7 Tips for Living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) That Will Give You Hope

May 30

Are you living with MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome)? I know it can feel like there’s no hope in sight, making you continuously wonder, “will it ever go away?” Your conventional or mast cell doctors may provide you with “MCAS treatments” that only cover up for symptoms for the time being or sometimes even make matters worse. You don’t know what to do, but you just want your life back already.

I completely understand. I struggled with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), POTS, Mold Illness, and Lyme Disease for years and I traveled through a long journey to overcome my mast cell dysfunction and put my immune system into remission. This is how Nic and I both became Mast Cell Specialists. But through my experience, I not only gained the knowledge to know how to heal myself, but now I am helping others who are struggling and living with MCAS learn to heal too.

I want to help you find MCAS relief and experience healing faster than I did.

Today I want to show you that there is hope. Working with a Health Coach who is also a MCAS specialist, you will see that there are answers out there. You just have to connect and work with the right people.

Here are my biggest tips for living with MCAS that have helped both myself and my clients:

1 - Low Histamine Foods

Histamine is one of the mediators that your mast cells release when they are activated by a trigger. Since your cells become hyperactive in MCAS, it causes way too much histamine to be released in your body. These elevated histamine levels contribute to your flare ups, whether that’s skin rashes, puffiness, runny nose, hives, digestive issues or low blood pressure. A low histamine diet can help minimize the overall amount of histamine that you get from foods.

Avoid high histamine foods like leftovers, nuts, chocolate, alcohol, cured meats, tomatoes, canned fish, pickled and fermented foods (kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut), yogurt, processed cheese, yeast, citrus, soy sauce, vinegar, and preservatives.

Instead, consume mostly foods that are low in histamine. These are typically fresh whole, unprocessed foods (except for the ones listed above). Examples of low histamine foods include: fresh produce like sweet potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, cucumbers, squash, beets, mangos, blueberries, apples, and peaches.

However, the best MCAS diet is one that is personalized to your bio-individuality, taking into account your sensitivities and allergies. We offer Food Allergy & Sensitivity testing that can help you personalize a healing diet that considers which foods are least or most histamine-forming to you.

2 - Natural Antihistamines

If you want to avoid using more epi-pens or want to try a more natural approach to prevent needing to reach for the Benadryl, natural antihistamines found in certain foods and herbs may be a good option for you.

Quercetin is an antihistamine present in onions, garlic, broccoli, apples, berries, and leafy greens. While you can increase your consumption of these foods, there are quercetin supplements that you can take that will have more effective results.

Stinging nettle is also a great option. Instead of drinking loads of tea to reap the benefits, you can purchase high quality capsules. Nettles helps relieve MCAS symptoms by naturally blocking histamine production.

Butterbur has been shown to be just as effective as some over the counter allergy medications (like cetirizine) to reduce histamine flare ups. And it contains anti-inflammatory properties that relaxes swollen nasal membranes.

Triphala has antihistamine, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and is shown to reduce histamine release and inflammation in the lungs. This makes this antihistamine herb an excellent choice for those with mast cell disorders suffering from allergic asthma and airway attacks.

3 - Reducing Toxicity

When you have mast cell activation syndrome, your cells have a heightened response to stressors/ perceived threats. Toxins are one of the biggest hidden stressors you may be unaware of that could be causing your cells to get into cell danger response, or cause your histamine bucket to spill over. The less toxins entering your body means less toxins to potentially react to.

To calm down your immune response and find relief from your MCAS symptoms, you must prioritize creating a low-toxic environment for yourself to heal in. This includes swapping out your toxic products like household cleaners, shampoos, conditioners and make up with less or non-toxic, natural alternatives that reduce your toxic exposure.

This may even look like removing your mercury fillings with the help of a biological dentist and/or getting air purification systems and water purifications installed in your home.

One major contributor to MCAS is mold toxicity. I highly recommend having functional lab testing performed to investigate whether you have underlying mold toxicity and mycotoxins that are triggering your MCAS flare ups. If so, you’ll want to properly detox from it safely with the help of an experienced biotoxin illness and mast cell specialist like us.

