Love Your Gut Ep. 82: Histamine Intolerance, MCAS, and Your Gut: What’s Really Going On with Michelle Shapiro
Sep 18, 2025
In this engaging talk, Michelle Shapiro, a functional registered dietitian with a focus on complex health issues, reveals the often-misunderstood connections between histamine intolerance, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and gut health. She shares her personal journey with these challenges, discusses the diverse symptoms they can cause, and warns against aggressive treatment protocols. Michelle emphasizes the importance of nervous system support and practical steps for those suspecting histamine issues, making it a must-listen for anyone on a healing journey.
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Illness Sparked Her MCAS Focus
- Michelle Shapiro describes becoming severely ill after COVID and mold exposures and struggling to get answers from practitioners.
- She used that personal crisis to investigate mast cell activation and help clients with similar mysterious symptoms.
Mast Cells Drive Widespread Inflammation
- Mast cells release 1,200+ chemical messengers and histamine is only one of many mediators.
- Chronic mast cell activation creates systemic inflammation and diverse symptoms across organs.
COVID's Unique Link To Mast Cells
- COVID interacts with mast cells via receptors and likely caused a surge in histamine-driven long-COVID symptoms.
- This connection helps explain the recent rise in MCAS-like presentations after the pandemic.