Drinking alcohol can trigger histamine reactions via several pathways.

1. Alcoholic beverages often contain a lot of histamine. For people who don’t break down histamine well, this can cause a reaction.

2. The breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde can trigger histamine release under certain conditions.

3. Alcohol also inhibits the enzyme that breaks down histamine

Alcohol metabolism:

Histamine reactions can occur when acetaldehyde is hanging around too long. Acetaldehyde can trigger the release of histamine from mast cells and basophils. There are two paths here: accelerated alcohol metabolism into acetaldehyde -or- decreased acetaldehyde clearance.

ADH1B gene: encodes alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts alcohol to acetaldehyde. When this enzyme works more quickly, it results in higher amounts of acetaldehyde than the body can clear out.

Breakdown of histamine:

DAO (diamine oxidase) is the enzyme produced by the intestines, breaking down histamine from foods. The AOC1 gene codes for the production of the DAO enzyme. Genetic variants in AOC1 can increase or decrease the production of the enzyme.

HNMT gene: Histamine n-methyltransferase (HMNT) is the enzyme that regulates histamine in the body via converting it from histamine into N-methylhistamine, which can then be eliminated from the body. HNMT is responsible for eliminating 80% of histamine in the body.[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/p…]

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This is just a short excerpt from my in-depth article on Alcohol & Histamine Intolerance. 

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