Minimizing this toxicity will allow your body to heal and reduce MCAS flare-ups. You may be interested in reading our previous blog, ““Why Am I Sensitive To Everything? See Some Of The Top Causes Here”.

4 - Healing Your Gut

70-80% of your immune system resides in your gut. If your MCAS is flaring up, you can bet there are underlying gut issues occurring. These gut issues could stem from parasites, leaky gut, candida overgrowth, dysbiosis, or infections from other bacteria or viruses. Healing your gut can not only support your immune response, but it can also help reduce MCAS symptoms.

Since DAO enzymes, (responsible for breaking down histamine) are located in your gut, it's vital that your gut health is optimal. If not, a poorly functioning gut could interfere with this enzyme, elevating your histamine levels. Zinc is an important mineral that is involved in the most enzymatic reactions in the body, including clearing histamine. So addressing a zinc deficiency is important for healing the gut lining and having more normal digestion.

5 - Cleansing Parasites

Parasites are a lot more common than people realize. These pesky invaders can trigger your mast cells to release histamines. Ascaris lumbricoides are known to cause allergic reactions to increase in their hosts, which is why looking for elevated eosinophils can be a sign of intestinal parasites. If you’ve tried every mast cell stabilizer or MCAS treatment and healing protocol out there, but haven’t cleansed parasites, I recommend that you do.

A natural parasite cleanse could be the key to calming your immune system and giving your relief from your MCAS flare-ups. Your mast cells could be reacting to parasites, alarming you to a threat. If so, removing what is causing them to be alarmed will help reduce the intensity and frequency of mast cell reactions and prepare your body for deeper healing.

6 - Use Medications as Needed (OTC and Prescription Medications)

In some MCAS cases, over the counter and even prescription medications are necessary. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is good to have one hand as a rescue medication. You will want to avoid overusing this, so a combination of H1 and H2 blockers are another option.

H1 blockers include:

Cetirizine (Zyrtec, Reactine)
Hydroxyzine (Atarax)
Fexofenadine (Allegra)
Loratadine (Claritin)
Doxepin (Silenor)
Cyproheptadine (Periactin)
Ketotifen (Zaditen)

H2 blockers include Famotidine (Pepcid) and Zantac, which are used for the management of gastric symptoms. Alka Seltzer Gold has bicarbonate salts that can help neutralize the inflammation caused by mast cell reactions or pathogen die offs.

There are also prescription mast cell stabilizers like Low Dose Naltrexone, oral cromalyn, nasal or nebulized cromalyn, Singulair, and more. There are risks and benefits to each medication, so it’s advised that you work with your doctor and a mast cell specialist to determine the best options for you, and start with the least risky medication options before working to the ones with more complications and risks.

7 - Work with a Mast Cell Specialist

If you’ve been receiving MCAS treatment from a conventional doctor and haven’t experienced great results or relief, please know there is still hope. Since mast cell activation is a newer health issue, it can be hard to find a mast cell specialist doctor because most doctors are unaware of the condition altogether and don’t know how to treat it, let alone heal at the root cause. MCAS used to be a very rare condition, but in the past decade, we have been seeing more and more cases, with estimations of up to 25% of the population having it in some severity.

This is why working with a Mast Cell Specialist is the best investment you can make if you want to get your life back and stop suffering with MCAS symptoms. Living with MCAS is challenging enough. You need a genuine provider by your side who actually cares, who will advocate for you when you need it, and is an MCAS expert with fresh ideas.

Overcome Your Chronic Symptoms & Heal Holistically

Are you looking to get to the root cause of your symptoms? We can help you.

We use holistic approaches and functional medicine lab testing to investigate what is triggering your chronic symptoms so you can address them at their source and start to feel better faster. Our health coaches are masters at guiding the healing of multiple root causes in a personalized order that gets you wellness results that last. We also help you maintain good health and minimize your disease risks.

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by sarah southerton

Certified Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP2) & Functional Medicine Health Coach

I specialize in helping people heal chronic illnesses and achieve optimal health. After my own battle with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Lyme disease, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), I was thrust into the world of alternative medicine, herbal healing, and low-tox/low-stress living. I have since restored my health and no longer suffer with debilitating symptoms and I’m passionate about help other people who are suffering, so they can feel better a lot faster than I did.

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