Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHigh-Histamine FoodsProcessed MeatsAged CheesesAlcoholFermented FoodsFruits and VegetablesLegumesSauces and CondimentsSpoiled FishWhat Is Histamine?Histamine IntoleranceLow-Histamine DietDiagnosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
High-Histamine Foods
Processed Meats
Aged Cheeses
Alcohol
Fermented Foods
Fruits and Vegetables
Legumes
Sauces and Condiments
Spoiled Fish
What Is Histamine?
Histamine Intolerance
Low-Histamine Diet
Diagnosis
High histamine foods include fermented foods, alcohol, processed meats, aged cheeses, and more.
Histamineis a chemical in the body typically associated with causing allergic reactions to substances like pollen and animal dander. While high histamine foods don’t cause an allergic reaction, some people believe they cause gastrointestinal and other symptoms and feel better when they avoid eating them.
Histamine intoleranceis not 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.
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High histamine foods are often those that are aged, fermented, or soured. The foods highest in histamines include:
Other high histamine foods include fermented foods, specific fruits and vegetables, processed meats, and legumes.
Processed meatsare 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 meats include:
Research has found that certain factors can influence the amount of histamine in cheese, including:
Aged cheeses have the highest levels of histamine. That’s because, during the aging process, proteins break down into histamine. These cheeses include:
Alcoholis 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:
Fermented foodsare 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.
Fermentationrequires the correct amount of microorganisms, proper temperature,pH level(the balance of acid and alkaline), and moisture content.
The level of histamine in fermented foods can vary depending on the preparation techniques and how long they are aged. Examples of fermented foods include:
Fruits that contain histamines include dried fruits, citrus fruits, strawberries,avocados, and tomatoes (both technically fruits because they contain seeds and grow from the flower of a plant).
Vegetables that contain histamines include spinach and eggplant, which is anightshade food.
Dried Fruits
While dried fruits are packed with nutrients, they are also high in histamine.Common dried fruits include:
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are those that includecitric acid. While not necessarily high in histamine, they may trigger the production of histamines in your body.
Citrus fruits include:
Legumesare 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:
Ingredients found in sauces and condiments that may contain histamine or trigger histamine production include:
Histamine toxicity is a form of food poisoning calledscombroidpoisoning that occurs from eating spoiled fish. Some fish like mackerel and tuna have high levels of the amino acidhistidine, which bacteria can convert to histamine.
Fish that are more prone to causing histamine toxicity, include:
Histamine is a natural molecule in our body that sends messages between cells. Its functions include:
Histamine is best known for its association with allergies, causing allergic reactions to substances like pollen and animal dander. While high histamine foods don’t cause an allergic reaction, foods do contain this substance.
The symptoms that some people attribute to histamine intolerance include:
If you are sensitive to high-histamine foods, you may choose to follow alow-histamine diet, which includes limiting or avoiding high-histamine foods and incorporating whole, nutritious foods, including:
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.
Can water flush out histamine?No, water is not likely to clear out histamine. However, it doesn’t hurt to drink plenty of water since it helps your body function properly.
Can water flush out histamine?
No, water is not likely to clear out histamine. However, it doesn’t hurt to drink plenty of water since it helps your body function properly.
Diagnosing Histamine Intolerance
There is no definitive way to diagnose histamine intolerance. Before reaching a diagnosis, your healthcare provider will want to rule out other possible conditions or allergies that cause similar symptoms.
Elimination diet:Your healthcare provider may also suggest following an elimination diet for 14 to 30 days. This diet requires you to remove foods high in histamine or histamine triggers, and slowly reintroduce them to watch for symptoms.
Skin prick test:This is an allergy scratch test. Your provider places small drops of histamine on your skin and then lightly scratches or pricks your skin through each drop to see if it causes a reaction on the skin, such as a hive or small red dots, that doesn’t go away after 50 minutes.
Blood test: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.
Colonoscopy:Your provider can measure histamine and DAO levels in your colon. They may also do a biopsy (take a sample of tissue to be examined under a microscope) to look for signs of other conditions that may be causing your symptoms.
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 people are likely better off eating a non-restricted, balanced diet.
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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