Turmeric and Histamine Intolerance Symptoms

Have you heard much about the impact of turmeric on histamine intolerance symptoms?

 

Turmeric is an orange spice commonly used in curries and other flavorful. But did you know that it has so much more to offer than its bright color and earthy bitter flavor to your food? 

Turmeric contains chemical compounds that have many proven health benefits. It may help to prevent heart disease and cancer. It has also been shown to reduce degenerative conditions in the brain such as Alzheimer’s Disease. And due to its anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric has proven to be useful in managing the pain of arthritis. 

It stands to reason, then, that as an anti-inflammatory ingredient, turmeric may be a useful substance to add to your toolkit for managing histamine intolerance symptoms. 

Why turmeric helps histamine symptoms

Turmeric spice comes from the underground rhizomes of the Curcuma longa plant, which is related to the ginger plant. The medicinal properties of turmeric have been known for thousands of years, and have traditionally been used in Asian countries as an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. It also has anticancer and antimicrobial properties, and may help to prevent gene mutations (1).

Many plants have been found to contain chemical compounds that offer beneficial properties for human health. The polyphenols found in turmeric are called curcuminoids. The one referred to most commonly is curcumin (2).

 

Curcumin is the compound that's truly responsible for the majority of beneficial properties that turmeric has to offer - and, it's quite spectacular! In fact, curcumin is one of the most studied natural compounds for benefitting our health in a variety of ways - ranging from autoimmune issues to cancer prevention to pain reduction. Curcumin truly is an amazing compound!

 

Now, here's the little catch...

The amount of curcumin found in turmeric is just one to six percent by weight. Added to that, it is not water soluble and it is chemically unstable. Even when turmeric is consumed in high doses, very little curcumin is absorbed in the small intestine. That which is absorbed undergoes rigorous metabolism in the liver and is then excreted via the gallbladder (3).

 

What does this mean? Well, it means that it can be a little more difficult to get the full potential of benefits curcumin has to offer by simply adding a dash of turmeric to your food.

 

Now, that's not at all to say you shouldn't do it - turmeric is certainly still super healthy and it's absolutely great to consume! However, let's talk about how we maximize these benefits when we are considering them in a therapeutic setting.

In other words, if there is so little cucurmin in turmeric and very little of it is absorbed and made available to the body, what can we do to make turmeric more available for use as a medicinal spice?

How to improve curcumin absorption

On its own the bioavailability of the curcumin in turmeric is very low. However, there's a very simple little hack to help the body to absorb more of this compound and to make it more bioavailable.

 

To improve the absorption and enhance the possible medicinal benefits, it needs to be consumed in combination with other common household ingredients (4).

 

First we want to make sure that more curcumin is absorbed. This can be achieved by adding a fatty ingredient to your recipe that uses turmeric. Research has been shown that fats help to increase the absorption of curcumin (5). 

Using ingredients such as olive oil or coconut oil in curries or stews that contain turmeric or using coconut milk in a smoothie will help to ensure that more of the beneficial polyphenols are absorbed into the blood - not to mention, make your meal more delicious! Keep in mind, olive oil has the double advantage of increasing diamine oxidase enzymes - AKA, the enzymes that degrade histamine, so this can have a very powerful combined effect for increasing curcumin benefits while further reducing histamine levels.

Another easy way to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin is to use black pepper in conjunction with turmeric. The chemical, piperine, found in black pepper blocks the metabolism of curcumin in the liver. Scientific studies have shown that the bioavailability of curcumin is increased up to two thousand times when combined with piperine (1,4).

 

If you're aiming to get more of the benefits of curcumin from your turmeric, fats and black pepper are the way to go! However, once again, it's important to note the quantity here.

 

Many studies show that consumption of a minimum of 500 - 1500mg curcumin daily is the gold standard. Keep in mind, as we mentioned above, turmeric is only 1-6% curcumin by weight, so that's a lot of turmeric to consume daily!

 

So, here's the alternative...

If you want to experience the maximum potential of anti-inflammatory and other benefits without consuming massive amounts of turmeric in every meal, keep in mind that cucurmin is also available in supplement form, which can be much more effective for therapeutic outcomes (and keep you from opening up your own curry house in your kitchen).

 

In supplements, the curcumin is extracted from turmeric so that you receive a reliable consistent dose of the useful polyphenol. You can also often find it in capsules that actually contain bioavailability-enhancing ingredients such as fats and black pepper (6). 

