Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Up to 19% of People May Have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome — Most Have Never Heard of It #shorts

8 Sept 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:22

In this short video, Dr. Aaron Hartman explains mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a condition where mast cells overreact to various triggers. He cites European research by Dr. Moldrings suggesting that up to 19% of the population may have MCAS, making it far more common than most realize. He outlines typical symptoms—flushing, hives, brain fog, irritability, and general reactivity—and identifies three primary trigger domains: medications, supplements, and chemicals. Dr. Hartman emphasizes that MCAS can mimic many other illnesses, often being overlooked, and notes that numerous treatment options exist depending on the trigger domain. He invites viewers to share personal diagnoses or experiences in the comments and directs them to related blogs and podcasts on his website for deeper information.

Chapters

How many of y'all out there react to foods or medications and supplements? You might do great with the food one day and then next day have a rash with it. Same thing with supplements. Sometimes you actually might start acting with, you don't know what, you might get hives, you might get brain fog, flushing. What am I even talking about? And is this a thing? What I'm talking about actually is mast cell activation syndrome. And according to European research from Dr. Moldrings in Germany, Up to 19% of the population may be suffering with this. So this is actually really quite common. So what kind of symptoms might you have? Flushing, irritability, reactivity. There's 3 major domains people react to: medications, supplements, and chemicals. So you might be somebody who just is really sensitive to chemicals. The point is this is really, really common. And knowing what to look for with this, how to evaluate it, and then there actually are so many treatment options to do to help treat symptoms depending on which domain you're dealing with. So my first question to you is, have you ever been diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome or do you know someone who has? If so, I'd love to hear your story below to start sharing these with individuals. This is another one of these rare illnesses that's commonly overlooked that's actually really, really common that falls among the mystery illnesses because it can look like almost anything, like a great chameleon. So share your story below. If you have more questions about it, we've actually done some blogs and some podcasts on mast cell activation syndrome. So you can check those out on our website. And I'd love to hear from you and hear your story. Take care.