Purely Primal Q&A! (Histamine Intolerance)

This post also appears at the Purely Primal Skincare blog!
We recently got this question from a PPSC reader:
Question: For four months I have developed Rosacea, I got pimples, and red patches on my cheeks. I thought maybe dairy and gluten were the culprits, so I stopped gluten and dairy. I see no improvement. I watched a video you made with Trina, and you said that Rosacea may be related to histamines. There are histamines in fruit, fermented food, fish, meat… and in sauerkraut and fermented cod liver oil. So what should I eat : a paleo or a low-histamine diet? 

In the Purely Primal Skincare Guide, we state that a few very highly specific food intolerances – including a histamine intolerance – might require some extra dietary planning or working with a practitioner! We highly recommend you build a dietary plan with a professional who knows YOU best. That said, here’s what we would do in your situation.
Because a low-histamine diet often occurs WITH leaky gut, the approach wouldn’t be solely “Paleo” OR low-histamine. It could be a combination of both to heal leaky gut while removing histamine-rich foods that may be causing problems. Remember, often leaky gut is the root of any food intolerance.
Here’s the three goals:
#1: Heal the Gut
It’s important to remove offending items like grains, gluten and processed dairy – even if they’re not histamine-releasing foods – to help heal leaky gut.
#2: Remove Offending Foods
Get rid of histamine-releasing foods to quell the body’s reaction to them.
#3: Eat ENOUGH
This is often a greater challenge than the first two. When many foods have to be removed, it’s easy to accidentally under-eat, which depresses the metabolism. Since the metabolic rate is also key to the body’s ability to heal, making sure to get plenty of calories is important to healing.
An excellent source of calories may come from coconut oil, as the medium-chain triglycerides are helpful in supporting the body’s ability to deal with histamine foods.
Combining a Paleo/Real Food plan with a low-histamine diet will take some planning, so allowing time to get prepared will help. Be sure to check out The Paleo Mom’s sneak peek on histamine intolerance from her book, The Paleo Approach, and consider buying her book for more information.
Here are a few more resources to get you started: