Understanding Migraine, Histamine and oestrogen.

And what to do about it to reduce migraine attacks and other symptoms.

You have probably heard that excess histamine is a migraine trigger, and that low-histamine diets are a possible solution for migraine. And while these diets can be very beneficial, they are still not treating the root cause of WHY you are intolerant to histamine or experiencing excess histamine.

So, let’s go over it.

Meet Histamine

Histamine is a neurotransmitter – a natural chemical – in the body which has an important role to play in digestion, immune response and even helps our brain stay awake.

But, when we have too much histamine, or we become intolerant to this natural chemical, we can experience the following:

• Premenstrual migraine attacks

• Gut distress such as IBS or endless food triggers

• Reflux, nausea, vomiting

• Skin irritations like eczema and hives

• Brain fog

• Allergy symptoms - sneezing, coughing and nasal congestion

• Rashes and hives

• Pre-menstrual or pre-ovulation anxiety

• Painful and heavy periods

• Vertigo or dizziness

• Heavy periods and endometriosis

• Insomnia

• Perimenopause symptoms including hot flushes

And where does oestrogen come into this?

Throughout each menstrual cycle, histamine and oestrogen (along with other hormones) interact.

Histamine stimulates the ovaries to produce more oestrogen. Then, this increase in oestrogen levels triggers the mast cells in our body to release more histamine. And yes – we can then have a vicious cycle of more histamine, more oestrogen and then even more histamine until we have both oestrogen and histamine excess, and we experience the symptoms listed above.

The role of oestrogen in histamine release also explains why women experience more histamine excess symptoms, including migraine attacks.

Something else to consider – DAO enzyme

Now, we do have an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO) which is responsible for breaking down excess histamine in the gut, so histamine can be eliminated. Yay!

But, DAO can be insufficient due to the following factors:

• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

• Leaky Gut

• Excess oestrogen

• Genetic tendency

• Nutrient deficiencies

• Gluten intolerance

• Certain medications

• Inflammatory digestive diseases

• Diet high in histamine-containing or histamine-producing foods

OK, so how do we fix all this

This is where the naturopathic toolbox comes to the rescue.

Firstly, we will deal with oestrogen excess through ensuring our digestive system is working well, with a balanced microbiome, gut healing protocol and the right nutrition. Supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes – especially liver detoxification - is also important.

Sustaining progesterone production is important, as progesterone offsets oestrogen.

Depending on what is going on for you individually, I may consider including one or several of the following in your treatment plan:

- Gut healing protocol (it always comes back to the digestive system!)

- Detoxification protocol

- Reducing inflammation through diet and herbal medicine

- The right nutrition program (this could be low-histamine, or something else all together)

- Increasing certain foods and nutrients, while avoiding inflammatory foods and substances

- Address any dysbiosis and SIBO (testing required first)

- Support production of progesterone

The order we do things is important. And we also don’t want to do all these things at once!

This is why a slow, structured and gentle approach over a period of a few months is vital, especially if we want to avoid migraine flare-ups during the healing process.

As always, I’m here to help when you are ready. Reach out for an appointment to get started.