Thanks for the tutorial on mast cells! Very interesting.
I am wondering if antihistamines similar to the ones studied might have some effect. I had terrible allergies for years, and consequently was taking tons of antihistamines all the time — and I was always skinny as a rail. When I turned 30, my husband and I moved to a different area of the country, and most of my allergies calmed down because the irritants weren’t in the air in the new location. I pretty much quit taking antihistamines, after having taken them all my life. At the same time, I started to gain weight — a little at a time, slowly but surely. At the time I blamed it on hitting 30. Now I wonder — what would happen if I went back on daily antihistamines?
My antihistamine of choice (when I need it, which is rarely) is clemastine fumarate, which I believe is somewhat similar to the ketotifen fumarate mentioned in the article. I think I’ll take it for a month and see what happens!
I wonder if any studies have ever been done to see the correlation between weight gain and allergies.
When I was at my allergist, I commented to the nurse that wheat, (which I do test allergic to but can eat without classic symptoms) makes me put on weight, and she said that wheat just does that to some people.
hmmmm......