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
  • Consult a certified dietician about working out a balanced diet
  • Learn to cook! It can be loads of fun once you get into it

Low histamine level foods:

  • Fresh meat (cooled, frozen or fresh)
  • Freshly caught fish
  • Chicken (skinned and fresh)
  • Egg yolk
  • Fresh fruits – with the exception of strawberries, most fresh fruits are considered to have a low histamine level (also see histamine liberators below)
  • Fresh vegetables – with the exception of 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 – with the exception of 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
  • Most citric fruits
  • Wheat based products
  • Vinegar
  • Ready meals
  • Salty snacks, sweets with preservatives and artificial colourings

Histamine liberators:

  • Most citric fruits – kiwi, lemon, lime, pineapple, plums…
  • Cocoa and chocolate
  • Nuts
  • Papaya
  • Beans and pulses
  • Tomatoes
  • Wheat germ
  • Additives – benzoate, sulphites, nitrites, glutamate, food dyes

Diamine Oxidase (DAO) blockers:

  • Alcohol
  • Black tea
  • Energy drinks
  • Green tea
  • Mate tea

Debatable:

  • Yoghurt – depends on the bacteria culture used
  • Egg white – it is a histamine liberator only when in its raw state

Other

  • Yeast – even though it does not contain histamine as such, yeast serves as a catalyst for histamine generation during manufacture. There is no yeast in the end product.

Sources include:

NMI Portal für Nahrungsmittel Intoleranz, Histaminunverträglichkeit – Richtige Ernährung (Website in English: Food Intolerance Network)
Maintz L, Novak N: Histamine and histamine intolerance, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007
Jarisch, R. “Histaminunverträglichkeit“, Thieme Verlag, 2nd Edition

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