For example, Part of our diet is low histamine food based.
Histamine is an important natural reaction by the immune system. It’s part of the bodies defense mechanism. We naturally produce histamine to help us fight illness. However, a lot of us have developed auto immune illnesses. This makes us vulnerable to certain foods or environmental issues that under normal conditions would cause no reaction at all.
Food can also contain histamine either naturally or when food gets older or past fresh. Also, bacteria in the gut can also cause histamine. When we suffer from a histamine issue like hay fever we are given Antihistamine tablets. But this only gets rid of the histamine we produce naturally; it doesn’t rid us of the food or bacteria-based histamines. Antihistamines also turn off or suppress our immune response and over time will add to auto immune problems.
If you suffer from any histamine problem, you can more or less be certain that you will not be making Diamine oxidase (DAO). This is a digestive enzyme produced in the kidneys, thymus, and the intestinal lining of your digestive tract. Its primary function is to break down excess histamine in your body from food. DAO keeps histamine levels in balance to avoid uncomfortable histamine-induced symptoms.
We found the best form of action is;
- Take DAO enzymes with each meal.
- Cut all histamine-based foods out of your diet.
- Mop up remaining histamine residue in your system.
Sounds easy, but what if you have a multi-layered illnesses, allergies or intolerances that are causing the same or similar types of symptoms? In that case, histamine inflammation could be 1 of several dietary, environmental or infection responses. Some of you will have to cut out some things forever some will improve with time. We will spend more time on allergies, intolerances and environmental sensitivities in other posts. It deserves to be given a lot more attention. But this at least shows you the issues we face. By the way, these dietary changes are a must for almost everyone with a major illness.
Back up Diet Choices with Scientific Data.
It’s hard to argue, even with yourself, when you see the cold hard facts. Just doing a new diet to lose weight on January 1st is a fad. Going to Weight Watchers or other well-known slimming clubs are fads. Dietary change should be done with solid reasons. It should also be a lifestyle choice not done for aesthetics alone, in my humble opinion.
DNA analysis explained to me why I didn’t like animal fats in my youth. Because I’m not genetically made to digest it plain and simple, nothing to do with Lyme disease. But the knowledge is certainly helping the healing process from Lyme. By reducing the digestive stress and inflammatory responses. My food was fish, my ancestors were probably fishermen and women from the West coast of Africa. As soon as I found this out, animal protein went from my diet. Out went all animal fats as well. So now I’m Pescatarian (Fish Diet).
Testing
About 2 years ago I had a CV blood test, it came back looking little scary, high bad LDL’s for instance. I had the same test again in October 2018, and 2 years on it was like a different person. This was the first proof I’ve seen that the diet is making improvements. Not just from a weight loss aesthetic point of view either. No Statins or blood thinners, just diet, supplements and lifestyle changes. So, 1 simple DNA test gave me my personal genetic diet requirements, it also told me what foods to avoid because they were detrimental to my genetics. It gave me a list of beneficial and non-beneficial supplements to take and to top it off it showed me via a traffic light system which genes were either working or not and the foods and supplements to take to help correct these traits. Add these findings to our Lyme disease and other findings and I started mapping out a new way forward. These findings at first were a little daunting but we eventually got our heads round them and turned them into beneficial life changes that now make a difference.
Are Free From Foods the right Choice for Lyme sufferers?
As a rule no. Cook and prepare your own food from scratch you should know the source of every ounce of fat and every gram of protein too. Gluten-free bread can have a high sugar level just to make it more palatable.
Our Modern Western diet is Addictive.
‘Sugar & High fructose corn syrup are as addictive as heroin’ according to Dr. Robert Lustig a Metabolic Health and Nutrition expert, and author of Fat Chance.
