Many people struggle with mysterious symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, food sensitivities, and skin issues—only to be misdiagnosed or dismissed altogether. This conversation highlights how histamine intolerance and mast cell activation syndrome can be the hidden drivers behind a wide range of chronic conditions, and why they're often overlooked in conventional medicine. From the role of gut health, food triggers, and environmental toxins to deeper root causes like Lyme disease or mold exposure, it’s clear that personalized, Functional Medicine is key to uncovering real answers. Understanding the immune system’s role in histamine reactions—and how even “healthy” foods can be inflammatory for some—is a critical step toward healing. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Todd LePine, Dr. Elizabeth Boham, and Dr. Mark Pimentel about what histamine intolerance is, how it can be related to gut health, and why it’s important to address it. Dr. Todd LePine graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, specializing in Integrative Functional Medicine. He is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. Prior to joining The UltraWellness Center, he worked as a physician at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA, for 10 years. Dr. LePine’s focus at The UltraWellness Center is to help his patients achieve optimal health and vitality by restoring the natural balance to both the mind and the body. His areas of interest include optimal aging, bio-detoxification, functional gastrointestinal health, systemic inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and the neurobiology of mood and cognitive disorders. Dr. LePine enjoys skiing, kayaking, hiking, camping, and golfing in the beautiful Berkshires, and is a fitness enthusiast. Dr. Elizabeth Boham is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Albany Medical School, and she is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and the Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center. Dr. Boham lectures on a variety of topics, including Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention, insulin resistance, heart health, weight control and allergies. She is on the faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine. Dr. Mark Pimentel is a Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology through the Geffen School of Medicine and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Pimentel is also the Executive Director of the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) program at Cedars-Sinai, an enterprise of physicians and researchers dedicated to the study of the gut microbiome in order to develop effective diagnostic tools and therapies to improve patient care. Dr. Pimentel has over 150 publications in many high-profile journals, and he is the author of the book, The Microbiome Connection: Your Guide to IBS, SIBO, and low fermentation eating. This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN10 to save 10%. Full-length episodes can be found here: Is Histamine Intolerance The Cause Of Your Mysterious Symptoms? What is Histamine Intolerance? Surprising Symptoms You Need to Know IBS: It’s Not In Your Head—Advances In Diagnosing And Treating, Bloating And Tummy Troubles
Full Episode
Coming up on this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show. Yeah, we talk about fermented foods being so good for you, like sauerkraut and kimchi and natto and miso.
This is where these really good foods in someone who has histamine intolerance is like putting gasoline on a fire. And they're like, well, I'm getting worse. It's like, well, no, you should be getting worse. These are good foods for you. No, you have histamine problem.
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Histamine is found naturally in the body. The body makes histamine. We also consume histamine. And the interesting thing about histamine is it is also part, it's released by mast cells. as part of our first response to offending organisms like viruses.
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