Histamine intolerance, oxalates & lectins
This blog article is about the connection between oxalates, lectins, and histamine intolerance. This is because an intolerance to these two substances can also occur, which, in addition to histamine intolerance, can lead to discomfort.
Oxalates/Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is found in the form of oxalates primarily in plant-based foods. These include, first and foremost, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dried spices and herbs.
4 facts about oxalates in the context of histamine intolerance
1. Most oxalate-rich foods also have a high histamine content or are histamine liberators.
2. In the event of an imbalance in the gut, oxalates can promote inflammation. Inflammation in the body in turn promotes the release of histamine, creating a vicious cycle.
3. If Leaky Gut (permeable intestinal mucosa) is present, oxalates (just like histamine) can spread throughout the body and cause discomfort.
4. In many cases, the cause of an intolerance to oxalates is an imbalanced gut (more information below).
If you suspect you are not tolerating oxalates, an elimination diet is a good option, during which you initially only avoid foods that have a very high oxalic acid content.
Oxalate-rich foods
- Almonds (1)
- Wild herbs
- Beetroot
- Sweet potatoes
- Sesame (1)
- Rhubarb (1)
- Swiss chard (1)
- Spinach (2)
- Star fruit
- Cocoa (2)
- Fig (1)
- Tomato (2)
- Legumes (beans, lentils, peas) (2)
- Wheat (1) & rye (1)
In addition, it is formed by the body's own metabolism. Oxalates are the end product of ascorbate, glyoxylate, and glycine metabolism in the human body and are mainly produced by the breakdown of amino acids and ascorbic acid.For a healthy gut, oxalates do not pose a problem.
However, if there is dysbiosis (imbalance of the intestinal flora), a Leaky Gut (permeable intestinal mucosa), SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), or inflammation in the gut, oxalates often cannot be adequately broken down because the necessary bacterial strains are reduced or missing. But a deficiency in vitamin B6, B1, and magnesium can also lead to an increased oxalate level.
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Lectins and Histamine Intolerance
A lectin intolerance or lectin poisoning can coexist with histamine intolerance and often occurs when the gut is in a state of dysbiosis or Leaky Gut (permeable intestinal mucosa) is present.
Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that occur in plants and protect them from predators by causing symptoms of poisoning after consumption. For this reason, animals tend to avoid lectin-containing plants.
Lectins cannot harm us humans as long as our metabolism is in balance and our gut is healthy, because the intestinal barrier is normally strong enough to prevent inadequately digested molecules from entering the bloodstream through the intestinal mucosa.
However, if there is an imbalance in the intestinal flora, the intestinal mucosa is often more permeable or even leaky, which allows not only histamine but also undigested lectin molecules to spread throughout the body. If this is the case, lectins can cause the following symptoms:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Flatulence
- Feeling of fullness
- Heartburn
- Diarrhea
Since the symptoms are once again identical to those of HIT, it is important here to keep a food-symptom diary and avoid the following foods for a period of 4-6 weeks:
e.g., chickpeas, beans, lentils, peanuts
e.g., wheat (1), rice, corn
e.g., flaxseed, sesame (1), or pumpkin seeds
Sources
- Charrier, Marina JS; Savage, Geoffrey P; Vanhanen, Leo; Oxalate content and calcium binding capacity of tea and herbal teas, Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 11(4), 2002, pp. 298-301.
- Burgerstein, Lothar, Handbuch Nährstoffe, 12th ed., pp. 570f.
- Hönow, Ruth; Gu, Ke-Liang Reinhold; Hesse, Albrecht; Siener, Roswitha, Oxalate content of green tea of different origin, quality, preparation and time of harvest, Urological Research, Volume 38 (5), Springer Journals, Oct 1, 2010, pp. 377-381.
- Weiß, Claudia; Oxalsäure, Ernährungs-Umschau, 11/2009, pp. 636-639.
- Noonan, SC., Savage, GP, Oxalate content of foods and its effect on humans. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 8(1), 1999, pp. 64-74.
- regarding the bacterial strain: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11532105/
Lectins:
- Vojdani, A., 2015. Lectins, agglutinins, and their roles in autoimmune reactivities. Alternative Therapies, 2, p.142. Retrieved online on 06.07.2018 at:http://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Alternative%20_Therapies_Special_Issue_Deluxe.pdf#page=44
- Vasconcelos, I.M. and Oliveira, J.T.A., 2004. Antinutritional properties of plant lectins. Toxicon, 44(4), pp.385-403. Retrieved online on 06.07.2018 at:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010104001916
- Xie, W., Adolf, J. and Melzig, M.F., 2017. Identification of Viscum album L. miRNAs and prediction of their medicinal values. PloS one, 12(11), p.e0187776. Retrieved online on 07.07.2018 at:http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187776
- Orange, M., Reuter, U. and Hobohm, U., 2016. Coley’s lessons remembered: augmenting mistletoe therapy. Integrative cancer therapies, 15(4), pp.502-511. Retrieved online on 07.07.2018 at:http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1534735416649916