 

To find a reliable and effective curcumin supplement, here's what you have to keep in mind:

 

1. Look for supplements that actually contain curcumin - not just turmeric, as this will essentially just be a more expensive and unnecessary capsule of what you find in your kitchen.

 

2. Ensure the capsules contain bioavailability-enhancing ingredients, so the curcumin isn't just going to waste and being minimally absorbed. Some common things you can look out for are the terms "Meriva", "Phytosome capsule" or "Bioperine" - although there can be other variations, these are common ones.

 

3. Check the ingredients list to be sure the capsule doesn't contain any other harmful ingredients such as colorants, artificial flavors or unnecessary preservatives.

 

4. Only use supplements which are third party tested - this means that they have been double checked by a separate lab which is an independent party from the manufacturer or brand you're buying it from. These labs will test the quantity and quality of the ingredients to ensure you're receiving the therapeutic levels which are claimed on the bottle.

For my histamine intolerant clients who are interested in taking curcumin to improve histamine symptoms, I recommend this curcumin phytosome supplement, which meets all of the above requirements and has been specifically formulated for those with histamine intolerance.

Curcumin supplements for histamine intolerance

If you have histamine intolerance, you are familiar with the symptoms that go with the condition. They extend from gastrointestinal symptoms such as IBS, to skin rashes and irritation, to constant coughing and difficulty breathing. All of these symptoms are a result of the release of histamine in response to a perceived threat to the body. 

The benefits of curcumin in histamine intolerance are related to both the underlying release of histamine as well as the relief of inflammatory symptoms. Polyphenols such as curcumin have been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects. They have also been shown  to be immune regulators (7). All of these mechanisms, of course, are highly important when it comes to the development of histamine symptoms.

 

Not only is curcumin highly studied when it comes to the mechanisms involved with histamine intolerance, but it is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve histamine intolerance and associated symptoms.

Curcumin is also well known for its antioxidant benefits. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and, in doing so, they exhibit anti-allergic effects. They inhibit the release of histamine from the mast cells and reduce proinflammatory cytokines and leukocyte production (7).

In fact, a research study conducted on mice found that curucmin used topically was successful in managing itching related to the release of histamine (8), while another research study found curcumin to be useful in managing IBS symptoms (9).

 

Talk about a bunch of benefits from such a simple ingredient!

Turmeric for managing histamine symptoms

Overall, living with histamine intolerance is of course something we want to avoid or minimize. The symptoms can appear out of nowhere and linger for a long time. Finding a way to reduce the symptoms or even better, eliminate the symptoms, is a top priority.

 

While you are investigating the cause of your histamine intolerance, using an antihistamine substance such as turmeric is a convenient way to make your life a little more comfortable. 

 

On top of this, don't forget that it's just as important to stick to a low histamine diet. The combination of a low histamine diet and a high quality curcumin supplement together can show significant improvements within just 1-2 weeks of starting this combination.

 

You can try out this duo using our curcumin supplement for histamine intolerance combined with our free low histamine diet. Click below to get the free diet guide to ensure success and symptom reduction:

 

 

References

1. Hewlings S, Kalman D. Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017;6(10):92. 
2. Daily J, Yang M, Park S. Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2016;19(8):717-729. 
3. Dei Cas M, Ghidoni R. Dietary Curcumin: Correlation between Bioavailability and Health Potential. Nutrients. 2019;11(9):2147. 
4. Kunnumakkara A, Bordoloi D, Padmavathi G, Monisha J, Roy N, Prasad S et al. Curcumin, the golden nutraceutical: multitargeting for multiple chronic diseases. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2016;174(11):1325-1348. 
5. Douglass B, Clouatre D. Beyond Yellow Curry: Assessing Commercial Curcumin Absorption Technologies. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2015;34(4):347-358. 
6. Prasad S, Tyagi A, Aggarwal B. Recent Developments in Delivery, Bioavailability, Absorption and Metabolism of Curcumin: the Golden Pigment from Golden Spice. Cancer Research and Treatment. 2014;46(1):2-18. 
7. Ding S, Jiang H, Fang J. Regulation of Immune Function by Polyphenols. Journal of Immunology Research. 2018;2018:1-8. 
8. Lee H, Park S, Chang S, Jung S. Antipruritic effect of curcumin on histamine-induced itching in mice. The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology. 2018;22(5):547. 
9. Ng Q, Soh A, Loke W, Venkatanarayanan N, Lim D, Yeo W. A Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Use of Curcumin for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2018;7(10):298.