Red wine. Aged cheese. Citrus fruits. Sauerkraut. Bacon. These foods are frequently consumed by those on a healthy whole foods diet, and are often found in a variety of Paleo-friendly recipes and meal plans. Even conventional doctors frequently recommend including many of these seemingly unrelated foods daily as part of a healthy diet. After all, even a raw vegan probably wouldn’t argue against eating foods like oranges, spinach, or cinnamon.
It may surprise you to learn that these and other popular foods are capable of causing numerous symptoms in certain people, including migraines, hives, anxiety, heartburn and GERD, and nasal congestion, just to name a few. If you’re experiencing strange reactions to certain foods that most would consider healthy, you may be suffering from a little known but not uncommon cause of food intolerance and disease: histamine intolerance.
Still having strange symptoms on a real food diet? You could be suffering from histamine intolerance.
Never heard of histamine intolerance? You’re not alone. This food intolerance is difficult to diagnose, has a multifaceted symptom profile, and is often confused with a variety of other conditions. Many doctors and nutritionists have never even heard of histamine intolerance, and often treat the symptoms without ever addressing the underlying cause. In my practice, I see it especially with headaches and migraines, skin problems and mental health issues. It’s a fairly common, yet poorly understood, food sensitivity.
Histamine Intolerance: Not Your Typical Food Allergy!
Deficiency in the DAO enzyme system, found in the intestinal mucosa, has been suggested as the most probable cause of histamine intolerance. (2) There are likely genetic variations in individual enzyme function, but when activity of either of these enzymes is insufficient, the resulting excess of histamine may cause numerous symptoms resembling an allergic reaction. Common symptoms of histamine intolerance include: (3)
- Pruritus (itching especially of the skin, eyes, ears, and nose)
- Urticaria (hives) (sometimes diagnosed as “idiopathic urticaria”)
- Tissue swelling (angioedema) especially of facial and oral tissues and sometimes the throat, the latter causing the feeling of “throat tightening”
- Hypotension (drop in blood pressure)
- Tachycardia (increased pulse rate, “heart racing”)
- Symptoms resembling an anxiety or panic attack
- Chest pain
- Nasal congestion, runny nose, seasonal allergies
- Conjunctivitis (irritated, watery, reddened eyes)
- Some types of headaches that differ from those of migraine
- Fatigue, confusion, irritability
- Very occasionally loss of consciousness usually lasting for only one or two seconds
- Digestive upset, especially heartburn, “indigestion”, and reflux
Histamine intolerance is unlike other food allergies or sensitivities in that the response is cumulative, not immediate. Imagine it like a cup of water. When the cup is very full (high amounts of histamine in the diet), even a drop of additional water will cause the cup to overflow (symptoms activated). But when the cup is less full, it would take more water (histamine) to cause a response. This makes histamine intolerance tricky to recognize.
In addition, histamine intolerance is closely related to SIBO and dysbiosis, which suggests that curing the latter may alleviate the former. Many integrative practitioners, including myself, believe that a primary cause of histamine intolerance is an overgrowth of certain types of bacteria that make histamine from undigested food, leading to a buildup of histamine in the gut and overwhelming the body’s ability to catabolize the excess histamine. This causes a heightened sensitivity to histamine-containing foods and an increase in symptoms that are commonly associated with allergies.
For more detailed information on histamine intolerance, including causes, symptoms, and treatment, check out this article by Dr. Janice Joneja, a Ph.D. in medical microbiology and immunology and former head of the Allergy Nutrition Program at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre.
What to Do If You Have Histamine Intolerance
Histamine intolerance can be a challenging diagnosis to manage, since many foods contain histamine and for some patients, their gut bacteria is producing the excess histamine that is causing the symptoms. Fermented foods are some of the biggest culprits, since even beneficial bacteria produce histamine during fermentation. In fact, reacting to fermented foods is a classic sign of histamine intolerance, especially if probiotic supplements are well-tolerated. Other foods that are high in histamine include:
- Seafood: shellfish or fin fish, fresh, frozen, smoked or canned
- Eggs
- Processed, cured, smoked and fermented meats such as lunch meat, bacon, sausage, salami, pepperoni
- Leftover meat (After meat is cooked, the histamine levels increase due to microbial action as the meat sits)
- All fermented milk products, including most cheeses
- Yogurt, buttermilk, kefir
- Citrus fruits – eg. oranges, grapefruit, lemons, lime
- Most berries
- Dried fruit
- Fermented foods: sauerkraut, kombucha, pickles, relishes, fermented soy products, etc.
