490: When Your Body Won’t Calm Down: What I Learned About Histamine, Mast Cells, and the Hidden Cause Behind My Mysterious Reactions
Midlife Conversations with Natalie Jill
Release Date: 11/04/2025
Midlife Conversations with Natalie Jill
Your CANCER Diagnosis Isn't Your Fault (And Why That Matters): A Stage 4 Cancer Survivor's Truth About Energy and Healing with Maria Kang What if everything you think you know about cancer and healing is actually backwards? Maria Kang has lived a life that defies conventional narratives. She's the "No Excuses Mom" who challenged the fitness industry…and then she got stage 4 cancer while doing everything "right." But instead of following the standard playbook, she made a choice that shocked everyone around her and in that, discovered that cancer wasn't her enemy - it was her greatest...
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Get Ari Whitten’s Book here: What if the most effective anti-aging tool isn't some skincare in your cabinet but is something that has been scientifically proven for 30 years, studied across 6,000 peer-reviewed research papers, and yet nobody told you about it? What if the reason you haven't heard about it isn't because it doesn't work, but because the science moved faster than the system? In this episode, I'm sitting down with Ari Whitten, one of the world's leading experts in photobiomodulation and red light therapy. Ari and I have known each other for nearly two decades....
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To work with Dr. Betty and her team go here What if the hormone advice you're following is actually making everything worse? In part two of this conversation, Dr. Betty Murray returns to expose the dangerous myths keeping midlife women stuck in hormone chaos. This conversation goes deep into the truth about estrogen dominance versus estrogen deficiency, why your testosterone dose might be creating more problems than it solves, and the critical difference between total and free hormone levels that most doctors completely miss. We're talking about the three stages of the menopause transition...
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To work with Dr. Betty and her team go here What if the hormone replacement therapy you're taking is recycling in your body and creating the exact problems you're trying to solve? Most doctors test your hormone levels and prescribe accordingly. But here's what they're missing: it's not just about the hormones you make or the hormones you take – it's about how your unique body packages them, processes them, and eliminates them. And when this goes wrong, you can experience fibroids, unexplained weight gain, crushing fatigue, and worsening symptoms even though your blood tests look "normal."...
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You're spending hundreds of dollars every month on high-quality supplements…so why do you still feel exhausted, inflamed, and stuck? The problem isn't the supplements you're buying. It's that your body might only be absorbing 10-15% of what you're taking. The rest? Literally flushed down the toilet. In this game-changing conversation with integrative health practitioner Lindsey Burwell, we uncover the absorption crisis affecting midlife women, and why your expensive supplement routine isn't delivering the results you're paying for. After years of bioanalytics testing, Lindsey discovered a...
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Did you know that taking a statin drug for prevention might only buy you 3 extra DAYS of life - while interfering with your hormones, brain function, and cellular energy? Heart disease kills more midlife women than all cancers combined, yet most of us are getting the same five-minute doctor's appointment, the same statin prescription, and the same confusing advice about cholesterol that's been recycled for 70 years. What if everything we've been taught about protecting our hearts is backwards? This conversation with board-certified cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson will challenge everything you...
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Did you know that 46% of women completely stop exercising because of pelvic floor problems and most wait nearly 7 years before seeking help? If you've been waking up multiple times every night to pee, crossing your legs when you sneeze, or planning your entire day around bathroom locations, this episode is about to change your life. And no, the answer isn't just "do more Kegels." In this conversation with Kim Vopni, also known as The Vagina Coach, to uncover the shocking truth about what's really happening to your pelvic floor in midlife and why everything your doctor told you might be wrong....
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What if the negative thoughts keeping you awake at 3 AM aren't trying to torture you—but are actually messengers with critical information about what you need most? If you've ever felt consumed by worries about money, regrets about parenting, or fears about aging, you're not alone. But according to Dr. Yasmine Saad, one of New York's top three psychologists, everything we've been taught about handling these thoughts is backwards. In this conversation, Dr. Saad reveals why midlife creates the perfect storm for mental overwhelm, how hormonal changes directly affect your thought patterns, and...
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If you're lying awake with racing thoughts, feeling constant overwhelm, or wondering if your midlife anxiety is "normal" or something more serious, this conversation will change how you think about mental health. Dr. Kristine Gravino, a psychologist specializing in midlife women, reveals why one out of two women struggle with anxiety and depression during this phase and it's directly connected to your dropping estrogen levels. We're diving deep into the questions you're actually asking: When is Xanax okay? Is that nightly wine helping or hurting? What does "regulating your nervous system"...
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What if the random symptoms you've been told are "all separate" – the hives, exhaustion, brain fog, and digestive chaos – are actually ALL connected through one dysfunctional system in your body that affects 1 in 5 people? When Dr. Tania Dempsey left traditional medicine after being told she wouldn't get bonuses for patients with cholesterol over 200, she discovered something revolutionary: conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, long COVID, and mysterious autoimmune markers might all trace back to the same source: dysfunctional mast cells. In this conversation, Dr. Dempsey reveals...
info_outlineYou know how they say "what happens in Bali stays in Bali"? Yeah… not so much. Mine came home with me in the form of hives, food reactions, and what I now call my PhD in histamine.
In this episode, I'm sharing the wild story of how a little post-Bali "food poisoning" turned into a full-blown case of histamine intolerance and mast cell activation syndrome. Think: red blotches, racing heart, and me Googling every bite before eating it.
I'll walk you through the chaos of misdiagnosis, the "aha!" moment when we figured out it was actually Scombroid poisoning (yes, that's a real thing from bad fish), and how that set off my body's over-zealous histamine fireworks show.
But this isn't a doom-and-gloom story. I'll share how I calmed the storm, what I learned about histamine-rich foods (spoiler: your healthy leftovers might be the problem), and the surprising tools that helped me reset my system.
Plus, I'm breaking down why this matters for midlife women right now—because those symptoms you're blaming on menopause? The flushing, anxiety after eating, sudden food sensitivities? They might actually be your mast cells stuck in overdrive. And no, you're not crazy for thinking your body suddenly hates everything you eat.
If you've ever had mysterious rashes, heart palpitations after chicken (yes, chicken!), or just want to understand what the heck histamine and mast cells actually do, you're going to love this one. It's part detective story, part midlife meltdown, and a whole lot of "what just happened to my body?!"
I'm also sharing the exact protocol that finally worked (including why I ended up saying yes to a steroid after swearing I'd go all-natural), which foods to avoid when your histamine bucket is overflowing, and why becoming your own health detective might be the most important skill you develop in midlife.
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