Hi @yasminatassi

Thank you for this challenge. I was actually also thinking of replacing our 23 year old Christmas tree with a new one this year, and wanted to go through the exercise of finding a lesser-toxic version of artificial trees.

So far, my search is coming up empty. They are all made of PVC. The lesser toxic form would be one made from PE (polyethylene) a. The other problem is flame retardants. Even if the materials are better, they will all be sprayed with flame retardants. So I’m not sure if a non-toxic artificial tree even exists. But I’m still looking…

In the meantime, getting a real tree is probably your safest best from a toxicity perspective. The Dubai Garden Centre just received a supply of Nordmann Fir trees from Denmark, and they’ll begin deliveries on Nov 24th.

I’ll be sure to let you know if I come up with anything else.

Hi @yasminatassi

Yes, streptococcus pneumoniae is actually a very common bacteria, not a virus. And many kids carry it in their nose and throat without any symptoms at all. It usually only becomes an issue when the immune system is run down. So the key here is to really just keep your daughter’s immunity strong, especially before travel.

Since it’s found in the nose/throat, one of the simplest and most effective prevention strategies is to flush the nose with saline spray and do saline gargles at home (sole – gargle and spit and rinse mouth from salty water). Follow the instructions on the bottles. I like Xlear saline spray and they have one for kids too (plus same day delivery on Amazon).

If you feel she’s starting to get sick, then definitely start bumping up immunity. You can find the protocol for kids here.

And in the meantime, all the other helpful immune support such as:

-Vitamin C (food/supplement)

-Elderberry syrup (if she tolerates it)

-Good sleep & hydration

Hope this helps you feel more prepared!

Hi @R-S,

Thank you for the very thorough update. What happened last week makes complete sense. A strong emotional shock + osteopathy that was too stimulating + your period coming = a perfect storm that pushed your system into stress-induced histamine overflow. When histamine surges suddenly, the whole body becomes more reactive (digestion, skin, nervous system, immunity) which explains why even safe foods, teas, and supplements felt “too much,” and why the yeast infection showed up. This doesn’t mean you’re going backwards… it’s just that your “stress bucket” overflowed.

Just want to reassure you with a few things:

1. This is temporary. This does not mean you have permanent histamine intolerance or MCAS. Histamine rises with stress, estrogen, heat, lack of sleep, or gut imbalance… all of which were present. Once your system calms down, your tolerance will eventually improve again.

2. No, you don’t need to stay low-histamine forever. Histamine is actually essential. It just needs to be in the right balance. Your reactions right now are simply because your bucket is full. And I’m glad you’re thinking of introducing DAO enzymes, but these are not forever either.

3. Smell and heat sensitivity = nervous system overload. When histamine and cortisol spike together, your sensory system becomes hyper-alert. This improves as your vagal tone strengthens and your system comes out of “threat mode.”

What to do next:

1. Continue nervous system work as a priority. Please look into the Truvaga device for vagal tone. It may help your system settle more quickly.

2. Keep supplements simple for now. Stay with enzymes, DGL, zinc-carnosine once daily. Pause increasing anything new until your system feels steady again. DAO is great to have on hand for the next flare.

3. For the yeast infection. Checkout our Yeast Infection Relief Protocol

4. Food. Stick to your safe baseline until your system regulates. You’ll eventually be able to expand again just like you were doing before this blip.

Hope this helps. And welcome back! It’s good to hear from you again.

Hi @Bahareh,

It’s available on Amrita’s platform (click here). B Better members have access to their full catalogue including a discount. Just click here for steps on how to create an account. They ship internationally.

Hope that helps!

@Raahema – great question, and yes, your understanding is correct. Baking soda is intentionally used to temporarily lower stomach acidity between meals. H. pylori prefer a more alkaline environment, so when we make the stomach less acidic for a short window, it encourages them to move out of the protective mucosal lining, which makes the mastic gum more effective at targeting them.

That’s why timing matters. We never want to do this near meals, because we need strong stomach acid while eating to digest protein and trigger proper downstream digestion.

Regarding Betaine HCL…

During the dosing challenge, the “warming” or slight burning sensation that some people look for is usually:

• Felt within about 5 minutes of taking it

• And typically fades within 5–10 minutes

This sensation helps identify the appropriate dose and generally, the suitable dose is considered to be one capsule less than the amount that caused that short-lived warmth.

If the sensation is strong, neutralizing with a small amount of baking soda in water is often enough to settle it.

