High-Histamine Foods! Top Six To Avoid

Histamine is a biogenic amine in human blood plasma and tissues that regulates the inflammatory response. It is also produced in the gut and can cause issues such as diarrhea, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome. Although histamine is not harmful to your health in normal levels, it is a very powerful substance that can have a negative impact on your body if you consume too much.

As you get older, your body tends to produce more of the histamine that is a natural part of the immune process. If you have a cold, for example, your body releases histamine to kill the virus and make you feel better. In a healthy diet, histamine occurs naturally and in small amounts. However, as we grow older, our bodies produce more of the histamine, so we can develop allergies and histamine intolerance. Certain foods can increase our bodies’ histamine levels, causing the symptoms of a cold or allergy.

This list of high-histamine foods includes staple foods like eggs, milk, and chicken broth, as well as ingredients such as soy sauce, molasses, wheat, and fructose.

Are you experiencing allergy symptoms such as itchy skin, a runny nose, and watery eyes as a result of high-histamine foods?

If you’ve ever experienced an allergic response, you’re well aware of the aggravating symptoms that occur with changing seasons or having a shedding cat in the house. As soon as the body identifies an allergen, histamines are released by the cells. Histamines aim to push allergens out of your system by causing sneezing, itching, and watery eyes, to name a few. But what if your eating habits are causing allergic symptoms?

Have you been diagnosed with histamine intolerance?

DAO and HNMT, two enzymes produced in your intestines, are responsible for breaking down histamines. You may not be creating the DAO enzymes needed to break down histamines if you eat a high-histamine diet or have gastrointestinal disorders like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.

Histamine intolerance can result from a build-up of histamines in the body. According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, histamine intolerance affects about 1% of the population, with 80 percent of those affected being middle-aged. 

It’s vital to emphasize that allergic reactions to pollen, pets, dust, or dander will not cause histamine intolerance. Only the histamines you eat through food will cause you to acquire a histamine intolerance.  

free download of keto friendly foot list

Keto Food List (FREE PRINTABLE)

Join 150,000 others who have already gotten a FREE keto food list and new recipes every week!

Histamine Intolerance Symptoms

  • Headache
  • Itchy skin, rashes, and hives
  • Wheezing
  • a stuffy nose 
  • Eyes that are watering
  • Swelling of the lips, hands, or face 
  • Menstrual pains are excruciating.

The Top Six Histamine-Inducing Foods

Foods high in histamine are usually aged, heavily processed, smoked, cured, or fermented. When following a low-histamine diet, stick to fresh or frozen meat, seafood, and vegetables.

Sardines should be avoided if you follow a low-histamine diet, because they are very high-histamine. Canned, dried, or salted seafood is very bad for your diet!

Sardines are number one.

Limit your intake of canned, dried, or salted seafood, such as sardines, mackerel, tuna, and anchovies, if you’re on a low-histamine diet.

Aged cheese is even higher in histamines than other kinds of cheese. Fresh dairy products are lower in histamines and are a better option!

2. Cheese that has been aged

Histamine levels are high in a variety of cheeses, but aged cheeses are significantly greater. Histamine levels are lower in fresh dairy products like cream and cottage cheese.

Fremented foods are very high in histamines, similar to wine. Stay away from fermented foods or alcohol if you are on a low histamine diet!

3. Champagne

Histamines are abundant in fermented foods, including alcohol such as champagne and wine. Champagne has 670 milligrams of histamine per liter.

Sauerkraut is another fremented food that is high in histamines. Though it is good for guy health, it may be pushing you passed your histamine threshold.

4. cabbage with sauerkraut

Sauerkraut, which contains 229mg of histamines per kilogram, is another fermented item to avoid if you have a histamine intolerance. It may be beneficial to your gut health, but it may also be pushing you past your histamine threshold.

Leftovers that need to be reheated can be high in histamines. Preparing fresh meals or meal prepping for a couple of days at a time is the best way to test for a histamine tolerance.

5. Remainders

Histamine levels can be high in food that needs to be reheated, such as leftovers or meal-prep containers from our meal-prep course. Try making fresh meals or meal prepping for only a few of days at a time if you’re testing for histamine intolerance.

Aged meats are a great keto snack, but they do contain high amounts of histamines so they should be avoided if following a low-histamine diet!

Meats that have been aged

Salami, for example, is a terrific keto snack, but it’s high in histamines, so avoid it if you’re on a low-histamine diet. Histamine levels in salami can reach 654 milligrams per kilogram.

Find out which high-histamine foods could be giving you symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes, and sneezing! Treat your histamine intolerance with diet

Your Histamine Threshold is something you should be aware of.

Your text will be rewritten by QuillBot. Start by typing or pasting something into this box, then hit the enter key.

Keto Recipes with Low Histamine

  1. Butter Chicken Keto
  2. Turkey Breast Roasted in the Oven with Gravy
  3. Chicken Thighs in a Single Pan
  4. Dinner Rolls with Low-Carb Ingredients
  5. Breakfast Cookies with No Sugar

Gut Health and Histamines

Because a healthy gut produces the enzymes needed to effectively break down histamines, histamine intolerance could be an indication that you need to enhance your gut health. Bloating, gas, discomfort, pain, anxiety, and acne are all symptoms of an intestinal illness like SIBO or IBS. Speak with your doctor about how to improve your gut health.

Find out which high-histamine foods could be giving you symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes, and sneezing! Treat your histamine intolerance with diet

Top six foods to avoid if you are trying to reduce histamine consumption.. Read more about are potatoes high in histamine and let us know what you think.

{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What foods are highest in histamine?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
Foods that are high in histamine are cheese, shrimp, and eggs.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What foods reduce histamine?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
Foods that reduce histamine are those high in protein, such as chicken, beef, and eggs.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Does banana increase histamine?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”

No, bananas do not increase histamine.”}}]}

Frequently Asked Questions

What foods are highest in histamine?

Foods that are high in histamine are cheese, shrimp, and eggs.

What foods reduce histamine?

Foods that reduce histamine are those high in protein, such as chicken, beef, and eggs.

Does banana increase histamine?

No, bananas do not increase histamine.

Related Tags

This article broadly covered the following related topics:

  • how to clear histamine from body
  • high histamine foods
  • low histamine diet
  • histamine allergy
  • how to reduce histamine in the body