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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HI Rob
Earlier in the thread I wrote how Histame helped my symptoms. I recently started taking mastic and manuka for H Pylori and got a similar resukt. My guess this is due to the antibacterial effect of the Manuka against histamine producing bacteria. What I dont know is whether Manuka is selective for this type of bacteria or whether it is wiping out a load of good bugs too. Regardless, the effect is welcome!
re getting rid of bad bacteria in the gut which could provoke a histamine response: whatabout safe alternatives such as garlic or GSE grapefruit seed extract – I haven’t seen garlic on any list of best avoided foods, although grapefruit as a citrus fruit might not qualify…
Thanks to the Revolution Health Radio podcast for putting Histamine Intolerance on the radar. I have been suffering intensely for months and just recently began a transition into a low histamine diet to find I am feeling a little better.
My head is less foggy, ringing in the ears is turned down from 11 to about maybe 4, sleep is better, and the rash on my neck is not as bad. Most of all psychologically I am doing better. I am guessing that if it is HIT that dopamine levels can be drastically effected.
As for HIT being acquired, I was very bad off with gall stones and leak gut prior to the real onset the intensity of the symptoms that align well with it.
What I would like to know if eating a low histamine diet and taking supplements (quercetin, DAO enzyme) do anything in the way of resolving the cause or is it just a way to alleviate symptoms?
If the cause is gut bacteria imbalance then can further healing of the gut help resolve the issue? What should be done for probiotic support to help improve gut health if fermented foods are not allowed?
Would a product like Minuka Honey be beneficial? I know it is anti-bacterial so would it kill unwanted bacteria inhibiting DAO production (if that is the problem) and not be harmful to good bacteria?
I have read some studies where this has been effective in killing H-Pylori, but I cannot find them now (darn brain fog).
Thanks for any helpful answers given!
Can someone tell me how I can stop getting notifications of followup comments by email? I initially checked off that I wanted followup comments sent to my email, now I want to uncheck it, but it does not give me that option. I am looking at a blank box next to “Notify me of followup comments via email” -there is nothing to uncheck.
Help? Thanks.
In the emails you receive, there should be a button to click to unsubscribe.
Like Jane, I imagine, I don’t want to unsubscribe from Chris Kresser; but I do want to cease getting the interminable emails that keep flooding in on this subject. I can’t see how to do one without the other. Help, please, for her and for me.
If you look at the emails you are receiving, at the bottom it says, “TO MANAGE” your subscriptions. You just click on that and it takes you to a page where you can unsub from specific posts. THis will solve your problem and will not unsub you from his entire website.
Thank you, Tara. Fiona, this is exactly right.
I just glanced at the Low Histamine Chef website and immediately saw that Holy Basil (Tulsi) is a natural antihistamine. I knew that it reduces excess cortisol but didn’t know this. I took Tulsi for a few months in the past and felt better, but had no idea what it was doing. Still have some, so I’ll try some starting now and see if it helps the itchies.
Yes, that is what I was thinking. Very fermented. No more miso for a while–it’s not worth the itch.
Tara and Felicia, thanks! This certainly is a complicated subject, and we have to find our individual paths through a maze. Your experience helps. (I’m itching right now and wondering why. Tea? Miso? I have almost quit using miso but have a little to use up so I’ve had some daily for a while. I know it’s not from meat.)
It IS fermented though…
Judith, I am experimenting with tea since reading this post — ie I haven’t had any since the post was published (and stopped spinach and some of the other things on the list from Chris’ link) — while my symptoms got worse before they got better, today is the first day I haven’t had a headache in weeks! We’ll see how it goes going forward, and it really helps to read about everyone’s experience.
I started taking Quercetin the day this post came out in an effort to halt my histamine response to almonds and it seems to have worked. I am taking a complex made by my local health food store that contains Quercetin, Lemon Bioflavonoids, Vitamin C, a small amount of magnesium and Bromelain. I’m very pleased.
