Histamine Intolerance - Part 2
Your Histamine Guide
Your Histamine Guide
Lowering your histamine level is a 2 step process:
Step 1: Lower the histamine level in your body
Step 2: Get to the root cause – rebalance the gut
Let’s get started with Step 1! A low histamine diet.
TIMEFRAME – many people start to see their symptoms decrease after about a week and consider following a low histamine diet for 4 - 6 weeks or so to feel the full benefit. But everyone is unique in their ability to purge histamine from their system, so you may need to follow it longer…or maybe for you a few weeks is all you need. Use your symptoms as a guide.
Histamine Food List
This is the best food list I’ve been able to find so far, but it’s important to note that Histamine Intolerance (HI) is a fairly new area of research and foods may be added (or subtracted) over the next few years.
Many people with HI are also dealing with other food intolerances, so you may need to customize this list so it works for your unique and lovely body.
IMPT POINT – this list shouldn’t be taken as a good/bad list. Many foods that are high in histamine are also chock-full of nutrients. You don’t need to avoid them permanently; you can reincorporate high histamine foods as your symptoms improve. And, this list doesn’t need to be followed at 100% even in the early stages. Take this as general guidance, try to lower some of the high histamine foods and incorporate more low histamine foods. Eating the occasional high histamine food is a-okay.
Is a favourite food or drink on this list? That’s totally okay – you can keep enjoying it. Follow this list at about 80 – 90%...which means you can still drink coffee or eat an important food if you’d like :)
Once your symptoms are better you can begin to learn what your histamine threshold is. How much histamine can you eat before your symptoms come back? This will be very unique to you, and I’ve found that most people can add moderate amounts back into their diet without any repercussions.
If you overdo it and your histamine increases, just follow the low histamine diet for a few days until your symptoms improve :).
This guidance is from an old version of this website (the website has been down for a few months):
https://www.histamineintolerance.org.uk/about/the-food-diary/the-food-list/
Here are some general pointers:
Avoid or reduce eating canned foods and ready meals
Avoid or reduce eating ripened and fermented foods (older cheeses, alcoholic drinks, products containing yeast, stale fish)
Histamine levels in foods vary, depending on how ripe, matured or hygienic the foods are
As much as it is possible, only buy and eat fresh products
Don’t allow foods to linger outside the refrigerator – especially meat products
Ensure that your food preparation area (kitchen) is always kept clean – but don’t be manic!
Everyone has their own threshold; you will need to find yours
*Don’t aim for perfection! Do your best, it can make a huge difference!
Your Histamine Food List
Low histamine foods:
Fresh meat (cooled, frozen or fresh)
Freshly caught fish
Chicken (skinned and fresh)
Egg yolk
Fresh fruits – except for strawberries, most fresh fruits are considered to have a low histamine level (also see histamine liberators below)
Fresh vegetables – except for tomatoes
Grains – rice noodles, yeast free rye bread, rice crisp bread, oats, puffed rice crackers, millet flour, pasta (spelt and corn based)
Fresh pasteurised milk and milk products
Milk substitutes – coconut milk, rice milk
Cream cheese, butter (without the histamine generating rancidity)
Most cooking oils – check suitability before use
Most leafy herbs – check suitability before use
Most non-citric fruit juices
Herbal teas – except for those listed below
High histamine level foods:
Alcohol
Pickled or canned foods – sauerkrauts
Matured cheeses
Smoked meat products – salami, ham, sausages….
Shellfish
Beans and pulses – chickpeas, soy beans, peanuts
Nuts – walnuts, cashew nuts
Chocolates and other cocoa based products
Vinegar
Ready meals
Salty snacks, sweets with preservatives and artificial colourings
Histamine liberators:
These foods will release histamine from your cells.
Most citric fruits – kiwi, lemon, lime, pineapple, plums…
Cocoa and chocolate
Coffee
Nuts
Papaya
Beans and pulses
Tomatoes
Wheat germ
Additives – benzoate, sulphites, nitrites, glutamate, food dyes
Diamine Oxidase (DAO) blockers:
These foods/drinks block the manufacture of the DAO enzyme and therefore reduce the excretion of histamine from your body
Alcohol
Black tea
Energy drinks
Green tea
Mate tea
Debatable:
Yogurt – depends on the bacteria culture used
Egg white – it is a histamine liberator only when in its raw state
Supplements
These supplements can be really helpful at lowering your histamine level faster and help manage your symptoms when a low histamine diet isn’t possible.
You don’t need to take all of these supplements either…actually, you don’t need to take any. Following a low histamine diet is often enough to bring your levels down. Consider these a helping hand, and just one or two is enough.
This list is in order, starting with the most helpful supplement :)
Quercetin
This is the best supplement I’ve found to lower histamine levels. It often works on its own, even without a low histamine diet (but it’ll work better if you can follow the diet).
This means that if your symptoms are high and a low histamine diet isn’t possible right now, grab some quercetin for sure! (Admittedly, I often take quercetin when I either don’t want to follow a low histamine diet or I’m drinking wine. It really does work :).
Best – Natural Factors LipoMecil Quercetin. This is very strong and you only need 1 – 3 per day
Or – All other quercetin supplements are good, but you’ve got to take about 1500mg - 3000mg to be effective. This can mean 6 – 12 caps per day…so be sure to calculate your dose before choosing the product. Often, the LipoMecil Quercetin is cheaper per dose.
Vitamin C
This is also a natural antihistamine and helps move histamine out of your body. It also helps in the production of DAO. Aim for 1000mg – 3000mg per day
Vitamin B6
Low Vit B6 can lead to higher levels of histamine, low DAO enzyme, water retention, and for some, a lack of dreaming. Dr. Carl Pfeiffer connected low B6 and a lack of dreaming back in the early 1900s. This is a good addition if water retention (or a lack of dreaming) is a thing for you. Take 50 – 100mg per day
Passionflower –
If histamine triggers anxiety, passionflower is a good addition. It’s a nervine and naturally calms anxiety. It also contains chrysin, which reduces the release of histamine in the body.
A note on probiotic supplements:
They’re helpful at rebalancing the gut and helping your body excrete histamine. BUT! Some types of bacteria can encourage the release of histamine…so, if you find yourself extra sneezy or stuffy when you take a probiotic, this is why.
Step 2: Rebalance your gut bacteria
Once you’ve followed this protocol for 4 – 6 weeks, head over to our Rebalance Your Gut Bacteria Masterclass.
In Conclusion
Histamine Intolerance is sometimes tricky to find as it can look like a variety of other problems. BUT! Finding out if it’s an issue for you can be as simple as watching your symptoms as you eat high histamine foods or following a low histamine diet for a few days.
For example, when I was just starting to understand that I had an issue with histamine, I was experimenting to find my histamine threshold. One Sunday I made a big batch of pasta with tomato sauce (maybe with ground beef? I can’t remember) and I enjoyed it with a glass of wine.
Day 1 – tasted and felt fantastic
Day 2 - also pretty darn good
Day 3 – it triggered a major sneezing fit and was foggy and tired the next day.
Kinda funny, right? The same meal was fine for 2 days, but the 3rd time it triggered symptoms. This was due to a combination of histamine building up in my system from the tomatoes, pasta, and wine plus the fact that the histamine level in the food was building up as it sat in the fridge.
If you find yourself reacting to food sometimes but not others, histamine might be an issue for you too :).
I’d love to hear about your experience with a low histamine diet, it helps me understand this very unique and understudied imbalance better :).
Send me an email anytime or post your comment below ❤️
Got any questions or comments? Comment below, jump to our private Facebook Group, or the Ask Lisa page :).