Is Excess Brain Histamine The Cause of Your Symptoms?

Summary

In this informative video, Dr. Hagmire explores the complex role of histamine in the brain, beyond its well-known connection to allergic reactions. Histamine acts as a neurotransmitter affecting sleep, mood, stress response, appetite, and even pain perception. The video highlights how excess brain histamine can lead to issues like insomnia, brain fog, and chronic pain, while also impacting mental health conditions like anxiety and ADHD. Dr. Hagmire emphasizes the importance of balancing histamine levels and offers insights into managing histamine-related symptoms effectively.

Takeaways

• 🔬 Histamine is a signaling molecule that communicates between cells in the immune system, skin, gut, and brain.
• 🧠 In the brain, histamine acts as a neurotransmitter and influences motivation, memory, mood, appetite, and sleep.
• ⚡ Histamine can impact mental health by affecting neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and glutamate.
• 😴 Too much or too little histamine can disrupt the sleep-wake cycle, potentially causing insomnia, narcolepsy, or brain fog.
• 💥 Excess histamine in the brain can cause pain sensitivity, especially in conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and neuropathy.
• 🧬 Enzymes like hnmt and maob are responsible for breaking down histamine in the brain, and problems with these enzymes can lead to excess histamine.
• 🍽️ Histamine suppresses appetite, but antihistamines can increase hunger, potentially leading to overeating and weight gain.
• 🔒 Histamine affects the blood-brain barrier, which, when compromised, can lead to various neurological disorders like epilepsy, MS, and strokes.
• ⚖️ Histamine balance is crucial for overall brain function; both excess and deficiency can lead to various issues such as mental fatigue, stress, and poor concentration.
• 📈 Histamine plays a role in addictive behaviors by influencing the dopamine system, which affects reward and pleasure pathways.

Q & A

What is histamine and what role does it play in the body?

Histamine is a signaling molecule that helps different cells communicate. It is released by the immune system and has multiple functions, including regulating allergic reactions, sleep, mood, and how the body adapts to stress.

How does histamine affect the brain?

Histamine in the brain functions as a neurotransmitter, affecting areas such as motivation, memory, mood, appetite, and even blood flow. It plays a crucial role in maintaining the blood-brain barrier and can impact neurological conditions like strokes, epilepsy, and MS.

What are the four types of histamine receptors, and how do they differ?

The four types of histamine receptors are H1, H2, H3, and H4. Different tissues in the body have varying receptors, and histamine's effect depends on which receptor it binds to. For example, in the brain, histamine can affect sleep, appetite, mood, and pain perception based on the receptor type.

How can too much histamine in the brain affect health?

Excess histamine in the brain can cause problems such as brain fog, difficulty concentrating, mental fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, and even sleep disorders like insomnia or narcolepsy. It can also impact neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate, leading to various mental health issues.

What enzymes are involved in breaking down histamine in the brain?

The enzymes responsible for breaking down histamine in the brain are HNMT (histamine-N-methyltransferase) and MAO-B (monoamine oxidase B). These enzymes differ from those that break down histamine in other parts of the body, like the DAO enzyme in the gut.

What impact does histamine have on sleep?

Histamine plays a crucial role in the sleep-wake cycle. It helps keep the brain alert and awake. Excess histamine can lead to sleep disturbances, such as insomnia or narcolepsy, while low histamine levels can cause sleeping disorders.

How does histamine affect pain perception?

Histamine can increase the firing rates of nerves, leading to pain hypersensitivity. This can contribute to conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or neuropathy. The H3 histamine receptor is particularly involved in pain transmission.

How do antihistamines work, and what are their limitations?

Antihistamines block histamine from binding to its receptors, reducing symptoms like allergies and drowsiness. However, they do not reduce histamine production or break it down faster, and may have side effects such as increased appetite, weight gain, or fatigue.

Can histamine affect addictive behaviors?

Yes, histamine can influence the dopamine system, which is linked to pleasure and reward. Changes in histamine levels can either stimulate or inhibit dopamine activity, affecting behaviors related to addiction, such as alcohol or drug use.

What is the connection between histamine and mental health disorders?

Histamine can influence mental health by affecting neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and glutamate. Imbalances in histamine can lead to conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, depression, OCD, and other mental health disorders.

