DAO
<p>From: 'Everything You Need To Know About Histamine Intolerance' <a href="https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11175/everything-you-need-to-know-about-histamine-intolerance.html">https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11175/everything-you-need-to-know-about-histamine-intolerance.html</a></p>
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Trial of DAO</p>
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If testing is unavailable to you, you could simply try a diet low in histamine and add DAO supplementation at each meal. If your symptoms resolve, you could have low DAO.</p>
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How to Treat Histamine Intolerance?</p>
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Remove the high histamine foods for 1-3 months. Add in a supplement of DAO by taking two pills at each meal. Most importantly, find the root cause for the histamine intolerance. If you're on a medication that is causing the intolerance, working with your physician to wean off of these medications is essential. The main causes I see in my clinic are SIBO and gluten intolerance, which cause a leaky gut. In this case, I suggest reading my post on healing the gut and over time you should be able to stop the DAO and go back to eating histamine-containing foods.</p>
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If you're currently suffering from histamine intolerance, you may not have to avoid these foods forever. It can be a short-term solution until your histamine or DAO levels return to their optimal ranges. Depending on your unique situation, you may find that you tolerate some foods better than others, so I encourage you to stay optimistic as you learn important information about your body!</p>
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How do I break down histamine?</p>
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Once formed, histamine is either stored or broken down by an enzyme. Histamine in the central nervous system is broken down primarily by histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT), while histamine in the digestive tract is broken down primarily by diamine oxidase (DAO). Though both enzymes play an important role in histamine break down, the American Society for Clinical Nutrition found that DAO is the main enzyme responsible for breaking down ingested histamine. So if you’re deficient in DAO, you likely have symptoms of histamine intolerance.</p>
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Causes of Low DAO</p>
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Gluten intolerance</p>
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Leaky gut</p>
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SIBO</p>
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DAO-blocking foods: alcohol, energy drinks, and tea</p>
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Genetic mutations (common in people of Asian-descent)</p>
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Inflammation from Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease.</p>
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Medications: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, aspirin)</p>
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Antidepressants (Cymbalta, Effexor, Prozac, Zoloft)</p>
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Immune modulators (Humira, Enbrel, Plaquenil)</p>
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Antiarrhythmics (propanolol, metaprolol, Cardizem, Norvasc)</p>
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Antihistamines (Allegra, Zyrtec, Benadryl)</p>
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Histamine (H2) blockers (Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac)</p>
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Although histamine blockers, a class of acid-reducing drugs, seem like they would help prevent histamine intolerance, these medications can actually deplete DAO levels in your body.</p>
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Testing for Histamine Intolerance</p>
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Elimination/Reintroduction</p>
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DAO-Blocking Foods:</p>
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Alcohol</p>
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Energy drinks</p>
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Black tea</p>
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Mate tea</p>
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Green tea</p>