The Ultimate Guide to Histamine Intolerance

• Looking for a low histamine food list to ease what ails you?
• Do you want a comprehensive list of high histamine foods, so that you know your low histamine diet is accurately being followed?
• Are you sick and tired of experiencing food sensitivities, skin rashes, digestive symptoms and other chronic symptoms?

A list of low histamine foods is essential for anyone who suffers from the symptoms of histamine intolerance.

Similar to seasonal allergies or a food allergy, a reaction to histamine is inflammatory. Histamine is a neurotransmitter that travels through your body in your bloodstream and helps break down food in your stomach. But it is also a part of a healthy immune system that sets off a warning when your body needs to fend off any possible illnesses.

When triggered, mast cells in your tissue will release histamine into the bloodstream, which causes your red blood cells to become bigger and helps white blood cells find the foreign pathogen – or threat to your immune system.

Since histamine is something that your body naturally makes, eating high histamine foods usually won’t have negative side effects.  However, for people who have a hard time breaking down excess histamine, eating certain foods can trigger symptoms or make them even worse.

​The Benefits of Having a Low Histamine Food List

Knowing which low histamine foods to fill your shopping cart may help you manage a histamine intolerance and can be a part of an elimination diet to help you understand which foods affect you the most.

Though it can be difficult to diagnose, there are some more common histamine intolerance symptoms that are noticeable after eating high histamine foods. These could include hives, headaches, digestive distress, anxiety, trouble sleeping and more. They can also be more complicated, moving from these allergy-like reactions to skin issues and persistent digestive symptoms.

Although the disorder may seem confusing at times, the bright side is that no matter what type of symptoms you’re experiencing, they can be controlled very quickly when you eliminate high histamine foods and replace them with these low histamine foods on our list below.

There are many benefits of following a diet centered around low histamine foods, including:

• Confirmation of histamine intolerance. To fully diagnose histamine intolerance, you should always work with a doctor or natural healthcare practitioner. However, diagnosis can be difficult due to the multi-symptomatic nature of histamine intolerance. Eliminating certain foods from your diet can help to confirm histamine issues, as can this at-home test for histamine intolerance.
• Fast relief from a variety of symptoms. Many people see symptomatic improvement within 1-2 weeks of removing high histamine foods from your diet.
• No guesswork. When you do an elimination diet and pay attention to how the low histamine foods and high histamine foods on this list affect you, you’ll know your restricted and allowed foods! I suggest using a detailed food diary to help you to pinpoint these foods.

​Understanding Which High Histamine Foods to Avoid

The main issue with finding the right low histamine food list is that many foods can be a topic of contradiction. It’s hard to find two identical lists, leaving you a bit confused about your optimal histamine diet…

As a histamine intolerance researcher, I’ve put together the most comprehensive, up-to-date low histamine food list available online.

My version of the low histamine food list calls attention to the foods that will liberate histamine or destabilize mast cells. Although these foods may not be high in histamine themselves, they can increase overall histamine levels and end up triggering symptoms.

In addition, this food chart also includes all high histamine foods, so that you know exactly what to avoid. Knowing both of these lists is important for empowering you to take control of your diet and symptoms.

My goal is to give you the information you need to address histamine intolerance from all angles and experience symptomatic relief, regardless of the underlying cause.

​The List of Low Histamine Foods

In order to experience maximum relief, download the free Low Histamine Diet eBook. This is the ultimate guide to learning how to add low histamine foods to your diet. It provides easy to follow guidance for following a histamine diet, gives instructions for maximizing symptom relief, and helps you address the root cause of your histamine intolerance.

I also recommend printing out a copy of the low histamine food list to keep in your purse or on your fridge!

