DAO Supplements & Histamine Intolerance

Excess histamine levels, caused by histamine intolerance or insufficient natural Diamine Oxidase (DAO) production (the enzyme that breaks down histamine in the gut), can make life feel miserable. 

What Is Histamine Intolerance?

Histamine Intolerance (HIT) is a condition in which the body cannot properly break down histamine, from foods or allergens, leading to a build-up of it in the body, which can cause symptoms such as headaches, digestive issues, hives, rashes, fatigue, brain fog, and nasal congestion, as the body is not able to remove it fast enough. Related to HIT is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), which we will cover in a future blog.

What Can You Do To Support Healthy Histamine Levels?

The first step is to reduce histamine intake from foods by going on a low-histamine diet and avoiding histamine-liberating foods (foods that are not high in histamine themselves but can trigger the release of more histamine). If you have histamine intolerance, it is a good idea to work with a dietitian who is familiar with it to ensure your nutritional needs are met.

An air purifier is a game-changer for reducing histamine levels. Dust and airborne allergens can significantly increase histamine levels in those with elevated levels. Austin Air makes excellent air purifiers. 

Washing your sheets and pillows frequently, along with getting an allergy mattress cover, is also very helpful. 

Use unscented laundry detergent, soaps, creams, lotions, and body washes. It is also a good idea to avoid candles and air freshening products. Fragrances (including many essential oils) can increase histamine levels. Whipped tallow cream is a gentle alternative to traditional face and body creams for sensitive skin. Unrefined, full-spectrum emu oil is a great option for use on red, irritated, and rashy spots.

There are also a number of supplements that can help support healthy histamine levels. 

DAO Supplements For Supporting Healthy Histamine Levels

DAO supplementation can be a big help for those who need help supporting healthy histamine levels.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding DAO supplements, mainly due to misleading advertising and claims by supplement companies. Most DAO supplements use a measurement called histamine-degrading units (HDU). Some porcine histamine supplements use DAO isolated from pork kidney and claim to contain 4.2 mg DAO, or an equivalent of 10,000 HDU, per capsule. This measurement in a supplement is useless because it does not measure what will actually happen in the body. The only way to determine the actual impact of DAO supplements on an individual is to test for DAO activity in serum before and within 30 minutes after taking the capsules, allowing for the evaluation of DAO activation in the intestines and absorption into the blood.  The greater the increase in serum DAO after taking the supplement, the better.  The serum test is measured as the change in HDU/ml per mg of supplement. Without a scientific measure in blood serum, the only practical test is how a person taking the supplement feels and reacts after taking it and consuming histamine-rich foods or drinks.

Another issue with most DAO supplements is that they often contain unnecessary additives such as acetic acid, sucrose, glycerol, shellac, and magnesium silicate. It’s best to choose DAO supplements free of additives to avoid the risk of adding further things that could exacerbate histamine-related issues.

How To Take DAO Supplements

DAO supplements should be taken fifteen minutes before a meal with a full glass of water.

How to Choose The Best DAO Supplement

As with other supplements, the whole food option is best. Most DAO supplements are isolated from conventionally farmed pig kidneys or pea shoots. Isolated DAO lacks the supportive compounds and nutrients that come with foods naturally rich in DAO. 

DAO needs certain nutrients to be most effective, including B6, folate, B12, zinc, copper, selenium, and iron. So it’s best to choose a DAO supplement that contains these supportive nutrients in their whole food form. 

Selenium is another important nutrient related to histamine, as it helps to modulate mast cell release of histamines. Without enough selenium, more histamines are released. So make sure your DAO supplement contains selenium. 

The foods used in making DAO supplements must be ethically sourced, and care is taken to preserve the nutrients and compounds during the manufacturing process. 

DAO is a heat-sensitive enzyme, so how the food was dried and milled will have a big impact on whether there is enough DAO left to be effective. Since most companies don’t manufacture their own DAO supplements, they often don’t know how they were made or the temperatures used during the manufacturing process. 

The Best DAO Supplement - Beef Kidney Capsules

Far and away the best DAO supplement is beef kidney capsules. Not just any beef kidney capsules, however, they must be made correctly. 

