HISTAMINE & HORMONES

Tight28 starts July 6 — only offered once a year in LIVE format. This isn’t a gut reset or an elimination diet. It’s a discovery program for anyone who knows they don’t feel as great as they could. Join now → WWW.TIGHT28.COM

💥 Episode Overview:

In this episode, Joanne takes a deep dive into a topic that's rarely discussed but highly impactful: histamine intolerance. Often mistaken for allergies or hormone issues, histamine overload can be the hidden cause behind bloating, anxiety, brain fog, poor sleep, and even body composition challenges.

This episode is rich with information—even if you don’t listen, the notes below will give you a full understanding of:

• What histamine is and why your body needs it

• What causes histamine intolerance (spoiler: it’s not just about food)

• Why midlife women and men are particularly vulnerable

• How histamine can derail your sleep, hormones, and fat loss

• What foods to watch for (and why some “healthy” ones might be causing symptoms)

• How to support your body’s ability to clear histamine and feel better fast

🧪 What Is Histamine?

Histamine is a naturally occurring compound in your body, essential for:

• Regulating stomach acid

• Acting as a neurotransmitter for alertness

• Supporting the immune system’s defense mechanisms

Histamine isn’t bad—but too much of it with too little clearance leads to histamine intolerance.

Histamine intolerance = Buildup > Breakdown

🔍 What Causes Histamine Intolerance?

The key enzyme that breaks histamine down is DAO (diamine oxidase)—and it’s made in your gut lining.

If your gut is inflamed, leaky, or imbalanced (which it likely is if you’re eating processed foods or have high stress), DAO levels drop. Add in some high-histamine foods or DAO-blocking substances, and boom—you’re suddenly reacting to foods you used to tolerate just fine.

🚨 Common Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance

• Flushed or red face after meals

• Headaches, migraines

• Nasal congestion, postnasal drip

• Itchy skin or unexplained rashes

• Anxiety or panic after eating

• Dizziness or rapid heartbeat

• Intolerance to HRT

• Bloating, water retention

• PMS or worsened menopause symptoms

• Intolerance to wine or fermented foods

Sound familiar? It often gets misdiagnosed as a hormone imbalance, allergy, or “just getting older.”

•  

🧬 Why Midlife Women and Men Struggle More

Midlife Women:

• Estrogen increases histamine release and suppresses DAO.

• Women on HRT may suddenly experience itchy rashes or anxiety and blame estrogen—when histamine overload is the real issue.

• DAO supplementation and gut support can allow HRT to work better without side effects.

Midlife Men:

• Declining testosterone + rising visceral fat = higher inflammation.

• This inflammation weakens the gut, decreases DAO, and worsens histamine sensitivity.

• Restoring gut integrity + using DAO support = less bloating, better energy, clearer mind.

🧰 What You Can Do About It

Short-Term Fix:

• Try a low-histamine diet for 1–2 weeks.

• Focus on fresh-cooked, non-fermented meals.

• Avoid leftovers and “healthy” foods like avocado, spinach, or sauerkraut temporarily.

Support DAO Production:

• Nutrients: Vitamin C, B6, copper, magnesium

• DAO-Supportive Foods: Pea sprouts, mung beans, arugula, watercress

• DAO Supplements: Look for porcine kidn

Episode Transcript

(00:10):
Hey there, listeners.
I am Joanne Lee Cornish, your Truth Bomb Dropper in the world of weight loss, body composition, and mastering the art of rocking the body you've always deserved and dreamed of in midlife and beyond.
Let's cut through the noise.
Society tells us it's downhill from now on.
We're told to embrace the middle age weight gain, embrace the muscle loss, and poor health.

(00:36):
If that's your vibe, then cool.
But if you're ready to defy the narrative, then I am your gal.
This podcast is.
A No Fluff podcast where we break down the essential truths of body composition, toss around some practical tips, and dissect the latest trends.
I'm not here to sugarcoat.
I'm here to show you what's not just possible, but down, out probable for you.

(01:02):
If you enjoy this content, be sure to click the link in the show notes to explore how we can team up and kick Medioc to the curb.
I offer one-on-one coaching my ever popular group coaching programs and my corporate Educate to Elevate program.
Okay, let's get on with the podcast.
Enjoy.
Today I want to talk about histamine intolerance.

(01:27):
I am.
Writing new content for my tight 28 program, which focuses on food sensitivities and food sensitivities.
Regard with regard to body composition, because, everything I do is to, with regards to body composition, but also with regards to fatigue, joint pain, muscular pain, a lack of focus, inability to focus energy production and basically.