Outlines

00:00

💬 The Role of Histamine in the Body and Brain

Histamine is a crucial signaling molecule in the body, facilitating communication between different cells. Most people associate histamine with allergic reactions like itchy eyes, runny nose, and hives. However, it plays a much larger role, especially in the brain. There are four known histamine receptors (H1, H2, H3, and H4), and each impacts various tissues differently. In the brain, histamine can influence motivation, memory, mood, and appetite. This video explores the wide-ranging effects of histamine, particularly in the brain, and how excess histamine can lead to several problems.

05:00

🧠 Histamine's Impact on Sleep and Brain Function

Histamine neurons are located in the hypothalamus and help regulate the sleep-wake cycle. High levels of brain histamine can lead to insomnia, narcolepsy, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Mental fatigue and brain fog can also be symptoms of excess histamine. Antihistamines can block histamine receptors but don’t reduce histamine production, leading to side effects like sleepiness and difficulty concentrating. Histamine also plays a role in how we perceive pain, and excessive histamine can heighten sensitivity to pain, contributing to conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndromes.

10:01

⚖️ Histamine and Mental Health

Histamine imbalances in the brain can contribute to mental health disorders like ADHD, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Histamine’s role in stimulating neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and glutamate makes it a key player in mood regulation. Too much histamine can lead to a range of symptoms, including Restless Mind Syndrome and OCD-like behaviors. Additionally, histamine has been linked to addictive behaviors by either stimulating or inhibiting the dopamine system, which plays a major role in reward and pleasure.

Keywords

💡Histamine

Histamine is a chemical involved in immune responses, acting as a signaling molecule between cells. In the context of the video, histamine is emphasized not only for its role in allergic reactions but also for its significant impact on brain functions such as sleep, stress response, and mood regulation. The video highlights how histamine levels need to be balanced, as too much or too little can lead to various physical and mental health problems.

💡Histamine receptors (H1, H2, H3, H4)

These are proteins located on different tissues that respond to histamine. The video explains that depending on which histamine receptor is activated, different effects can occur. For instance, in the brain, histamine binding to these receptors can influence sleep, motivation, memory, and even pain perception. The variety of histamine receptors highlights the complexity of histamine's role in the body, especially within the brain.

💡Brain fog

Brain fog refers to a state of mental confusion or difficulty in concentrating, often leading to a lack of clarity in thought. In the video, it is explained that excessive histamine in the brain, due to problems in its breakdown, can lead to brain fog. This is commonly experienced when histamine receptors are blocked, as with antihistamine medications, leading to feelings of mental fatigue and trouble focusing.

💡Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain that transmit signals between neurons. The video discusses how histamine acts as a neurotransmitter and influences the release of other neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are key to regulating mood, motivation, and overall brain function. Dysregulated histamine can thus disrupt this balance, leading to mental health issues.

💡Blood-brain barrier

The blood-brain barrier is a selective barrier that protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood. The video mentions that excess histamine can break down this barrier, leading to various neurological problems, including stroke, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. The degradation of the blood-brain barrier due to histamine is presented as a critical issue affecting brain health.

💡DAO enzyme

DAO (diamine oxidase) enzyme is responsible for breaking down histamine, particularly in the gut. The video briefly refers to this enzyme in the context of histamine intolerance, emphasizing that while DAO plays a role in the digestive system, other enzymes like HNMT and MAO-B are crucial for breaking down histamine in the brain, highlighting the distinct processes involved in different parts of the body.

💡Histamine intolerance

Histamine intolerance occurs when the body cannot break down histamine efficiently, leading to an overload of histamine and various symptoms. The video contrasts common perceptions of histamine intolerance, often linked to diet and allergic reactions, with its more complex effects on the brain. In the brain, excess histamine can cause cognitive and emotional disturbances, underlining the importance of histamine regulation beyond just physical allergic symptoms.

💡Leptin

Leptin is a hormone that regulates appetite by signaling fullness to the brain. The video connects histamine with leptin levels, explaining that histamine in the brain helps suppress appetite. Taking antihistamines, which block histamine, can interfere with this mechanism, often leading to increased hunger and weight gain. This demonstrates how histamine affects not just allergic responses but also eating behaviors.

