Relieve for histamines mediated symptoms - Cold, dermatitis, hives

From time to time, most of the people I know suffer from cold, cough and flu. Most of these symptoms are histamines mediated via mast cells being unstabilized or reaction to some sort of triggers, usually from reactive foods or environmental stressors. Generally, people tend to consult a doctor whenever he or she is feeling unwell or having a simple cough or running nose. Typically, anti-histamine medications being prescribed to patients from all over the globe for symptom relieve. 

Are you one of the majority who often dependant on pharmaceutical drugs to relieve health symptoms? Or do you prefer to allow the body to heal by itself and provide nutritional support and sufficient rest and hydration? Present day, we have more people who are dependant on pharmaceutical drugs then back in the early days of our grandparents or even great grandparents. Why is that so? Have we all been hardwired so deeply that we have forgotten how we evolve and the ability of the body to heal by itself?

When I browse through my refrigerator and kitchen wardrobe, I noticed a list of herbs and whole foods which are medicinal and beneficial to the body when comes to supporting the body of healing and inhibiting histamine release. I asked myself "Why on earth people are not using these herbs and foods to aid the symptom and help the body health faster?" With Mr.Google is just a click away for further research, and some of us still lucky enough to consult our older grandparent for herbal advise, I think we all should practice the ancestral approach as a first line of symptom relieve and treatment, and only apply pharmaceutical prescription as a last resort, if all else failed. 

As someone who practice holistic health, I highly recommend you to try some of the potent anti-histamine herbs below to determine which one suit you best. Try it when you experience these symptoms, listen to your own body response to each herb applied. For some, it may be very effective in a short period of time, for others, it may take longer then expected. The end goal here is to be drug-free and practice nature-based protocol for healing and supporting the body to combat illnesses.

Lotus Root

This whole food contain immune-modulating effect with mast cell stabilising properties and a study found they inhibit the release of histamines by up to 70%. It also rich in Vitamin C.

Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology - Volume 32, Issue 3, 2010

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/08923970903514830

Turmeric 

Turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. A study found that it inhibited mast cell activation to reduce histamines release. You can cook soup, curry dish or most of the meals with this herb, or take it as supplement (extract). The curcumin contained within tumeric is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are very important for your overall health, vitality & well-being. 

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  -  Volume 121, Issue 5, May 2008, Pages 1225–1231

http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(07)03608-1/abstract

Ginger

Ginger is a rhizome that inhibits allergic reactions. It has traditionally been used as an H2 inhibitor but a study shows that it also acts as a mast cell stabiliser. You can boil ginger soup, or cook with your meals, or even make ginger tea when you have cold or cough. It is also antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor effects.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/np800555y 

Chamomile

A study has shown that chamomile acted in a dose-dependent manner to inhibit histamine release from mast cells. It is also beneficial to calm down the nervous system and enable one to sleep better. Most people tend to consume chamomile in the form of tea. 

Journal of Ethnopharmacology  -  Volume 137, Issue 1, 1 September 2011, Pages 336–340

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874111003941

Thyme

Thyme is very rich in Vitamin C and has anti-histamine properties. It also has anti microbial benefits and can stabilize mast cells. It can be eaten raw or cooked with meals or take it as supplement.

Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry  -  Volume 69, Issue 1, 2005
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1271/bbb.69.1

Holy basil (Tulsi)

Regarded as queen of herb, it has many herbal and medicinal properties to the human body. Arguably ranked as the best herb to regulate immune system and stress pathway, this plant also is very effective to reduce histamine production in mast cells.

The Internet Journal of Pharmacology  - Volume 7 Number 1

http://ispub.com/IJPHARM/7/1/6038

Caffeine - Are you an addict? (Part 2)

As I have just covered the details of world's most popular and widely consumed beverage, let's now move to another addictive drink, sodas or also known as soft drinks. How much difference between both beverages in terms of caffeine dose or chemicals content? Let's deep dive a little bit on this popular beverage.

Remember when you go to the toilet often in the day but you didn't even drink much of water? Your skin started to feel dry and at times, you may feel headache too. From where we left off in previous post on coffee, the same can have adverse effect on the body with soft drinks or other similar 'energy drinks' too. As more then 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches, many of us are depending on painkillers or pain drugs (migraine and headache) on regular basis. Remember the vital nutrients and minerals lost from the caffeine of coffee what what I explained in previous post? The same can occur in these soft drinks too. 

