Revive with Heather

the holidays can be particularly stressful for those following a low histamine diet

when attending a holiday party, there can be lots of unknowns as far as what will be served, how fresh it is, or what the ingredients are

for some this may mean the best option is to bring your own food, or bring a dish or 2 that are safe that you can share with everyone

for others who may have a little more wiggle room, it may be more a matter of pick a couple things you want to indulge it and limit it to that

first things first- stay hydrated. This means even the days before make sure to up your mineral game and electrolytes to keep those cells nourished and your lymph happy

most often we see plates of aged meats and cheeses which can really be some of the highest in histamine, so avoid those and stick with some veggies and dip or hummus. Flatbreads and bread based foods although they contain gluten, may be lower in histamine

alcohol is a really heavy hitter with histamine so my rule of thumb is if you are still struggling with histamine issues, either omit it completely or if you indulge in a drink- I would avoid the food since the combination of the 2 will very likely put you over the edge

support your gut health in the days or weeks prior with histamine lowering probiotics, digestive enzymes and a good DAO enzyme

other ways to prepare are keeping your histamine bucket low in the days prior which means

-no overexercising, only low intensity training
-optimize sleep, think dark, cool room, bedtime by 10pm
-avoid the stressors, set boundaries, find a meditation that works for you
-castor oil packs daily to support the liver
-lots of magnesium, epsom salt baths or topical lotions for those with poor gut health

Want more info on addressing your histamine intolerance and hormonal imbalance?

Grab my free guide, link in bio!

Do you struggle with high histamine at night?

That might look like

- waking up with histamine symptoms like hives, swelling, sinus congestion
-trouble falling asleep or waking up at 1-3am
-anxiety, racing thoughts
-skin itching, eczema flares

For nearly every person I work with who has histamine intolerance- the nighttime into morning flares are a big issue and something we try to address right away because sleep is so critical to finally making progress

For some this requires taking prescription medications or OTC medication, but often we will try to wean off of those once we have spent time improving detox and drainage while also providing mast cell support.

The timeline looks different for everyone and unfortunately we have to respect the process.

In order to decrease the nighttime symptoms, we have to think about everything that fills our histamine bucket over the course of the day.

Things like:
-high histamine foods
-environmental toxins
-toxic personal care products
-are you dehydrated?
-do you use an air filter?
-are you sleeping on a mattress with synthetic materials and flame retardants?
-are you sleeping next to a WiFi router or near your phone?
-do you support liver detoxification?
-are you supporting the lymphatic system?

Using antihistamine herbal supplements and/or homeopathy supplements can also be helpful around bedtime to support histamine metabolism and detoxification.

Antacids are one of those "medicines" that seems unassumingly harmless, yet is anything but. I remember popping these like candy when I had acid reflux thinking like most people, I had too much stomach acid and it was causing reflux.

Did you know nearly 80-90% of people with acid reflux actually have too little stomach acid?

When we eat in a sympathetic state, (rushed, standing up, in the car...etc.) this doesn't allow our body's to work its magic for digestion. Normally our saliva produces enzymes to start digesting our food, and our stomach acid should be very acidic in order to digest, especially protein.

Consuming processed foods, alcohol and soda all negatively affect our stomach acid and contribute to it becoming weak (more alkaline).

Do you consume alkaline water? This can be one of the worst things you can do to harm your digestion which can be contributing to things like gas, bloating and indigestion.

Our stomach acid needs to be very acidic and plentiful, in order for the valve at the top of our stomachs to stay closed. When we don't have enough acid, it signals to the valve to stay open allowing acid to flow up to the esophagus.

When we experience that and think it's too acidic, and we take antacids, especially regularly, we are providing a very cozy environment for bacteria, parasites, and viruses to flourish since they prefer a more alkaline environment.

Overgrowth of H-pylori and enteric parasites have been linked to those taking antacids as they are opportunistic pathogens.

Instead of using antacids, (which can also be a source of aluminum), try using betaine HCL for protein digestion, DGL licorice root and digestive bitters to support liver/gallbladder digestion of fats.