- Spinach
- Tomatoes- including ketchup, tomato sauces
- Artificial food colors and preservatives
- Spices: cinnamon, chili powder, cloves, anise, nutmeg, curry powder, cayenne
- Beverages: Tea (herbal or regular), alcohol
- Chocolate, cocoa
- Vinegar and foods containing vinegar such as pickles, relishes, ketchup, and prepared mustard
Individual sensitivity varies tremendously. I have one or two patients that cannot tolerate any amount of histamine in food, and others that are only sensitive to the foods highest in histamine.
In order to improve your tolerance to histamine-containing foods, it is crucial to heal the gut and address any dysbiosis or SIBO issues that may exist. I recommend working with a qualified practitioner who can help you address any bacterial imbalance and create a treatment plan that is tailored to your needs.
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What Can You Eat on a Low-Histamine Paleo Diet?
You may be feeling overwhelmed by the list of foods to avoid – I don’t blame you! It can be especially challenging to eat low-histamine foods on a Paleo diet. There aren’t many resources available for this condition, and everyone reacts in their own unique way to excess histamine and certain high histamine foods. For example, a person may do fine eating berries and citrus fruits, but they may have horrible reactions to wine or sauerkraut. If you’re dealing with histamine intolerance, you will need to determine your own trigger foods, and reduce or eliminate them accordingly.
For help figuring out what to eat, those with histamine intolerance may want to check out my Paleo Recipe Generator. It contains over 600 Paleo-approved recipes, and allows you to exclude many high histamine foods from your meal plan, including fermented dairy, eggs, tomatoes, eggplant, fruit, certain spices, vinegar, alcohol, and seafood.
Of course, you’ll have to pay attention to whether or not the recipe contains cured meats like bacon or sausage, other spices like cinnamon or cloves, and certain fruits and vegetables like citrus and spinach. Some of these issues can be addressed by excluding fruit and pork from the meal plan, which isn’t necessary but can help make your low-histamine recipe search a little easier. You’ll still need to double check the ingredients of each individual meal, but this search function makes it much easier!
Once you’ve made your selections for foods to exclude, you can plan meals for a full day, a week, or simply find a recipe for a single meal. Even with a histamine intolerance, you can still enjoy many delicious Paleo recipes: Lamb Roast with Fennel and Root Vegetables, Beef Brisket with Mushrooms, Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes, and even Chicken Pot Pie, just to name a few.
There are few other online resources for low-histamine meal plans, and most are not Paleo compliant. The Low Histamine Chef has a “Low Histamine Diamine Oxidase Boosting Recipe Book” which some people may find helpful, though many of the recipes contain less-than-desirable ingredients such as grains, legumes, and sugar. It’s important to focus on healing the gut and identifying your specific trigger foods in order to reduce symptoms without indefinitely following a strict low histamine diet. Just remember, individual results will vary!
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Is there some kind of test for DAO levels? I just want to stop itching….please!
A lot of info out there says that a vegetarian diet is better because of the histamine release from animal meats? Thoughts anyone?
Yes, how about reading The Vegetarian Myth, the writer was a vegan for 20 years and now after incredibly extensive research, she discovered that agriculture is killing us and our fertilizer is fossil fuel. I was listening to a Podcast just today: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beverly-meyer-san-antonio/id577470427?mt=2
We are killing the earth and human kind and one the main reasons is this movement in the last fifty years to not eat animals… It is ironic because the reason most people are vegetarian is because they think they are helping nature and the earth–in fact it is the opposite…
yes, sarah, I’m finding it very difficult to eat any animal products at all…and as I said above if I could avoid them I would because I feel so much better with the lowered histamine.
my issue is that my blood sugar goes up too high without animal proteins, so by necessity I’m eating as little animal protein as I can right now to lower histamine…I was hard-core paleo and I just discovered this histamine issue…but I’ve needed to add legumes
(oh for the record, I discovered that fresh (on the boat) frozen white fish (cod and flounder) and also squid is okay. Legumes are better but to get a bit of animal protein those two things are working. Also if I can get freshly frozen meat right after slaughter that works too.