Tara,
That is great news! I too have good results with Quercetin and Bromelain, so am going to keep going with those and see what happens. For some weird reason I ended up with pink eye this week and had to go to urgent care, and when I told the nurse about Quercetin, she had never heard of it. But I swear by it, so glad to hear it’s helpful.
Could people let us know which brands of quercetin are working for you? I’m not sure what to try.
I have a rash on my face that started about 2 or 3 months ago. Have never had anything like this in my life. It is reddish and blotchy, sometimes has small bumps and otherwise is sort of dry and flaky. It is sore at times or itchy, other times doesn’t bother me. But it has spread over most of my face lately. At the same time, I’ve gotten itchier all over, off and on, and the itches sound like HIT to me. How many others have a face rash, and does mine sound similar?
I’m sure the rash is due to diet. Healing oils don’t seem to help it at all.
I thought I had alpha-gal allergy to red meat (that was before the face rash started) but now I think it may be HIT. I have to figure out how to determine the cause. Perhaps a very low histamine diet for a while? I haven’t had any red meat for weeks now, but I’m still itching. However, the itching is not the same as when I ate red meat–then I would get very sore, burning itching palms. Now I get itching all over. I wonder if I have both conditions. It’s going to be interesting creating a diet at all.
Judith,
Mine is made by my local health food store so I don’t have a specific brand for you but I can tell you the amounts of each thing in it:
Quercetin 250mg
Vit C (As ascorbic acid) 100 mg
Magnesium (From magnesium carbonate) 15 mg
Bromelain (from pineapple) 25 mg
Lemon Bioflavonoids 50 mg
Directions: Take 1-6 capsules daily between meals.
I have been taking 6 caps a day, 2 at a time, 9am, 3pm, 9pm. I have no itching even though I continue to eat almond meal daily.
Best of luck to you.
Judith,
I have tried Bluebonnet Super Quercetin (and stopped because sometimes Vitamin C aggravates my skin condition), which many people seem to benefit from, Eclectic Institute Nettle/Quercetin
and Now Quercetin with Bromelain. I like the Now brand best so far because I can take 2 capsules and get 800 mg of Quercetin and 165 mg of Bromelain, and so have been taking 2 capsules 2-3 times a day. The Electic Institute brand has 175 mg of quercetin and 175 mg of nettles in each capsule. Plus the Now brand is more affordable for me than the other two. Hope that helps.
I have been taking quercetin for a long time now. It does nothing for me. But I have found that taking Stinging Nettle capsules and drinking Nettle tea helps. I guess we all respond differently. I am always on the lookout for things to help with HIT. 🙂
Thank you so much for this piece. About a month ago, after a period of flus and stress, I began suffering from severe urticaria and symptoms of what seems to be a histamine intolerance (and when I look back, I can see that I had other symptoms for a long time – tightening of the throat, constant sneezing for a few months, heart racing, what felt like conjunctivitis but wasn’t). I am just so grateful to you for writing carefully and thoughtfully about this as I move forward and adjust my life while trying to keep to the low histamine diet. I am wondering if you or any others can comment on exercise – I really miss it and can’t exercise because it is giving me severe hives. Is it all connected? Will I feel better if I am reducing histamines all around? Thank you again.
I have a problems with exercise. Just started last summer after exercising daily for 6 months. I get angioedema, progressively worse everyday until finaly I ended up in the hospital. I suspect histamine intolerance. I was making spinach, banana and strawberry smoothies every day too. My allergist and GP are both perplexed (allergy tests came back negative). So, I am off to a specialist next week. I am keeping my fingers crossed to find an answer!