To continue what what we left previously, caffeine in coffee and also soft drinks can act as diuretic and pulls water from the colon. Thus, the spasm can emulate diarheaa episodes in certain people. Caffeine also causes major vasoconstriction in blood vessels and also around fascia muscles areas. Most people thought that drinking more water to hydrate the muscles and fascia (from the dehydration of coffee and caffeinated beverages) can fix the problem. Bear in mind that muscles are the lowest in totem pole and act as slaves to the body. Vital organs and the gut will absorb the vital water first hand, before reserving it for the muscles. For for those who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, caffeine is a big problem for them. Caffeine can constrict that tunnel and causes pain. 

In today's world, neck pain and headaches are as common as lower back pain. When one consume foods or drinks which has caffeine, sugar and also gluten, it is a perfect recipe of headaches, migraines and even joints pain. At any point of time when you combined caffeine with sugar, your adrenals are shot and thrashed! One good example is any ice blended coffee products of Starbucks or similar commercial coffee drinks. It doesn't matter which brands of coffee shops as long as it contain both caffeine and sugars. 

Now, soft drinks or sodas. Do you know how much of caffeine is in a can of a commonly consumed soda? It's about 35-38mg in one can. As many people not only consume coffee, soft drinks is another addition to a caffeinated daily ritual. Most people don't realize that sugars (9-11 tablespoons) are added into these soft drinks to cover the bitter taste of caffeine. Remember the coca-cola million dollar secret recipe? Although the sales of coca-cola and pepsi is slightly lower then years ago, they are still the powerhouse of commercial soft drinks globally. 

Before you pick up that can of coke or soft drink, I want you to realize what I'm about to share with you in the following. Awareness is a pre-requisite to change. I want you to know what is happening inside your body when you consume that can of soda, it will likely to blow your mind if you find out. Let's get started. First 10 minutes upon consumption, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. You don't vomit immediately because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down. Approximately 20 mins after drinking that soda, blood sugar spike, and insulin release is triggered, your are in hyperglycemic state, your liver response by turning fructose into body fat. What happen next? 40 minutes in, caffeine absoption is almost completed, your blood pressure increase, your liver reponse again by dumping more sugar into your bloodstream. Your brain starts to produce dopamine and stimulate brain pleasure system, and that makes you feel good. Within an hour mark, the phosphoric acid binds to vital nutrients such as calcium, zinc and magnesium in your lower intestines and these minerals are depleted through urination. Your body is losing vital minerals and water. And finally, when your body is trying to pulls down insulin level, it now experience hypoglycemic, which is low blood sugar. In other words, your body suffer from sugar crash, and become sluggish. Your body will then tend to look for another quick hit of energy and the roller coaster ride has begun.

For some of you who just read the mental elaboration of the soft drink affect, two things will most likely takes place. One person may now be aware of the devastating affect in this beverage, and resolute to reducing or eliminating this drink from his or her diet. The other person may be thinking " I don't give a damn" and continue his or her usual poor toxic diet. I also would want to rewind back a little bit about coffee, as some of you might decide to consume decaffeinated coffee product, and thinking that it somehow healthier. Well, yes there are pros and cons to decaffeinated coffee. But the primary reason most people consume coffee is to get that energy hit and caffeine. Meanwhile, decaff coffee beans are usually higher in mold and mycotoxins due to removal of caffeine. Caffeine is a protective mechanism used by the plant itself to bend off invaders including mold and fungus. The decaff coffee industry then contribute and 'sell' off its caffeine to the soft drinks industry as a way to make more money. 

I remember way back during my time about close to 25-30 years ago, there are lower rates of obesity and diabetic patients. We have blamed saturated fats and cholesterol for far too long (60 odd years?), we have screwed up big time for this massive dietary mistake, and more people are now dependant on sodas and coffee to keep their energy levels up in he day on regular basis. This has become a daily ritual and most people adrenals can no longer function normally without these stimulants. 

When anyone asked me about the 'perfect storm' for any meals or foods adverse affect, my answer to them is "Sugar, caffeine and wheat". These 3 substances of mixed cocktail is a perfect combination to wreck havoc in the body and causes massive reaction and inflammation. I call it The Perfect Storm, or also known as The Cytokine Storm by many health professionals. And what would those combination of foods be? A classic example is a typical fast food meal, or bakery food with coffee, which is a typical breakfast in western countries. 

How about alcohol or perhaps even wine? I have many people who debate that wine consumption has its own health benefits and how true is that? Well, I do agree in certain aspect about the benefits of wine but the cons outweigh the pros if you review it comprehensively. Alcohol drinks or even wine, have the same metabolic affect as soft drinks, minus the buzz. Some of the alcoholic beverages especially wine can increase Ig-E antibodies which will likely to result in allergic reaction for certain individuals. And of course, alcohol is neurotoxic to the brain and causes injury to the liver and gut too.  It's a poison to the brain, period. It's also another form of stimulant, similar to soft drinks and coffee, but may response a little different in terms of delivering false energy to an individual. 

