I’ve posted on this forum a few times before, with information about how I have reduced my symptoms. These being: A histamine free, allergy free, meat free diet and daily exercise- sweat therapy. While these techniques have helped my condition, it still hasn’t disappeared. I believe it is because these techniques don’t seek to find the cause of the problem.
The reason we have cholinergic urticaria is due to inflammation in the body. By taking antihistamines you’re essentially saying, “Something in my lifestyle is causing chronic inflammation, and my body is telling me this through daily rashes. But rather than find out what is causing the inflammation, I’m just going to subdue to warning signs my body is giving me”. No wonder none of us find relief from antihistamines. They aren’t resolving the problem.
From my reading, simply put, it seems most disease is caused my an excess or deficiency of nutrition. Too much saturated animal fat, additives, salt, refined sugar. Not enough vitamins and minerals. When these nutrients get out of balance, our bodies functioning goes out of balance too, and inflammation begins.
After over 2 years of dairy free, gluten free, no oil, low salt, meat free, histamine free diet I’m still not cured. What I realised is: I’ve removed bad nutrition without checking my levels of good nutrition. I thought, “There’s no way can I refine my diet further”, so I searched for another route to healthy freedom.
Through research I discovered a few NCBI scientific journals relating to deficiencies and chronic idiopathic urticaria. It seems that in all these studies they found a large proportion of the sufferers had low levels of B12 and iron.
I purchased 5000 mcg tablets of methylcobalamin (buy METHYL- not CYANO-cobalamin) for daily consumption. This is the very highest dose of B12 I could find on amazon. Check with a doctor that it is safe for you to take.
I was going to purchase iron, but it seems iron supplements usually come from heme-iron, are often poorly absorbed and can cause rashes themselves from allergic responses. Also, they seem to be damaging to the body in high doses. Instead I researched the best source of vegetarian iron (non- heme) and came across Organic, sulphate free, Blackstrap Molasses. I take 5 large tablespoons a day of Blackstrap Molasses (aprox. 100 grams) which provides approx. 100% of daily iron in a safe format. Be warned- it doesn’t taste good. I also eat 2 whole broccoli’s a day, which is also a good iron source on top.
For the last 2 weeks my cholinergic urticaria has gradually been improving. After runs the rash is very faint and disappears much faster than normal. This progress is ongoing and still improving, to the extent that I feel it’s sustainable without taking antihistamines now, which is a great feeling. I will update you on this site if I am fully cured/ still improving in 1-2 months.
Thanks- hope it helps- stay positive!
-Happy Cyclist
Hivesguy says
Thanks for sharing! I hope things continue to improve for you.
kimmy says
I do appreciate your suggestions.
My husband had medical check up 4 years ago and learned that he has very low white blood cell ( neutrophil )which is essential for immune system.In order to boost white blood cell, I started to change his diet. Apparently he needs to take B12 in order to increase immune system so I cook meal with ingredients which contain B12…
As you suggested, I might look into iron ingredients as well..
I wonder when my husband having Hives, his immune cell fighting back ? That’s reason his immune is low ?
I still want to stick to natural remedy instead of chemical medicines which will cause side effect…
but thanks for sharing your experiences..
Moran says
I also suffer from law hemoglobin and law b12 as well, and also law nautrofils!
How come doctors don’t know about the connection?!..
Moran says
What about injections of B12?..
Debra says
I wonder if some food additive is blocking the ability to absorb B12 and /or Iron? We may be low on B12. I take a vitamin B pill, so I would think I would have adequate amounts of B12… unless my body cannot absorb it. but, great job on researching this. We’ll all keep trying to find a solution/cure.
Bob says
Hi Happy Cyclist,
That is an interesting theory about vitamin B12.
I was cured of CU be adopting a whole-food, plant-based (“vegan”) diet. My theory as to why this worked centers around the relationship between the intake of fiber, the microbiome, and the immune system. There was a special section in the March 2015 issue of Scientific American magazine which helped explain this to me. This section was entitled Innovations in the Microbiome and part of it is online at this link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/report/innovations-in-the-microbiome/.
This article explained that people who eat a diet high in fiber develop a thick layer of mucous surrounding the lining of their large intestine. This layer is inhabited by beneficial bacteria which digest the fiber and produce the short-chain fatty acids acetate, butyrate, and propionate. These SCFA pass into the body of the human where they attach to receptors on regulatory T cells. This prevents the immune system from overreacting and helps to prevent autoimmune diseases. This is illustrated nicely in this “infographic” from the Scientific American article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-microbes-keep-us-healthy-infographic/.
It sounds like you’ve been on a similar diet for two years but haven’t been fully cured yet. That is puzzling to me. Have you ever calculated how much fiber you are consuming? I typically eat 60 g – 70 g per day. I suggest you watch this fascinating video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOZcbNw7sng). This is an interview with Drs. Justin and Erica Sonnenburg. The Sonnenburgs run a laboratory at Stanford University which studies the relationship between nutrition, the gut microbiome, and the immune system. In this video they recommend consuming at least 30 g – 40 g of fiber per day. In this video they state that our evolutionary ancestors ate between 100 g and 150 g of fiber per day.
Happy Cyclist says
That’s some really interesting information. I have a high dietary fibre intake too. My theory also involves the fact that I think my digestive system has been compromised in some way that is inhibiting nutrient intake. I have difficulty digesting any foods that are grains, legumes or tough to eat. Only fruits and vegetables can pass through without causing an immune response (CU), and even then they seem undigested afterwards. I was also planning on doing a fruit cleanse of only grapes and watery fruits and light vegetables in an attempt to allow my gut to heal. While grains and legumes are great sources of fibre I struggle to digest them and they cause a great deal of hassle inside my body. Perhaps once the gut is healed the fibre will begin to maintain it again?