No, not exactly. Here’s my DAO discovery changed the game.
Becoming an adult happens in stages. It’s gradual, but with each new stage comes a new set of gifts to enjoy as well as obstacles to overcome.
I just spent the past six weeks interning in the capital of young, prime opportunity: New York City. I took a leap of faith to move there by myself and see what I was capable of, even though I could’ve done the job from anywhere.
The chance to immerse myself in a city like the Big Apple as a young adult seemed like the only sensible option, or perhaps the only option that made the most sense for me — a 21-year-old dreamer with wide eyes and a hunger for new success.
With the chance to live in a city like Manhattan at my age, I’m trying to build and make as many professional networks and meaningful connections as I possibly can.
In New York City, one of the easiest — or at least more approachable — ways to do this is a night out.
As I’m in the city for the first time as an adult, this means enjoying a glass of velvety, red wine at dinner or drinks is a luxury I can finally enjoy.
It tastes like thriving in a city full of extraordinary people.
Or it did, until my first two sips of wine in a beautiful, Italian restaurant caused my entire face and neck to become covered in hives.
Surely, I’m not allergic to wine, right?
Not only was it physically uncomfortable, but it was embarrassing. Here I am in my favorite, red dress in a room crowded with chattering people, and it looks like I’m having a life-threatening allergic reaction.
The hives, the flushing and the headache came almost immediately after my first few sips, and I didn’t know why because I was the only one at the table reacting this way.
You’ve probably heard of antihistamines, but histamines naturally occur in many foods, including ones that are good for you, like avocados and tomatoes. The histamine gets broken down in your body by an enzyme called diamine oxidase, or DAO. When your body isn’t producing enough DAO, then it can’t properly break down the histamine, and that’s where the allergy-like symptoms rush in.
Because my body wasn’t prepared with enough DAO when I began to drink that glass of Pinot Noir, the histamine overflowed and caused my skin to react in huge hives and rashes.
While not being able to drink wine isn’t the end of the world, it certainly isn’t the news I was expecting to hear as I entered adulthood.
One of our clients at the PR firm I’m interning at for the summer has a supplement that works to alleviate the symptoms caused by histamine intolerance and DAO deficiency. As it turns out, I’m one of the 5% of the U.S. population that struggles with histamine intolerance. It didn’t occur to me until I was on the phone with my boss the next day that this enzyme supplement may be something I need to try.
So, I did.
I took one Umbrellux DAO supplement about 20 minutes before pouring wine in my glass, and then I cautiously began to sip.
My skin didn’t feel hot and nobody seemed to be staring my way. I took a few more sips and enjoyed the good company I was in. The atmosphere was busy, but in a good way. As the hour passed, I had finished my first glass and my skin, if anything, was radiant.
Simply taking this supplement is all it took to not only curb the inconvenience of dealing with the histamine intolerance but also lead me to the source of my embarrassing issue, which is now flawlessly solved.
I learned about histamine intolerance and DAO deficiency because of my embarrassing wine encounter and thankfully working on this client account during my internship in the city that never sleeps this summer, but you too can learn about the benefits of Umbrellux DAO and the effects of histamine here. I specifically like the self-evaluation kit, which is less than $6, that helps you determine if the flushing after drinking wine or beer is caused by a histamine intolerance that can be alleviated by supplementing with a little DAO.
-C.M.
carlymccullough.com 