Pregnancy, Postpartum and TH2 dominance.

After speaking to many women who develop histamine intolerance/MCAS after having children- especially multiple, I felt it was time to dedicate a post to this.

Pregnancy brings on so many changes within a woman's body, we don't often think about how it affects her immune system.

The human body is so intelligent that it makes these changes immediately upon conception so the mothers body doesn't reject or harm the fetus.

Did you know that after implantation your histamine levels increase? They are highest during the first trimester (got morning sickness- blame histamine!). The uterine lining and placenta have a lot of mast cells which increase histamine.

If you've already had histamine issues prior to pregnancy, it can unfortunately make it worse since we know digestion slows down as well as your liver's ability to detoxify.

After giving birth, we know your hormones drop significantly, especially progesterone which helps your body produce more DAO, the enzyme to break down histamine.

In addition, your body will remain in the TH2 dominant state until you address the underlying root causes which initially filled your histamine bucket like mold, parasites, Lyme, SIBO...etc.

Combine this with lack of sleep that comes with a newborn, lackluster nutrition and constant stress which all inhibit you getting control of your histamine symptoms and getting your gut health back on track.

I personally know how difficult it can be to prioritize health post baby, so cut yourself a break and just make small changes where it's possible.

Keep in mind, breastfeeding will limit what you are able to do for detoxing, but some great safe options for liver support are castor oil packs, dandelion tea, bitters tincture, as well as continuing to support the lymphatics with dry brushing or rebounding, and most importantly, nap when you can!

TH2 dominance is something I talk a lot about when explaining histamine intolerance and how one can develop it with clients.

First off, what is TH1 dominance and TH2 dominance?

TH1 and TH2 refers to the T helper cells within the immune system.

TH1 cells recognize antigens presented by tissues and work to kill intracellular pathogens including viruses and bacteria. TH1 dominance has been linked with delayed hypersensitivity which can cause chronic inflammation. This is associated with autoimmune diseases like MS or Lupus.

TH2 cells activate the humoral or antibody mediated immune response against extracellcular bacteria, parasites, allergens and toxins. They utilize cytokines such as interleukins 4, 5, 6... which produce antibodies, especially eosinophil activation. Eosinophils are known to produce allergy reactions and can also be elevated with parasite infections.

TH2 dominance can also be set off by viruses, especially c0v which is how long haulers can develop. If you've already had a pretty full toxin bucket and then get hit with a strong virus, this can keep your immune system in an overreactive state as it tries to compensate and heal. It will not be able to heal until you remove the other toxicities- the virus is more a symptom that you're immune system cannot function properly due to other causes, it is not the root cause.

Our immune system should be in balance between TH1 and TH2 states, but when we have prolonged emotional stress, gut dysbiosis, high toxic load, mold exposure and especially parasites, this triggers our body to move into a TH2 dominance state.

Running a cytokine test will show whether you are more TH1 or TH2 dominant, but often symptoms can tell us as well.

For TH2 dominance, we want to identify all potential triggers and running functional labs which may include

-GIMAP to check for gut bacteria, inflammation, parasites, autoimmune markers and more

-Mycotoxin test to check for mold toxins which are a top irritant of the immune system

-Heavy metal test- especially looking at mercury, aluminum, lead, cadmium

-DUTCH panel for hormones

-GPL tox to show overall toxic load

-Organic acid test to check for bacterial overgrowth, oxalates, neurotransmitters and more

Often starting with a low histamine and sometimes low oxalate diet can be helpful in reducing symptoms

Nervous system work which may include vagus nerve retraining or limbic work is essential

Mast cell support whether medications or herbal can be helpful especially in the beginning stages to bring inflammation down

Customized protocols to include targeted binders for toxins, gut support, sleep support as this is often negatively impacted by histamine, and supporting detox and drainage throughout to prevent herx reactions.

When trying to solve the histamine or MCAS puzzle, no stone can be left unturned.

There are SO many potential root causes and it really never is just one or two, it's several.

