By LAURA LEONARD
Doctor of Chiropractic
Los Alamos
As promised, a follow-up on our spuds experience (link). Day one was a complete surprise to me despite the fact that I was already aware of the science behind the reasoning for trying this body hack.
I personally have histamine intolerance issues, a nasty little chemical found in our own body and in some foods. It is responsible for allergy sufferer’s itchy and miserable existence.
I’m personally allergic to almost everything; fur, food, pollen, mold … you get the idea. Histamine intolerance is more than just being allergic.
Some of us also are sensitive to higher levels of histamine in the body and have a difficult time breaking it down. When we eat foods high in histamine; if we are intolerant, symptoms like indigestion, cramping, wheezing, hives, itchy skin, stuffy sinuses and brain fog can occur.
In addition to all of that fun stuff, excess histamine can indirectly cause joint inflammation and other aches and pains. The most frustrating part of being intolerant is the reactions are inconsistent and only occur when the histamine cup spills over.
For example, you may tolerate high histamine foods until you are stressed at work and the pollen count is high. Unfortunately, some of us have a particularly strong physiological survival response left over from the days of cave dwelling. Stress, high histamine foods, toxins, physical trauma, virus and bacteria can also trigger excess histamine levels and inflammation in the body.
Turns out potatoes are very low in histamine and are much less likely to cause an allergic or inflammatory reaction when we eat them. After two days of coffee, tea, water and potatoes, I can say I have not used my inhalers, taken antihistamines, have much less joint pain, my head is clear and I have a ton of energy.
My husband lost 4 pounds in the first day and I am down 2. I don’t have any extra energy for working out but neither of us have had any cravings or hunger.
I must admit, I thought this was going to be a complete bust and I am flabbergasted in a good way to say the least. Are we thinking about keeping it going? Three days is plenty to jumpstart the system. This is not a lifestyle or a diet, it is more of a short-term body healing jumpstart that you can do for 3-10 days.
I personally am going to expand my gastronomical experimentation into a low histamine diet in hopes of reducing my inner cavewoman’s hyper-reactive genetics from trying to kill me! I guess my husband will have to come along for the ride on phase two of this lifestyle experiment.
Remember … if you were finally able to buy your dream car, you wouldn’t put cheap gas in it and you would definitely pay attention to keeping it clean and maintained. We have to live in our body for a lifetime, it is the most valuable asset we have and we should try to feed it in the best way possible.
“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” –Ann Wigmore
“Don’t ask why healthy food is so expensive. Ask why junk food is so cheap.” –Unknown
Dr. Laura Leonard has a BSc in Neuroscience and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. She has been in practice for 20 years and has recently joined Dr. Lenz and Dr. Savoia at the Los Alamos Chiropractic Center. Dr. Leonard’s practice focuses on posture and performance using a combination of soft tissue release, adjustments and exercise recommendations. She also coaches patients on nutrition, self-care and body awareness so they can manage themselves in between visits. Los Alamos Chiropractic Center is in the Mary Deal Building on Trinity Drive.