from what I understand once one gets the histamine level down some of the sensitivity abates…still I have a feeling I’m going to have to figure out how to eat some vegetable proteins or I simply won’t be able to eat enough without reacting…
I’ve added legumes and I feel much better from the lower histamine on the legumes…but as I said, my blood sugar which I monitor with a glucose meter is not liking it…I douse the legumes with ghee which is a low histamine fat…fat helps slow down the absorption of sugars…some days I do better than others…lots of tweaking ahead…
Monica, which legumes are ok to eat for histamine? Like u, I dont do well on high meat diets. But, Im having such a hard time figuring out what to eat….Im reacting so badly
Hi Bee,
I’m eating most legumes (but no peanuts!)
But lentils (all varieties) and black beans and pinto beans…I’m avoiding chick peas and adzuki for the time being because I’ve read they’re higher in histamine, but I’ve eaten chick peas and done okay…I”m just still having severe problems so I’m kind of hard core about not adding much at this point.
Also, I’ve found that I can eat freshly slaughtered rabbit and lamb…we’ve got local farms here and the farmers freeze it right away for me…that’s been a godsend….but I can’t afford to eat those daily…I can’t eat beef, pork or chicken and that was the affordable meat I ate mostly…but I don’t have anyone to do specialty slaughters and freezing for me on those.
Also, I can eat freshly caught trout and there is a lovely sustainable and green local fish farm nearby too…so I’ve been able to add more variety, but am still eating legumes because I can’t afford the meat and fish on a regular basis being I have to get it so specialty…still it’s possible and may be worth looking in your area.
I’m also eating seeds and coconut…fresh coconuts are great and better fat wise than other nuts.
Sarah, Look how many items that are high in Histamines are fruits or veggies: LOTS!
These types of meats are high histamine, but I just eat pastured or wild meats…
Processed, cured, smoked and fermented meats such as lunch meat, bacon, sausage, salami, pepperoni,
Leftover meat (After meat is cooked, the histamine levels increase due to microbial action as the meat sits)
all meat is potentially high histamine…pastured and wild too, if it’s not eaten right after slaughter. which unless you hunt or live on the farm is a bit of a challenge. Freshly frozen after slaughter is okay but not always.
depending on ones level of sensitivity it may or may not be an issue.
The list he provided for high levels does not show what you just said, is Chris not correct?
If you read the piece Chris links to by Joneja you’ll see that all animal protein raises histamine…this doesn’t conflict with anything Chris said, he simply didn’t get explicit about it…it’s not significant for people with less severe sensitivities. And not everything about the condition can be mentioned in one short introductory essay.
I’ve also found that fish is generally ok for me to eat, but red meat usually gives me symptoms.
Evan, I too have found some fish okay (at least some of the time)…but only if it’s fresh frozen on the boat…and only white fish…I’m eating cod, flounder and squid (not fish) okay…if it’s frozen upon catch.
I’m not eating any meat otherwise because I keep reacting. I want to try lamb…as it’s supposed to be safer…
in any case the above three sorts of seafood and legumes (lentils are better than beans for my blood sugar issues) are the only proteins I’m doing okay with…oh…I’m okay with almonds and hemp seed too. Still I feel like I’m not eating particularly enough and the fact is I keep having reactions so I’m not sure I should be eating the fish at all…it’s HARD.
Ok. Are you low carb? Yea, it sometimes IS hard to find enough food to eat. I still don’t feel great on my limited diet but at least I can avoid bad reactions for the most part. I stick to mostly sardines (I like wild planet brand) and white rice, frozen peas, carrots, coconut oil, fruits (except bananas) and occasionally lettuce. Red meat is bad if you have any sort of dysbiosis because bacteria use the iron rich meat to grow.
Evan, yes, I was pretty hard-core paleo until I discovered the histamine issue…and that’s only been a couple of months now…so I’m eating more carbs in the way of legumes now…but prior to the histamine discovery ate no legumes at all…I continue to be grain free.
I’ve written about my early experiences here with the histamine issues: http://beyondmeds.com/2013/01/07/histamine-intolerance/
I think my experience may be common among those who get medicated for various phenomena that get labeled as psychiatric issues. If one has a history of using any psych medications (many of which have strong antihistamine properties) it’s worth looking at histamines.