FOOD GROUP	ALLOWED		RESTRICTED
Vegetables	All fresh vegetables except those listed opposite		Eggplant Pumpkin Sauerkraut Spinach Tomato	Avocado Olives Pickled vegetables
Fruits	Apple Cantaloupe Figs Grapefruit Grapes Honeydew Mango Pear	Rhubarb Lychee Persimmon Blackberries Blueberries Watermelon Coconut	Citrus fruits Banana Cherry Cranberry Currant Date Loganberry Nectarine Orange Papaya Peach	Pineapple Prunes Plums Raisins Raspberries Strawberries Fruit dishes,jams, juices made with restricted ingredients
Meat, Poultry and Fish	All fresh meat and poultry. Must be bought and cooked fresh.		All fish (unless fresh caught) All shellfish Leftover/refrigerated meats Processed, cured or smoked meats
Eggs	Plain eggs (ensure whites are fully cooked)		Raw egg whites (as in some eggnog, hollandaise sauce, milk shakes)
Fats and Oils	Pure butter All vegetable oils and oils of allowed foods which contain no additives Coconut oil Meat drippings and fat Homemade gravy Homemade salad dressings with allowed ingredients		All fats and oils with colours or preservatives Prepared gravy Commercial salad dressings Hydrolyzed lecithin
Spices and Herbs	All fresh herbs and spices except those listed opposite		Anise Cinnamon Cloves Curry powder Paprika/cayenne Nutmeg Seasoning packets with restricted ingredients Foods labeled “with spices”
Nuts and seeds	All nuts should be eliminated for the first two weeks on the diet. After this period, nuts aside from those listed opposite may be reintroduced individually to examine tolerance. Begin with macadamias and chestnuts.		Walnuts Cashews
Legumes*	All legumes should be eliminated for the first two weeks on the diet. After this period, legumes aside from those listed opposite may be reintroduced individually to examine tolerance. Even if tolerable, a maximum consumption of ½ cup legumes per day is recommended.		Soy Lentils Beans Peanuts
Breads and Cereals*	Total of ½ cup per day maximum of the following: Any plain, gluten-free breads, gluten-free oats, gluten-free pasta or other gluten-free grains with allowed ingredients only. It’s notable that non-celiac gluten sensitivity may be due to histamine intolerance.		Foods cooked in oils containing hydrolyzed lecithin, BHA or BHT Baking Mixes Dry dessert mixes
Milk and Dairy*	After two weeks on this diet, plain milk can be reintroduced if tolerable		All cheese All yogurt (unless specifically cultured with low histamine probiotics) All buttermilk
Sweeteners*	Recommended to only use when necessary and in minimal amounts: Honey Molasses Maple Syrup Pure jams and jellies Mashed banana Homemade desserts with allowed ingredients		Flavored syrups Prepared dessert fillings Prepared icings/frostings Spreads with restricted ingredients Cake decorations Confectionary Commercial candies All processed sugars All artificial sweeteners
Other	Apple cider vinegar Baking soda Plain gelatin Corn starch Gluten-free baking powder		All chocolate, cocoa and carob All products made with artificial flavors or preservatives Artificial colourings, especially tartazine (also found in medications and supplements) Hydrolyzed lecithin BHA, BHT Flavored gelatin Mincemeat Prepared relishes and olives Soy sauce Miso Commercial ketchup Canned foods and ready meals Pickled and fermented foods Vinegar Yeast and yeast extracts Benzoates (also found in cosmetics), sulphites, nitrites, glutamate, food dyes
Beverages	Coffee Still and carbonated mineral water Tea made with fresh sliced ginger and hot water only (helps degrade histamine) Alcohol is recommended to be consumed in minimal amounts, if at all. However, when necessary, plain vodka, gin and white rum are the best choices on this diet. Low histamine wine		Soda and carbonated drinks All tea (including green, black and mate) All drinks with “flavor” or “spices” Beer, cider and wine (unless specified low histamine wine) All other alcoholic beverages

* Starred food categories are not essential in your diet and should be consumed in minimal amounts or avoided entirely to maximize health benefits and symptom relief during your diet.

The low histamine food chart here is meant to show you which foods are safe to consume and which are best to avoid when you want to reduce your symptoms quickly and effectively. Download the foods list and use it as a shopping list to help make meal planning fast and easy!