💡Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

MCAS is a condition where mast cells, a type of immune cell, release excessive amounts of histamine and other chemicals, leading to chronic inflammation. The video references MCAS in relation to histamine overload in the brain and other parts of the body, suggesting that histamine-driven inflammation can worsen neurological conditions like chronic pain and mental health issues.

💡Antihistamines

Antihistamines are medications used to block the effects of histamine, often to alleviate allergy symptoms. The video explains that while antihistamines can relieve physical symptoms by preventing histamine from binding to its receptors, they do not stop histamine production or its buildup. The discussion highlights how prolonged use of antihistamines can lead to side effects such as drowsiness, brain fog, and changes in appetite, which further complicate histamine-related health problems.

Highlights

Histamine is a signaling chemical released by the immune system and can communicate between different cells.

Histamine has a wide-ranging effect beyond allergic reactions, influencing sleep, mood, and brain function.

Excess histamine in the brain can affect motivation, memory, mood, and appetite, contributing to brain fog and mental fatigue.

There are four types of histamine receptors (H1, H2, H3, H4), and histamine's effects vary depending on which receptor it binds to.

Histamine neurons in the brain originate from the hypothalamus and play a critical role in the sleep-wake cycle.

Excess brain histamine can contribute to neurological disorders like narcolepsy, causing sleep instability.

Mental health issues like ADHD, depression, and anxiety can be influenced by histamine through its impact on neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Histamine in the brain can alter blood flow, impact the blood-brain barrier, and cause nerve cell damage.

Histamine can inhibit serotonin release and regulate brain activity, affecting mood and stress response.

Histamine can stimulate or inhibit dopamine, which is crucial in behaviors related to pleasure and reward, such as addiction.

Taking antihistamines may lead to side effects like weight gain, increased appetite, and changes in taste perception.

Histamine affects pain perception, contributing to conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndromes through increased nerve firing rates.

Histamine can influence hunger and appetite through its interactions with leptin, contributing to overeating and unhealthy eating behaviors.

Excess histamine in the brain can exacerbate conditions like MS, epilepsy, and inflammatory diseases by breaking down the blood-brain barrier.

Balancing histamine in the brain is complex, and addressing excess brain histamine requires different treatment strategies than those used for histamine elsewhere in the body.