For me now, blood sugar is a problem…I had stabilized it completely on paleo…adding legumes is kicking it up…and I don’t like that at all…but I can’t live in chronic histamine hell…nope…so it’s a big task now to figure out how to simply continue nourishing myself.
I’m researching strains of bacteria (pro-biotics) that might assist at this point.
oh…Evan…
Canned sardines?? Those are reportedly one of the very worst offenders for histamine and certainly a food I have to avoid (I loved wild planet too when I was eating far too much histamine)
I’m always in awe of how different bodies react to things though, so I am not at all denying your experience. I wish I could eat sardines, but don’t dare try at this point.
I’m unclear on coconut and coconut oil…anyone else have experience with those two things? I’ve been avoiding them but would love to re-introduce…
thanks for this exchange…it’s not a topic broadly understood and it’s hard to find people to trade notes with.
Monica, have you tried white rice? That might be preferable over legumes. I used to eat a lot of legumes but then switched to rice, which seems to give me less symptoms.
Hmm, I didn’t know that about sardines. I used to eat canned salmon but felt much better after switching to sardines. It’s my only meat source at this point.
I think coconut oil (I prefer refined over virgin) is generally ok. Other coconut products like flour may cause issues.
I also think that probiotics and altering one’s gut flora may hold the answer to histamine intolerance.
I don’t imagine white rice would be a problem histamine wise, but given I do not need the carbs and it’s almost an empty calorie otherwise, I’m not sure why I’d want to eat it. I need protein sources and I am grain free. I eat sweet potatoes and yaro root and apples. I really don’t need another carb source and given a big issue for me is blood sugar balance, white rice, again, doesn’t sound like a good idea.
Have you looked into lowering omega 6? Almonds are quite rich in this, and some people can have problems with it. Personally I have had good success in cutting out omega 6 sources, especially nuts and oils that contain a lot of it. I realize this may be difficult on an already limited diet though.
Wow, I am so appreciative of this article, the link to the other one, and all the helpful responses. I’ve had migraine headaches and sinus infections on and off for years, major allergic reactions to foods and beyond, psoriasis (without itching) that comes and goes, itching that comes and goes, autoimmune issues and other stuff and changed my diet and lifestyle radically (and thankful it is so much improved overall!) but I never fully knew about the histimine connection. I realize I was eating spinach almost every day and drinking a lot of tea, and thought it was the caffeine causing the headaches (which probably is a factor too) but I’m going to try eliminating some of these higher histimine foods (spinach and tea to start) for a couple weeks and see what happens. I do take quercetin and bromelain and love those — wow, this makes me so wonder. Thank you so much.
Thank you for this information. Been suffering with urticaria for two years. Md didn’t want to see me. No cure. Starting taking bromelain twice daily and I feel cured. How long can I be on this? Only taking 200 mg twice daily.
Thanks Chris – this is just the article I’ve been waiting for!
I have chronic non-hereditary angiodema and have to take anti-histamines daily or else I will have a severe reaction. It’s therefore really hard for me to test which foods cause the most problems, because I will have a reaction no matter what. I’ve been following a Paleo diet for over a year now but haven’t found any real improvements on the allergy front unfortunately.
I’m definitely going to try to cut out as many of the histamine foods as I can and see if that makes a difference!
Quick question: should I still take probiotics (I’ve been taking the pre and probiotics pills you recommended in a previous article)?
Thanks,
Louise
This is interesting, but I’m confused about whether my symptoms denote histamine intolerance or something else. For example, I can have a mild hives reaction after eating a lot of spinach or strawberries; other things like citrus and vinegar can leave my mouth irritated; I have other symptoms, like itchiness/irritation, with more acidic foods (tomatoes, walnuts, chocolate); and red wine leaves me feeling congested. I also have issues with sour foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, some naturally fermented breads) — often mild reflux. (I’m gluten-free and try to be yeast-free.) Do you think these are separate issues or some general intolerance?
And sadly, isn’t avocado a histamine food? That’s something I’m not really willing to give up!
Well, if you’re getting irritation around your mouth after eating oranges or pineapple, it could just be that they were unripe… this is a pretty common reaction. However, your other reactions are probably related to histamine and dysbiosis. I also get reactions to all of the foods you mentioned above.