Since DAO is heat sensitive and a fragile compound, it must be dried, milled, and manufactured correctly. Nearly every beef kidney supplement company pays other companies to dry their beef kidneys, so they have no idea of the highest drying temperature reached or how the freeze-drying process is done. Not all freeze-drying is the same. Milling is another area where heat is a problem. Traditional milling creates a lot of heat. Nearly all beef kidney supplement companies pay someone else to do their milling, so they don’t know the temperature or the process used. In order to protect the DAO and other fragile compounds, cryogenic milling should be done.

Another issue that arises, which is especially important for people dealing with histamine issues, is freshness. Organs that are not quickly received and processed after harvest will begin to build up histamines. That’s why you want to choose beef kidney capsules from companies that get the organs directly from the farms right after harvest and quickly make the capsules in small batches. Unfortunately, nearly all organ supplement companies buy their beef kidney powder from middlemen and have no idea how fresh it is. Often, it has been sitting in warehouses for an extended period. 

NXGEN Wholefoods is different. They get the beef kidneys fresh from regenerative family farmers in the Lake Eyre River Basin of Australia, soon after harvest, then low-and-slow freeze-dry them for forty-eight hours, cryogenically mill them, and encapsulate them in small batches. This is precisely how it should be done to avoid the problems that plague most beef kidney capsules. If you want the best beef kidney capsules, NXGEN Wholefoods is the clear answer. After manufacture, third-party testing is conducted at an NATA-approved laboratory to ensure it is free of pathogens. 

Beef kidney also contains the important cofactor nutrients needed for your body to be able to utilize the DAO properly, including B6, folate, B12, zinc, copper, and iron, which are missing from nearly all DAO supplements. It is also rich in selenium, which supports healthy glutathione production and phase one and two detoxification pathways, which are very important for proper histamine metabolism. It also contains ergothioneine peptide, which supports the kidneys' detoxification pathways.

One often overlooked benefit of healthy DAO levels is in supporting healthy lactogenesis. When milk first comes in (2-5 days postpartum) there is significant increase in blood flow and lymphatic activity. This response can cause histamine release, contributing to swelling and inflammation of a woman's breasts. This can lead to clogged ducts, which can affect milk drainage and cause discomfort. When DAO levels are normal, there is less of a risk of pain and discomfort in breastfeeding. 

Beef Kidney is nature's most potent DAO superfood.

How To Take Beef Kidney DAO Capsules

Take four capsules in the morning, with a large glass of water, fifteen minutes before breakfast, and two capsules before meals during the day. If needed, increase the daily amount in two capsule intervals until the higher dosage is no longer needed. If you are very sensitive to many things, it is best to start with just one capsule and increase the dosage by one capsule every two to three days to avoid a detox reaction. 

Supplements For Healthy Histamine Levels

For some people, beef kidney capsules might not be enough. In that case, additional supportive beef organ formulas are a great choice. 

First up is Histamine & Immune. It contains liver, kidney, spleen, lung, and thymus. These glands provide a variety of nutrients and compounds that support various factors related to healthy histamine levels.

Next up is Gut & Digestion. It contains liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, and green tripe. Gut health plays a crucial role in supporting healthy histamine levels. Think of this product as a whole-food multivitamin that helps nourish and support the gut, providing bioavailable nutrients, enzymes, peptides, and other compounds that are largely missing from the modern diet. Green tripe is also rich in non-fermentable prebiotics, which feed your good bacteria without the gas and bloating caused by many traditional prebiotics.

The Histamine Stack contains all three formulas for comprehensive support for healthy histamine levels.

Bile And Histamine

One overlooked aspect of histamine metabolism is the role of the gallbladder. The gallbladder, via bile, helps flush excess histamine from the body. If the gallbladder is not functioning optimally, then this process may not happen as well as it should. To support healthy gallbladder function, consider using Gallbladder with Ox Bile capsules.

Living With Histamine Intolerance

In the past, not much was known about histamine intolerance, and most people had to suffer their entire lives with it, without knowing what was wrong. Thankfully, by following a low-histamine diet and taking the right whole-food supplements, your quality of life can be greatly improved!