PCOS: Thyroid Disease & Histamine Intolerance w/ Dr. Becky Campbell!

Many women with PCOS struggle with thyroid issues which can lead to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, sleep, and so much more! But don’t worry, we got you covered with this episode!

Dr. Becky Campbell joins us to give you some actionable steps you can take today!

What is a histamine intolerance? We dive deep into histamine intolerances and how it can relate to women with PCOS!

Topics include thyroid disease, histamine intolerances, hormone health, stress, mindset, and more!

Dr. Becky Campbell is a board certified doctor of natural medicine and has made it her mission to help patients all around the world with her virtual practice. She specializes in Histamine Intolerance, Thyroid disease & Autoimmune disease, and hopes to help others regain their life as functional medicine helped regain hers! For more tools & resources including thyroid & histamine guides, head over to www.drbeckycampbell.com, her podcast The Health Babes Podcast, and one of her many books, The 30-Day Thyroid Reset Plan! You can follow her on Instagram (@drbeckycampbell)!

Ultimate thyroid guide : https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/442810?v=7

Histamine quiz: https://go.drbeckycampbell.com/optin1615409719582

Thyroid Disease & Histamine Intolerance

It’s no secret that our hormones affect our health in almost every way. When our hormones are out of wack, our body as a whole can be dysregulated, triggering more hormone-related complications. That’s why Sirak and I often talk about how if you have PCOS, you could easily have other hormonal or autoimmune conditions like Hasimoto’s, hyperthyroidism, Lupus, and more. 

Histamine And Thyroid For PCOS

PCOS and Thyroid Disease

One of the main types of PCOS is “thyroid PCOS.” This is when your low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism) worsen your PCOS sex hormone imbalances and vice versa. They ping pong back and forth, impacting your metabolism, reproductive health, digestive system, and more. Additionally, estrogen dominance (common in PCOS) can prevent your body from producing active thyroid hormones (T3) and even trigger your immune system to attack the thyroid, which leads to hypothyroidism. 

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

• Fatigue
• Body Aches
• Weight Gain
• Dry Skin
• Feeling Cold
• Muscle Weakness
• Constipation
• Depression
• Irregular Periods

Natural Treatment Plan Options for Hypothyroidism and PCOS

Cut inflammatory foods. 

Dr. Becky Campbell and I both recommend you try cutting inflammatory foods from your diet if you have PCOS and/or hypothyroidism. Gluten specifically can be problematic for some people with hypothyroidism, because your body can mistake gluten for the thyroid and actually prompt the immune system to attack your thyroid. This, of course, worsens your symptoms and condition! 

Other potentially triggering inflammatory foods could be diary, processed foods, sugar, trans fats, vegetable oils, refined carbs, and alcohol. Try cutting out one at a time and track how you feel. 

Be cautious of household products and cosmetics. 

Because estrogen dominance is a big concern with both hypothyroidism and PCOS, be mindful of your household products and cosmetics. Many can actually have a hormone-disrupting effect and cause the production of excess estrogen. Here’s more on how to avoid hormone-disrupting chemicals in products. Buy smarter and remember that it’s not just about what we eat, but about what’s absorbed through our skin as well! 

Reduce stress. 

Estrogen isn’t the only hormone that has a negative effect on thyroid function. Cortisol levels (AKA stress hormone levels) can cause an increase in hypothyroidism symptoms (and PCOS symptoms) as well. When you’re stressed, your thyroid thinks you must be responding to serious external factors, so to protect you from danger, it tells your body to retain fat and stops producing active T3 thyroid hormones. This causes weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, and more!

Reduce stress in your life to lower those high levels of cortisol. You can do this by practicing self-care, learning regulating techniques, cutting caffeine, getting out in nature, and doing things you love. As your stress levels go down, you’ll probably see a big improvement in common symptoms. 

Do low-impact exercises. 

We all know exercise is good for us! However, not all types of exercises are good for a body with hormonal imbalance. Fast-paced, intense workouts can throw your heart rate through the roof and take your cortisol levels with it. Like me or Dr. Becky Campbell, you could find yourself working out or kickbox 2 hours a day 6 days a week and STILL be gaining weight and experiencing worsening symptoms. 