Transcripts

foreign

is a signaling chemical that your immune

system releases to send messages back

and forth between different cells

essentially histamine is how certain

cells will talk or communicate with one

another and so while you may be aware of

histamine in relationship to allergic

reactions like those itchy eyes the

runny nose the scratchy throat and those

red blotchy hives that you see on your

skin histamine does so much more than

that and that's we're going to talk

about today histamine has a powerful

effect on sleep how your body adapts to

stress your mood and then today I'm

going to be talking about how excess

histamine causes problems specifically

in the brain now when it comes to

histamine there are four known histamine

receptors H1 H2 H3 and H4 now the reason

why I tell you this is that different

tissues have different histamine

receptors and depending on what

histamine receptor histamine actually

binds to it's going to determine what

happens in that particular tissue so for

example when it comes to the brain

like I said the brain has all four

histamine receptors this means that

histamine can have a wide ranging effect

in different parts of the brain

depending on where that histamine binds

to now in the same way that histamine

can affect your skin causing hives and

your eyes causing them to water

histamine in the brain can impact things

like motivation memory mood and even

your appetite well hey there I'm Dr

hagmire and today I've had a great video

for you in today's video we're going to

be talking about and helping you

understand a little bit more about the

effects that histamine has on your brain

and the symptoms that one may experience

when too much histamine is present in

the brain now today's video is obviously

going to be a little bit different from

past videos that I've done on MCAS and

histamine intolerance and there's a good

chance that if you stumbled on this

video then you or a loved one is really

suffering with several problems that I'm

going to be talking about in this

particular video so when it comes to

histamine excess and your brain be sure

that you watch this video all the way to

the very end now one thing I want to be

clear on is that histamine is not a bad

thing while most of what bloggers and

health enthusiasts and nutritionists and

doctors are really writing about these

days seems to be about histamine

intolerance and just how bad histamine

is I want to make the case that not

that's not entirely the whole story okay

as an example when somebody has low

histamine

they may have problems with sleeping

they have sleeping disorders they could

have abdominal pain or bloating they

could have seizures they could have

ticks but having too much histamine and

not having the ability to break it down

now that's a bad thing but I hope by the

end of this video you're going to think

about histamine a bit differently now as

I mentioned uh histamine is a signaling

molecule right in the gut in the skin

the immune system but in the brain and

the nerve system histamine is actually a

neurotransmitter if you've ever heard of

like a leaky gut well too much histamine

can actually cause a leaky brain and it

can cause nerve cell death and it can

cause areas of the brain that play a

role in appetite and temperature and

Regulation

and hunger and thirst and a lot of other

different things neuronal histamine or

histamine in the brain can really do

things like alter blood flow in the

blood vessels of the brain of course so

this can lead to changes in the

blood-brain barrier and that blood-brain

barrier acts as a physical barrier it's

also anabolic barrier and here's why

this may be important for you or even a

loved one is if you've been suffering

with the residual effects of a stroke or

you have seizures or you have epilepsy

or you have MS or some other

demyelinating inflammatory disease that

affects the central nervous system

histamine most likely is a part of this

histamine can break down the blood-brain

barrier and that can cause problems

and many more things that I'm going to

be talking about in today's video

histamine can inhibit the release of

serotonin in fact in the brain histamine

has been suggested to be a regulator of

whole brain activity and so in today's

video I'm going to break it down on how

these things can be affecting you or

your loved ones now unlike some of the

past videos where I've spoken about

histamine intolerance you may have

watched those I talked a lot about this

Dao enzyme again that Dao enzyme is the

enzyme that actually degrades or breaks

down histamine in the gut but when we

talk about histamine in the brain

there's actually two other enzymes that

you really should be aware of one is the

hnmt enzyme and the other is maob now

problems with these enzymes are in part

responsible for the symptoms we're going

to be talking about throughout this

video now here's the thing problems with

either of these can lead to excess

histamine in the brain and the reason I

tell you that is is this

you can't treat excess histamine in the

brain the same way you would treat

excess histamine in other parts of the

body because the enzymes are different

and they have different requirements so

I just want you to be aware of that and

with that said let's jump into some of

the problems with excess brain histamine

and how this might be causing some of

the symptoms that you or loved one is

suffering with okay so in the brain

histamine neurons originate only in the

hypothalamus and they're thought to play

an important role in the sleep wake

cycle and sleep State stability now in

other words histamine keeps the mind in

awakened or Alert state you may

recognize this as insomnia or even

something known by the name of

narcolepsy right narcolepsy is a chronic

neurological disorder that involves a

decreased ability to regulate the sleep

wake Cycles symptoms often include

periods of excessive daytime sleepiness

and brief involuntary sleep episode

where you're just falling asleep now

about 70 percent of those affected in

individuals also experience episodes of

muscle loss excess brain histamine can

certainly be a culprit now many people

these days struggle with brain fog and

mental fatigue now here again histamine

can be a problem when histamine

receptors are blocked as in the case of

someone taking antihistamines or in the

case of Excess histamine where it's not

being properly broken down by those

enzymes that I mentioned just a moment

ago we get this flooding of histamine in

