[00:00]
Ever heard of a diet that cuts out tyramine and histamine to prevent migraines?
[00:06]
Let's unpack what this is really about and whether it works.
[00:12]
Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers who've seen countless doctors with no
[00:19]
results. Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
[00:26]
Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine,
[00:32]
even after suffering for up to 60 years. My mission in life? To bring this relief
[00:38]
to a million people using a unique blend of eastern medicine and western science.
[00:46]
In this episode, you will learn how two seemingly innocent compounds,
[00:50]
tyramine and histamine, can sneak into your diet and silently set off migraines.
[00:56]
The exact science behind why that aged cheese or kombucha might cause brain fog,
[01:03]
pressure, or even a full-blown attack. And how traditional Chinese medicine offers safer,
[01:10]
gentler ways to enjoy life's flavors without the flare-ups. Stay with me till the end to hear the
[01:16]
absolutely unexpected ways in which histamine creeps into your life while you are trying,
[01:23]
actively trying, to stop your migraines. So first of all, what are we talking about?
[01:30]
Tyramine and histamine are very different, but they build up in the same kinds of foods.
[01:36]
Aged, fermented, spoiled, or overripe. So think aged cheeses, like parmesan, brie, blue cheese,
[01:44]
cured meats, salami, prosciutto, bacon, yep, that charcuterie platter, alcohol, red wine,
[01:51]
beer, champagne. Now we have the whole cheese and wine social. Fermented fish and soy products,
[01:56]
such as miso, tempeh, fish sauce. Overripe or dried fruits, bananas, avocados, raisins.
[02:03]
And 24-hour spoiled foods, even something like chicken, can be problematic if it's been sitting
[02:09]
too long in the fridge. So what's tyramine? Tyramine is a biogenetic aminine created from
[02:16]
the breakdown of the amino acid tyrosine. When proteins age, spoil, or ferment, bacteria convert
[02:24]
tyrosine into tyramine. This happens in many everyday foods, from aged cheese to cured meats
[02:31]
to pickles. Chemically, tyramine resembles neurotransmitters like dopamine or norepinephrine,
[02:37]
meaning it can impact the nervous system and blood vessels directly. It earned its name from
[02:43]
tyros, in greek for cheese, because that's where it was first identified, to the term cheese effect.
[02:51]
Now what's histamine? Histamines come from histos, greek for tissue, and amine. Histamine is stored
[02:58]
in immune cells called mast cells and basophils. When these cells detect a threat, real or perceived,
[03:07]
they degranulate, releasing histamine into nearby tissue and the bloodstream. It's a pro-inflammatory
[03:15]
signal involved in allergic reactions, injury response, and infections. Too much histamine from
[03:21]
outside and inside the body's sources can cause chaos. Now unlike tyramine, your body naturally
[03:29]
releases histamine from immune cells. It's going to do that in response to allergens such as pollen,
[03:36]
dust mites, mold, bad dander, infections from bacteria, viruses, injury or trauma such as cuts,
[03:44]
burns, bruises, exercise, especially intense or prolonged, emotional stress, yes, stress can
[03:51]
trigger mast cell degranulation, temperature changes, hormonal fluctuations, estrogen increase,
[03:58]
histamine sensitivity. I mean, hello migraine triggers! The gut microbiome plays a huge role
[04:05]
in histamine regulation. If histamine is overproduced or not cleared properly, meaning
[04:12]
you eat too much of it or produced too much of it, it can lead to migraines, hives or rashes,
[04:20]
anxiety, brain fog, gut inflammation, chronic sinus congestion. Let me repeat because here's
[04:27]
a little gem for some of you chronic migraine sufferers, chronic sinus congestion. So how do
[04:34]
tyramine and histamine trigger migraines? Tyramine is broken down into your gut and liver
[04:40]
by monoamine oxidase, MAO. But if your liver isn't working optimally, tyramine slips into
[04:48]
your bloodstream, it triggers a flood of norepinephrine, tightening then relaxing your
[04:53]
blood vessel, a pattern that we all know closely linked to migraine onset. Histamine on the other
[05:00]
hand is broken down by diamine oxidase, DAO, in the gut and HLMT enzyme in tissues. And so if your
[05:09]
DAO, diamine oxidase is low due to genetics, gut imbalances, histamine builds up. That overload
[05:17]
can cause headaches, brain fog, anxiety and inflammation, all known migraine companions.
[05:24]
And remember, stress hormones, temperature changes and even gut bacteria can all increase your body's
[05:29]
own histamine production. You don't need to eat it to suffer from it. Now here is the shocking
[05:37]
factor. Some drugs increase histamine or block its breakdown. NSAIDs, so the over-counter migraine
[05:45]
medications, your Tylenol, your aspirin, your ibuprofen, your paracetamol. Yes, that's right.
[05:52]
Antidepressants, often prescribed for migraines as well. Antibiotics for those urinary tract
[05:57]
infections you got along the way. Narcotics, codeine, also found in some migraine medications.
[06:03]
All of those will increase histamine or block its breakdown. You know when people take our
[06:10]
migraine assessment and we meet on Zoom, I sometimes say quietly and sort of confidentially,
[06:14]
many migraine medication can actually trigger migraine. The rebound effect is real. There's
[06:20]
the rebound effect of the next day, but there's the more profound situation going from episodic to
[06:25]
chronic and suffer from migraine a lot more that is related to medication. And here's the thing,
[06:30]
we're building an AI. So think of Migraine Heroes as a kind of wonderland for migraine sufferers,
[06:35]
where everything has been designed with you in mind. I created this platform because I was tired
[06:40]
of seeing important topics brushed aside. The brain is complex and just because no one has fixed yours
[06:46]
yet, doesn't mean that you are the problem. And so from our data, I started to see patterns and
[06:53]
one of the sneakier ones, certain migraine medication, much beyond the ones that officially
[06:58]
give rebound migraines, especially antidepressants, seem to give with one hand and take with the other.
