Histamine and Migraine, a close relation although not known

The histamine, a present molecule in all the living creatures and in all foods, is a vital compound for the organism. It is present in all the food products although in different proportions of some species to others. Therefore, the histamine is necessary for the life. However, the histamine can pile up in excess and turn into a "perverse" molecule.

When there is a disproportion between the histamine ingested or released from the cells that store it in the organism and the capacity of the metabolism of their accumulation takes place in the plasma and the appearance of adverse effects. Being the more distinguished the migraine, by a vasodilation of the arteries caused by the mentioned excess of histamine.

And if it is present in all the food products. . . Why it doing damage to some people and to others not?

So that the excess of histamine is degraded with normality, their enzymes of metabolism must act correctly. When one of their enzymes does not work correctly the ingested histamine is not metabolized in an adaptedway, food histaminosis, and the adverse effects appear, standing out for her inability, the migraine. The enzyme most sent in the metabolism and neutralization of the histamine, is in the small intestine and is called "Diamine oxidase", known also as DAO.

Mainspring of the enzymatic dysfunction

For a genetic origin, some people have or produce few Diamine oxidase (DAO) and this provokes that the excess of histamine is not neutralized and ends up generating migraine, among other disorders. (It is for this reason that until not long ago it was said that the migraine was hereditary, when what is hereditary is the deficit from DAO). But another event is still added.

People tend to treat their migraine with migraine medications, and the majority of antimigraine drugs inhibit the work of the Diamine oxidase (DAO), and this is not any longer capable of deactivating the food histamine. Because of that the migraine patients most sensitive to the histamine, worsen the problem with the intake of drugs, creating an endless problem. Eat what they eat, if the DAO is inhibited generates more migraines!

Adverse effects caused by the accumulation of histamine in the body (all the symptoms not always appear)

- In the Central Nervous System: The Migraine is the most distinguished
- In the Cardiovascular System: Hypertension and arrhythmia
- In the Epithelial System: Urticaria, edema, atopic skin
- In the Respiratory System: Nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezes...
- In the Digestive System: Irrtable Columbus, diarrhoea, stomach ache...

Solutions

1. In the first place a low diet in histamine must be obtained, although it can be very difficult to achieve, because all foods contain histamine and few or too few include the quantity of histamine in their label. But in general it is convenient to bear it very in mind and to recur to poor foods in histamine.

2. In the second place the consumption of drugs that inhibit the metabolism of histamine must be decreased as much as possible. (Almost all the medicines "antimigraine" inhibiting)

3. In migraine patients with a deficit of DAO is not only through ingestion of drugs, but also through a genetic origin, it is convenient that they reestablish the level of this enzyme, which soon will be distributed in capsules as nutritional complement.

Why women during pregnancy have fewer migraine?

The migrañosas women during the pregnancy usually decrease the frequency and intensity of their migraine crises. This is mostly due to two things: a) That during the pregnancy the ingesta of drugs reduces b) That during the pregnancy the placenta produces high levels of DAO.

So the pregnant woman is extremely protected any excess histamine.