It’s Hayfever Season

Hayfever and allergy season is underway and many people are visiting my clinic for natural ways to get rid of their hayfever symptoms. 

Hayfever is a part of a cluster of problems that tend to go hand in hand under the banner of atopy.  Atopic diseases include sinusitis, seasonal allergies, eczema and environmental allergies to dust, cockroaches, pets etc.  Treatment for all of these atopic conditions tends to be quite similar and focus on:

• Reducing allergen exposure in the home and environment
• Reducing foods that promote histamine production  
• Promoting the detoxification of histamine in the liver
• Stabilising mast cells which secrete histamine
• Supporting a healthy immune response
• Supporting the production of the enzymes that break down histamine in the gut
• Modifying the levels of histamine-producing species of bacteria in the gut
• Supporting poor genetic expression of histamine degradation enzymes by supplementing with these enzymes
  

ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGIES

The best route for identifying your environmental allergies is to speak to your GP about RAST testing.  It is a simple blood test that they can order.  Ensure you test for pollens, grasses, pets in the home, dust and mold.  You can also be referred to an allergist or immunologist for more sensitive testing.

FOODS AND HISTAMINE

If you have an intolerance to a food, this can cause a worsening of your atopy symptoms.  Currently, the best way of identifying your food intolerances is a food elimination and rechallenge diet.  Food intolerance testing is expensive and generally inaccurate providing a long laundry list of foods to avoid which are impractical.  Microbiome testing can give you a definitive answer about whether you have a food intolerance or not, so my approach would be to analyse your diet and eliminate the suspected culprits.  The most common culprits for food intolerances are gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, oats, corn, and soy. 

There are also foods that are naturally high in histamine.  These foods include:

For many people, avoiding these foods, can help to reduce their overall histamine burden.

HISTAMINE DETOXIFICATION

Histamine is detoxified in the liver via the methylation pathway.  Many people have genetic issues with this pathway being too slow.  Treatment for this is simply supplementation which aids the movement of this pathway in the liver using active forms of the nutrients involved in this lover pathway.  For most people, this will be a simple Activated B complex supplement taken once daily.

MAST CELLS

Mast cells are cells that secrete histamine.  When the wall of this cell is stable, less histamine is secreted.  There are a number of ways we can aid the stabilisation of mast cells.  The phytonutrient quercetin is one of these ways.  Quercetin is not very bioavailable in the human body, therefore liposomal forms of quercetin are best utilised. 

Limiting inflammation can help stabilise mast cells.  When the body in inflamed, cells become more leaky.  Finding the source of inflammation is the most important factor at play with this.

A HEALTHY IMMUNE RESPONSE

A healthy immune response is mounted in the body when there are adequate levels of the nutrients Vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin C, Selenium, Vitamin A, and Omega 3.   Testing can help us optimise your nutritional status.  Gut health is also important with a healthy immune response, as 70% of your immune cells live within the gut. 

ENZYMES THAT DEGRADE HISTAMINE

These enzymes are made in the brush border of the small intestine.  If you experience any gut-related issue plus histamine issues, this is a sign your body is giving you that you need to focus on gut health so it can then do it’s job properly and make enzymes.

HISTAMINE-LIBERATING BACTERIA IN THE GUT

There are bacteria that can be overgrown in the gut that produce histamine.  These bacteria, if found in a microbiome test, will need to be starved of fuel sources and also crowded out by feeding more beneficial species of bacteria in the gut.  Microbiome testing is the best way to go to assess the health of your gut.

GENETIC SNP’s AND HISTAMINE

Some people genetically just don’t make enough of the enzyme which breaks down histamine.  For this reason, some supplements contain these enzymes which you can take with meals.  My advice is to always line up all your ducks in a row before replacing the function of the body.  I recommend addressing all of the above factors even if you do have these genes as it can often improve your symptoms significantly.

If you are keen to start treating your allergies naturally, book an appointment to see me.

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