Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: What It Is and How to Treat It Naturally
Mast cell activation could be the underlying cause of your chronic allergy symptoms.
Have you been experiencing long-term allergies that won’t seem to go away? Chronic allergies could be a sign of a deeper issue known as mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).
Mast cells play an integral role in protecting your body from harmful threats and infections. But when these cells get triggered by something abnormal, it can lead to problems and symptoms.
Keep reading to learn exactly what mast cell activation is – and how to treat it through natural, proven methods. We take the confusion out of this layered and complex topic.
What Is Mast Cell Activation?
Mast cells are white blood cells that are part of your immune system and can be found within connective tissues throughout the body. (1)
Mast cells play a vital role in the two essential parts of your immune system – innate and adaptive immunity.
Your innate immune system is the system that generally protects you against foreign bodies, injuries, and pathogens. The innate immune system's job is to destroy the threat before it spreads through your system.
If the innate immune system doesn’t fend off the threat, that’s when the adaptive immune system steps in. The adaptive immune system sets out to identify and destroy the specific threat to your system. (2)
When your immune systems detect these threats in your body, it activates mast cells to release histamine and other pro-inflammatory mediators to fight the threat/infection.
Mast cells consider allergens a threat to your system. When you come across an allergen, mast cells release histamine and other pro-inflammatory mediators, which in turn cause your allergy symptoms. When an allergen triggers the mast cell, this is your body’s normal, intended response to the allergen.
But sometimes, something abnormal can trigger the mast cells that are not meant to trigger them – such as certain medications, mold, environmental pollutants, pollens, and foods. This occurrence is called mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).
Symptoms of mast cell activation syndrome include persistent occurrences of allergy symptoms or anaphylaxis, such as (3, 4, 5):
Swelling
Tight throat
Hives
Skin rashes
Headache/Migraine
Itchy skin
Asthma
Diarrhea
Constipation
Acid reflux
Bloating
Stomach cramps
Arrhythmia
Low blood pressure
When you experience symptoms like these out of the blue, or if they persist over time, this could be a sign of mast cell activation syndrome. Treating the underlying cause of this syndrome is essential to achieving long-term, lasting relief.
7 Methods for Treating Mast Cell Activation Naturally
As we said, mast cell activation occurs when something that’s not supposed to trigger the mast cells ends up triggering them. To address your symptoms, it’s important to identify whatever it is that is triggering the mast cells.
The process of finding the trigger requires some trial and error and experimentation. The good news is that you can try these approaches at home as soon as today.
Here are 6 natural methods to try to address mast cell activation:
Optimize Your Diet. When an allergen triggers your mast cells, your mast cells then release histamines in your body to fight against the allergen. So, when your mast cells are overly activated, it usually means your system is also getting overwhelmed by histamines which you need to address. (6)An anti-histamine diet is a natural way to reduce the histamines in your body without taking over-the-counter medications like Benadryl. Avoid foods with higher levels of histamine, like fermented foods in general including soy products, vinegar, sauerkraut, aged cheeses, overripe fruits, and leftovers.
Others include:
Most citrus fruits
Cocoa and chocolate
Nuts
Papaya
Tomatoes
Wheat germ
Alcohol
Black tea energy drinks
Green tea, mate tea
Additives (benzoate, sulfites, nitrites, glutamate, and food dyes)
Try Natural Antihistamines. As we said, experiencing mast cell activation syndrome usually means your system is also overwhelmed by antihistamines. If you want to avoid medications, there are natural antihistamines you can try. A few suggestions include specific probiotics that produce DAO (some can produce histamine, so consult a professional), quercetin, bromelain, stinging nettle, or Vitamin C (7), and butterbur (8), or astragalus (9). These natural antihistamines are worth trying to address your symptoms.
