Coffee is high in histamine and so I am aware I shouldn't drink it. The thing is that we bought a pretty whiz bang coffee machine last year and so for some time I have been enjoying two long coffees every day. Even the move to a strict low histamine diet didn't inspire a change to my daily caffeine intake - until now.
My new regime has seen me wave goodbye (hopefully temporarily) to so many things I love (read: chocolate, bacon, seafood) and so the thought of letting go of something so deeply ingrained in my daily routine has taken a large amount of mental realignment. Sadly, the increasing sensitivity I appear to have to histamine, and an intense desire to get well, has made the decision for me. So a little over two weeks ago, I embarked on a caffeine reduction plan designed to minimise any further discomfort to my health. In other words, I am trying to avoid a caffeine deprivation headache!
Things are travelling along well, with my caffeine intake already more than halved. And as I have reduced the size of my coffees, I have also been reducing the cow's milk - the creamy half of my lovely morning brew. While cow's milk is not high in histamine, it is a histamine liberator which means the combination in my morning cup was a particularly nasty one. In the beginning, I transitioned my usual milk to coconut milk which was not fantastic. I consoled myself with the thought that if my coffee tasted less nice, I would be much less distressed at its departure.
Which brings me to today's development! As well as undertaking extensive research on histamine, I have also been learning about mast cells and in particular, how to stabilise them. Enter camel milk! I stumbled across some research which found that camel milk had a positive effect on the stabilisation of mast cells and of course I was keen to test the theory for myself.
Camel milk is expensive and also hard to find, so I have opted for the freeze dried powdered form. My package happened to arrive before my second (piccolo) coffee today which provided me with the perfect opportunity to try it out. It is not unlike cow's milk, with a slight aftertaste that is not at all unpleasant. I have decided that it is much, much nicer than coconut milk in coffee and if it is able to assist with the stabilisation of my mast cells, well that's what we call a win-win scenario!
My plan is to continue to drink camel milk on a daily basis (even after my coffee has disappeared) and to be on the lookout for any ongoing improvement in my symptoms. In the meantime, I will enjoy my ever diminishing coffee intake with this interesting new find and promise to add a post script here once I have decided whether it was worth the significant investment.
Wish me luck! ❤️
You probably already know that there are a few camel milk farms in Australia. I believe they could help, either with shipping or with addresses of nearby camel milk stockists.
ReplyDeleteI feel that whole camel milk would make a big positive difference, just like all foods that are whole, unprocessed.
Thanks, Fred. I have no doubt you are correct with regard to the benefits of fresh versus dried. I have struggled to get access to a fresh option but have now added it to my list of things to pursue. Where there is a will there is a way!
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