Can’t tolerate bone broth? As you may know, Jini highly recommends bone broth for gut healing. Her IBD remission diet plan combines an elemental diet with healing broths and targeted supplements to soothe and heal the intestinal lining.
I myself have also advocated for broth as it has helped me heal my leaky gut. What I haven’t shared with you yet are the issues I faced tolerating bone broth in the first place!
I thought sharing my story might be helpful for those who want to consume bone broth for its many health benefits but may have a hard time tolerating it…
Histamine problems with bone broth
I was getting a HERX reaction every time I consumed bone broth, so I started researching why it might be occurring. One important thing I noticed in my research is that bone broth is high in histamine. Then came my “lightbulb moment” because my allergies were very severe at that point and I felt like I had histamine issues.
The reactions I was experiencing now made sense to me since my body simply couldn’t tolerate histamine anymore. At the time it was literally unable to crack it – and later, after testing and implementing some of Jini’s protocols, I understood why.
Histamine intolerance
There are people who can break down histamine quite well – but for many it’s a real struggle! This is called histamine intolerance, and this great article explains it really well.
Histamine intolerance is not a hypersensitivity to histamine, but rather an indication that you have developed too much of it. If histamine levels rise too high or cannot be broken down properly, it can affect your normal body functions.
The DAO enzyme
The enzyme DAO (or diamine oxidase) is naturally produced in your body along with histamine. Since DAO breaks down histamine, a DAO deficiency usually leads to intolerance.
If your body doesn’t produce enough DAO itself, it can’t break down histamine. That’s the key! Because histamine controls allergies, the immune system in the body and other functions. If histamine cannot be broken down by DAO, you will have allergies.
Why are DAO values affected?
There could be a variety of reasons why our levels are affected, but one that I think stands out the most – especially since most of our readers have some form of gut disorder – is that leaky gut is often associated with low DAO levels.
The gut is where most of your DAO enzymes are created. So when leaky gut occurs due to pathogen overgrowth, the intestines leak, become inflamed and damaged. This results in less or no production of DAO, so you cannot break down the allergens. Additionally, when food is not digested properly, bacteria can proliferate, which can lead to histamine intolerance/reactions.
Here are some other reasons why your DAO enzyme levels might be affected (source from this post):
- Certain medications that block DAO function or prevent production
- Gastrointestinal diseases such as leaky gut syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Histamine-rich foods that cause DAO enzymes to not function properly
- Foods that block DAO enzymes or trigger the release of histamine
DAO and bone broth
When my doctor tested my DAO levels, it was basically one of the lowest levels possible. My DAO practically didn’t exist! No wonder I was allergic to everything and drinking bone broth made it worse!
Here’s the irony. Bone broth helps with leaky gut (by strengthening tissues and aiding digestion), which may be a reason your DAO is low. However, if your DAO is low (and the bone broth is high in histamine), you won’t be able to tolerate the bone broth anyway.
Frustrating, right? Well, here’s a simple solution that was a game-changer for me…
Linsy’s protocol for reducing histamine reactions
- Start supplementing with DAO immediately as it also helps with food and environmental allergies – not just bone broth intolerance! I would take it daily to get those enzymes back into my body.
- Take quercetin with vitamin C to help your body absorb quercetin.
- Take the DAO product for a while before adding bone broth (to allow the DAO to build up in your system). I had to take it at a high dose of 4 tablets per day (2 in the morning and 2 in the evening) for three weeks until my allergies were finally relieved. Now my body only needs one pill a day or none at all as its natural DAO production is much better!
- If it were me, I would also take a DAO supplement BEFORE consuming the bone broth in addition to daily use as this can help break down the histamine that may be flooding your system.
- When adding the bone broth, start slow and slow! At first I could only tolerate ¼ to ½ cup of bone broth – even with the DAO. As my leaky gut healed and the allergens subsided (due to replenishing my DAO levels), I began to tolerate more and more broth. Now I can drink as much as I want!
If you are dealing with the causes of your leaky gut/histamine intolerance, I definitely recommend looking into DAO. It was a total game changer for me because NOTHING relieved my allergy symptoms until I started supplementing. My allergies were so severe that I couldn’t stop sneezing or blowing my nose, and I also suffered from asthma. Within days of using it, I was relieved of years of misery!
Have you experienced bone broth sensitivity or histamine intolerance? I would love to hear from you, especially if you decide to try my protocol. 🙂 I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!
Linsy is Jini’s assistant. From a highly sensitive/reactive case of ulcerative colitis to a fully medical and surgical treatment using all-natural methods, Linsy truly understands first-hand the interplay of mind/body/spirit on the healing journey.
