High Histamine Foods
Medically reviewed by Jurairat J. Molina, MD
Histamine is a chemical in the body typically associated with causing allergic reactions to substances like pollen and animal dander. Some foods are considered high histamine foods. While these don't cause an allergic reaction, some people believe high histamine foods cause gastrointestinal and other symptoms and feel better when they avoid eating them.
Histamine intolerance has never been proven to be a true medical disorder. However, if you think you may be sensitive to high-histamine foods, you may be able to avoid them as long as you are still able to eat a well-balanced diet.
This article explains which foods contain high levels of histamines and how to eat a low-histamine diet.
Histamine Intolerance
Histamine intolerance is also called food histaminosis and hypersensitivity to food histamine. However, unlike lactose intolerance, which is known and proven to be caused by lactase deficiency, no verifiable disorder has been identified for the processing of histamine in the human body.
The symptoms that some people attribute to histamine intolerance include:
Abdominal pain
Headaches
Dizziness
There are many possible explanations for these symptoms, so it's important to seek advice from a healthcare provider to get to the source of them and not assume they are caused by histamine intolerance.
High-Histamine Foods
High histamine foods are often those that are aged, fermented, or soured. They include dairy products, specific fruits and vegetables, processed meats, and alcohol.
Fermented Food
Fermented foods are foods made through the action of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and their enzymes, which oxidize carbohydrates and release energy. These microorganisms may be naturally present in foods.
Fermentation requires the correct amount of microorganisms, proper temperature, pH level (the balance of acid and alkaline), and moisture content.
Examples of fermented foods include:
Yogurt
Kombucha
Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Tempe
Miso
Sourdough bread
Alcohol
Alcohol is a high-histamine beverage. While some alcohols are a bigger culprit than others (red wine, for example), some people who are concerned about histamine ingestion will avoid all of them.
Examples of high-histamine alcoholic beverages include:
Wine
Beer
Hard cider
Brown liquors, such as scotch and whiskey
Processed Meat
Processed meats are those that have been salted, fermented, cured, smoked, or otherwise processed to improve the length of preservation. These kinds of meats are high in histamines.
Examples of processed meat include:
Hot dogs
Ham
Sausages
Beef jerky
Canned meat
Aged Cheeses
Research has found that certain factors can influence the amount of histamine in cheese, including:
Bacterial starter culture
pH level
Salt level
Storage temperature
Ripening time
Aged cheeses have the highest levels of histamine. That’s because, during the aging process, proteins break down into histamine. These cheeses include:
Hard cheese like parmesan, cheddar, romano
Blue cheeses aged with bacteria, like gorgonzola
"Stinky" cheeses ripened with bacteria, like Limburger
Dried Fruit
While dried fruits are packed with nutrients, they are also high in histamine. Common dried fruits include:
Raisins
Cherries
Mangoes
Apricots
Pineapple
Apples
Bananas
Eggplant
Eggplant is a nightshade food that is high in histamine.
Avocado
Avocadoes are high in healthy fats, but they are also high in histamines.
Legumes
Legumes are different than tree nuts. Instead of growing from trees, they grow in pods as edible seeds. Some, but not all, are high in histamines, including:
Peanuts
Soybeans
Peas
Kidney beans
Chickpeas
Green beans
Citrus Fruit
Citrus fruits are those that include citric acid. While not necessarily high in histamine, they may trigger the production of histamines in your body.
Citrus fruits include:
Oranges
Lemons
Limes
Spoiled Fish
Histamine toxicity is a form of food poisoning called scombroid poisoning that occurs from eating spoiled fish. Some fish like mackerel and tuna have high levels of the amino acid histidine, which bacteria can convert to histamine.
Fish that are more prone to causing histamine toxicity, include:
Tuna
Mackerel
Mahi-mahi
Anchovy
Herring
Bluefish
Amberjack
Marlin
Low-Histamine Diet
If you are sensitive to high-histamine foods, you may choose to follow a low-histamine diet, which includes limiting or avoiding high-histamine foods and incorporating whole, nutritious foods, including:
Fruits except for citrus, strawberries, and avocados
Vegetables except for spinach, tomatoes, and eggplant
Herbs
Grains, such as rice, pasta, oats, quinoa
Unprocessed meat
Nut-based milk
Healthy oils, like olive and canola
Egg yolks
In addition, there is evidence that how you cook your food can affect the histamine levels in foods. For example, frying and grilling tend to increase histamine levels, while boiling tends to maintain or decrease levels.
Diagnosing Histamine Intolerance
There is no definitive way to diagnose histamine intolerance. Before reaching a diagnosis, your healthcare provider will want to eliminate other possible disorders or allergies that cause similar symptoms.
Your healthcare professional may also suggest following an elimination diet for 14 to 30 days. This diet requires you to remove any foods high in histamine or histamine triggers, and slowly reintroduce them to watch for new reactions.
Your provider may also do a blood test to test for a diamine oxidase (DAO) deficiency. DAO is an enzyme. A deficiency of DAO can lead to an accumulation of histamine in the body, possibly resulting in a sensitivity to high-histamine foods.
Summary
High histamine foods are those that contain high levels of histamines. These chemicals may be naturally present, or they may occur during processing.
Some foods are not high in histamines, but they may affect histamine levels in the body. Histamine intolerance is not a verifiable medical disorder, but some people choose to avoid high-histamine foods anyway. Most others are likely better off eating a non-restricted, balanced diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does water flush out histamine?
Probably not although it doesn't hurt to increase hydration since it helps your body function properly.
What foods are highest in histamine?
High histamine foods include fermented foods, alcohol, aged cheeses, eggplant, avocado, citrus foods, dried fruit, legumes, and processed meats.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