For most of the clients I work with they don't have "known" exposure to heavy metals but we all are exposed, everyday.

Aluminum is in most cooking pans, tin foil, many antiperspirants, many over-the-counter medications, processed cheese and related products, cake mixes, pancake mixes, and frozen dough. It has also replaced mercury in many vassheen as a preservative. Fluoride in drinking water, toothpaste, dental treatments...increases the uptake of aluminum.

Mercury is most commonly found as methyl mercury in farmed or Atlantic fish, and as inorganic mercury in dental amalgams. It’s often used as a preservative in the influenza vassheen. It is also in coal ash produced by coal factories around the world where the mercury v***r gets dumped into the air. (Check out my stories to see if you're living in an area with a coal factory).

Testing for heavy metals can be tricky. I prefer a urine heavy metal test, and a provoked one may be appropriate for those who can handle it.

Keep in mind that heavy metals like to be stored inside deep tissues of the body as a way to protect the body from continually being poisoned and require binders and minerals in order to safely remove.

You Are Powerful!

Have you been trying to get rid of candida or SIBO and it just WON'T go away?!

Maybe your symptoms went into remission for a couple weeks or months, but then came back worse than ever?!

Why does this happen?

You have to stop thinking that only killing microbes is the name of the game. The real issue is your terrain! (Rhyme not intended).

What do I mean by terrain?

Essentially this means you have a lot of toxicities which are preventing your body from maintaining healthy bacteria on its own (like without constantly taking antimicrobials to keep the bad guys in check).

One of the biggest causes of this... heavy metals.

Did you know:

A new study suggests yeast as a potentially safer and more cost effective way to help clean up these radioactive waste sites.

LIKE WHAT?!

This means that if you have radioactive elements like uranium, cesium, or bismuth, that creates a breeding ground for yeast!

Some common heavy metals that yeast can bind to include
-lead
-arsenic
-cadmium
-mercury

The yeast works to collect these metals inside its biofilm to protect itself from exposure and to prevent your immune system from detecting it.

This is why those candida or SIBO protocols aren't working.

Yeast and SIBO are always a sign of a bigger problem and should really be viewed as a side effect of something else.

If you've had recurring yeast or SIBO and can't get to the bottom of it, it's time to start considering heavy metals as they are completely unavoidable in our environment.

Some common ways of exposure include mercury in fish, mining, cement industry, dye industry, tanning, electroplating, steel production, photographic material, corrosion paints, pesticides, textile fabrication, wood preservation, aluminum anodizing, pollution, forest fires, supplements, protein powders, and others. These off gas into the heavy or get directly polluted into the soil where they do not break down.

Interested in running a heavy metal test?

Let's chat!

Progesterone is that hormone that you don't know how good it is until it's gone.

Why?

It is our fertility hormone and a signal of a youthful body (and I'm not talking about vanity concerns).

Because your body makes it from the egg you ovulate every month in preparation for implantation.

When this doesn't happen every month, that lining that was preparing for a fetus is shed and you have a period.

With a modern lifestyle that involves 24 hour stress, little sleep, caffeine to get through the day and then alcohol to wind down at night, it's progesterone that takes a beating.

This is the body's innate wisdom to say, "you are too busy and too stressed to have a baby, so we are going to keep pumping you full of cortisol and adrenaline" - and then your progesterone levels drop.

I find this is the case with many women who struggle with infertility. They've been go, go, go for years on end, skipping meals, over exercising and thinking a B complex or a "women's vitamin" is going to bring their body's back into balance.

They often don't realize that their short periods or delayed periods are a big sign of low progesterone or delayed ovulation.

We have to nourish the body and bring it back into the parasympathetic state so it can learn that it is a safe place to potentially bring a baby into the world.

Even if having a child isn't your goal, having healthy progesterone levels is key for so many things like

-feeling happy and calm
-reducing menstrual migraines
-manages water retention
-important for thyroid function
-boosts metabolism by utilizing fat for energy
-can slow the aging process
-improves insomnia
-improves symptoms of PMS

and more.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but a place to start when trying to balance your hormones.

