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DAOhead

DAOhead contains the DAO enzyme for dietary control of migraines caused by DAO Deficiency, as well as group B vitamins and caffeine, which act as adjuvants.

Dietary management of migraine caused by DAO deficiency / Histamine intolerance.

  Diamine Oxidase (DAO) enzyme with high activity and bioavailability, ideal for the prolonged dietary management of migraine.

  It includes as adjunct ingredients Caffeine and Vitamins of group B (B6, B9 and B12) with activities that act in synergy with the DAO enzyme.

  With the innovative Eficaps® technology based on capsules with gastro-resistant tablets that allow the release of the ingredients at the times and places of their maximum activity.

  Based on scientific and clinical evidence with the highest levels of quality in Medical Nutrition.

Product description

DAOhead® is a food for special medical purposes that is used for the dietary management of migraine caused by DAO Deficiency and/or Histamine Intolerance.

The Diamine Oxidase (DAO) contained in DAOhead® serves as a supplement to the enzyme found in the body, which oversees metabolizing histamine. Taking one capsule of DAOhead® before each meal increases the amount of DAO in the small bowel and therefore also boosts histamine degradation. This accelerates the processing of the histamine found in different foods in the digestive tract, which triggers the symptoms.

Histamine is an essential molecule, a transmitter that belongs to the so called group of biogenic amines and that is naturally present in many foods as well as inside our cells. Normally, the intake of histamine contained in food does not cause any problem, since it is quickly processed and metabolized by the Diamine Oxidase enzyme (DAO).

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DAO is the main enzyme for the metabolism of ingested histamine. lt is mainly located in the intestinal epithelium, where it absorbs and degrades the ingested histamine preventing it from passing into the bloodstream.

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lt refers to a deficiency in Diamine Oxidase (DAO) metabolization activity or when there is an imbalance between the ingested histamine and the enzyme capacity to metabolize it. As histamine has not been properly metabolized and degraded, it passes into the bloodstream triggering different symptoms. The most common reactions of DAO deficiency are migraine and headaches, although other symptoms may occur such as:

  • Digestive disorders such as bloated feeling, flatulence, constipation or diarrhoea.
  •  Pain and muscle contractures and osteopathic pain.
  •  Skin disorders, such as dry or atopic skin.

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Histamine is present in all foods a greater or lesser extent, whether plant or animal origin. Food undergoing a lengthy maturation or food stored for an extended period is particularly high in histamine and other biogenic amines also degraded by DAO enzyme.

These foods are, among others:

  • Raw or pasteurized milk and dairy products.
  • Citrus fruits, strawberries and banana.
  • Seafood, oily fish and fish sauces.
  • Raw cured sausage such as spiced sausage, chorizo or bacon.
  • Some vegetables such as tomatoes, spinach or aubergines.
  • Alcoholic drinks*, especially red and sparkling wine.

*Alcoholic drinks contain, to some extent, histamine or other biogenic amines, and furthermore, alcohol inhibits DAO activity impeding histamine degradation and metabolization.

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What does DAOhead® contain?

Eficaps® capsules contain gastro-resistant tablets with controlled release DAO in the intestine that prevent stomach acid pH and tablets that guarantee the immediate release of adjuvant active ingredients.

Each capsule contains four tablets:

  2 DAO white/beige gastro-resistant tablets with release into the intestine.

  1 orange tablet for immediate release with vitamins of group B.

 1 red tablet for immediate release with caffeine*.

(*) If you can not take caffeine, you can open the capsule and remove the red tablet.

How should DAOhead® be used?

Take 1 capsule with some water 20 minutes before the main meals (3 times a day). The capsule should be swallowed whole, if you are unable to swallow it whole, please open it and ingest the tablets from its interior separately, swallowing them whole without chewing, splitting or breaking them.

lmportant observations

DAOhead® does not a single food source. Alcohol and medicines may largely inhibit the action of the Diamine Oxidase enzyme (DAO). To be used only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner, who shall recommend the dosage according to the symptoms. Keep out of the reach of children. Store in a cool place. The capsules must be swallowed whole. It does not contain Histamine. Gluten free. Lactose free. Sugars free.

Conservation

DAOhead® contains Diamine Oxidase (DAO), a thermolabile enzyme (sensitive to temperature), being advisable to keep it away from sources of heat. If consumed according to the dose recommended daily intake, does not require a special conservation, but if exceptionally consumes sporadically, being stored for long time, it is advisable to keep it in fridge.

