Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Dry Fasting | THRR205

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News Topic:

Ruminating on soil carbon: Applying current understanding to inform grazing management

Show Notes:

Think Fast: The 252nd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

Dry Fasting Club Podcast

Dr. Ruscio MCAS Diet

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Questions: 

 

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Angie writes:

Hello Robb and Nicki -

I have been listening on and off for a couple of years, and I appreciate your perspective and how rational and fair you are in your approach.

Some background, three and a half years ago I got pregnant and early in the pregnancy I identified that I needed to manage my blood sugar with diet, which I successfully was able to do. About a year after having the baby I was diagnosed with methane SIBO, and went through a long treatment, which was successful and improved my gut symptoms drastically. After this, my cholesterol levels and insulin resistance score improved quite a bit. The past year and a half , I have been wearing a continuous glucose monitor, knowing that I am vulnerable to type II diabetes, and in hopes that I will be able to improve my blood sugar and regulate my menstrual cycle. I think it is also be important to mention that I have had poor gut health since I was a child, I suspect I am on the spectrum of PCOS - as I have an irregular cycle which is consistent with those patterns, and I have high cholesterol and have since I was 18 years old, I tend towards inflammation, and I would say I have about 15# to lose. Despite all my efforts by ensuring quality sleep, eating low carb - unprocessed and high quality foods, weight training 3x per week, managing my stress with meditation, and walking 5-7000 steps per day, things are not improving. I have also tried berberine and various other recommended supplements and there is ZERO improvement. My A1C three years ago was 5.3 and most recently it is 5.7.

The week before Christmas I had the flu, 104*F fever for four days, congestion and a cough. A week after having the flu, I noticed that my head, shoulders, chest and other parts of my body seemed to be getting hot and itchy like hives, plus I was having bloating and constipation/diarrhea, and physical anxiety (like tight chest, pulse in the 90s). Plus, my blood sugar was spiking after eating a low carb meals and in other situations that didn't make sense. At a certain point I tried to help myself by taking electrolytes and extra whole food vit C. and things continued to get worse. A couple weeks ago my blood sugar was going up to 125-130 and sitting there all day, even if I walked or exercised, and then it would go down to 90-100 after I went to bed. This has happened a couple other times before, and I could not identify why this was the case. All this time I was eating under 40g or less carbs, around 140g protein, and 100g+ fat. As my symptoms got worse, I was led down the podcast rabbit hole of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and histamine intolerance, which I had learned about years ago but didn't necessarily think I fit into this category.

In hindsight, I am realizing that Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and or having high histamine loads in the body, may explain some of the very unexplained and inconsistent patterns I have observed while using the CGM over the past year and a half. Some examples are, blood sugar spikes up to 130 after taking supplements (!), blood sugar spikes up to 160 after eating low carb soup with bone broth and vegetables, spikes after low carb meals that I would include ferments or drinking hot chocolate (made with collagen, coconut milk, salt, cacao and stevia). And maybe, it explains why my blood sugar will go up to 170-200 with any intense exercise, and my inflammation takes days to recover from. And I am wonde