our brains this again leads to mental

fatigue brain fog trouble focusing and

concentrating think about it this way

have you ever took an antihistamine like

Benadryl how do you typically feel after

you took it right did it make you sleepy

did it make you drowsy how did it affect

the way you thought and how you were

thinking did your heart begin to race

did you experience dizziness did you

have headaches or ringing in the ears

again these are all common side effects

of antihistamines now remember

antihistamines are only blocking how

histamine binds and attaches to The

receptors it's not reducing the

production of histamine and it's not

breaking down histamine faster it's just

blocking it from binding to the receptor

antihistamines while incredibly helpful

to managing some of the symptoms they

still fail to address the root cause now

another area that we see histamine

affecting is our ability to perceive

pain are you someone who struggles with

chronic pain maybe you have fibromyalgia

or serves chronic inflammatory response

syndrome well mold exposure can trigger

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and in the

peripheral nerve system histamine is

released in response to tissue injury

and inflammation and tissue of course

tissue damage now the nerve system when

you have too much histamine it can lead

to increased firing rates of these

nerves and what that means is that it

can generate pain and pain

hypersensitivity so think about it like

this many people who suffer with

neuropathy or fibromyalgia or chronic

pain syndromes they may be affected by

this now remember what I said there are

four kinds of histamine receptors H1 two

three and four in the brain H3 receptors

can affect how pain is being transmitted

having too much or too little histamine

in your brain you may end up perceiving

pain much stronger than you would under

normal circumstances but that's not all

those H3 receptors are involved in those

H3 receptors are involved in mental

health problems like ADHD depression

anxiety panic attacks now the reason we

see this connection between histamine

and mental health problems has to do

with both the inflammatory effects that

histamine has on the brain the impact it

has on the blood-brain barrier and its

effects on the release of other

neurotransmitters in the brain you see

histamine stimulates serotonin it

stimulates norepinephrine dopamine

glutamate Transmission in the brain we

all know that too much glutamate in the

brain is why many people struggle with

anxiety or a Restless mind or constant

worry or OCD or disorganized thoughts to

the name just a few now I hope by now

you're starting to appreciate just how

important histamine balance is in the

brain and just how widespread the

effects that histamine can really be

when things get off kilter but what if I

told you that histamine has also been

shown to play a role in addictive

behaviors like alcohol and drug use

right well you see it turns out that

histamine can either stimulate or

inhibit the dopamine system well why is

that important well dopamine is one of

the neurotransmitters that's typically

associated with pleasure and and reward

and we continue to do things that

obviously make us feel good and we avoid

the things that make us feel bad or hurt

us well that's dopamine and if you have

MCAS or histamine intolerance

Mast Cell Activation disorder and your

doctor or your specialist has you on

antihistamines like Benadryl or Allegra

or Zyrtec or Claritin or some other

prescribed medication ask yourself have

you gained weight have you noticed

changes in how food tastes are you

hungry more than usual well if you said

yes to any of these questions here's why

it turns out that histamine in the brain

puts the brakes on our hunger drive it

suppresses appetite and again when you

take an antihistamine it often increases

our appetite and this can lead to

obviously overeating and finally the end

result weight came but that's not the

only way histamine can affect hunger

histamine affects our leptin levels now

leptin is another hormone that I've

spoken about it's a hormone that

actually suppresses appetite and hunger

and so when someone becomes leptin

resistant it can increase binge eating

it can increase emotional eating or

unhealthy snacking and again promote bad

eating habits now I'll bet if you're

still with me that you never thought

that histamine as it relates to all of

these areas of the brain would be

affected so here are some fine thoughts

and things that I really just want you

to remember about histamine and the

Brain the obvious set is that it's now

apparent more than ever that too much

histamine in the brain really can be

very very damaging and while our brain

really depends on histamine too much of

it or too little can really have

terrible consequences histamine can lead

to poor sleep it can lead to increased

stress response increased pain

perception it can increase brain fog and

focus it can compromise other

neurotransmitters like serotonin and

dopamine and norepinephrine and

glutamate it can feed into unhealthy

feeding behaviors increase weight

addictive behaviors poor memory low

motivation and so there's still a lot we

don't know about the role that histamine

plays in our body and there really is no

simple solution to fixing it but I get

calls every single day from people who

are following a low histamine diet

they're taking supplements for histamine

intolerance feeling so discouraged and

if that's you don't feel discouraged

just understand that there's a lot of

pieces to the histamine puzzle it's so

much more than just following a low

histamine diet and taking a few

supplements to try to break down

histamine faster and again this is

especially true when you're dealing with

the brain and the mental aspects of

excess histamine well there you go if

you have questions feel free to drop

those in the comment section below if

you learned something new tell me what

you learned right I've got a lot of

other great videos on this channel and

on my website about histamine that I

think you'll enjoy reading or watching

and if you've been dealing with the

symptoms of histamine intolerance or

excess brain histamine and you feel like

you've hit a brick wall I invite you to

visit my website learn a little bit more

about how I work with patients and

lastly if you like today's video here's

another video that I did on histamine

intolerance that I think you might find

interesting as well

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