Look up angioedema in Wikipedia. They go into detail about what could be causing it. At least you will
be more prepared with ideas and questions for your specialist. It could be related to histamine or not
depending on if there is a genetic connection. You could try not drinking that smoothie (loaded with high histamine foods) and see if that helps. The combo of that drink and the exercise could be pushing
your histamine intolerance over the edge. Good luck with figuring it all out. I know you will. Let us know what you find out. 🙂
Sandy F,
I just stopped eating spinach as an experiment since reading this post (was eating it nearly everyday), and it seems like that has really helped, among a few other things (maybe cinnamon, tea, not sure yet). It does seem to be a total load type situation (in terms of histamine) with me, and I do best with not too intense walking and stretching, nothing too strenuous or I get all wheezy. Don’t do well with bananas or strawberries, but blueberries are okay, and maybe raspberries (but I think they are higher histamine). Do you also work with holistic/alternative practitioners?
Exercise produces histamine. I think you should probably go ultra-clean histamine wise, around exercise days if you have this.
This is excellent. My alcohol “allergy” finally makes sense to me as do a number of other symptoms that come and go seemingly without rhyme or reason (pressure hives, pounding heart, indigestion, eczema). But the diet part feels a little overwhelming, especially when symptoms are often mild or nonexistent, and given the foods I already eliminate, and that most of the time, I can eat most of the foods and be fine (but never alcohol). Is there a way to treat this other than by diet, or alongside diet, to make it permanently disappear? Or is it a condition one is going to have for life? (I’m thinking supplement of some kind …) I can’t manage a vegetarian diet when I already don’t eat grains or soy and struggle w/blood sugar issues. My diet is all about protein in the form of meat, fish, eggs.
Hello, I should be able to discern the meaning from context, but alas, I cannot – can someone tell me what DAO stands for?
Diamine Oxidase. It is an enzyme that your body produces to break down histamine.
You can purchase supplements that contain this enzyme.
Hello Chris,
I’m a dietitian specialist in DAO deficiency. It’s amazing how this subject increases and how wonderful is to see people improving. Since 2011, when I opened my own office in Barcelona, I visit lots of DAO deficiency cases, with headaches, fibromyalgia, atopic skin, dermatitis, bad digestions, irritable bowl syndrome, etc. and the majority of them get better with 2 capsules of DAO per day and a low histamine diet followed constantly. 🙂
Thank you to write this post,
Adriana Duelo BS RD
Hi Adriana
That’s very interesting to hear – as I mentioned further up I had a great result at first with Histame, but started getting side effects later such as digestive insufficiency (I think the histame interefered with my HCL production). Have you ever had a patient that didn’t get on well with the DAO supplements?
Cheers
Roger
Hi Roger
Fortunately I’ve never heard that DAO supplements could give bad results on people with DAO deficiency (under 80 HDU/ml). Which supplement do you take?
What brand DAO would you suggest…
Hi Raphael,
It depends on yours symptoms? Do you have migraine?
Not migraines, forehead pressure that feels tight and seems to make my brain foggy too. My main symptoms are skin flakiness and gut inflammation.
Hello Adriana,
I am interested in which DAO supplement you would suggest. I have migraines.
Thanks!!
Hey Adriana,
As a DAO specialist do you recommend this product to someone who is breastfeeding?
Thanks
Christine Straley
Master Nutrition Therapist
Tara,
Thank you for the response. I do have a lot going on. I’m trying so hard to eat right. I now introduced two meats in my diet. It’s hard because low histamine diet is low protein, but then my lyme dr just found two different yeasts in my gut and I’m being treated for that. For candida I’ve been told low carb and low sugar. I also recently read that environmental allergies will make it worse or “the bucket more full.” We’ll I live under trees I’m highly allergic to and have two digs that I recently found I’m very allergic to as well. Not sure what ti do:( I’ve now gained 15 lbs back-which I needed-but I feel like it was a little too quick. I just got an allergy ige test done and am allergic to almost all fruits and veggies!! Broccoli, cabbage squash lettuce onion tomato mushroom cucumber celery carrots beets avocado all berries all melons apples and bananas. How is this possible?