Anyone experiencing digestive problems or suspected of leaky gut or even celiac disease, staying away from alcohol is highly recommended. Especially alcoholic beverages made and fermented with wheat, rye and barley, it's destructive to the gut damaging the musocal lining of your intestines. Some may wonder what if I consume alcohol once in a while, would that be alright? Well, if its occasional one glass in months, and if you don't suffer from adverse symptoms from wine or alcoholic consumption, I assume it should not be as bad, but listening to your body is crucial. 

Also, please bear in mind that regular alcohol consumption can lead to esophageal and phyloric valves and sphincters dysfunctions. Many people are suffering from GI disorders, conditions such as GERD, acid reflux, gastritis, heartburn, severe bloating and flatulence, etc. When musocal barrier is breaking down, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) will stay open, and substances such as foods and stomach will reflux upwards. Please take taking anti-acid medications will not solve anything and in fact it will make it worst long term.

Finally, what should you do if you are addicted to stimulants such as caffeine and sugars? Fix your overall diet first, and NOT exercise more! If you seriously need to consume coffee, ensure it is organic and add some healthy fats (coconut oil, ghee or grass fed butter) in each serving. Go to bed early to avoid energy and blood sugar dsyregulation. Drink more quality clean water throughout the day, and slowly reduce the consumption of caffeinated beverages from week 1, 2, 3 and so on. Invest in a good quality water filter at home. Add a pinch of quality unprocessed sea salt into every 1 litre of water. It will replenish the lost minerals from the caffeine and sugars flushed out from the body. Last but not least, you can refer to the urine color chart below to check if your are drinking enough water for your own bodyweight. 

Am I drinking enough water?

From the above chart, you want to be drinking enough water to match the color of your urine to no.1 and no.2. If your urine color is no.3, you are dehydrated. You may suffer from muscles cramps if the color darkens to no.4. If it matches the color further down the chart from 5 to 8, you are at health risks! Most people are severely dehydrated of quality water and the body is made of 70% water. 

Caffeine - Are you an addict? (Part 1)

As new year has begun, many people have set their goals and new year's resolution for 2016. Some might set sights on weight loss, for others, could be changing unhealthy habits and lifestyle. As most people are more interested in goals which are physically visible, how many pay attention to smaller lifestyle details which may impact their transformation and health or even fitness goals? Things such as regular or daily stimulants which are robbing your vitality, energy, nutrient reserves and even suppressing the immune system. 

Today, we will discuss about common stimulants which are very popular amongst most people at present day. The ones in particular are coffee, soft drinks (sugars) and even alcohol. Let's just take United States for example, Americans consume an average of 3.5 cups of coffee per day, and close to 300 cans of soft drinks per year. Coffee, is the most popular beverage in the world, and soft drinks come very close second. Reason? These 2 substances are one of the most potent stimulants and contain very addictive properties which trigger dopamine in the brain and tricked the body into producing 'fake' energy boost. 

As 80% of Americans drink about 3-5 cups of coffee daily, most people are not aware of what's going on inside the body. As I've blogged about coffee before, it is important to realize that this popular beans are heavily contaminated with pesticides and chemicals during farming and harvesting. It is in fact one of the most pesticides laden crops/substances in the world, apart from another stimulant cigarette. Depending on the quality of the beans, commercial coffee beans are high in mold, which contain mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have been shown in studies to cause cancer and the ability to inhibit peristalsis in the GI tract is devastating to overall digestive and immune health. 

Let's take an average individual who 'loves' coffee. When I asked most people, they admitted that they love and enjoy coffee, but they do not know why they are so dependent on this beverage on daily basis. "Are you addicted to coffee?" Almost all of them replied 'NO". In this post, we will determine if you are an addict to these substances. In certain cases, some people may be addicted and dependent on more then one stimulant on daily basis. If you want to find out how well your body can function without any stimulatory substances, keep reading and you will find out in the end of this post. 

Let's focus on coffee for now. As most people do not know why drinking coffee is mandatory in the morning and throughout the day, some may argue that this coffee beans have its health benefits such as antioxidants, but for majority drinkers, all they know is they need it to get them up and running in the morning, and provide energy during the day while at work.The same apply with consuming breads, where most people just don't know why they can't stop eating wheat based foods. 

For some people, coffee might seemed to be their energy provider, but most people don't realize that it DO NOT provide raw energy in the body. In fact, it borrowed energy and stress hormones which are produced from the adrenal glands.An average cup of coffee has about 100mg of caffeine. Caffeine does not produce or give energy to the body, but it steal and produce 'fake' energy which mimic as tension which one feel in the body.  For some people, they feel the tension in the muscles after consumption of coffee and others may feel other side effects such as palpitation and breathing difficulties. Caffeine makes the body move when it doesn't want to. 

