Awakening Boutique and Health Coaching with Molly Perry

06/13/2026

10 supplements that can make histamine symptoms worse.

1. Probiotics
Many probiotic strains, particularly Lactobacillus species, produce histamine directly in the gut. If DAO enzyme activity is low, that histamine accumulates instead of clearing.

2. Collagen peptides
Collagen is extremely high in histidine, the amino acid that converts directly into histamine. High histidine load with impaired DAO or HNMT function is a common trigger pattern I see in reports.

3. Bone broth powders
Bone broth is one of the highest histamine foods that exists. The longer the cooking time, the higher the histamine content. Powdered versions concentrate that load further.

4. NAC
NAC is a precursor to glutathione but it also upregulates cysteine, which can drive mast cell activation in sensitive individuals. It also influences glutamate pathways, which interact with histamine signaling in the brain.

5. Glutathione
Glutathione supports detoxification but it competes with DAO for cofactors. In individuals with already compromised DAO function, this can reduce histamine clearance capacity at the gut level.

6. Methylfolate
Methylfolate drives methylation, which sounds like a good thing until COMT is slow. Slow COMT means norepinephrine and dopamine clear slowly. Pushing methylation harder without addressing COMT first can amplify neurological histamine symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, and racing thoughts.

7. Methylcobalamin
Same issue as methylfolate. Methylcobalamin donates methyl groups and can overstimulate methylation in individuals who are already over-methylating. Symptoms often look like histamine even when histamine is not the direct driver.

8. Spirulina
Spirulina is a potent mast cell activator in sensitive individuals. It also contains high levels of phycocyanin, which can trigger histamine release independent of IgE pathways.

9. Chlorella
Chlorella binds heavy metals and pulls them into circulation during detoxification. That mobilization process can trigger mast cell degranulation and histamine release in individuals with already reactive immune systems.

10. Green tea extract
Green tea contains both histamine and compounds that block DAO enzyme activity directly. Blocking DAO while adding histamine simultaneously is a significant burden on an already compromised clearance system.

The common thread across all ten is pathway function, not supplement quality.

DAO, HNMT, COMT, MAOA, and methylation status determine whether these supplements support you or burden you.

Genetics shape all of those pathways.

06/12/2026

What if everything you’ve been told was actually working against your weight loss?

What if they said your blood work was normal…. But, you feel like crap?

What if you COULD change your genetics?

What if you could have 5 days of FREE functional medicine coaching?

Link in comments to join “Fire up your Metabolism 🔥🔥🔥

06/09/2026

Read this!! You may be doing TOO much!!!

I am hosting a 5 day coaching workshop. Link in comments. FREE!!!

Sharing from a colleague. This is why scheduling a consultation with me prior to beginning can make a huge difference.

I reviewed hundreds of health histories from clients who came to me for genetic reports.

The biggest supplement mistake was not that people were doing nothing.

It was that many were doing too much, in the wrong order, for their biology.

The same categories kept showing up:

1. Methylated B vitamins for anxiety.
2. Probiotics for bloating.
3. Iron for fatigue.
4. Vitamin D for low labs.
5. DIM for hormones.
6. Glutathione and NAC for detox.
7. Fish oil for inflammation.
8. Calcium for bones.

All of these can be useful in the right body, at the right time, in the right form.

But a supplement does not enter a neutral system.

It enters:

Your histamine pathways.

Your nervous system.

Your methylation capacity.

Your bile flow.

Your mineral status.

Your mitochondria.

Your gut motility.

Your repair capacity.

So when a woman is already anxious, depleted, inflamed, reactive, exhausted, constipated, histamine-sensitive, and not sleeping, the “healthy” supplement can make everything louder.

Here is what I kept seeing:

Methylated vitamins can feel like stimulation when the nervous system is already wired.

Probiotics can increase bloating, itching, flushing, rashes, anxiety, insomnia, and brain fog in histamine-sensitive women.

Iron can add oxidative stress when inflammation, mineral balance, and antioxidant support are not addressed.

Vitamin D can increase magnesium demand and feel activating when minerals are depleted.

DIM and calcium D-glucarate can push hormone clearance before the liver, bile, minerals, and protein status are supported.

Glutathione, NAC, MSM, and sulfur support can overwhelm sensitive detox pathways.

Fish oil can backfire when fat digestion, bile flow, histamine, or oil quality is an issue.

Calcium can be the wrong focus when the deeper need is magnesium, vitamin C, protein, minerals, and connective tissue repair.

This is the pattern I keep seeing:

Women are taking supplements to force pathways open before the body has enough support to tolerate the shift.

The body does not need more pushing.

It needs sequencing.

Minerals before stimulation.

Vitamin C before aggressive detox.

Protein before hormone clearance.

Magnesium before high-dose vitamin D.

Histamine support before probiotics.

Antioxidant support before iron.

Nervous-system support before detox protocols.

The biggest mistake is assuming a supplement is right for you because it is healthy.

Your symptoms may not mean you need more.

They may mean your body needs the right order.

06/07/2026

Today is the day!!!

Join us at 6:00 pm as we top off in at HTH with a bon fire open to the public.

Help me give a giant shout out to …. Adam Keeling performing LIVE!

Bring a chair and a friend!

1557 Valley Rd, Berkeley Springs across from McDonald’s.

06/05/2026

It’s day 2 of Hey Girlfriend weekend here in Berkeley Springs WV and we had a beautiful, relaxing hike this morning.