Ingredients

Bulking agents: microcrystalline cellulose and hydroxypropylcellulose; caffeine anhydrous; potato starch; glacing agent: ethylcellulose and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose; pig kidney protein extract with 7% diamine oxidase (DAO); stabilizers: magnesium salts of fatty acids and sodium alginate; medium chain triglycerides; pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6); rice Starch; colour: beetroot red; stabilizer: oleic acid; folic acid (vitamin B9); humectant: glycerin; stabilizer: stearic acid; colour: riboflavin; maltodextrin; stabilizer: trisodium citrate; cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12); acid: citric acid; vegetable capsule: hydroxypropylmethylcellulose.

Histamine

Histamine is a molecule that is present in all foods in the daily diet, is also produced endogenously in the body, and is the mediator of many biological processes such as inflammation, allergies, gastric acid secretions, neuromodulation and regulation of immune function.

Under normal conditions, ingested histamine is broken down by the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) in the small intestine.

The problem

If the metabolic activity of the DAO enzyme is reduced (due to genetic, pharmacological and / or pathological factors), the ingested histamine cannot be degraded and passes through the intestinal mucosa to the circulation causing the appearance of gastrointestinal, cutaneous, neurological and muscular symptoms associated to DAO deficiency.

The solution

DAOhead® is a food for special medical purposes used for the dietary management of migraine caused by DAO deficiency.

FAQs

Foods for special medical purposes are intended to satisfy all or part of the dietary needs of patients whose ability to ingest, digest, absorb, metabolize or excrete normal foods or certain nutrients or metabolites thereof is limited, deficient or altered, or well that they need other clinically determined nutrients, whose dietary treatment cannot be carried out solely by modifying the normal diet, with other foods intended for a special diet, or by both (1). They are not drugs or food supplements.

The supply of DAO by mouth is a key strategy in the dietary management of migraine and other pathologies associated with the deficiency of this enzyme, since histamine is present to one degree or another in many foods in the usual diet, and for a In a patient with DAO deficiency, it is very difficult to suppress histamine foods since the histamine content is not normally specified by the manufacturers.

Foods for special medical uses that contain DAO prevent the systemic absorption of exogenous histamine, providing the patient with the necessary amount of DAO that complements the body’s own enzyme, strengthening the histamine degradation capacity of food locally in the small intestine and recovering the natural balance of histamine and DAO, thus reducing the symptoms of concomitant pathologies (2).

Bibliography and links

  1. Alimentos para usos médicos especiales. Disponible en: http://www.aecosan.msssi.gob.es/AECOSAN/web/seguridad_ alimentaria/subdetalle/alimentos_usos_medicos.htm
  2. Izquierdo-Casas J, Comas-Basté O, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Lorente-Gascón M, Duelo A, Soler-Singla L, et al. Diamine oxidase (DAO) supplement reduces headache in episodic migraine patients with DAO deficiency: a randomized double-blind trial. Clin Nutr. 2019; 38: 152-158.

DAOhead® is used for the dietary management of migraine, headache and tinnitus caused by DAO deficiency.

Although it is recommended to consume each capsule with a little water 20 minutes before each main meal (a total of 3 times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner), because the activity of the DAO enzyme of DAOhead® is maintained for 4 -5 hours you can also consume each capsule a maximum of 2-3 hours before each meal.

The enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) from DAOhead® maintains its metabolic activity of food histamine for 4-5 hours after taking the supplement.

It can be consumed before a meal up to a maximum of 3 capsules, being advisable not to consume more than 3 capsules daily. In this way, if for having a meal rich in histamine in a day 2 or 3 capsules are consumed before it, it is advisable that if 2 capsules have been consumed, only one more capsule is consumed at the next meal during that day, and If 3 capsules have been consumed, do not consume any more capsules during that day.

The results of dietary management (reduction in the duration and intensity of the attacks, increase in the period between attacks and improvement in the rest of the gastrointestinal, skin and muscular symptoms produced by the DAO deficiency) begin to be appreciated after 15 days of the supplementation and within the first 30 days.

It is recommended to make an objective diagnosis of DAO deficiency, follow a diet low in histamine and take one capsule at least 3 times a day (consume a capsule 20 with a little water minutes before each main meal).