Another favorite hormone and liver support I love is using castor oil packs 3x a week which is also phenomenal for lymph support, addressing parasites in hard to reach places like the bile duct and boosting serotonin.

What's your favorite hormone support?

A question I get a lot is,

"Is this probiotic good for SIBO?"

Often it is a multi-strain probiotic that looks great because it says it contains, "10 billion xyz strains".

There is a serious misconception that taking a high dose probiotic is going to fix your gut health and that it should be the first thing you do when you find out you have dysbiosis.

This is precisely what we want to avoid when addressing SIBO early on because you already have an overgrowth of bacteria! Why would we want to add to the bacterial load?

When taking a high dose probiotic, you're likely going to feel worse SIBO symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea and indigestion.

Instead it is best for the first few months to only use one strain and either switch it out with others or layer others in little by little.

Plus for those with histamine intolerance, there are other things to consider like whether it is a histamine producing bacteria or one that breaks down excess histamine.

If you've been sold some type of gimicky solution to your SIBO (which we know is rarely in isolation of other issues- see last post), like take this pill and be cured- realize that it is a little more complex than you've been led to believe and involves supporting more organs than just the gut, hint hint- like the liver and gallbladder,

more on that next time!

Mold growing in homes, schools, offices, hospitals...fill in the blank- is really at epidemic proportions causing massive health problems which many are not aware of.

Many believe you have to see mold and for it to be black in order for it to be a problem. Unfortunately this is not the case. Many have been living with mold for a long time and have no idea. Plus once you have a mold problem it can be quite an ordeal to get rid of it.

What makes it worse is often there is only 1 family member who is affected which can make everyone believe it can't be something in the environment because not everyone is sick. Often this person has a genetic predisposition, most commonly known as a HLA-DR genetic mutation- but there are a variety of genetic mutations that can result in someone being a poor detoxifier of mold.

Since mold is often still highly underestimated among the masses, I wanted to share 7 little known facts about how mold can affect the body.

1. Mold is estrogenic in the body and contributes to weight gain and/or inability to lose weight.

2. Mycotoxins are harmful to leptin receptors and can block and/or damage them. Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain it's full.

3. Mycotoxins must be processed by removal with bile as it is fat soluble. This causes biliary sludge and can lead to gallstones.

4. Mycotoxins disrupt our thyroids ability to convert inactive T4 to active T3, hello fatigue!

5. Research demonstrates when the gallbladder is exposed to a lot of aflatoxin it is carcinogenic.

6. Mold can cause a variety of neurological problems like vertigo, numbness/tingling, seizures, and even a buzzing sensation throughout the body.

7. An estimated 20% of those with asthma are due to exposure to mold in the home.

For those with histamine intolerance, mold is one of the top triggers because it is just so toxic to every body system, it causes mast cells to keep degranulating in an attempt to get rid of them. This is ineffective and only causes hyperactivity of the immune system which can lead to things like CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome).

More in comments 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

We often want to talk poorly about estrogen since estrogen dominance is so common with conditions like

✔️Endometriosis

✔️PCOS

✔️Fibroids

✔️Infertility

✔️Uterine and breast cancers

✔️Histamine intolerance

but we have to keep in mind we need healthy levels of estrogen in order to have collagen rich skin, strong bones and a robust s*x drive.

What are common causes of estrogen imbalances?

✔️Birth control pills

✔️Eating processed foods, drinking alcohol

✔️Lack of sleep

✔️Poor nourishment postpartum

✔️Skipping meals and for some keto diets

✔️Toxic personal care products with endocrine disruptors like BPA

✔️Overburdened liver

How do we assess estrogen levels?

There are 3 types of estrogens we want to check using a DUTCH test:

✔️Estrone: is made in the ovaries. E1 production decreases during pregnancy and with menopause. It has weak effects on the body, including maintenance of bone health.

✔️Estradiol: E2 is made in the ovaries. It is the most prevalent estrogen in the body during the reproductive years. Its main job is to mature and maintain the reproductive system

✔️Estriol: E3 is present in small amounts in premenopausal women. It is the main estrogen produced during pregnancy and it is made by the placenta. When high in non-pregnant women it can cause growths like cysts and fibroids.