However, if there is ongoing burning or discomfort at low doses, or the discomfort does not fade quickly, that may suggest that the stomach lining could benefit from more soothing and repair support first (for example: DGL, zinc carnosine, cabbage juice, bone broth, slippery elm, etc.). In that case, the focus may shift to healing the mucosa before retrying the HCl challenge.

Also worth noting: not everyone with H. pylori experiences gastritis symptoms such as pain or burning, so the absence of those symptoms doesn’t rule anything out. The challenge itself helps give useful feedback.

Hope this helps.

@iryna_klevetenko have you seen our “Immune Support for Kids” protocol? It includes guidance on what to use when a child is starting to get sick and how to support recovery, but it’s not meant for continuous, year-round use.

At 23 months, it’s actually very common for little ones to catch frequent colds once they start nursery. This phase helps build their natural immunity as they’re exposed to new microbes and develop stronger defenses over time.

The best defense is through daily nourishment, sunshine/vitamin D and gut support – things like probiotic-rich foods, daily sun exposure and/or supplements (if needed to maintain optimal levels), and nutrient-dense meals with plenty of vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats to help their system recover and stay resilient.

Cod liver oil is one of those superfoods that I personally like for children as it combines vitamin D and A for immunity, and omega-3 for inflammatory and overall immune support, and brain development. Also, try to limit sugar, juice, refined grains, and processed or fried foods, as these can weaken immune defenses.

Hope these help.

@Raahema – 2 issues with this particular supplement. It’s a very high dose of zinc, and while it may be appropriate for circumstances of correcting a known zinc deficiency, this is certainly not a maintenance dose.

Also, as you mentioned, zinc and copper compete with one another, therefore the idea ratio is minimum 15:1 zinc/copper blends. This formula would therefore likely deplete copper levels if not appropriately handled.

Please watch this lesson on correcting a zinc deficiency from the Mineral Balance course for more information and options.

@Raahema – great questions.

The most common conventional treatment for H Pylori involves a triple therapy taken for 10 days to 2 weeks. This usually involves 2 forms of antibiotics and a PPI to reduce the acid and make the antibiotics work better. This is an aggressive treatment to eradicate the infection quickly. That’s the main benefit compared to natural alternatives, and can be beneficial in situations where “speed” is needed such as in cases of cancer for example.

The downside however, is that recurrence after antibiotics is common, likely due to proliferation of antibiotic resistant strains and upstream root causes not being addressed as you have mentioned.

Using antibiotics may also predispose a person to other GI microbial imbalances afterward, especially given the likelihood of a highly challenged immune system under these circumstances (antibiotics tend to allow yeast/fungal and antibiotic resistance bacterial species an opportunity to grow aggressively, given suppressed competition).

And antibiotics may also cause nausea, diarrhea, taste changes, and fatigue; these are common short-term complaints.

Certainly this comes down to personal choice, and if you choose to go this route, then the adjunctive therapies that you’ve mentioned to help heal the gut and support the microbiome AFTER therapy are certainly wise and beneficial.

In fact, this protocol here can help in times when antibiotics are needed.

I personally prefer a more natural alternative since mastic gum and sulforophane (e.g. from broccoli sprouts) have been shown to eradicate H Pylori infections, often with less to no side effects. But these are longer treatment durations (4-6 weeks) and can be more financially costly as well so that’s something to keep in mind as well.

Regardless if someone choose antibiotics or natural therapies, retesting should always be done after the treatment, and so should addressing the root cause. That’s where introducing HCL to increase stomach acid after treatment can give a person time to resolve the environment that led to an overgrowth in the first place.

Hope this provides some additional perspectives to consider.

Hi @Raahema – thanks for sharing the article link. By the way, this feels very serendipitous… I literally just emailed Dr. Izabella Wentz in hopes that she’ll accept to be an upcoming guest expert on the topic of “The Roadmap to Hashimoto’s Remission“. I really hope she accepts my invitation – let’s manifest this together! 🙂

Now to answer your question… the linked article supports aloe for TPO antibodies and thyroid function based on a small study, but it doesn’t address Tg antibodies. Aloe itself is generally low in iodine, unless the specific formula includes seaweed or added iodine.

That said, anyone with thyroid antibodies should be cautious with iodine-rich foods or supplements. I typically recommend supporting with selenium first for at least two weeks before considering iodine (if needed), and then closely monitoring thyroid function. Too much iodine can sometimes raise antibodies (especially TPOAb, less so TgAb) and over time that can contribute to thyroid tissue damage. So yes, caution with iodine is definitely warranted.

