By Dr. Haley Eddington, Biological Practitioner Coach
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a complex condition that often baffles both clients and healthcare professionals alike. In fact, most doctors miss this as a root cause of their patient’s symptoms or conditions, leading the patient to suffer for years without any solutions. Other times MCAS gets misdiagnosed for another condition, leading to a wild goose chase in their symptoms and ultimately no resolution of their suffering.
Understanding the triggers behind MCAS and how they activate mast cells can shed light on this enigmatic syndrome. Let’s embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries of MCAS, exploring the common triggers and the mechanism of Mast Cell Activation.
The Role of Mast Cells: Protectors Turned Troublemakers
First, let’s get acquainted with mast cells. These tiny defenders are essential components of our immune system, protecting us from harmful invaders like bacteria and parasites. However, in the case of MCAS, mast cells go rogue, becoming hyperactive and triggering unnecessary reactions throughout the body. This malfunction can lead to a wide array of symptoms, from mild itching to severe allergic reactions and inflammation.
Triggers of Mast Cell Activation: What Sets Them Off?
What exactly sets these mast cells into overdrive? The answer lies in the diverse range of triggers that can activate them:
Allergens: Common allergens like pollen, pet dander, and certain foods are notorious culprits. Additionally, mycotoxins, toxins produced by molds, can also provoke mast cell reactions.
Stress: Whether it’s a demanding deadline at work or a heated argument, emotional or physical stressors can send mast cells into a frenzy.
Infections: Viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens, including Lyme disease, can trigger an immune response, prompting mast cells to spring into action.
Environmental Factors: Chemical toxins, pollutants, and environmental toxins lurking in our surroundings can wreak havoc on mast cells, contributing to their activation.
Medications: Surprisingly, certain medications, such as antibiotics, painkillers, and anesthesia, can stimulate mast cell activity, exacerbating symptoms in susceptible individuals.
The Process of Mast Cell Activation: Breaking It Down
Now that we know the triggers, let’s delve into the mechanism of Mast Cell Activation:
Sensitization: Mast cells become sensitized to specific triggers over time, either through previous exposure or genetic predisposition.
Triggering Event: When a trigger encounters a sensitized mast cell, it can trigger a chain reaction, signaling the mast cell to release chemical substances.
Chemical Release: Histamine, cytokines, leukotrienes, and other compounds flood the bloodstream, sparking allergic and inflammatory responses throughout the body.
Symptoms: These chemical signals can manifest many symptoms, ranging from itching, hives, and swelling to digestive issues and beyond.
Conclusion: Shedding Light on Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
Understanding the triggers and mechanisms of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) offers valuable insights into this complex condition. From common allergens to stressors and medications, various factors can set mast cells into overdrive, leading to a range of symptoms, conditions, and diseases.
By comprehending the process of Mast Cell Activation, we empower individuals to recognize potential triggers and seek appropriate management strategies. While challenges remain in diagnosis and treatment, ongoing research holds promise for improved understanding and therapeutic interventions. And the good news is that holistic approaches are working to help those struggling with MCAS, where the traditional Western medicine treatments are not working.
If you or someone you know are struggling with MCAS or you want to find out if this could be one of the root causes of your conditions, book an appointment with me so we can discuss and I can help you determine if MCAS could be at the root of your symptoms.
(For established clients)
This appointment type should only be made for an established client. (After you have had your initial/first visit completed).
Not sure WHO to book with? No Problem! Here at MHH we have an AMAZING team of coaches and EVERY ONE OF OUR COACHES can help you with ANY of your conditions, so just pick the one that has availability on the day and time that works best for you.
This package contains 12 Biological Coaching Visits at 30 minutes each. Purchasing this package can save you 10% vs. if you purchased 12 sessions individually.
Using the combined modalities of EFT tapping, Resonance Repatterning, Color, Light, and Sound, this visit type addresses:
• Anxiety • Depression • Fear • Mind racing • Feelings of anger • Feelings of hopelessness • and more…
This unique approach can address and resolve emotional trauma, present or past, that has been locked into the physical body’s memory, often below the realm of conscious thought. Our bodies replay these memories at different times, and they can adversely affect our health especially in times of great stress and uncertainty.
These packages contain 12 Brain & Emotional Repatterning visits of 60 minutes or 90 minutes each. Purchasing either of these packages will save you 15% as compared to purchasing individual sessions
Not feeling well and looking for help with your condition, diagnosis, or symptoms that won’t go away no matter what you have tried? Our holistic biological health coaches can help you! Our coaches teach you how your body works, what the underlying cause of your condition or symptoms are, and how to fix and address them using long-term solutions that are data-driven and that work!
Our holistic biological health coaches have a deep understanding of advanced functional testing and genetics testing, along with much experience in complex cases.
Our biological coaching team works with you to empower and teach you how to understand and interpret your lab results, what your results mean, how they are connected to your health conditions or symptoms, and most importantly, what to do with the information, how to put protocols together based on your lab results, and when to reorder your various labs to track progress.