DAOhead® can be taken indefinitely, being suitable for diabetics, celiacs and / or people with food intolerance, it does not contain allergens, gluten, lactose or histamine, and it does not cause side effects, which is why it is recommended for the dietary management of migraine. and chronic headaches and the rest of gastrointestinal, skin and muscular pathologies associated with DAO deficiency.

Each capsule contains 0.3 mg of Diamine Oxidase (DAO) enzyme divided into 2 white / beige tablets (each gastro-resistant tablet contains 0.15 mg of DAO enzyme). It is recommended not to exceed a maximum daily dose of 12.6 mg of protein extract of pork kidney rich in DAO enzyme, therefore it is advisable to take a maximum of 3 capsules per day (each capsule contains 4.2 mg of protein extract of pig kidney rich in DAO enzyme).

Each capsule contains 30 mg of caffeine inside in a red tablet. The vasoconstrictor property of caffeine allows its use as an adjunct ingredient in the dietary management of the symptoms of migraine and headaches, in which there is a vasodilation of the cerebral vasculature that intervenes in the cause of pain and sensory disorders.

Each capsule contains 1.4 mg of vitamin B6, 400 µg of vitamin B9 (folic acid) and 1 µg of vitamin B12 in an orange tablet. Patients with migraine tend to have low levels of these vitamins, a situation that intervenes in the production of migraine, so a supplementation with vitamins B6, B9 and B12 allows the dietary management of symptoms.

Each capsule can be opened and removed those tablets that, on the recommendation of your doctor and / or nutritionist, are not necessary for the dietary management of your symptoms. The withdrawal of caffeine tablets, red in color, and / or vitamins of group B, orange in color, do not compromise the effectiveness of dietary management, being adjuvant ingredients used to adapt to the medical and nutritional requirements of each patient.

The primary origin of DAO deficiency is due to genetic factors (DAO gene variants associated with low enzyme activity) and is diagnosed by the Diamine Oxidase (DAO) Activity Molecular Genetic Study (AOC1-V). It can be found in pharmacies specialized in DAO deficiency, online pharmacies and amazon.

The secondary origin of DAO deficiency may be due to the consumption of drugs that inhibit the enzyme DAO, the ingestion of foods rich in histamine and / or other biogenic amines, or the ingestion of foods that inhibit DAO, such as alcohol. Certain pathologies that affect the intestinal mucus, such as Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and intestinal operations are also at the origin of the DAO deficiency. For the diagnosis of these secondary causes, an analysis of DAO activity in plasma is performed. This analysis can be requested and performed in public and private hospitals.

If you have any other doubts or questions, please contact us.

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INFORMATION ABOUT DAO DEFICIENCY

Histamine in food

In addition to foods rich in histamine, high intakes of foods rich in other amines such as putrescine, cadaverine, b-phenylethylamine, tryptamine, serotonin, tyramine and agmatine can also lead

Diagnosis of DAO Deficiency

There are two ways in which the diagnosis can be made: the molecular genetic study of Diamine Oxidase (DAO) activity (AOC1-V) and/or the in vitro diagnostic test measuring

Origin of DAO deficiency

The main reason for enzyme dysfunction has a genetic origin.

This justifies the recent belief that chronic pathologies such as migraine are hereditary, when in fact the hereditary factor

Que es el Déficit de DAO
What is DAO Deficiency?

It is an alteration in the metabolism of food histamine that occurs when the activity of the Diamine Oxidase (DAO) enzyme is reduced. That is, when for certain

Histamine in food

In addition to foods rich in histamine, high intakes of foods rich in other amines such as putrescine, cadaverine, b-phenylethylamine, tryptamine, serotonin, tyramine and agmatine can also lead

Diagnosis of DAO Deficiency

There are two ways in which the diagnosis can be made: the molecular genetic study of Diamine Oxidase (DAO) activity (AOC1-V) and/or the in vitro diagnostic test measuring

Origin of DAO deficiency

The main reason for enzyme dysfunction has a genetic origin.

This justifies the recent belief that chronic pathologies such as migraine are hereditary, when in fact the hereditary factor

Que es el Déficit de DAO
What is DAO Deficiency?

It is an alteration in the metabolism of food histamine that occurs when the activity of the Diamine Oxidase (DAO) enzyme is reduced. That is, when for certain