Best Probiotic Studies For Histamine Intolerance
Medically reviewed by: Histamine is a chemical that is naturally produced by the body but is also found in foods like Kimchi, Sauerkraut, and Kefir.
In this Probiotics For Histamine Intolerance guide, I am going to review some medical studies that have shown a link probiotics may have on the production of histamine.
Gastroenterologist's Analysis
Dr. Sara Mesilhy, told me that "Probiotic bacteria are effective for the treatment of allergic diseases, which make it possible that probiotic bacteria affect the allergy-related histamine intolerance. Further studies still needed to demonstrate the best probiotic to be effective in case of histamine intolerance."
What Is Histamine Intolerance?
Probiotic Supplement For Histamine Intolerance.
Histamine intolerance is a condition that results in a person not being able to break down histamine a chemical found in fermented dairy products, fermented vegetables, aged cheese, processed meats, fish, shellfish, alcohol and certain fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, avocados, and citrus fruits.
If you have histamine intolerance you may experience symptoms like headaches, flushing, nausea, stomach pain and allergic reactions but it really does vary from person to person and can change over time.
It has been suggested that histamine intolerance is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO), which is responsible for breaking down histamine in the body but further research is still needed.
The exact cause of Histamine Intolerance is also not yet known but a variety of factors may contribute to the development of histamine intolerance, including genetic predisposition, chronic alcohol consumption, infections, and certain medications. Treatment typically involves avoiding histamine-rich foods but new research into certain probiotic strains does look promising.
Can An Imbalance In Gut Bacteria Cause Histamine Intolerance?
It is possible that dysbiosis, (imbalance in the gut microbiome) could contribute to histamine intolerance by allowing certain pathogenic bacteria to produce histamine. A 2008 research paper from the University of Hohenheim, found that Escherichia Eoli could induce the release of histamine.
Another study from 2005 found that an infection with Salmonella typhimurium bacteria increased histamine levels and oxidative stress in the stomachs of infected rats but it's unclear if this could also translate over into humans but there does seem to be some evidence to suggest that Dysbiosis could lead to histamine intolerance.
Lactobacillus Plantarum May Help Degrade Histamine
A study has isolated four histamine-degrading Lactobacillus plantarum bacteria from miso products. Among them, L. plantarum D-103 exhibited 100% degradation of histamine in de Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth containing 50 ppm of histamine after 24 h of incubation at 30°C.
This strain also showed optimal growth and histamine-degrading activity at pH 7.0, 3% NaCl, and 30°C. It also demonstrated tolerance to a range of pH (4 to 10) and salt concentrations (0 to 12%) in histamine MRS broth. This strain of L. Plantarum may be used as an additive culture to prevent histamine accumulation in miso products during fermentation.
Quest NutraPharma's probiotic contains a single strain of Lactobacillus Plantarum at 2-Billion CFU making it ideal for people with a Histamine Intolerance because you won't have to worry about contamination from other probiotic strains. It can be bought from BodyKind for just £13.27 per 45 capsules and you can pay extra for delivery to places like Australia & the USA.
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG Suppressed Histamine H4 Receptor
This 2011 study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology journal investigated the effects of four lactobacillus strains on their combination on human mast cell gene expression using microarray analysis. Two of the tested strains showed promise for histamine intolerance.
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 suppressed genes that encoded allergy-related high-affinity IgE receptor subunits and histamine H4 receptor. Since the study used microarray analysis it's unclear if human consumption of these two strains could assist with histamine intolerance.
Best L. Rhamnosus GG Probiotic (Culturelle)
Culturelle's daily digestive is priced at just $19.99 per 30 capsules on their official website and lists Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG as the single strain in their ingredients. One point to note is that it also contains 200mg inulin prebiotic fiber and whilst I couldn't find any research that suggests this can trigger Histamine it's always best to also do your own research first.
Bifidobacterium Lactis Reduced BioGenic Amines
This study published by Gehad Eldeeb, investigated the effects of three different starter cultures on the accumulation of biogenic amines (tyramine, cadaverine, putrescine, histamine, and tryptamine) in fresh fermented sausage but it's unclear what specific B. lactis strain was used.
The results showed that the addition of starter cultures, particularly those containing Bifidobacterium Lactis significantly reduced the levels of biogenic amines in the sausage after fermentation. Biogenic amines are a type of organic compounds derived from amino acids that may trigger histamine.
The study also found that the use of starter cultures decreased the levels of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas, and increased the levels of lactic acid bacteria. This is significant because it could be beneficial for Dybiosis without triggering histamine production.
Lactobacillus Plantarum NDT09 & ND016 Degraded Biogenic Amines
In this study, 26 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum were analyzed for their ability to degrade biogenic amines commonly found in wine fermentation.
L. Plantarum NDT09 / ND016 were selected out of the 26 based on their ability to degrade putrescine and tyramine. The degradation was assessed in vitro, and the selected strains were found to work synergistically.
The survival of the strains in a wine-like medium and their ability to degrade malic acid after alcoholic fermentation suggesting that these two L. plantarum strains could be used in the development of starter cultures for malolactic fermentation to degrade biogenic amines in wine thus resulting in less histamine.
Histamine Intolerance Reddit Analysis
Two years ago a Redditor by the name of Spaceboy75 started a thread asking for people's real experiences with probiotics for Histamine Intolerance. There were some interesting replies from people who had tried various probiotic strains.
CallitDreaming found that taking a probiotic with bifidobacteria helped their histamine intolerance, but another Redditor found that their histamine intolerance worsened after taking probiotics.
Alantyl found that Seeking Health Probiota HistaminX helped with their histamine issues which contains a blend of Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus Plantarum & Lactobacillus Salivarius.
In another, Reddit thread idk23334 shared that they had also been taking Probiota Histaminx and noticed improvement which makes it seem like this is the best probiotic for histamine intolerance. This also led them to believe the root cause of their Histamine Intolerance could have been Leaky Gut syndrome which makes sense.
Conclusion
It's clear that there currently isn't enough research into the use of probiotic bacteria for people with histamine intolerance. Everything is further complicated by the fact the different species of the same Lactobacillus strain have different reactions meaning that probiotics are strain-dependent.
The best probiotic strains from my own analysis are Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 because of the studies showing their ability to suppress genes that encode allergy-related high-affinity IgE receptor subunits and histamine receptors but Probiota's blend of Bifidobacteria also looks good.
If you plan on using probiotic supplements for your histamine intolerance you should be aware that you will be walking into a bit of a minefield, so prepare for unknown reactions from different strains. The content in this blog post is not medical advice and I am not a Doctor. Consult with a medical professional before using probiotics for histamine intolerance.