You will become your own healing master learning how to navigate the healing process, how to modify your protocols, when and how to detoxify your organs and cells from the toxins discovered on your lab results. You will learn the importance of tracking your assessment forms and symptom sheets and how to troubleshoot your healing process.
In addition, you have the opportunity to learn how to understand YOUR genetic blueprint – Our coaches are trained in the field of epigenetics and understand implicitly that YOU are in control of your own gene expression and how your genes either work for or against you. If you choose to add genetic testing into your program, your genetic blueprint information can be used not only to help drive your plan of action for healing, but also it can be used to understand your body’s unique nutrition, lifestyle, sleeping, eating, and physical activity needs are so that you can optimize once you are healed.
Get help from our functional nutrition coaches who understand that there is no ONE diet that is right for everyone. Our nutrition coaches work hand in hand with our biological coaches so if you need any lab work done or specific protocols that would require supplement protocols, you have a team working on your behalf and your nutrition coach would make recommendations for which other team coaches would be able to help you.
Your coaches will teach and empower you to learn how to determine and navigate your diet modifications which are decided based on your extensive intake forms, history, and your lab data that your coaches may want to order for you. Based on all of this information, they will teach you what foods to eat and not eat according to various conditions and why.
Your functional nutrition coach will help you learn what substitutes you can use when there are certain foods you may need to stop eating for a period of time, how to put your meals together based on your dietary needs per your lab data, how and when to incorporate gut repair protocols, and what lifestyle modifications you want to address based on your labs and your health conditions.
Nutritional coaching can be a great tool by itself or combined with coaching from our biological coaches. You can schedule with either our biological or nutrition coaches and they can help you get started and make recommendations as needed.
Many people who have successfully mentored with our nutrition coaches have had past issues such as:
Mindset, past and present traumas, and limiting belief systems are some of the biggest barriers to healing, so much in fact that gene expression and biological ‘engines’ of the human body can change for the worse because of it.
In the many years, we have been working in the field of holistic medicine, helping people who have tried everything else with no success or little success, we have discovered how great of an impact our thoughts, beliefs, and past and present trauma, and chronic stress can be to the human body, mind, and spirit.
The rate of recovery and healing for those who place emphasis on creating new neurological pathways to imprint new and healthy mindsets and belief systems in how they perceive themselves and the world around them is greatly improved when the psychological aspect of mindset and integration of mind, body, the spirit is addressed through repatterning of the mind and body neurology.
By removing barriers discovered from traumas, mindset, and conscious/unconscious patterns that are not congruent for healing, health, and vitality, you set yourself up for the best outcomes in your healing journey. Healing only occurs when the physical, emotional, and mental barriers to healing are removed.
Therefore we incorporate mind, body, spirit integration work into our programs and in doing so, we see exponential increases in positive outcomes with our clients. We have put together the most comprehensive ‘whole person’ approach in the world, and this is why our results are so successful.
Our Emotional Processing, Stress Release, & Neurological Repatterning coaches work with you to create new neurological connections, anchor new neurology, and habits, and show you how to become aware of any conscious or unconscious belief systems that may be holding you back from healing and total health.
You are welcome to try one or two appointments to see what you think. We typically recommend a minimum of 6 sessions to make an accurate assessment of how this type of modality is working for you.
Here are some of the modalities our Emotional Processing, Stress Release, & Neurological Repatterning coaches use for brain and body repatterning:
Breathwork is more than just a simple exercise of intentional breathing. Specialized breathwork techniques are used to facilitate major transformation and healing by encompassing a wide range of therapeutic practices that are extremely powerful in providing immediate relief for pulling people out of fight or flight (the amygdala hijack we teach about in Part 2 of our Mastering Trauma Masterclass).
This vagus nerve activation through breath work activates the rest/digest (parasympathetic nervous system), stimulates healing, reduces blood pressure, reduces the cortisol stress response, regulates hormone and blood glucose activity, and heart rate variability (the biological stress response). It rewires the body for self-regulation of the nervous system in a manner that optimizes the body and creates resilience in times of stress.
Yoga breath therapy allows you to disconnect from the mind chatter, mind racing, and negative self-talk and reconnect with your body your energy. From this elevated state of awareness, you are able to facilitate healing, growth, and expansion. And if you are looking for some expansion of your body/mind/spirit awareness, then this type of breathwork can be nourishing and can facilitate the next layer of peace, love, gratitude, connection, clarity, and insights.
In the many years, we have been working in the field of holistic medicine, helping people who have tried everything else with no success or little success, we have discovered how great of a damaging impact our thoughts, beliefs, and past and present trauma, and chronic stress (the fight or flight response) can be to the human body, mind, and spirit.
By becoming aware of how to regulate our own nervous system, and resolve traumas, mindset, and conscious/unconscious patterns that are not congruent for healing, health, and vitality, you set yourself up for the best outcomes in your healing journey. Healing only occurs when the physical, emotional, and mental barriers to healing are removed.
The rate of recovery and healing for those who place emphasis on:
….. Find much success and amplification in their healing journey.
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