Why your hormones may be to blame for your new allergies and how to manage them naturally
/How perimenopause and menopause can trigger seasonal and food-related allergies
You’re cruising through life and then blammo — suddenly you can’t handle dairy. That salad dressing you love at your favorite restaurant now gives you hives. Or you have one glass of red wine and a charcuterie board with your partner and next thing you know… migraine, reflux, and a hangover that feels wildly unfair. You think, “Wait, I’ve never been one of those food allergy people!”
But your hormones may be telling a different story.
Here’s what’s happening: histamine — the chemical that triggers allergic responses — is made by your immune system and released from mast cells (a type of white blood cell). In small amounts, histamine helps protect you from pathogens. But too much can lead to hives, headaches, congestion, nausea, or digestive distress.
As women enter midlife, our hormones start to shift. Progesterone levels naturally drop, which can make estrogen more dominant. Add in years of stress, toxin exposure, and maybe a history of hormonal contraceptives, and your body can become even more estrogen-heavy. When that happens, you release more histamine — which can make your body react to foods and even seasonal allergens in new and unexpected ways.
The good news? You don’t have to just “deal with it” until menopause. Here are five ways to help your body balance estrogen and histamine more gracefully:
Keep it fresh. Choose clean proteins, colorful veggies and fruits, gluten-free grains, legumes, healthy fats, and lots of water or herbal tea. Fresh, whole foods help steady your hormones and keep histamine levels in check.
Cut back on the histamine heavy-hitters. Limit fermented or processed foods like aged cheeses, vinegars, wine, cured meats, old leftovers, dairy, and sugar. They can stoke inflammation and make reactions worse.
Love your liver. Your liver helps clear out excess estrogen and toxins. Reduce alcohol and unnecessary medications, switch to cleaner personal care products, and eat cruciferous veggies like broccoli, kale, and cabbage every day for extra detox support.
Nourish your gut. A healthy gut helps your body process histamine more efficiently. Try gut-friendly nutrients like glutamine, probiotic-rich foods, and high-fiber choices such as lentils, leafy greens, berries, nuts, and seeds.
Add foods rich in quercetin and vitamin C. These are natural antihistamines that help calm your body’s overreaction response. Think apples, onions, capers, red grapes, parsley, citrus, kiwi, bell peppers, and broccoli — colorful, flavorful, and protective.
Food sensitivities are your body’s way of saying “Hey, something’s off.” The beautiful part is that with a few simple tweaks to your diet and daily rhythm, you can often dial things down — or even make those symptoms disappear altogether.