(01:55):
Just not feeling that great.
Like maybe your weight's great, but you just don't feel that great.
You just know you can be better.
So that's what the Type 28 program is, and we focus on food sensitivities because people are so prone to food sensitivities right now with the way food are made, the soils that they're grown in.
And the level of production is definitely a problem.

(02:17):
But for days, for two days, sorry.
Recording.
I want to talk about histamine intolerance.
So histamine is not just something that gets triggered by hay fever or makes you sneeze around cats.
Histamine is actually a naturally occurring compound in your body.
You need it.
It's involved in things like regulating your stomach acid, acting as a neurotransmitter.

(02:44):
It actually impacts alertness.
It helps your immune system de defend against pathogens.
So histamine in itself is not bad.
The problem is when your body can't break it down fast enough, and that's when it builds up, and that's what is known as a histamine intolerance.
So histamine intolerance is not an allergy to histamine, it's an issue of buildup.

(03:11):
Too much histamine and not enough clearance.
So the problem comes with, we have an enzyme called DAO, diamine Oxidize, DAO.
And this enzyme is primarily responsible for breaking histamine down and it's proj.
And this enzyme is produced in the gut.
And right there is one problem, because it's made in the gut.

(03:34):
So if your gut is inflamed, leaky gut, which apparently 75, 80% of American adults have got, irrelevant, how much they weigh or what the body composition is.
They've got it.
If your guts inflamed, leaky gut, et cetera, or other issues, then DAO production is compromised, and DAO again, is the enzyme, and that breaks histamine down.

(03:55):
When histamine builds up, it starts to cause systemic reactions, and this is even when you're eating clean.
So symptoms of histor, histamine intolerance, flushed skin or red face after a meal, headaches and migraines.
Nasal congestion or postnasal drip hives or itching with no clear cause anxiety, especially after eating dizziness or feeling faint.

(04:23):
Irregular heartbeat, PMS or heavy periods.
For ladies taking HRT, they can have adverse effects to HRT medication.
Can you see these symptoms? You can see why it gets missed because many of these symptoms mimic allergic reactions or hormonal issues.
So it's not, the finger isn't at first pointed histamine intolerance where people point finger at allergies and in sensitivities and age and hormonal fluctuation when actually they can be driven by the buildup of histamine.

(04:58):
So this is another reason why most doctors don't test for it because histamine intolerance is not considered a true allergy.
And because the symptoms are so broad, the neurological, the cardiovascular, the hormonal, it often gets me misdiagnosed and indeed ignored.
So how does histamine build up? There's three, three ways.

(05:20):
Yes, we may, we make histamine ourselves.
There are, there's also histamine in foods, and some foods are particularly high in histamines.
Then we have foods that trigger histamine, and then we have food that block, DAO, so they, so some foods block the enzyme, which breaks down histamine.

(05:42):
So let's go through a list.
I'm actually gonna read this to you.
Hold on.
Here we go.
And you'll see how.
A lot of these foods are actually cast as very healthy.
So the foods which are high in histamine aged cheeses, fermented food, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha.

(06:05):
Remember fermented food, were encouraged to eat a lot of fermented food because it's probiotic, right? Smoked meats or fish.
Oh, spinach.
Spinach, tomatoes, avocados, eat the healthy fats.
Avocados, high in histamine, vinegar, wine and champagne.
Boo eggplant, shellfish, canned foods, especially fish leftovers.

(06:31):
So the longer a food is left out, even if it's in the fridge, histamine builds up.
What about the foods that they don't contain histamine, but they trigger its release There we have citrus, F fruits, oranges and lemons, strawberries, pineapples, banana, chocolate, nuts, especially walnuts.

(06:53):
And I believe peanuts, egg whites, tomatoes, again.
So tomatoes are, they are high in histamine and they trigger the release of histamine.
So again, citrus food, strawberries, pineapple banana, chocolate nuts, egg whites, tomatoes.
So we've got the high histamine foods.
We've got those that trigger, no, excuse me, trigger histamine.

(07:16):
What about the ones that block DAO Again, DAO is the enzyme which we need to break histamine down.
Alcohol, especially red wine.
When you see that person's place flush after drinking red wine, there you go.
Energy drinks.
Are they even still legal energy drinks? Black tea for some people.

(07:41):
Green tea, mar tea, and then certain medications over the counter, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and antidepressants, all of which can block DAO.
When we're talking about the production of DAO or blocking it, the biggest culprit by far is the health of your gut lining.

(08:01):
So remembering that DAO is made in the gut, so if your gut lining is inflamed or compromised, your ability to break down histamines is gonna take a hit.
Leaky gut, I've talked about it before.
75 to 80% of American adults have it.
This is not about, maybe you're weighing in your perfect weight.

(08:23):
That doesn't mean you haven't got leaky gut.
This is absolutely, this is the elephant in the room that so many people want to ignore.
They get their weight in line and life is good, but.
The quality of food they're eating is compromising their gut lining, and that in itself causes inflammation, which, whatever the scale says is problematic.

(08:44):
Now, the biggest culprits of leaky gut are processed food sugars.
But with leaky gut, you've got undigested particles of food entering your bloodstream.
You've got bacteria and toxins that otherwise would never get into your blood, but they can, if you've got leaky gut causing chronic, systemic low grade inflammation, I.

(09:07):
And, that is where this enzyme is made.
And plus plus I'm forgetting certain gut bacteria, pro produce histamine.
So an overgrowth of the, that this, these bacteria, which can happen with, a lot of added sugar, that's gonna make it even worse.
So it's not always your food, it's often your, the, your internal environment.

(09:30):
What about how it affects body composition? Because, I'm a body composition coach.
That is what I do.
I never say a weight loss coach.
'cause weight loss is honestly quite easy compared to other body composition goals.
I'm a body composition coach.
So how does histamine intolerance affect body composition? It definitely disrupts with sleep, and if you disrupt sleep, then you are gonna disrupt the hormones that are needed for fat loss.

(09:59):
Growth hormone is released when we sleep, grow growth hormone is paramount to fat breakdown, to lipolysis a growth hormone in a low insulin state.
IE when you sleep is, powerful when it comes to fat loss and maintaining fat loss.
So if it's disrupting sleep, testosterone's getting crushed, growth hormone getting crushed, cortisol is going up, not good.

(10:24):
It also histamine intolerance lessen up ladies.
It increases estrogen dominance.
So if you are over the age of, say, 45, even 44.
You are entering a place of estrogen dominance, and I affectionately call it the circus because it's a circus.

(10:45):
I don't know if any women come out unscathed and that circus can last anywhere from 5, 7, 10 years.
It's no joke.
It is an area of estrogen dominance and histamine intolerance actually promotes that.
And then again, that in itself promotes fat storage.
It drives up inflammation.

(11:07):
Inflammation causes water retention.
Know if you're inflamed, you're definitely retaining too much water.
The average person is holding onto probably 7%, 7% of their body weight in excess water.
Not critical water.
Excess water that doesn't need to be there.
That's what I do in peak week.
Get rid of that.
Say you're gonna be bloated, you're gonna have a certain level of water retention.

(11:27):
Also, histamine intolerance.
It messes with the appetite regulation, and that is, especially in perimenopause women now, it also creates anxiety, restlessness, and in some people full on panic attacks.
All on panic attacks.

(11:49):
What can we do about it? Temporarily we want to low lower our histamine load.
Yeah, we wanna get rid of histamine food, even if it's just for a couple of weeks.
Focus on, fresh cooked, non fermented, low histamine meals.
Super easy to do might mean that you're not eating some of the foods which you thought were really healthy.

(12:11):
And they might be.
They might be fine.
But for a certain amount of time, let's just take 'em out.
You can.
If you want to support the production of the enzyme DAO, then there are certain key nutrients there.
We need vitamin C, B six, copper, magnesium.
There are also directly specific DAO enzyme supplements, so you would take those before eating a meal before, especially before taking a high history meal, and that really can help many people, especially midlife men and women, and especially those with digestive issues, that can be very beneficial.

(12:50):
There are also some foods that help with the production of DAO, so DAO supportive foods, which include pea sprouts, mung beans, fresh arugula, and watercress.
With regards, I should go back with regards to the DAO supplements.
You would typically take them 15 to 30 minutes before a high histamine meal and work in thetic tract.

(13:14):
They don't enter the bloodstream, so they're particularly helpful again for midlife men and women that are prone to gut issues or decreased enzyme function.
And that can just be a matter of age, the dec decreased enzyme function.
And I literally just filmed something.
Today about what was it called enzymes and absorption for the Type 28 program.

(13:36):
So this is interesting.
You guys come and do the Type 28 program starting on July 6th.
For midlife women, especially those on hormone replacement therapy, HRT, the hormonal shifts can amplify histamine sensitivity.
Listen up.

(13:56):
Estrogen can increase histamine release and down regulate DAO.
I'm gonna say that again.
Estrogen and can increase histamine release and down regulate the enzyme DAO, which breaks histamine down.
This means supporting the clinic of histamine is even more important.

(14:20):
So imagine the lady.
Starting off went HRT, and she puts on her estrogen patch and all of a sudden she's itchy all over.
She's got a rash all over her body and she blames the estrogen.