Diamine Oxidase (DAO) supplementation. DAO is an enzyme that breaks down histamine and is produced naturally by healthy gut bacteria. Its production can be compromised when there is dysbiosis or high amounts of estrogen in the body. High levels of estrogen can result from poor detoxification ability, excess adipose tissue, high amounts of xenoestrogens, and/or hormone replacement therapy or hormonal birth control). While DAO supplementation is natural and can give you some relief of symptoms, it is not a root cause treatment. (10)
Zinc supplementation has also shown promising results in reducing histamine. (11)
Remove Environmental Toxins. Unfortunately, you may be exposed to toxic chemicals like high pollen counts, mold, mildew, dust mites, natural gas leaks, or more in your everyday household products, personal hygiene products, and environment. Although there isn’t a direct link between one specific toxin and MCAS, environmental toxins could be harming your immune system overall.Removing toxins from your environment is a worthwhile undertaking as toxins never do our body good. No matter what, this method can improve your gut health, mood, fatigue, and much more.
Avoid certain medications. Various medications can contribute to MCAS or exacerbate symptoms by increasing mast cell activation, triggering histamine release, increasing histamine intolerance, or inhibiting the function of diamine oxidase (DAO), an enzyme that breaks down histamine (12). Medications are essentially toxins and always come with undesired effects that burden various systems including your gut microbiome.
Start or Increase Exercise. Sweating is your body’s natural way of detoxifying your system. And like we talked about, your frequent exposure to toxins in the environment and household could be harming you.Increasing your exercise doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. Doing a cardio workout for as little as 20 minutes per day can make a difference. To experience the full effects of detoxification, try to do an exercise where you sweat.
Improve Gut Health. Your gut is responsible for regulating countless bodily functions that keep you healthy. A healthy microbiome has bacteria that produce an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO), which is responsible for breaking down histamine. (4). Gut dysbiosis can greatly contribute to MCAS. Digestive issues, energy, allergies, and so much more all come back to your gut health. This is why it’s essential to keep your gut microbiome healthy.Improving your gut health could have a positive impact on your allergy and other MCAS symptoms. Check out this helpful blog to learn more about improving your gut health.
Check your genes. Genes are not deterministic but epigenetics is. Your lifestyle and environment can play a role in gene expression and make you more predisposed to certain health conditions. Various genetic mutations can play a role in histamine intolerance.
Here are main genes that are central to processing histamine (13):
HNMT – which requires SAMe as a cofactor (and this requires an effective MTHFR enzyme to help produce SAMe)
DAO – which requires vitamin B6 and copper
MAO – which requires vitamin B2 and iron
NAT2 – which requires CoA which stems from vitamin B5
If any one of these genes is slowed or burdened, then the removal of histamine is slowed – and symptoms of histamine intolerance occur.
In addition to the breakdown by DAO, histamine needs to be methylated in the liver before excretion by the kidneys. Methylation, which requires the MTHFR gene to be optimal, refers to the process of any molecule being transformed by the addition of a methyl group (CH3)—three hydrogen atoms bonded to a carbon atom. Histamine is methylated to a molecule called methylhistamine, which renders it much less toxic and ready for disposal through the urine. (4)
Getting to the root cause of your mast cell activation syndrome is vital to healing long-term. But it may take some functional lab testing to fully understand what’s causing your symptoms. Overall, taking a root-cause, natural approach to healing can result in the lasting relief you’re looking for.
Get Help Treating Your Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
Are you tired of living with chronic allergy symptoms without knowing what the problem or solution is? If you’re looking to finally get to the root cause of your mast cell activation syndrome, we’re here to help.
At Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine, we take a root-cause, functional medicine approach to your treatment. When you visit us, we’ll do an in-depth review of your health history and listen to your unique concerns. Then, we may perform various functional lab tests to get a more in-depth view of your health. Each patient has their own unique pattern of disease, and we strive to unveil and treat the root cause and of your presenting symptoms.
From there, we provide you with a nutrition and lifestyle plan to get to the root cause of your issue and restore your health. Whether you're local, out of state, or international, we can help, as we provide telemedicine consultations! To get started, schedule a free consultation today.
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