Histamine Health Coach
Welcome to Histamine Health Coach, the podcast for women ready to take control of their histamine intolerance, calm unpredictable symptoms, and feel like themselves again—without fear, overwhelm, or extreme restrictions.
I’m Teresa, a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach who’s been there—living with mast cell issues, hives, and the daily uncertainty that comes with histamine-related conditions. Here, we go beyond just lists of “yes” and “no” foods. You’ll get real talk on how to support your body through nutrition, stress management, movement, and mindset—plus practical tips to help you enjoy life again.
Whether you’re navigating MCAS, mastocytosis, or just curious if histamine is behind your symptoms, you’ll find education, encouragement, and simple tools to help you feel more resilient, more energetic, and more at ease in your own skin.
Ready to feel better? Let’s get started.
Histamine Health Coach
Episode 7 - The Real Reason Certain Foods Make You Miserable
Discover how the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) affects histamine intolerance and why it might be the missing piece in understanding your symptoms.
• DAO is an extracellular digestive enzyme that breaks down histamine from food and drinks
• DAO deficiency can occur from gut damage, inflammation, or conditions like IBS, IBD, and SIBO
• Nutrient deficiencies in copper, vitamin B6, vitamin C, zinc, and magnesium can reduce DAO effectiveness
• Genetic variances like AOC1 SNPs may cause naturally lower DAO production
• Over 50 medications including NSAIDs, antidepressants, and antihistamines can block DAO production
• Hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause, menopause, and menstrual cycles affect DAO levels
• Alcohol inhibits DAO production while also adding to histamine load
• Stress depletes nutrients needed for DAO and contributes significantly to deficiency
• Many women take DAO supplements to help manage symptoms when eating high histamine foods
If you're ready to begin a low histamine diet, you can download the low histamine diet starter plan on my website at histaminehealthcoach.com. I've also gathered trusted supplement options in the wellness booster section for those who have spoken with their physician.
Hi, welcome to Histamine Health Coach, the podcast for women navigating histamine intolerance and looking for real answers. I'm Teresa Christensen and I know firsthand how overwhelming it can be to deal with food triggers, environmental sensitivities and unpredictable symptoms. But you don't have to figure it out alone. Each week, I'll share my personal journey and practical strategies to help you break free from fear and take control of your health. So let's get started. Hi, welcome back to Histamine Health Coach, where we manage life with histamine intolerance and find ways to fill our best. I'm Teresa, your histamine health coach, and today we're talking about something I didn't even know existed, and now I can't stop talking about it. It's DAO. But here's the thing this little enzyme might be the reason your healthy meals still leave you feeling bloated, foggy or completely wiped out. So let's dig in.
Speaker 1:In the last episode, I talked about how the body is responsible for breaking down excess histamine, but when the system falls short, it can lead to what we call histamine intolerance, the main enzyme that breaks down the histamine. But when the system falls short, it can lead to what we call histamine intolerance. The main enzyme that breaks down the histamine from the foods and drinks we enjoy is called diamine oxidase, we're just going to call it DAO. A lot of women with histamine intolerance take DAO supplements to help manage their symptoms. I'll admit, my doctor never mentioned DAO and I had no idea what it was or what it did. Curiosity finally got the best of me, so I started digging into the research and I wanted to share what I've learned with you. So DAO is an extracellular digestive enzyme. What does that mean? That means it works outside of the cells. Its main job is to break down the histamine we get from food and drink, especially high histamine favorites like aged cheeses, fermented foods and leftovers.
Speaker 1:Dao is produced in the kidneys, the liver and the small intestines the lining of the small intestines. It works hand inin-hand with another enzyme, hnmt, which handles histamine that forms inside the body. Together they manage your histamine metabolism. When your body isn't making enough DAO, we call it a DAO deficiency. There are several reasons your body may not be producing enough DAO. The first of those would be gut damage or inflammation. May not be producing enough DAO. The first of those would be gut damage or inflammation. Dao is made in the lining of the small intestine, so if the gut is damaged or inflamed, dao production stops. What causes this damage Well, leaky gut, ibs, ibd or even SIBO, celiac disease, gluten and frequent food sensitivities or even chronic infections. The next would be nutrient deficiencies. Like all enzymes, dao needs certain cofactors to function properly. These include copper, the P5P form of vitamin B6, vitamin C, zinc and magnesium. These nutrients are often depleted by stress, poor absorption or gut issues, making DAO less effective. The third would be genetic variances. Some people have genetic differences, like AOC1 SNPs, that reduce DAO production. If this is you, you may always have lower levels of DAO and need to manage histamine more proactively.
Speaker 1:Number four is medications. Over 50 medications are known to either block DAO or damage the gut, which will lower your DAO levels. Common culprits include NSAIDs like ibuprofen or aspirin. Antidepressants, antihistamines, which ironically, can reduce DAO. Long-term antibiotics. Protein pump inhibitors, which are called PPIs. These reduce stomach acid, which is essential for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. Dao also plays a role in regulating your stomach acid, so the PPIs can impact your whole histamine system.
Speaker 1:Hormonal imbalances estrogen and progesterone levels impact DAO production, which is why many women feel worse during perimenopause or menopause, before their period, during pregnancy or ovulation. Looking back, I can clearly see how my fatigue, migraines and GI issues were connected to these hormone swings. Next would be alcohol and high histamine foods. Alcohol is a DAO inhibitor and also adds to your histamine load. Pair that with high histamine foods like leftovers, wine or aged cheeses, and stress depletes nutrients your body needs to make DAO. Stress is a full body hit and one of the most underestimated causes of DAO deficiency. As I mentioned before, many women take DAO supplements to help with histamine breakdown, especially when eating high histamine foods.
Speaker 1:If you're newly diagnosed or you're like me and were never told about DAO, you might eating high histamine foods. If you're newly diagnosed or you're like me and were never told about DAO, you might be wondering where to begin. While it's outside of my practice as a health coach to diagnose, treat or prescribe, I can absolutely support you in exploring options that feel right for your body. For some, that may include trying a low histamine diet. For others, it's exploring high-quality supplements to support your histamine metabolism. If you're curious about supplement options and have spoken with your physician, I've gathered a selection of trusted products in the wellness booster section of my website, histaminehealthcoachcom, and if you're ready to begin a low histamine diet, you can download the low histamine diet starter plan also on my website. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you next time on Histamine Health Coach. Have a great week. Bye.