Earlier this year, I started having allergic reactions to foods and drinks that I never had issues with before. I was triggered by pretty much everything that was fermented - kimchi and any type of pickle, kombucha, alcohol, yogurt, some cheeses, but also citrus. I would have some kimchi as a side to my meal, or one gin-based cocktail on the weekend, and almost immediately after consuming it I would start itching, coughing and wheezing. The common thing is all of these foods are high in histamine. Taking antihistamine medication helped somewhat but I didn't want to give up on the fermented foods because they are supposed to be good for you. I was researching low histamine foods and found an article on the effect different strains of bacteria have on histamine levels. I learned that some bacteria are histamine producing, and if you have histamine intolerance, you shouldn't take probiotics that contain those strains. And guess what, the probiotic I was taking at the time contained L. casei which is histamine producing, and not much of the more beneficial histamine-lowering bacteria. So I compared a bunch of different probiotics. This particular Fortify Optima probiotic seemed to have a good combination, so I decided to try it. After taking it for a couple of months, my issue was almost gone. Not only does it not contain L. casei, it contains several strains that lower histamine. And of course, it had a positive overall effect on my digestion, which is what you'd typically want in a probiotic. So I'm happy with the quality of this product. I also like that iHerb offers the 60-day supply so I'm able to stock up at a good price.