For the full list of events, dates and times check out our FB event or the Travel Berkeley Springs website: https://berkeleysprings.com/

06/05/2026

05/25/2026

Love this and agree! Plant a garden 🪴 for your health.

04/20/2026

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04/19/2026

If you have Long COVID, POTS, or ME/CFS and you are still struggling with brain fog, depression, anxiety, fatigue, or cognitive dysfunction — this research is directly relevant to you. 👇

🔬 A review published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity by researchers from China Medical University and King's College London examined the role of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids — specifically EPA and DHA — in the neuropsychiatric consequences of Long COVID. What they found reframes omega-3s not as a simple supplement, but as a powerful biological intervention targeting the exact mechanisms driving these conditions.

Here is why this matters so much for our patient population.

🧠 The neuropsychiatric complications of Long COVID are not simply "stress" or "mood" problems. The research identifies the true drivers:

💠 Persistent systemic inflammation and cytokine storms
💠 Direct viral damage to the central nervous system
💠 Neuroinflammation that does not resolve on its own
💠 Blood-brain barrier breakdown
💠 Dysregulation of neurotransmitters
💠 HPA axis dysfunction — the stress and hormonal control system
💠 Impaired mitochondrial function
💠 Glymphatic system damage — the brain's waste clearance system

This is the biology behind the brain fog. The exhaustion. The anxiety that appeared out of nowhere. The cognitive decline that standard medicine keeps telling you is psychological.

⚡ So where do omega-3s come in?

Omega-3 fatty acids and their metabolites — including specialized pro-resolving mediators called resolvins, maresins, and neuroprotectin D — do something that most medications cannot: they actively resolve chronic inflammation rather than simply suppressing it. They help cleanse the inflammatory environment, restore the HPA axis, modulate neurotransmission through lipid rafts, and work toward restoring tissue homeostasis throughout the brain and body.

The research also found that omega-3 deficiency is directly associated with major depressive disorder, ADHD, anxiety disorders, and cognitive decline — all conditions that appear at dramatically elevated rates in POTS and Long COVID patients.
This is not a coincidence. It is biology.

⚠️ Here is what most people are not being told. The typical omega-3 supplement from a grocery store shelf is not what this research is describing. The dosing, the form, the ratio of EPA to DHA, and the quality of the product all determine whether you are getting a therapeutic effect or an expensive placebo. Most over-the-counter fish oil products do not come close to the therapeutic concentrations studied in the literature.

💡 At Awakening BHC Wellness Reset, this is exactly the kind of nutritional science we integrate into our approach. We do not treat POTS, Long COVID, or ME/CFS with vital sign management alone. We look at the full picture — the neuroinflammation, the immune dysregulation, the mitochondrial function, the HPA axis — and we build individualized protocols that address the underlying biology, not just the symptoms on the surface.

Omega-3 fatty acids are one powerful piece of a much larger puzzle. And knowing which pieces apply to your specific physiology, at what doses, and in what combination, is exactly what separates genuine care from guesswork. 🎯

💬 Are you currently taking omega-3s as part of managing your condition? Have you noticed a difference? Tell us below — this conversation could help someone who is still searching for answers.

Yang CP, Chang CM, Yang CC, Pariante CM, Su KP. Long COVID and long chain fatty acids (LCFAs): Psychoneuroimmunity implication of omega-3 LCFAs in delayed consequences of COVID-19. Brain Behav Immun. 2022 Jul;103:19-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.04.001. Epub 2022 Apr 4. PMID: 35390469; PMCID: PMC8977215.

03/12/2026

Struggle with anxiety, mood changes… this could be one reason it’s not getting better.

Have you done genetic testing? If you have done ancestry or 23 and me, we can take a look.

COMT, catechol O methyltransferase, is the enzyme responsible for methylating and clearing catecholamines such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. It also participates in estrogen metabolism and the breakdown of catechol containing compounds from foods, supplements, and medications. The speed of this enzyme changes how long stimulation signals remain active in the nervous system.

When I analyze someone’s DNA, I do not rely on a single marker. I look at a cluster of COMT variants that influence enzyme activity. The most well known is rs4680, often called Val158Met. The Val form increases enzyme speed and clears dopamine faster. The Met form slows the enzyme and allows dopamine to remain active longer.

But rs4680 alone does not tell the whole story. I also examine supporting COMT variants such as rs4633 and rs6269. These variants influence how much COMT enzyme is produced and how stable the enzyme structure is. When certain combinations appear together, they consistently predict whether the nervous system will clear catecholamines quickly or slowly.

Once those variants are reviewed together, the pattern becomes clear.

Slower COMT activity means dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine remain active longer. These individuals often show deep cognitive focus, emotional intensity, sensitivity to caffeine or stimulants, and difficulty shutting down mental activity at night. Stress signals linger longer because the enzyme clears them slowly.

Faster COMT activity means catecholamines are broken down rapidly. Dopamine drops more quickly after it is released. These individuals often tolerate caffeine well, seek stimulation, feel motivated by novelty, and may experience dips in focus or drive when dopamine levels fall.

In practice, I can often predict the COMT pattern before I even open the genetic data. People describe their stress tolerance, caffeine response, sleep patterns, and reactions to supplements. When I then look at rs4680, rs4633, and rs6269 together, the genetics usually confirm what their physiology has already been showing.

This is why genetic context matters. COMT influences neurotransmitter turnover, stress physiology, estrogen metabolism, and methylation demand. When the enzyme speed is known, nutrient support can be aligned with the nervous system instead of guessing how someone will respond.

Below is the exact cluster of COMT variants I review when determining whether someone is fast or slow COMT.