Most doctors will recommend OTC antihistamines which will only treat the runny nose
As a pharmacist, I am very passionate about the science behind over the counter (OTC) and prescription drugs. I have suffered from histamine intolerance from childhood and I only came to know more about it while in pharmacy school. I have a very high control over the foods i eat now, but that comes with a social stigma. You have to be empowered to avoid the foods. You need a certain level of histamine in your blood to help with your sleep wake cycle and other effects. The symptoms of high histamine can vary depending on which of the 4 sites of action (Called receptor) it binds. Most doctors will recommend OTC antihistamines which will only treat the runny nose, eye, or itchiness symptoms that are triggered through one of the pathways (H1 receptor). You might not be properly diagnosed if you have the other symptoms that are triggered through H2, H3, or H4. These other symptoms can affect your nerves and lead to back pain and anxiety.<br /><br />The idea of supplementing the enzyme is one step towards the right direction. However, let me clarify some things. Diamine oxidase is a protein just like insulin and heparin. Insulin and heparin are not taken orally because every protein that you take orally is broken down by our enzymes to smaller units called amino acids. With that scientific concept, there is no way that you can get this enzyme into your blood. Our body's natural Diamine oxidase exists in our blood stream not in the gut. The only way that this product can help is that when it is broken down in our gut, the smaller units are taken into our blood and they will serve as raw material for our body to manufacture its own diamine oxidase. The subunits can also help boost our own natural diamine oxidase. This can work for people who only need the booster. It might not work for some people who have a genetic or family defect called a mutation on the part of the DNA that directs the production of the protein.<br /><br />This product might work best if they can one day give it as an injection so it doesn't have to pass through the gut where our natural protein enzymes will break it down.<br /><br />It might also be wrong to claim that it breaks down the histamine in out gut before it is absorbed because the product is dried and deactivated. Live and active protein is refrigerated just like insulin and heparin for it to work.<br /><br />The only scientific fact that I can accept with this product is that it will be broken down in the gut to supply your body with the raw material required to build its own diamine oxidase. I do like the effort by Swanson to extract the protein from pork. Maybe one day the human form of the drug can be engineered like other FDA approved biologics.<br />I love to be criticized and challenged with evidence and logical thinking so I can learn more.
Rating: 3 stars