Probiotics for Histamine Intolerance: What Actually Works?

Author's Bio: Marcie Vaske, MS, LN, CNS

Every week on this channel, we break down your gut health and what things can help you feel your best. All in the name of good nutrition, and today we're going to dive into the hot topic of probiotics for histamine intolerance.

So if you've ever felt flushing headaches or even gotten hives after eating foods, histamine intolerance might be something on your radar. Now, probiotics are often a go-to for gut health, but when it comes to histamines, it is a different story. Some probiotics actually increase a histamine reaction, whereas other probiotics can help break it down.

So today I'm going to share with you all about probiotics that are going to be best if you struggle with histamine intolerance.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

What Are Histamines and Why Do They Matter?

Histamines are a natural chemical that's found in our body that helps to support our immune system, our digestive, and our nervous system signaling. Now, normally we have enzymes like DAO, that actually help to clear the histamines from our food when those enzymes are either overwhelmed or underactive. Histamines tend to build up in our body, which then creates symptoms. And the twist to all of this is that our gut can actually increase our histamines. The big twist is that our gut can actually play a role in how much histamine is floating around.

Before we dig into what may be not the best type of flora for histamine intolerance in the good, I want to introduce myself. I'm Marcie Vaske. I'm a functional medicine nutritionist with Oswald Digestive Clinic. And at Oswald Digestive Clinic, we see a lot of clients that obviously struggle with gut health, even histamine intolerance. And I'm going to link our website here where you can easily make an initial appointment. And I'm even going to link our free guide, which is Five Ways to Improve Your Gut Health.

Probiotics to Avoid with Histamine Intolerance

Now, you may be wondering, okay, well, I have a histamine intolerance. What probiotics should I be staying away from? And there are some key strains that we want to eliminate if you're struggling with histamine intolerance. So one of the strains of bacteria is going to be lactose bacillus caci, lactose bacillus arius, and then lactose bacillus rooti. Now, this doesn't mean that they're bad flora, but if you're struggling with histamine intolerance, you'll want to be cautious. And then of course, on the flip side, we have the bacteria that's going to help clear the histamine.

Probiotics That Support Histamine Intolerance

And if you're adding in probiotics, these are the ones that you want to make sure are in the capsules. Number one, we have bifidobacterium impetus, we have bifidobacterium longum, and then we have lactose Bacillus Ramos and lactose bacillus plantarium. Now, these bacteria actually help to support gut integrity. They reduce inflammation and they support our immune system. And so by using these, it can overall reduce that histamine overload.

Do Probiotics Really Work for Histamine Intolerance?

Now, we know the flora that could cause more symptoms. We learned about the flora that will definitely help support your gut health and that histamine clearance. But do they work in practice? And really what it comes down to is one size does not fit all. And so for some people using probiotics will help their symptoms greatly. Where other people, they may see more support by adding in DAO, or they may see more support by reducing stress, changing their diet, and that helps to reduce their symptoms.

Tips for Adding Probiotics Safely

So the key really is that trying some lifestyle things, maybe changing your diet, maybe working with a health practitioner like ourselves at Oswald Digestive Clinic, and then adding in some probiotics that support histamine intolerance. And if you choose to do that, just remember to start slow probiotics. If you just go hog wild in the beginning, could really cause a lot more symptoms. And then you could put yourself into a flare. So remember to start slow, maybe one capsule every other day, leading maybe for seven to 10 days, and then you can increase and do every day.

Track Your Symptoms and Progress

The second thing would be to take care or write in a journal track in a journal. Notice if there is any shifting changes with your symptoms. Sometimes we get so used to feeling these specific symptoms of gas or bloating or nausea or whatever your symptoms are that we don't recognize when they get a little bit better because it's still there, but well, we always have it. So tracking symptoms, tracking what you've eaten, that can really give you a lot of data into how your body is responding.

When to Work with a Practitioner

And lastly, like I said a moment ago, if you're really struggling with the histamine intolerance and just feel like at your wit's end, of course, work with a practitioner like us at Oswald Digestive Clinic where we can help you through that journey and navigate that more effectively for you.

So if you're thinking about adding in probiotics yourself, I will be linking a probiotic that has all of these good bacteria that I spoke about that can help your symptoms. But remember, it's not just a one layered thing. I would hope that first you would start removing some foods that might be irritating. You also working on stress, lifestyle, getting enough sleep, all the things. And this, I would say almost always, our gut is a layered effect of issues. We have to really dial in on first, taking out the heavy hitters and then seeing what's left over and working from there.

So I hope that this video gave you a little bit more information about histamine intolerance, how you can support your symptoms and helping you feel like you're not just floundering out there alone. Histamine intolerance is common and it's definitely something that can be dealt with in a very productive and effective way.

So thanks for watching.

If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic.  We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.

Or you can just start by downloading our FREE GUIDE: 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE GUT HEALTH