Can't Tolerate Bone Broth?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 along with healing broths and targeted supplements to help soothe and heal the gut lining.

I have also advocated for broth myself, as it helped me heal my leaky gut. What I haven’t shared with you all, however, is the issues I faced tolerating bone broth in the first place!

I thought sharing my story could be helpful for those wanting to consume bone broth for its many health benefits, but may be having a hard time tolerating it…

Histamine Issues with Bone Broth

I kept getting a HERX reaction every time I consumed bone broth, so I began researching why it may be occurring. A big thing that popped out at me during my research is that bone broth is high in histamine. It was then my “lightbulb moment” occurred because at that time my allergies were very severe, and I had a hunch that I had some histamine issues.

The reactions I was experiencing now made sense to me, as my body just could not tolerate any more histamine. At that time it was literally incapable of breaking it down  – and later, after getting tested and implementing some of Jini’s protocols, I understood why.

Histamine Intolerance

There are some people who can break down histamine just fine – but for many, this is a real struggle! This is called histamine intolerance, and this great article explains it really well.

Histamine intolerance is not a sensitivity to histamine, but an indication that you’ve developed too much of it. When histamine levels get too high, or when they can’t break down properly, it can affect your normal bodily functions.

The DAO Enzyme

The enzyme DAO (or diamine oxidase) is naturally produced in your body with histamine. DAO breaks down histamine, so if you are DAO deficient intolerance usually occurs.

When your body does not produce enough DAO on its own, it cannot break down histamine. This is key! Because histamine is what controls allergies and immune system levels in the body and other functions. If histamine cannot be broken down by DAO, you WILL have allergies.

Why DAO Levels Get Affected?

There could be a few different reasons why our levels get 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 often goes hand in hand with low DAO levels.

The intestines are where most of your DAO enzymes are created, so when there is a leaky gut due to the overgrowth of pathogens the gut leaks, gets inflamed, and becomes damaged. This leads to less or no production of DAO, so then you can’t break down the allergens. Also, when food isn’t digested properly, bacteria can grow – which in turn can cause histamine intolerance/reactions as well.

Here are some more why reasons your DAO enzyme levels could be affected (sourced from this post):

  • Certain medications which block DAO functions or prevent production
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, such as leaky gut syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • Histamine-rich foods that cause DAO enzymes to function improperly
  • Foods that block DAO enzymes or trigger histamine release

DAO and Bone Broth

When my DAO levels were tested by my physician, it was basically one of the lowest readings possible. My DAO was practically non-existent! No wonder I had allergies to everything, and drinking bone broth made it worse!

Here’s the ironic thing. Bone broth helps leaky gut (by strengthening the tissues and aiding in digestion), which can be a reason why your DAO is low. However, if your DAO is low (and bone broth is high in histamine) you won’t be able to tolerate the bone broth anyway.

Frustrating, right? Well, here’s an easy solution that was a game-changer for me…

Linsy’s Protocol to Lower Histamine ReactionsDAO

  • Begin supplementing immediately with DAO, as it helps with food and environmental allergies too – not just bone broth intolerance! I would take this daily to get those enzymes back in my body.
  • Take Quercetin along WITH Vitamin C to assist your body with absorbing Quercetin.
  • Take the DAO product for a while before introducing bone broth (so the DAO can build up in your system.) I had to take it for 3 weeks on a high dose of 4 pills a day (2 in the morning and 2 at night) until I finally got relief from allergies. Now my body only needs one pill a day, or none, as its natural DAO production is much better!
  • If it was me, I would also take a DAO supplement BEFORE consuming the bone broth in addition to daily use, as this can help break down whatever histamine may flood your system.
  • When you do introduce the bone broth, start low and slow! I could only handle ¼ to ½ of one cup of bone broth at first – even with the DAO. As my leaky gut healed and allergens subsided (due to replenishing my DAO levels) I started to tolerate more and more broth. Now, I can drink as much as I want!

If you are exploring the root cause issues of your leaky gut/histamine intolerance, I definitely recommend looking into DAO. It was an absolute game-changer for me, as NOTHING relieved my allergy symptoms until I started supplementing with it. My allergies were SO severe that I could not stop sneezing or blowing my nose, and I also suffered from asthma. Within just a few days of using this, I got relief from years of misery!

Have you experienced sensitivity to bone broth or histamine intolerance? I’d love to hear from you, especially if you decide to give my protocol a try. 🙂 I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!