Does anyone else here have Cold Urticaria? I’ve had it since August 6, 2012. I’m now in Hawaii to do some more research. I can’t even sweat without feeling itchy all over. And I can’t go in the water – at least not in Lake Michigan but we will see what the ocean has in store for me!
Have you done NAET? I know there are treatments specific for cold and heat.
Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques? I had never heard of this until I just googled it. What is your recommended resource that I should look into? I’m as open-minded as one can be.
Yup that’s the one. I’ve used it a lot over the years to help with my urticaria, while I still get outbreaks occasionally it has been a saving grace! I would look on the NAET website http://www.naet.com and find someone in your area, see who has the most training (qualifications are listed) and see how it goes. I know they can do specific treatments for allergies to odd things like cold. Obviously do it in conjunction with healing the body but its great to calm symptoms down in the meantime.
So you still breakout? Hmmm… I am in Hawaii right now and there is someone here that does it but it seems expensive. I think it would be sweet to be able to heal myself completely. My only friends that I’ve met so far in Hawaii are nurses and doctors which is crazy. They are all intrigued by it and we will be doing more experiments including with apple cider vinegar – it makes them go away for me so will it prevent them maybe?
I don’t have cold urticaria. Usually I get hives from overeating on high histamine foods and once there’s enough histamine in my system I’ll get hives from pressure. Are you sure your hives are caused by the cold? Where do you typically get them? And what’s your diet like?
Yes I am 100% positive since the correlation is 100% in over 100 cases in variety of ways. I am more sure I have Cold Urticaria than me being sure that I will be alive tomorrow…
I’m lucky I know how I breakout though. I’ve learned so much about myself and feel like I am a master when it comes to being intune with my body. It’s a great feeling and I want to teach other folks how to get to where I am.
I’m lucky I have this. I’m in Hawaii now and simply seek out warm climates. I’m lucky in that my I earn a nice income from my blog but I have worked my ass off for the past 3 years.
I can get them all over – really. It just depends.
Todd, I have had a touch of cold urticaria a few years ago. Or something like it?
First I had HEAT urticaria. My doctor told me it wasn’t an allergy. First I tried an allergy diet where I cut back to lamb, rice, pears, spinach… something like that. The hives I was getting in the shower reduced in number over the month I was on the diet, but never went completely away. I got sick and wasn’t good about adding things back slowly. Since my hives were not an immediate reaction to eating, I couldn’t pinpoint when they got worse again. Because of the reduced hives on the allergy diet, I went to an allergist. He didn’t seem to believe in food allergies so didn’t test for any foods, was certain it was a thyroid problem. Negative.
I learned to ignore a dozen or so hives in the shower every day, and did what I could to avoid being in hot weather. One hot summer day I couldn’t avoid I realized I was perspiring with out itching! Finally figured out that I had changed iron supplements months earlier. Went back to the old ones and the hives reappeared. Bingo! Red dye 40. I’ve had some accidental exposures since then and have been able to trace back to the same dye.
The cold urticaria, if that’s what it was, only happened for a short time. I didn’t get a reaction to a cold glass or cold water on my arm, but when I was outside in the winter long enough, some of the exposed skin (my chin) got itchy and blotchy red. I cut out my salmon oil as that was the newest thing in my diet and it doesn’t seem to happen now. I haven’t tried to re-introduce it. My doctor explained it some other way – dry skin or something that didn’t make much sense to me.
I have rosacea and have had great difficulty in treating it and keeping it under control. I now see that I eat A LOT of foods high in histamine, and I’m wondering if my rosacea might actually be caused by this – or just maybe, it could be that I have histamine intolerance that has been misdiagnosed as rosacea. I am planning on eliminating high histamine food items to see what happens. However, I have just started taking Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil and High Vitamin Butter Oil based on your recommendations on your site. Like others, I am wondering if these items would be problematic for someone with histamine intolerance. Thanks so much for your site and the valuable information you provide!
Bravo………….
I need to know if the histamine ends up in breast milk, it might explain some food sensitivities which make our life miserable right now.
Is all Cod Liver Oil fermented? I never heard it referred to this way.