(14:41):
Maybe, but maybe not because of that reaction and because it looks almost like that's an immune reaction, right? It looks almost like an allergic reaction with the hives and the itching that really can scream histamine intolerance.
So for that lady, does she stop taking the estrogen that maybe she really does need and could really help with symptoms of perimenopause.

(15:07):
Or does she try to decrease her histamine load? So I can't tell you which is which, but I can suggest that reducing the histamine load, supporting the clearance would be paramount to me and could make a significant difference in a lady's experience with HRT.

(15:34):
Also DAO supplements, they can help reduce the mystery, bloating, or sudden food reactions that show up in midlife.
You eat a meal and you're like, oh, you feel swollen.
And in fact, how many times do I hear that, that people feel swollen after a meal? And when they tell me this, they're always clenching their hands in and out because their hands get tight, the skin on their hands get tight.

(16:01):
The DAO supplementation and lowering your histamine load and supporting the production of DAO can be super, super helpful here.
Now, for midlife men declining testosterone and increasing visceral fat also creates a pro-inflammatory environment.
These changes can impair gut integrity, which in turn reduces DAO output and intensifies a sensitivity to histamine.

(16:30):
A DAO supplement may help restore comfort, reduce inflammation reduce symptoms.
Look for brands.
If you're looking at a DAO supplement look for brands which use a poison kidney extract.
What else would else supporting the gut lining? Glutamine, collagen, zinc, conine, bone broth.

(16:56):
Awesome.
For leaky gut or just healthy gut lining.
Glutamine, collagen, zinc, conine, and bone broth.
You can heal your gut in 30 days.
It can make a big difference to it.
If you want to improve the detox pathways.
We'll talk about glutathione, milk thistle, broccoli sprouts.

(17:18):
A really high quality probiotic can also be beneficial.
So in closing, histamine intolerance affects a lot of people and most people don't know.
It can sneak in under the radar and make your efforts your best.

(17:42):
And we most well intended efforts null and void.
And it keeps you in that cycle of frustration.
You're eating you're exercising, you're sleeping, but something still feels off.
If you are bloating after sauerkraut or feeling wired after wine, this might be your missing link.

(18:03):
Now, me personally, I know this is me to a little extent because I cannot drink wine.
If I drink wine.
And believe me, I have tried, if I drink wine, I cannot sleep.
I cannot sleep.
I am so wired.
Oh, you don't have to avoid all history and foods forever.

(18:27):
The goal is to reduce the overload.
And you're gonna reduce the overload while healing of the gut.
Or if you've got a pretty healthcare supporting the gut and supporting the clearance of, once your system resets, you can often reintroduce many of the foods again.
And if someti, if symptoms reoccur, then you do the same thing.
You eliminate the foods for a period of time.

(18:48):
You promote gut health and you promote the production of DAO, the enzyme, but it doesn't have to be forever.
Hopefully this brings a, an awareness to a topic that isn't often talked about.
Again, this is one topic.
This is actually a, I only talk about this histamine once in the Type 28 program, but this is the sort of information you can, that I cover in the Type 28 program.

(19:15):
And again, it's for.
I'm a body composition coach, but when I, when you get to tight 28, it is for people whose progress in body composition is, has stalled and or those that just feel off.
And it's not a gut program.
It's not an elimination program, it's a discovery program.

(19:37):
So all the meals are dairy free, soy-free, added sugar free and gluten free.
And.
I obviously explain why it's not actually a low histamine diet.
I just knew if I went gluten-free, dairy free, sugar-free, soy-free and low histamine, I was like, I'll be basically talking to myself.
I.
It's already hard enough to persuade people to do this program because they think that the food, the meal plans are gonna be terrible and they're not.

(20:04):
And they're optional.
Some people come in and follow the meal plans, other people come in for the information.
I, if you had to choose, I would much rather you came in for the information.
But it is all about feeling better and the struggles some people have, which are.
Somewhat scale related, but the fatigue, the lack of energy, the skin issues, the gut issues, the foggy thinking, the painful joint, the but the back.

(20:38):
That always needs to be rubbed because it's tight.
All of these can go back to simple food sensitivities.
So the Type 28 program is simply to explore that and it's to explore that whilst, giving you information so you can gain knowledge in all areas about food sensitivities, allergies, intolerances, mal malabsorption.

(20:59):
They're all different, but they can all show up in very similar ways.
So with regards to histamine I hope this was helpful.
I feel like this speaks to a lot of people.
Some of the symptoms I feel a lot of people will, are experiencing and haven't quite put their finger on what's causing it.