👉🏼Depending on which estrogens are high will dictate the next steps and supplements needed in order to get it in balance, along with necessary lifestyle changes.

🐝Buzz kill: blood testing for estrogen is inaccurate and doesn't measure what your tissues are actually utilizing, so if you're told your labs are normal but you feel like a hot mess- that's why!

💃🏼 Join the waitlist to run your own DUTCH test to get the truth about your hormone levels! Drop a 🙋🏼‍♀️ below or shoot me a DM if you are interested!

I still remember having the conversation with a knowledable practictioner when I learned histamine was my issue. I had never even heard the phrase "histamine intolerance" before so you can imagine how lost and confused I felt in that moment.

That led me down a google rabbit hole resulting in finding lots of conflicting information and not really knowing which one to trust.

Can you relate?

Fast forward to now when I look back thinking- man I wish I knew...

1. My liver was screaming for help. Years of processed foods, NSAIDS, birth control pills, alcohol, and lots of toxic personal care products caused my liver to be sluggish and unable to keep up anymore. The liver helps to remove histamine from the body so this was critical to get it working again.

Remedy: Castor oil packs are the gentliest and very effective at lowering toxic load quickly. (Pair with a binder to decrease your risk of a detox reaction.

2. Noticing worse symptoms at different times during the month? Excess estrogen during ovulation and the luteal phase are to blame. Estrogen helps to produce more histamine, and histamine helps to produce more estrogen- YIKES!

Remedy: Avoid your known histamine triggers during these times and address estrogen dominance.

3. Are you ignoring your stressors whether it's your job or those toxic relationships where you struggle to set boundaries? This is a HUGE contributor to your histamine bucket!

Remedy: Put YOU first and drop the guilt. Listen to your gut. Show some love to your nervous system and vagus nerve in order to lower histamine levels quickly!

What did you wish you knew when you first learned you had histamine intolerance?

If you want more free tips, grab my free histamine healing guide linked in my bio!

Did you know over 90% of chronic sinusitis aka sinus infections are fungal or mold related?

Do you typically run to your doctor to grab an antibiotic when you think you got one?

Unfortunately antibiotics are one of the worst things you can do since it kills the good bacteria that is working to keep that infection in check. Once you kill the good bacteria, the opportunistic bacteria has an even better chance of overtaking your nasal microbiome which eventually gets passed into your gut microbiome.

We also must realize that if you're eating a diet that loves to feed fungus and mold, like highly processed carbs, too much fruits or grains, this is setting the stage for having repeat infections that often become systemic.

So instead of grabbing an antibiotic, we want to address the fungal and/or mold overgrowth with herbal antifungals, biofilm breakers and binders, while completing therapeutic nasal rinses.

I would also recommend checking your home for mold and/or your place of work or school. An ERMI test is the gold standard for checking for mold. Do not think just because you don't see it that you don't have it. Living in a new building also does not omit the possibility as new building materials these days are cheap and do not repel water.

Running a mycotoxin test and an organic acid test is a great way to check if you have mold and/or bacterial overgrowth which can easily be completed at home.

Interested?

Link in bio to schedule a complimentary consultation to learn more.

Are you unsure what some of your root causes may be when struggling with histamine intolerance?

These are some of the most common gut pathogens I see when running the GI-MAP stool test with clients.

Unfortunately by the time clients meet me they've often had at least 1 endoscopy and colonoscopy which was determined "normal and healthy". This is because the doctor is really only looking for very severe conditions like potential colitis or colon cancer.

Instead we want to check for these very common gut pathogens which are often overlooked by providers.

Even worse is sometimes you may not be having typical IBS symptoms, or maybe they are so intermittent that you aren't suspecting any gut issues.

If you do happen to catch these with your medical provider, 9/10 the answer is antibiotics which only exacerbate the problem since we know antibiotics kill both good and opportunistic bacteria- which leaves the opportunistic there to overgrow in the months afterwards.