This is because it’s not the right exercise for you. Instead, we recommend low-impact exercises like yoga, swimming, walking, pilates, or light cardio. These types of exercise can help with weight loss, hormone balance, and, ultimately, symptom relief! 

Take the right supplements. 

The right nutrients to support our body goes a long way. Talk to your doctor before starting anything new, but some of the best supplements for hypothyroidism are B vitamins, certain strains of probiotics, selenium, and zinc. You can find all of these vitamins and minerals in the MetaMulti from Ovafi. For the probiotics, Dr. Becky Campbell suggests talking to your doctor about MegaSpore! 

PCOS and Histamine Intolerance 

So, that’s how PCOS and hypothyroidism are related—but what about histamine intolerance? Histamine is a built-in immune system mechanism that activates when a pathogen is detected in the body. It dilates the blood vessels and causes acute inflammation to active your immune system and kill the pathogen. It also plays a role in your gut health, helping your brain communicate with your digestive system. 

It’s important for the body, but people with histamine intolerance can’t break down the chemical because of a lack of what’s called DAO enzymes. The excess histamine gets to all your receptors and causes lots of hormone problems. It correlated with PCOS and hypothyroidism because of the sex hormone effect on histamine release. The more histamine you have, the more estrogen your body produces, which means you’ll have low progesterone, and your body won’t be triggered to create DAO enzymes. And, low DAO enzymes leads us back to the original problem of high histamine. Again, it’s a cycle of hormonal challenges! 

Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance

• Headaches or Migraines
• Irritated Skin 
• Hive and Rashes
• Running or Congested Nose
• Sneezing or Watery Eyes
• GI Issues 
• Fatigue
• Anxiety

Natural Treatment Plan Options for Histamine Intolerance and PCOS

Reduce histamine foods and then build a tolerance. 

Histamine can actually be found in foods—foods that are good for you too! However, when our histamine levels are already high, it’s best to avoid these foods until you get your condition more under control. Once you do, definitely start adding some healthy histamine-rich foods back into your diet as your body shows it can tolerate them. Here are some big ones:

• Fermented Foods
• Aged Meats and Cheese
• Citrus Fruits
• Strawberries
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Green Tea

Support the liver. 

The liver is chiefly responsible for detox! It flushes out excess hormones and chemicals like histamine from the body. So, by optimizing liver function, you can potentially see relief from your histamine intolerance. FYI, this can help big time with your PCOS hormone imbalances as well! Here are some gentle ways Dr. Becky Campbell suggested you detox your liver: 

• Epsom Salt Baths: Start with a ½ cup and move up to 3 cups if your body handles it. 
• Dry Brushing: Use a dry brush before the bath to help your skin support detox. 
• Castor Oil Packs: Use a DIY castor oil pack and heating pad on your liver.
• Infrared Sauna: Spend up to 45 minutes in an infrared sauna. 
• Liver Love Supplement: This is a specially made supplement for people with histamine intolerance and hypothyroidism! 

*If you have skin conditions like eczema, avoid using heat with your liver detox plan.  

Manage your gut health.

Excess bacteria in your gut can increase the amounts of histamine produced by the body. So, focus on improving your gut health! This can bring you relief from both your PCOS and histamine intolerance symptoms. An anti-inflammatory balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables can help. You may also find relief from certain strains of non-histamine forming probiotics like what’s included in MegaSpore.

Dr. Becky Campbell

Dr. Becky Campbell knows a thing or two about thyroid disease and histamine intolerance! Not only is she a board certified doctor of natural medicine (DNM), but she also has hypothyroidism, histamine intolerance, and mast cella activation syndrome, and Hashimoto’s herself. Like me, she took charge of her own healing journey and was able to have life-changing symptom reversal using natural treatments! 

Inspired by her own healing process, Dr. Becky Campbell established her own practice where she helps people overcome their hormonal conditions like Hashimoto’s, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, histamine intolerance, PCOS, and more. She also has several books, helpful courses, her own blog, and a supplement line.

You can find natural healing from PCOS, thyroid disease, histamine intolerance, and everything in between.

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While Tallene is a Registered Dietitian and Sirak a Personal Trainer, this podcast provides general information about PCOS. It is not meant to serve as fitness, nutrition or medical advice related to your individual needs. If you have questions, please talk to a medical professional. For our full privacy policy, please click on the following link: (bit.ly/PCOSPrivacyPolicy)

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