respiratory infections, but and it can really help lower histamines, but not for everybody. Um, watercress, which I don't know how many people eat watercress, but that's an antihistamine as well. And then capers I love capers, especially on fish, but they have quercetin in them. So if you're a person who can't do quercetin, you probably shouldn't be eating a whole lot of capers. But capers with the quercetin, again, that's a great antioxidant and it can help stabilize your mast cells, unless you have the genetics that doesn't like that. And then turmeric Turmeric is good for so many things it's an anti-inflammatory and it can prevent histamine release from mast cells. So that's important to know. But if you're anemic, you don't want to take turmeric because it'll also bind to iron and lower your iron.
Speaker 2:So this is why working with professionals can be very important, but ultimately, I think things that we can all employ are eating fresh, non-processed or minimally processed foods, avoiding junk food. Highly processed foods and if you go what's a highly processed food Because I get tickled like with the news and like ultra processed foods are, go on their way out it's like, well, what is that? I mean, basically, if it has a label and you can't pronounce something in the label, you need to put that back. You should not be eating it, whether you have histamine reactions or not. We all should be eating food in its natural state. We all should be eating food in its natural state. We all should be eating food that looks like it looked when it was harvested, whether it was off the hook, off the hoof or out of the ground or off the tree right, and then cooking fresh whenever we can, or frozen, but trying to avoid canned. You know that's not ideal for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know food is a huge part of it. But then there's certain things in your environment. You know a lot of the chemicals we talked about. There are things you can do to help protect yourself, like a HEPA filter. Those can remove dust and pollen. That's just very, very helpful for removing that environmental trigger. That's absolutely everywhere you go. But then humidity you know we mentioned before changes in humidity can impact histamines and MCAS. So keeping humidity below 50%, that can prevent mold and dust mite growth, which can also contribute to histamine release. And regularly cleaning your home. Everyone's got different levels of cleanliness. I get that. I mean I am known as a clean freak in my family. I've always been, so I'm not going to judge anyone who's not where I'm at. We all have different levels, but any kind of cleaning regularly is You're totally judging.
Speaker 2:I feel judged right now.
Speaker 1:I'm not, I'm not going to come to anyone's house, I'm just saying do some cleaning at some point, especially those nooks and crannies that we can just forget about and the dark spots like basements and garages. That's where, you know, all kinds of things tend to collect. So just do the best you can. Just, you know, vacuuming occasionally or sweeping, mopping as you can handle. But pets if you have pets, brush and bathe them regularly, because that's a big one for allergies, and I know people just love their cats, their dogs, their birds, but you want to make sure that you're doing everything you can for your immune system. At the same time, you can opt for hypoallergenic varieties. Or I know for cats there are certain foods you can feed them. I don't know if that applies to other animals, I don't know. My sister's a vet. She told me about this one cat food that can help with that, but that doesn't replace the brushing and the bathing. So just do yourself a favor and help out with the allergens.
Speaker 2:Have you ever?
Speaker 1:bathed a cat, no, but I just wouldn't bring them inside. Once again, not judging anyone you do you, but doing what you can to clean the inside of your house, to help your body's response to some of those allergens, because it can trigger it and if you just want to live with it, that's fine. But I've worked with people who are desperately trying to improve their histamine intolerances and they have animals all over the place that can be triggering that stuff and bringing things in from the outside and stress of any kind can trigger histamines. For some people that's stressful.
Speaker 1:But just managing stress in general. That's going to be very important for down-regulating that immune system and immune system response.
Speaker 2:Right, and I think you know, when you look at you know everything that we're talking about. It can be overwhelming right. So for our listeners out there, you know if there's one thing that you can do, if you're like, oh my gosh, I think I have MCAS or I definitely have histamine overload or histamine related reactions, what do I do? Oh no, where do I even start? You know, start with your diet, and I think we say this for a lot of things, because one habit all humans have is eating. We all have that in common too. Imagine that Perfect not doing, not eating, you die. I don't know what the connection is, but we do all eat. And so if you just start with your food and maybe start trying to remove histamines from your diet, maybe you go, oh wow, I eat nothing but histamines. Okay, maybe you should try doing something different. But know that you're not going to feel a difference necessarily right away. You know it takes your digestive system a couple of weeks sometimes to adjust. I just did a little like pulse diet of carnivore just to remind myself why I hate it so much and it is. It does take your digestive system time to adjust If you remove huge components, if you make a hard right turn in your diet, it will take your bowels possibly a little time to catch up. It could cause you to feel a little foggy. So I would just take it one piece at a time and in fixing your diet or going low histamine in your diet is a great starting point.
Speaker 2:I think it's important to understand that. It's just that it's a starting point, because what if you're not a food person? What if it's not the histamines in your food? What if it's something in your environment? You're never going to get all of the resolution that you need unless you look at everything. But this is where working with a professional is so important and we just encourage you. You know, get tested and see what other toxins and exposures might you have that could be contributing. And you know, whether we do toxin tests or blood work or genetic tests or thermography, we could get valuable information that helps direct, prioritize and guide a customized path to feeling better and living better, because everyone wants to live better and feel better.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So y'all, that's a wrap for today's episode. We hope this conversation has helped shed light on the connection between histamines, mass cell activation and allergies and, more importantly, how you can take a holistic approach to managing them. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe on our YouTube, share it with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach more people who are looking for real answers to their health concerns. And don't forget to follow us on social media for even more tips, insights and updates. You can find us on Instagram, facebook, youtube and Rumble. Just search for K6 Wellness Center and join our growing community. For more information on holistic allergy support, functional medicine and personalized wellness strategies, visit us at k6wellnesscom and, as always, if you're ready to take the next step in your health journey, our team at K6 Wellness is here to help. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time on the K6 Wellness Revolution podcast.