No, most CLO isn’t fermented. However, the general consensus is that fermented cod liver oil (specifically Green Pastures brand, I think) is the healthiest choice because it is minimally processed and retains all of the naturally occurring vitamins and cofactors. It looks like it might not be the healthiest choice for people with histamine intolerance, though!
If a portion of this effect is driven by the undigested food that is metabolized into histamines by bad bacteria, can digestive enzymes and HCL help alleviate these problems? Specifically, I am wondering if there is less undigested food in the gut and less food to become histamines, can that help address problems?
Breaking down proteins further isn’t the problem since it is the amino acid histidine that is converted to histamine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, linked together
.
Thanks for the response Nilofer. That makes sense to me, but my thinking was that if the proteins are broken down sooner in the digestive process they have a better chance of being absorbed into the bloodstream before reaching the bacteria that convert them into histamines.
I agree I have read that certain bacteria survive in the digestive tract when we become low on HCL. I recently started taking Betaine with HCL and Pepsin and my GERD has improved as well as my sinuses, and I am sleeping better. I am over 50 and I think the undigested protein and other things that were bothering me were just as Chris described – – – once my tolerance level had been exceeded, a lot of things started bothering me that did not bother me before.
I tell everyone now to start on low doses of Betaine HCL and try it .
I recall reading that histamine intolerance is usually acquired. The destruction of the intestinal cells ability to produce DAO, by way of gluten sensitivity, was one way. Various drugs were another. In the GAPS book, Dr McBride discusses good bacteria that “clear” histamine. If these are not present, and too many bacteria that produce histamine from food ARE present, an imbalance can occur.
Thanks so much for this article! I have been struggling with histamine intolerance for about a year now. It started with a bad episode that coincided with a case of poison ivy and I am now suffering acute symptoms along with a reaction to a natural perfume. Does this make sense that I am more reactive to high histamine foods when I am having a dermatological issue? Your article has prompted me to try eliminating high histamine foods even though they make up the majority of what I eat since I am gluten and dairy free and attempting to lose weight and eating very low carb is the only thing that works.
I don’t know if I should jump for joy after reading this article or have a good cry. I eat many of the foods on your list. I have been doing a low FODMAP Paleo diet strictly for 9 months but still have issues with reflux, gas and bloating. I have itchy skin, eyes, and ears, occasional racing heart, puffy eyes. At this point I can’t eliminate any more foods. I have to eat. Histamine could be the missing link. I’d like to try the DOA supplement just to see. Can you reccomend one? BTW I have tested positive for fructose mal and SIBO. But I hear breath tests are unreliable as everyone tests positive. Would appreciate any advise.
Quercetin is the most natural without additives. Daosin and Histame have DAO, but also a bunch of other crap.
Histame is a product made from pork Diamine Oxidase. Diamine Oxidase is one of two enzymes that break down histamine so that it can be excreted from your body. An antihistamine merely blocks the receptors in your body so that you do not experience the symptoms of histamine. An antihistamine does not treat the problem, it treat the symptom (headache, flushing, urticaria)
Hey Marsha!
Just wanted to refer you to syontix[dot]com, because he has a really thorough series on SIBO. I know this is the second time I’ve plugged his blog on this comment feed, but I promise I have no ulterior motive! As a fellow SIBO sufferer, I just found the information very helpful (:
I also have tried low FODMAP paleo to no avail, and reading this histamine post made me realize I likely have histamine intolerance too. Best of luck fixing your SIBO! Like me, I’m sure you’d much rather fix the underlying cause and be able to eat as many FODMAPs and histamines as you want, rather than have to eliminate nearly every food under the sun. If you’re so inclined, you could check my blog (linked through my name) periodically to see what I’m doing to get rid of my SIBO. The blog is pretty new so I don’t have much info up there yet, but SIBO will be a major topic for future posts and I’m hoping some of what I try will be able to help others too!
Funny, the above posted where I was trying to post a question….Would you mind explaining what you mean by “but also a bunch of other crap?” I think my bottle of Histame contains DAO, calcium carbonate, vitamin C (which is necessary for DAO function) and cellulose. Which of those ingredients are discouraged? And does Quercetin help remove histamine from the intestines and body? Thanks!
the Histame looked the “cleanest” to me.