This is why you may have taken antibiotics for any other of the above mentioned only to find it comes back in a matter of months.

By using antibacterial and antifungal herbs, we maintain the integrity of the healthy bacteria while addressing the harmful bacteria.

Some other key pieces to incorporate are using key nutrients and supplements to support the gut barrier, remove inflammatory foods, support detox and drainage organs of elimination and address oral health. Why oral health? This is often not addressed and can be the reason for re-infection as anything found in the mouth gets passed into the GI tract.

Another thing to keep in mind is if you have a partner they will need to be treated as well- even if they don't show symptoms it is best to test so you don't risk re-infection.

This client came to me reporting she previously had h pylori with 2 rounds of antibiotics and her gut has never been the same since with constant bloating, gas and abdominal pain upon waking. Follow that up with getting the C word which triggered an ongoing histamine issue (not uncommon). She experienced insomnia and itching at night. She had low energy and would use sugar to help with bursts of energy.

Her functional lab tests revealed she had yeast and bacterial overgrowth which led to high oxalates. This was putting her mitochondria under a lot of stress. We also found she had low beneficial bacteria, and overgrowth of strep and staph. She had very high elevated anti-gliadin antibodies which indicates gluten intolerance in addition to decreased fat absorption.

We put her on a bacterial overgrowth protocol with some additional gut and histamine support. We also added some adrenal support due to her blood sugar imbalances and low blood pressure.

It's been 2 months, approaching her third month and she states, "Overall I'm feeling a lot better. My sleep has improved and I'm noticing less gas and bloating. My histamine symptoms have also decreased significantly!" She also said, "I have several clients that are asking what I'm doing to look so good lol. I haven't changed my skin care routine at all. I've always done monthly facials. It's the detox and the diet."

When I'm working with clients, we never really talk about how the outward appearance can positively change because our focus is internal, so it's always a welcomed surprise when we get those benefits! There's really no need to spend hundreds on expensive face creams when you heal your gut and she is the perfect example of that!

Link in bio if you're ready to start your journey towards healing your gut!

t only makes sense to think your "allergy" symptoms are coming from some external source like pollen, dust or food intolerances right?

While this may be the case for some, this is not the case for those with histamine intolerance, when you seem to be reacting to a wide variety of foods, or supplements, have nighttime itching or insomnia.

Your body is overwhelmed with histamine because of the internal stressors like parasites, mold SIBO/SIFO and not to mention the emotional stressors which can also trigger things like hives or rashes.

Let's stop trying to fix our histamine issues with OTC antihistamines- shall we?

This is unfortunately why all those allergy tests, skin prick tests and the like have led down the path to nowhere.

Instead we need to be running functional lab tests like the Organic Acid Test, GI-MAP, Mycotoxin tests...etc. These give us root cause diagnoses so we can take action on what is really making you feel like crap.

Can you relate? Have you been wondering why you're not getting better on OTC drugs but instead are coming to feel worse?

If you're interested in getting to the root cause and done masking symptoms, check out my link in bio to schedule a complimentary consult!

This client came to me after being in nuva ring for 10 years and after stopping for 3 months started to notice some miserable symptoms like pain during ovulation, menstrual phase and during s*x. Her cycles also became long and unpredictable. Then she discovered she had painful ovarian cysts and was told she may have Endometriosis.

With hopes of becoming pregnant in the next year, she was extremely stressed and fearful of what the future looked like with all these new symptoms.

We discovered she had estrogen dominance in addition to elevated yeast and mold markers as well as reoccurring h pylori. Turns out she had treated it in the past but was likely re-infected by her partner who was never treated.

After 2 months of gut and hormone healing protocols, I received this amazing message! No more pain, irregular cycles or bleeding! Best of all the cysts were gone!

It's not uncommon for cysts and fibroids to shrink and disappear within only a couple months when we work on the root causes.

If you've been struggling with balancing your hormones, or are just getting off birth control and struggling to get pregnant, let's chat! Link in bio to schedule a free consult!