Whilst being extremely sorry for those of you who have such awful skin problems, I am lucky to have eventually got rid of teenage acne and have no real problems myself. I’m not sure, in all this lengthy correspondence, whether anyone has mentioned the wearing of different fabrics and the use of washing materials, but I have found that wearing pure silk thermals can make my underarms itch badly. Perhaps
this is because the silk made me too warm and my antiperspirant wasn’t effective enough? Any comments? My best wishes to those of you who have been looking for solutions to your problems.
I’m just now experimenting with lightening the histamine load, and it does seem to be improving things already…..time will tell. I am so grateful for the information! Has anyone had experiences with using Butterbur for headaches or sinus pressure? I just found out about it and Petadolex for migraines (important to get a safe formula it sounds like), and thought it might be better than using ibuprofen for headaches (only do that when they are severe, as minimal as possible, as I know it’s not that healthy). And has anyone done okay with the Classical Pearls (used with a practitioner) or other formulas based on Chinese medicine that have cinnamon in them if you’re sensitive to histamine? It seems like I am more sensitive to some than others, and am on the Cinnamon Pearls, doing okay if I take a smaller dosage than suggested. Just trying things one at a time to see what happens.
I am 26 weeks pregnant and have been out of my probiotics (biokult) for a month. Almost all of my histamine intolerance symptoms went away a year ago when I started on raw milk and probiotics a year ago, but now i am getting hives to differing degrees almost every day. I follow a loose Weston A. Price style diet, but I never got hives this often before.
What can I do while pregnant? Eliminating a lot of foods doesn’t seem like a good idea, but I don’t want to give birth with a poorly balanced stomach.
I have tried Bifido Infantis which says it is safe for pregnancy! I am super sensitive so I could not use it everyday and sometimes only once a week. Vitamin Shoppe sells it in the refrigerator. I get hives( from meat B vitamins, wheat, strawberries), Anaphylaxis from grains, nightshades, pollen, latex, severely reactive to ragweed,. Many allergies: molds, pets, salicylates, shellfish, many of the histamine foods, afraid to even try fish right now! Trying organics, freezing food immediately using food before a week goes by, fresh fruit and veggies used as quickly as possible, Colostrum caps, zinc, magnesium glycinate powder, magnesium oil(hypertension from injuries in cervical spinal cord with IH(Severe swelling) and EDS, Fibro, Hashimotos subclinical, and Dysautonomia due to SCI, MCAD with Systemic Anaphylaxis), potassium in foods(Pom, Simply Apple juice, blueberries, cooked peeled apples, and pears, ascorbic acid powder (Vitamin C corn-free) I believe the broth histamine with the chicken may be related to the skin. beef is just very high in B vitamins is my theory. My decline is medication, related so no more meds for me! I also caught the lettuce bacteria infection. Have had some antibiotics this year I used Goat milk and Dannan Plain Full fat yogurt(SCD diet tried when I got run down before) I can no longer use coconut so I love grapeseed oil. I suggest the article on “healing the digestive track” at: wh foods.com but make adaptations to suit your sensitivities) I learned so much from Chris and Low Histamine Chef many Thanks! Corn is in so many things and it may be what keeps many from healing or recovering. Window opened by a family member triggers Anaphylaxis so I wear a mask(N95) outside. Pets may complicate recover for some. White rice even cause ANA. Trying to do the high protein, Love the Nigella Black Seed OIL. I like liver friendly foods. Ordered some pure Quecetan caps. Always have been very sensitive, but have had very productive times before the SCI. Up and mostly down since. I am very positive emotionally but some stressors that I deal with better than most would (In my opinion). Sleep loss from Migraine and fibro is a factor with me. I have used deep breathing and napping to heal and long slow exercise. ANA is making exercise very difficult. They say wait 3-4 hr after you eat to exercise. I am allergic to cellulose confirmed when toured a new house (suspected from many med reactions)severe mast cell reaction throat and down the sternum, ice is my friend!So far just too fatigued! Hope this helps!