(21:23):
So maybe it's histamine intolerance suggesting eating low histamine foods.
Really pleased people focusing on healing the gut.
You cannot eat processed foods, guys.
You simply can't.
I don't care if you're at your perfect goal weight, you just can't.
The level of inflammation that causes is just tragic on so many levels.

(21:49):
The supplementation.
I mentioned you might wanna start by just getting a simple DAO supplement, taking it before a meal or indeed your glass of bread, wine, and seeing if it makes a difference.
If it does, that, would, that would suggest you do have a histamine intolerance.
And again, the changes that you make aren't forever is just to bring the overload down, let your body reset.

(22:15):
Then you can reintroduce those foods again.
But the beauty fit of that is if you can identify this, then when the symptoms reoccur, you know what it is and you know what to do.
Okay, so that is histamine intolerance.
It is just one topic in the tight 28 program, which starts on July 6th.

(22:38):
If you've done this program before you come back, 'cause this is a whole new program, I don't know why I make it so much work for myself.
I'm including all these new topics.
So histamine intolerance is one of them.
I'm gonna talk about enzymes and absorption, the brain gut skin axis.
I'm gonna call, talk about leaky gut and LPS.
I'm never talked about LPS before.
I'm gonna talk about estrogen and gut motility.

(23:00):
I am going to talk, I talk about cardio as well, so I gotta talk about women and HI training.
Should they do it after a certain age? How to build endurance without stressing your system.
Talk about I.
Fungal and parasitic gut sensors stresses, sorry, appetite hormones and food intolerance.
I'm gonna talk about when supplements backfire, liver congestion and how that can embed impair body composition.

(23:25):
What water retention versus fats bloating and organ function.
Good gosh, I'm getting anxiety just reading this list.
Inflammation and midsection.
Fat storage, how malabsorption blocks hypertrophy.
You got the drift.
It's gonna be an epic program.
We start July the sixth.

(23:47):
Now all my programs, including Type 28, are available in the self-study format.
I would much rather people dove in to the live format when people do my programs, they love the programs without exception.

(24:08):
But I feel like the power in my programs is my coaching.
It really is.
And that's what the live format gives you? Yes, I'm there to support, but I'm able to support, educate, create, calmness in a situation that of.

(24:31):
Often leads to anxiety.
So when people are talking about body com composition, health midlife, they're very anxious about that, and I come in with a level of reason, explanation, calm and support.

(24:52):
I can't really do that in the self-study program.
People have access to all the videos.
But in the live format, I feel like the people love the live format so much because of me, basically because of me.
I stress this because I only run this program once a year.

(25:18):
I only ran it once last year.
This program for sure will not come back in 2025, I think.
I simply can't, I.
We're in June already.
I'll be doing this program.
I'll finish it in August.
I still have the Mastering Midlife program to do.
I have two new programs I'm building.
I'm trying to get the through my programs pretty quickly so that I can actually repeat some programs this year, which I have never done before.

(25:44):
I've never had the, never found the time, not found the time.
I just run outta time.
My goal for this year is I would like to run.
Oh, I'd love to run them all, but I'd definitely like to run P Creek again.
The signature program again, muscle Month again and mastering midlife.
I feel like what will probably happen is maybe I'll be able to run the signature and the Muscle month again.

(26:11):
I don't know, but it very doubtful that tight 20.
I just can't even see how tight 28 can possibly come back this year.
So if what I've spoke about today.
Resonates with you at all.
If you've been even slightly fascinated, then let me blow your socks off and consider joining the Type 28 program.
Click the link, type 20 eight.com.

(26:34):
If you've got any questions, let me know, but we start really soon.
I do hope you enjoyed this episode of Midlife Mayhem.
Be sure to subscribe and be sure to tell your friends about this wonderful podcast.

(26:57):
If you would like more of me than on social, it's simple.
Just my name at Joanne Lee Cornish.
Also my website, the shrink shop.com,
where you can see all my coaching programs.
There are many ways we can work together.
Obviously I do private one-on-one coaching.
I do the, all my programs are in a self-study form and all my programs are run as a live program at least once a year.

(27:23):
I try and do twice, but it usually ends up being once I have, mindset program.
I have my awesome five JP creek shred that people love.
I have the signature weight loss program.
I have Type 28, which is advanced weight loss.
I have muscle mastery, and I have midlife mastering midlife.
So six programs that offer a progression to fully understand the body composition through the ages.

(27:49):
If you have questions, if you're wondering how I can help you, then simply shoot me an email.
At Joe [e-mail],
tell me what's going on and I'll get back to you and let you know the way I can help.
Okay, that's it for now.