But again, fresh aloe on its own is not a significant source of iodine.

Hope that helps!

@R-S

You are on the right track, and although this blip is making it feel like a major setback, it’s actually normal to happen. Rebalancing the gut and immunity is never a straight line because it doesn’t work in isolation. As you experienced, the gut responded to a stressful situation which kicked off a whole cascade of immune and histamine-related symptoms.

The confirmed SIBO is also a major producer of histamine which is making eating normal foods feel like mission impossible as well.

That’s why nervous system regulation is key throughout, while also supporting all digestive players GPS (which you had slowly started to do) once you’re feeling more settled again. This will help prevent SIBO from recurring.

Now that you’ve experienced this flare, you’ll hopefully have better tools at your disposal to handle it better. Did the homeopathic remedy help?

And once you’re ready to treat the SIBO, there are 2 ways; 1) with antibiotics or antimicrobials, and 2) with beneficial bacteria. Hence my suggestion for looking into various fermented foods such as L. Reuteri yogurt which I shared in my previous reply. There is also some clinical evidence with the Yakult brand of yogurt. Low and slow is the way to go when there’s histamine overload. But fermented foods can be incredibly powerful at regaining balance and modulating immunity.

Hi @R-S,

Histamine Nutrients combines some targeted nutrient cofactors with DAO, so it’s not needed if you’ll be taking DAO enzyme at a higher dose.

Quercetin is also a good addition but takes longer to build up in the body; they all have different modes of action and complement each other. Quercetin actually calms the immune system to reduce or prevent histamine release. DAO helps the breakdown of histamine, as do the targeted histamine-degrading probiotics.

Hi @R-S

One more thing to consider along with the DAO enzyme is a probiotic that helps break down histamine, also by Seeking Health. Some probiotics produce histamine, while others break it down. So this could be another helpful strategy to consider, alongside the DAO enzyme.

I also came across Dr. Davies L. Reuteri Yogurt in his book “Super Gut”, which has been shown to help those struggling from the symptoms of SIBO. As you know, SIBO is a major producer of histamine, so regaining balance is key.

It’s basically a long-fermented dairy beverage with the L. Reuteri strain as the bacteria. It can be made with coconut milk as well. I will create a handout/recipe showing how to make it. In the meantime, please watch this interview on the benefits of L Reuteri, and this article from Donna Schwenk’s “Cultured Food Life” website on how to introduce fermented foods in those with histamine intolerance. She shares a recipe to make rice milk kefir as a starting point.

Enjoy going down the fermented food rabbit hole… 🙂 Always here if you have any questions.

Hi @R-S

During a flare, allow your body to be your guide in terms of what you can and can’t tolerate, which might mean removing all supplements until your body can tolerate them again.

I’ll reply to your questions one by one:

1. Both regular quercetin and quercetin phytosome work, but the phytosome form is much more bioavailable, which means your body absorbs and uses it far better. Just keep in mind that you may need a slightly higher dose with regular quercetin compared to the phytosome form to get the same effect.

2. DAO enzyme can be taken any time of the day or night, with or without food, as needed. If taken with food and beverage, it helps break down histamine found in food and drink. If you’re eating a low-histamine meal, then it’s not needed with food. Instead, it can be taken away from food and drink to break down histamine produced by or released in response to overgrown or harmful gut organisms, such as in cases of SIBO/SIFO or leaky gut.

I love the education that Seeking Health offers to their customers. You’ll find their handout on DAO Enzymes very helpful.

3. Since quercetin requires time to build up in the body, DAO enzymes can provide relief much quicker.

4. As mentioned earlier, do not begin anything new until your body feels stable again to do so.

5. Histamine rises when the body feels “threatened,” so the fastest way to bring it down is to signal safety.

• Slow breathing (4-6-8 breathing)
• Vagal stimulation (Truvaga, humming, gargling)
• Cold compress on the chest or face
• Grounding (lying down with slow breathing)

In a heightened state, absorption becomes compromised so it’s best to focus on nervous system regulation to get out of that stressed state.

Also speak to your homeopath about remedies that can help with histamine overload like Histaminum or Urtica urens for example.

And consider stinging nettle/onion peel infusion as food-based anti-histamine therapy. But again, start slow and see how your body responds.

@Raahema yes correct. And this is the perfect example of how nuanced nutrition can be. What may be beneficial for one person or circumstance, may be unsuitable for another.

It’s best for someone with autoimmune thyroid to limit large or therapeutic amounts of goitrogenic foods. The workaround however is using supplements because the processing removes the goitrogenic effect.