If you’ve ever felt “reactive to everything” food, smells, seasons, stress, and been told it’s all in your head, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

In this conversation, Susan sits down with health engineer and gut specialist Steven Wright, co-founder of HealthyGut.com, to unpack the real story behind histamine, mast cell issues, gut dysbiosis, and why so many highly sensitive, driven people are hitting a wall with their health.

You’ll hear Steven’s raw story of IBS, panic attacks, “supplement graveyards,” and getting called “the stinky guy” at work, and how that pain became the catalyst for his life’s work. Together, Susan and Steven connect the dots between histamine, the microbiome, genetics, stress, perimenopause, mold, Lyme, and the nervous system in a way that finally makes sense.

This isn’t about labeling histamine as the enemy. It’s about understanding why your bucket is overflowing,and what you can actually do about it.

In this episode:

• What histamine really is (and why it’s not the bad guy)
  
  
• The difference between histamine intolerance and mast cell activation, and how they show up in real life
  
  
• The gut–histamine connection: dysbiosis, leaky gut, SIBO/SIFO and DAO
  
  
• Why stress, trauma, and a dysregulated nervous system can keep your symptoms stuck on “high”
  
  
• How genetics (like AOC1, MTHFR, etc.) can raise your histamine risk—but don’t determine your destiny
  
  
• Why perimenopause, estrogen shifts, and even “healthy” habits (like lemon water & fermenteds) can make some people feel worse
  
  
• Practical ideas to start lowering your histamine load: food timing, leftovers, nervous system practices, and smart supplementation to discuss with your provider
  
  

If you’ve been collecting protocols, cutting out more and more foods, and still don’t feel like yourself… this conversation is for you.

Learn more about our guest Steven Wright:

Steven Wright is a Health Engineer, Kalish Functional Medicine Institute Graduate, and gut health specialist.  Since 2009, Steven’s been researching, writing, and building products around gut, brain, and immune related issues.  He’s overcome a host of complex gut, brain, immune issues himself and uses these painful and challenging experiences to help others.  Steven is the co-founder of healthygut.com and he lives in Boulder, CO with his wife Shay and their two dogs. 

RESOURCES:

Connect with Steven Wright:

Website: https://healthygut.com/

Shop the products: http://healthygut.com/healthyawakenings (this link will provide you a special discount!)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthygutco/

Find all of Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes: 

Shop the products: http://healthygut.com/healthyawakenings (this link will provide you a special discount!)

https://healthyawakening.co/2025/12/15/episode101

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

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