@dee I am no expert but it sounds like a HIT respons not a gluten problem, my husband has gluten problems he does not get hives, just my two cents.
Thanks sherry! Ive done a lot of research and I agree with you. I think I have a histamine intolerance. Trouble is, my doctors wont take it seriously and they scoffed at my ideas of HIT. They say it is idiopathic urticaria and it will eventually go away… could take a day, could take years. I am in the military so I have no other options as far as health care so it is quite depressing. I have adopted a low histamine diet and some DAOSin is coming by mail soon. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any positive results yet.
I’ve dealt with Urticaria for years and the doctors diagnosed it as idiopathic; However, when I adopted the paleo diet about 6 months ago, the hives went away, I was overjoyed, That is, until recently, About 4 weeks ago they came back as strong as ever, I am still adhering to a strict paleo diet with no help and Its the same old deal with the doctors: antihistamines that do not work and prednisone that only masks the problem until I run out. Could this be a histmine intolerance. If I accidentally ran into some gluten that caused this, how long would it take to get out of my system and for the hives to go away?
Wow, I can’t believe I came across this web page! I was diagnosed with Chronic Uticaria 2 1/2 yrs ago. Losts of doctors, nutrionist and lost of money with no results. Now I have some answeres. But recentely I have found about furmentation and how good it is for you. I even started making my own Kambucha tea. Lots of probiotics and now I read its not good. Some days I don’t know if I am coming or going. Eat this don’t eat that, only raw milk, cheese and yogurt don’t eat any of that its not good for you. I will try some of the suggestions above though. Thanks for the article.
Dietary measures are a good way to help stabilize histamine levels in the short run – however, IMO the ultimate goal should be to start to address the over-aroused nervous system (HPA axis,etc.) as well as trigger points (subconscious tensing from arousal) which fuel the process.
The NIH has biopsied active trigger points in muscle and found inflammatory mediators (substance P), neuropeptides, cytokines, and catecholamines, etc. They can form an electrical network throughout the digestive system and beyond which release these chemicals and create endless hypersensitivities – set off by dietary, environmental and emotional factors.
Just stumbled upon this and wondering if anyone thinks this could be the reason for a reaction I have lately been having to alcohol-on many, but not all, occasions. When I drink a few sips (it has now happened with red wine, white wine, vodka, champagne, prosecco) I immediately get red and splotchy on my face-the rash is hot, and makes my skin feel tight like a sunburn). It resolves within an hour and happens within a few sips. Seems to happen if I have a drink on an empty stomach more than when there is food in my stomach already, but this is just a theory. On many occasions I have been fine with various types of alcohol, but it has started to happen more and more frequently over the past year so that I never know when it’s going to happen. Not able to pinpoint a certain type of alcohol either. If it were histamines I think it would happen with other foods, too, though. Any advice is welcome as this is a really irritating issue for me…
Katrina,
I have the exact same reaction, as well as sneezing immediately on my first sip of wine…I have so many food allergies, I just thought maybe I was allergic to alcohol/wine as well. Wish I could help, I hope someone has an answer to this, too!
Hi Katrina,
I too have a very red face and it is hot to the touch when I drink, but it takes a little more than a sip I think. And it’s all of the alcohol you mentioned. I don’t believe it happens on an empty stomach either. I’ve often wondered if it’s related to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction
What are your thoughts Chris?
It’s quite likely the histamine, but could also be the sulphites in wine that is bothering you. I have had the same reaction to wine and avoid it completely now.
anybody ever try eating raw honeycomb? I looked it up a bit on the webz and some ppl seem to report good stuff with allergies after chewing on some comb
I haven’t tried eating raw honeycome, Danimal, but raw honey out of a jar gives me an instant headache – sad, because Tasmanian Leatherwood (a type of eucalyptus) Honey is very delicious, with more aciditiy than some ‘ordinary’ honeys!