Coffee, contain more then 700 substances and chemicals in the beans itself. As the most heavily sprayed crop in the world, coffee has a half life affect to the body. Most coffee drinkers are fast in absorption, but slow in detoxing the caffeine and other substances in the beverage itself. Assuming you consume coffee at 9am in the morning, it will require approximately 6-8 hours to lower the cortisol stress level down to 50% as the body trying to detox the caffeine out from the system. Meaning, by 3-5pm, the first cup of coffee still has the effect of production of cortisol stress hormone at half potency by that time. Imagine if you hit another cup after lunch from your favorite coffee shop. How would your adrenals handle it if this continue chronically on regular basis for months or even years? How would the quality of sleep be for that night? Most people are wired and tired, and unable to enjoy deep REM sleep most nights. But again, depending on different individuals, some may handle and metabolize caffeine better then the other. Any dose of more then 100mg of caffeine per consumption per day will likely to trigger sleep problems at night.

Please take note that pharmaceutical drugs such as birth control pills and other common medications interfere with the ability and efficiency of detoxing caffeine from the body. It is also important to know that caffeine and toxins passed through the placenta and breast milk. For pregnant women or breast feeding mothers, this would be an important piece of information as fetus has no ability to detox caffeine and toxins. Also, caffeine half life and production of cortisol in a fetus or baby is longer then adults. 

Caffeine Consumption/Dependant Scale: Coffee, Soft drinks or any caffeinated drinks

100-300mg - Danger zone, sleep issues ( not necessary insomnia )

400-600mg - Addiction, likely hood of reoccurance ulcers, fibrocystic breasts

700- 900mg - Addiction, energy issues

If any of you falls between 400mg or more on daily basis, you are likely an addict to coffee and dependant on caffeine to get your day going. I know some people might say "I just have a cup of coffee a day". That may be alright for most people, but when you look at the cup size and strength level of the coffee, the caffeine dose may well be over 400-500 mg in that one serving. There are people would love coffee due to the flavor and smell. That may be fine if there are no withdrawal symptoms when he or she stops drinking coffee for couple of days. 

I have clients who mentioned that sleeping hours are almost the same as couple years back before the 'addiction' kicks in. But, most of them noticed the quality of sleep and immunity decline overtime. The quality of mood also diminishes as consumption of coffee prolonged, although coffee may triggers dopamine production upon ingestion, but if this is ongoing chronically for long term, your body will be depleted of this hormone. If one is depleted of dopamine, he or she will lose the quality of mood and feeling happy. It is as powerful, if not more potent then serotonin when comes to mood and being happy. 

For most people, they claimed that they feel fine and great when they have their caffeine fix on daily basis. But when you take away coffee or even soft drinks, they feel lousy and unable to function mentally and physically. No more blood sugar triggers, no dopamine production. As we live in the digital social world, majority of us are nightcrawlers. Almost everyone now sleep after 12 midnight. If you add poor sleep cycle with cups of coffee during the day, you will be experiencing brain fog and poor energy fluctuations throughput the day. No deep sleep, you will feel unrested and tired the next morning, doesn't matter how many hours you slept. When one is sleep deprived or not getting regular deep quality sleep, the body loses the capacity to heal itself. 

Another thing which happen in the body is depletion of vital minerals in the body. You will lose minerals such as magnesium, iron, potassium, B-Vitamins, calcium, sodium, zinc, etc. Coffee and caffeine create this sensation of providing false energy in the body, but it rob the host of nutrients which needed for actual energy production. One of primary reason for anemic patients are problems with low level of iron in the body, and regular coffee consumption will make it worst or could be the main contributor to that disease. Melatonin, which is a repair hormone only increases when one sleep especially during proper circadian cycle. It is also a potent antioxidant which repair and restore the body for healing purpose. It is also important to realize that there is approximately 60% reduced blood flood to the neck and head musculature from the effect of caffeine. It also increase blood pressure in the brain as well. 

For someone who is concern about posture, regular consumption of caffeinated drinks can aggravate the poorly aligned posture due to reduced blood flow and tension build in the muscles area. You may perform a test of standing against the wall. If your tailbone, scapulars and head are not able to touch the wall without trying to force the posture, its a basic assessment for postural alignment.

Meanwhile, let's have a quick look at the caffeine content table for some of the most popular drinks which create false energy in the body. As you can see, it only require one Starbucks Brewed Coffee (Venti) to hit the 400mg dose of caffeine. So much for just one cup of coffee? Stay tuned for next post which I will focus on other caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks.

Content table derived from healthyprotocols.com