Wissenswertes

Histamine intolerance and mental health

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in mental health issues , as evidenced by the Statista infographic " Mental Health: Record High in Sick Days in 2020 " from 2021. From 2000 to 2020, the number of sick days due to mental health issues more than doubled per 100 DAK-insured individuals. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), more attention must therefore be paid to mental health issues and their treatment. In this blog post, we would like to focus on the connection between histamine intolerance and mental health.

What is a mental illness?

Mental illnesses are among the most common illnesses , primarily affecting women and younger people up to the age of 34. Mental illnesses are more prevalent in lower socioeconomic groups, while affective and psychotic disorders are more common in large cities. These include, in descending order of prevalence...
  • Anxiety disorders
  • unipolar depression
  • Disorders caused by alcohol and drug use.

Causes of mental illness

A mental illness usually does not have one specific cause, but arises from a combination of various factors . The following factors play a major role:

  • biological (e.g. developmental, genetic and neurochemical factors)
  • psychological (e.g. traumas and learning experiences)
  • social (e.g. education and caregivers)

Happy woman drinks tea in bed

However, the individual factors vary in their intensity depending on the specific mental illness. For example, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are caused by genetic or biological factors in 60-80% of cases. In personality disorders and depression , this figure is only around 30%, as psychosocial factors play a more significant role in these conditions.

According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey “ When Your Head Starts to Trouble ” from July/August 2021 , the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing mental health problems for 35% of the 2,071 people surveyed in Germany. Stress and mood swings have been the most common symptoms since COVID-19 , closely followed by depressive episodes and periods of sadness.

Histamine and the psyche: Is there a connection?

Can histamine intolerance cause psychological problems such as anxiety disorders and panic attacks, and can existing psychological symptoms be exacerbated by histamine intolerance ? The answer is a resounding YES. And there's a simple reason for this: Histamine intolerance affects not only your gastrointestinal tract, but your entire central nervous system , including your brain and psyche. This is because histamine intolerance is a metabolic disorder. In addition to common symptoms like migraines, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating, the following psychological symptoms are also possible with histamine intolerance:

  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Mood swings
  • Concentration problems
  • nervous restlessness
  • fatigue
  • Aggression
  • irritability
Furthermore, various scientific studies have revealed that
A person's emotional state not only has a significant influence on the strength of an allergic reaction, but also on the severity of a histamine surge .

IMPORTANT: Antidepressant therapy is counterproductive in cases of histamine intolerance, as the medication does not address the underlying cause but can further impair DAO function and trigger histamine release. If you are planning to start medication, be sure to inform your doctor/psychiatrist about your histamine intolerance.

Medical consultation

Anxiety and panic caused by histamine: The brain is the key

The human brain receives an extremely large number of signals every day and must also process them. These stimuli are regulated by the histaminergic system , which is part of the autonomic nervous system. This process is also called homeostasis and describes self-regulation , in which histamine is involved.

In stressful situations, the release of histamine from mast cells can lead to symptoms such as itching. Conversely, intolerance symptoms cause increased activity of mast cells in the brain, which can lead to increased histamine release and trigger psychological symptoms such as panic or anxiety .

Histamine production in the brain takes place in the hypothalamus , which is located in the diencephalon. It therefore becomes clear that there is a connection between mental illnesses and mast cells that release histamine. The brain often reacts to the persistent histamine release with inflammatory responses as an immune response, which in turn trigger anxiety or mental disorders. Mast cells influence neuronal systems and cause changes in both behavior and hormonal balance .

Conversely, this means that if you suffer from a mental illness in which the mast cells are very active, this will very likely have a negative effect on an existing histamine intolerance.

CAUTION: Caution is also advised when taking histidine. This amino acid is broken down into histamine in the body and can affect mental health.

Histamine intolerance symptoms and mental health — our conclusion

Histamine intolerance and mental health are interconnected and influence each other . Therefore, it's essential that you pay attention to your mental health and reduce stress. Targeted breathing exercises or meditation can positively affect your mental state by calming the mast cells in the brain through stress reduction.

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