[07:03]
They dull some symptoms, but quietly deepen the migraine state, often taking away your sense of
[07:09]
joy. I couldn't make sense of it at first. But today, as I'm learning more about histamine for you
[07:16]
and how blocking it might be part of the picture, it's helping me explain what I've seen in that
[07:22]
data for years now. One thing you can always expect from us is intellectual integrity. We
[07:27]
don't chase trends. We don't push builds. We just want you to get well, to be well. And we believe
[07:34]
that's possible. Now I want to share the story of Camilla, one of our remarkable migraine heroes.
[07:42]
Over just a few months, she made incredible progress, learning to anticipate her triggers,
[07:48]
prevent attacks, and even to stop them in their tracks. Just last Friday, her doctor felt
[07:54]
confident enough in her progress to begin supporting a gradual move away from medication.
[08:00]
Camilla was over the moon, and so were we. Of course, any decisions around medication should
[08:07]
always be made with your doctor. As your body changes and your symptoms improve, it is important
[08:13]
to work with your health care provider to reassess what your current needs are and to adjust
[08:20]
treatment together, thoughtfully and safely, for just a healthier brain and body. So in this
[08:27]
episode, just like in others, you'll get a glimpse of why we do what we do. But please, never be enough
[08:32]
medication on your own. Always work with a qualified practitioner. It requires keen
[08:37]
precision and deep respect of your body. Sometimes it can have consequences to do that too abruptly.
[08:42]
We're here for you, every step of the way. Now, let's go east for a minute. Fermented food,
[08:48]
did you say? No, the Chinese might just be the world champions of it. I live in New Zealand,
[08:53]
and if you've ever flown here, you'll know the biosecurity zone is no joke. No food allowed,
[08:59]
especially not anything fermented. And guess who often gets caught? It's usually Chinese
[09:04]
travelers trying to sneak in jars of pickled mustard greens or fermented tofu wrapped lovingly
[09:11]
in a newspaper. It's almost a tradition, risking a $400 fine just to bring a bit of ancestral
[09:17]
medicine across the border. But you start to realize maybe there's a reason. These aren't
[09:22]
chaotic wild ferments. They're crafted slowly, carefully, often in clay pots with chosen microbes
[09:30]
like aspergillus and plenty of salt to keep the wrong bacteria at bay. And because of that,
[09:36]
they tend to carry less tyramine than your average aged cheese. Take Pu'er tea, for example.
[09:42]
It's not just fermented, it's aged with deep internationality. The leaves are left to
[09:49]
transform slowly in a dry and oxygen-sensitive environment, sometimes for decades. And when you
[09:55]
drink it, you're not even consuming the microbes themselves, just the infusion. So instead of
[10:01]
overwhelming your system, you get that earthy, deep warmth and balance without triggering the
[10:08]
storm. That's the magic of traditional fermentation. It's not just about flavor, it's about
[10:14]
chemistry done with care and wisdom passed down through generations. You know, when someone
[10:20]
struggles with histamine or tyramine sensitivity, the easiest thing would be to say, don't go out,
[10:27]
don't indulge, skip the cheese platter and say no to wine, keep away from parties, so basically,
[10:32]
stop living like everyone else. It's like saying to your buddy, dear buddy, you can't handle life,
[10:37]
so I'm just gonna relieve you from your duty. You take a vacation while I step into restriction
[10:42]
and avoidance for a lifetime. I'll stop enjoying, I'll stop connecting, I live in a vacuum. But what
[10:49]
if it was not the path? What if our role, my role, isn't to hide from life, but to support your
[10:55]
chemistry so that your body can come back online and carry you through the life you actually want
[11:00]
to live? At Migraine Heroes, that's what we do. When someone comes in with a highly specific diet,
[11:06]
say a tyramine and histamine free protocol, we work with it, not against it. We honor it, we never
[11:13]
question it, because if it works for you now, it does. We walk alongside your medication, your
[11:19]
boundaries, your choices, and we build everything, recommendations, adjustments, within those
[11:25]
parameters. But something beautiful happens along the way. The body starts to shift. We see in time
[11:31]
and time again, this was this woman, Vanessa, she was on a strict histamine and tyramine free diet.
[11:37]
Over time though, something softened, not just her symptoms, but her confidence, her language changed.
[11:43]
And one day she said, you know, I went to a party last week, I had some cheese, I was actually fine,
[11:48]
I think I might come off that tyramine and histamine free diet, I don't follow it so strictly
[11:53]
anymore, and it seems to be okay. So that moment, that quiet moment of doubt or surprise, is life
[12:00]
starting to return. Eventually, the question shifts, not what should I cut, but what can I
[12:06]
welcome back in my life? You're not crazy, what you're feeling in your body is real, and it's
[12:12]
important to understand it, to acknowledge it, and to support it. But it's also essential to remember
[12:18]
that your body, and your migraines specifically, are not your enemy, they're your ally. They tell us
[12:24]
exactly where the problem is, and your job, our job, is to help it support you, so you can live a long,
[12:31]
joyful, connected, and delicious life. And remember, every small step you take moves you closer to
[12:39]
freedom. You are powerful, you are resilient, and you are no longer alone. Keep rising, Migraine Hero.
[12:51]
Found this episode helpful? Hit subscribe, so you never miss an episode with the powerful
[12:56]
insights and practical tips for real migraine relief.
