Histadelia, Histamine and Gut Flora: The GAPS Explanation

Histamine is one of many biogenic amines made from amino acids. Gut and Physiology Syndrome describes gut microbes, immune cells, gut cells, neurones, smooth muscle cells and blood-vessel endothelium as normal sources of these powerful molecules.^[2] The earlier GAPS book also describes excessive bacterial production and the condition Dr. Carl Pfeiffer called histadelia.^[1]

Where Histamine Actually Comes From

Biogenic amines are powerful molecules made from amino acids. The current book names histamine, serotonin, tryptamine, tyramine and phenylethylamine among them and explains that they can act as neurotransmitters and hormones throughout the body. In a healthy state, their production and breakdown are tightly controlled.^[2]

The earlier book names E. coli, Staphylococci and other opportunistic gut bacteria as histamine producers.^[1] The current book adds the other side of the balance: a healthy gut wall and its enterocytes produce enzymes such as DAO and MAO that help control excess biogenic amines. Abnormal gut flora, damaged enterocytes and a porous gut wall can increase production, reduce breakdown and allow more amines to absorb without normal control.^[2]

What an Excess of Histamine Does

The earlier source connects excess histamine with allergies, low blood pressure, excessive saliva and other body fluids, hypothalamic and hormonal changes, PMS, emotional instability, sleep problems and addictions.^[1] The newer source broadens the clinical picture to excess biogenic amines generally, naming headaches, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, blood-pressure and heart-rhythm changes, skin symptoms, breathing symptoms and menstrual problems.^[2]

What Histadelia Means in the Earlier Book

The earlier book uses the term histadelia for excess histamine and says Dr. Carl Pfeiffer identified it in many people with depression, schizophrenia, addictions and autism. It also notes the use of antihistamine drugs in psychiatry.^[1]

The current book places histamine inside a larger biogenic-amine, gut-wall and immune-system picture. Its focus is abnormal gut flora, reduced DAO and MAO control, damaged enterocytes, increased permeability and an atopic immune response rather than histamine alone.^[2]

Other Amines Worth Knowing

The earlier source also names dimethylamine, piperidine, pyrrolidine, tyramine and octopamine. It connects excesses produced through bacterial activity with cerebral depression, withdrawal, intellectual regression, and behavioural and emotional abnormalities.^[1]

Why the Book Looks Beyond Histamine Alone

The current book says histamine and other biogenic amines cannot be removed from food completely and that food lists are only approximate because reactions are individual. Its longer-term target is the damaged gut wall, abnormal flora and unbalanced immune response. It recommends moving slowly through the GAPS Introduction Diet and introducing fermented foods gradually from tiny amounts according to tolerance.^[2]

Histadelia and Histamine Intolerance

“Histadelia” is the term used in the earlier chapter’s discussion of Pfeiffer. The newer book discusses histamine intolerance, other biogenic amines, immune activity and the intestinal wall in more detail. A term in an older clinical model and a current diagnosis are not automatically interchangeable. A symptom list cannot establish either one in a reader.

The 2020 section names DAO and MAO among enzymes involved in controlling excess amines. It also distinguishes microbial production from production by the body’s own immune, intestinal, nerve, muscle and blood-vessel cells. Histamine has normal functions; the book’s concern is regulation and excess, rather than removing a normal body molecule.^[2]

Fermented Foods and Individual Tolerance

The book says food lists are approximate because reactions vary. It discusses stored and fermented foods as possible sources of amines, while also recognizing that fresh foods can contain them or affect their handling. A food’s place in a histamine discussion does not replace its separate GAPS phase or preparation requirements.^[2]

For someone very sensitive to amines, Campbell-McBride describes beginning without fermented foods, then trying tiny amounts of appropriate homemade ferments as tolerance allows. She names whey, yogurt, kefir, sour cream and sauerkraut juice. That is a gradual, individual approach, not a requirement to begin with all five or a large serving.^[2]

We make cultured foods in weekly batches in my family. For a food record, I would keep the exact food, preparation date, amount eaten and response together. That describes the batch and the experience without assuming a reaction proves a histamine level.

Probiotic Strains in the 2020 Discussion

The book also discusses differences between probiotic species, naming some as possible histamine producers and others as possible reducers. It explicitly says the research is limited and individual reactions differ. A species name on a label is not a guarantee of a particular response. The probiotic-food introduction guide keeps the amount and tolerance question separate from a broad “good” or “bad” label.^[2]

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Histadelia?

Histadelia is the term used in the earlier GAPS book for excess histamine in the body. Campbell-McBride cites Dr. Carl Pfeiffer’s identification of this pattern in many people with depression, schizophrenia, addictions and autism.^[1]

Can Gut Bacteria Really Produce Histamine, Not Just the Body Itself?

Yes. The books name E. coli, Staphylococci and many other gut microbes as histamine or biogenic-amine producers. The body’s own immune, gut, nerve, muscle and endothelial cells also produce these molecules normally.^[1][2]

Does Avoiding Histamine Solve the Whole Problem?

No. The current source says histamine is only one part of a wider biogenic-amine, gut-wall and immune-system problem. It directs attention to healing and sealing the gut wall, restoring microbial balance and adjusting the Introduction Diet to individual tolerance.^[2]

Are There Other Bacterial By-Products Besides Histamine That Affect Mood or Behavior?

Yes. GAPS names several other amines, including dimethylamine, piperidine, pyrrolidine, tyramine, and octopamine, in its account of withdrawal, intellectual regression, and behavioral and emotional abnormalities associated with excessive bacterial activity.^[1]

Your Next Step

For food and symptom detail, read mast cells and eosinophilia, histamine, food freshness and tolerance. For the broader explanation, read how the GAPS books connect the gut and brain. For a food question, use the gradual probiotic-food guide. My 90-Day Family Food Diary and Care Team Log are listed in the WFLI Shop. A notebook can hold the dated food and symptom observations now.

References

1. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Psychology Syndrome, expanded text represented by the second German edition (2015), gut-flora discussion of histamine, histadelia and other amines. English paraphrases checked against that text; no English page numbers are implied.
2. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), histamine and other biogenic amines section.