I think it’s very difficult with all the information on the net what one should eat or not. I noticed there are sometimes huge differences in what should be avoided. When I look at this list and compare it to a Dutch anti histamine diet list:
* Seafood: The Dutch says white fish is okay, frozen better, but absolutely not tinned.
* Eggs: Egg white a no-no, egg yolk how ever shouldn’t be such a problem
* All fermented milk products, including most cheeses: The Dutch says mozzerella, huttenkäse and very young cheese should not be a problem
* Yogurt: Yoghurt no problem
* Most berries: Not mentioned as a problem
* Dried fruit: only those with sulfur or any other preservatives should be avoided
* Beverages: Tea (herbal or regular), green, black tea and tea without theine no problem.
* Vinegar , salt, pepper can be used to spice the food up without any problem!
Next to that nuts better not, only walnuts or cashew with great modesty.
So what to believe?
Almost all the foods listed are what I eat very frequently that is daily or at least regularly. There are antihistamine foods, too. I also eat those quite a bit. Ironically some the histamine foods are also listed as antihistamine some of these being tea and citrus fruits. Capsicum found in cayenne is listed as an antihistamine. Also omega-3 is antihistamine, so some seafoods may be more antihistamine.
I don’t ever headaches or migraines, but I do feel at times a bit itchy. Bromelain is a good antihistamine found in pineapple. I haven’t had pineapple in a while. It does burn my mouth lol. DM found in an OTC drug releases a load of histamine and makes people itch especially at higher than recommended dosages.
Chris, what is your opinion or Quercetin as an antihistamine supplement? I have recently started making kefir (which has helped incredibly with my constipation after being on PPIs for 2 yrs!) but it overfills my histamine glass very quickly. Do you think it’s safe/worthwhile to take about 1g quercetin a day, if it helps manage symptoms while kefir populates my gut flora?
I would be so grateful if you could give an opinion. Kefir is my best help, because I can’t get high dose probiotics mailed here to the Baltics….my HIT symptoms are not super intense (anxiety, congestion, acid reflux, very minor skin issues) and can be easily buffered by Quercetin. I just don’t want to be doing any damage with it.
Ginger in the Baltics — The two probiotics that my “gastro-doctor” recommended for my IBS (Lacto 7 – from Finland – and Linex Forte – Slovenia) both contained inulin, which an American dietician (Patsy Catsos) highly recommended to avoid for IBS! I searched and searched – finally found one drug store that carries BifoLac Premium – company is Bifodan from Lithuania – and seem to be doing better. Snag – The store usually only has one bottle at a time, so it’s a challenge to have enough on hand. Hope this helps! It’s an ongoing “adventure” for sure!
Thank you, Chris! My allergist looked at me like I had two heads when I mentioned this as a possibility several years ago after testing positive on an ELISA profile for 15 or 20 foods, including a many histamine foods. I am 30. I have had migraines since I was about 12, idiopathic hives and angioedema (sometimes from pressure), now including internal swelling, for 11 years, stuffy sinuses, itching, IBS, joint pain, and eczema, fog, depression, blood sugar dysregulation, etc. I have intolerances to gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, almonds, and histamine releasing/containing foods, especially tomatoes and many ferments (including a major reaction to attempting apple cider vinegar treatment). I have a severe reaction to any form of alcohol and stopped drinking completely several years ago. I can stay pretty much hive free if I don’t eat anything I’m intolerant to and I keep my histamine below “threshold.” I also eat paleo, between 50 and 100 carbs a day. Tomatoes have become a complete no go. Otherwise I am covered in hives and have pretty much constant migraines. Anti-histamines have never worked for the hives, just the diet elimination. I always feel better lower carb and little sugar. I am intrigued by the possible link to bacterial overgrowth. I have always tested negative for candida and I tested negative for all standard IgE allergies 5 years ago (environmental and food). Could this histamine issue still be linked to gut bacteria issues? How can I get tested for that? Also, I seem to have developed some histamine issues with avocados, which are not on any histamine list. Is there any link to mold? I recently moved to Sonoma county from Montana, a cold, high desert climate. Sorry for the barage of questions, I’ve just never seen anyone even recognize this issue in a post and my doctors have no idea what I’m talking about.
Hi, You might want to try the RPAH elimination diet, also called failsafe. It has avocado on their very high list. You can find it on the web. good luck, E.