Histamine Avoidance Diet

Have you noticed your allergic symptoms worsen after eating eggs, shellfish, fish, strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, chocolate or drinking  alcohol, especially wine and beer? For those of us with allergies, our bodies responding to allergies produce  too much histamine, and that is why we take "anti"-histamines. Some foods that contain large amounts of histamine or release histamine can cause bad allergic symptoms. In particular, alcohol such as red wine can be a major trigger.   Each person has their own tolerance level for histamine. Once your histamine tolerance  level is reached, histamine overflows and allergic symptoms take place.

When food is fermented, histamine is produced. So fermented foods such as cheese, vinegar,  alcoholic drinks contain histamine. Other foods naturally have large amounts of histamine naturally such as tomato, eggplant and spinach. Food additives such as azo dyes, tartrazine and preservatives cause histamine to be released. Some foods naturally have benzoates which also cause histamine to be released. By avoiding these histamine laden foods, we can help reduce our allergic symptoms. 

Histamine avoidance diet

I suggest reading through the diet's list of foods and notice if your symptoms have gotten worse after eating some of these foods.   Some of the foods release histamine in a BIG WAY and are bigger triggers than others. Depending on your sensitivity, you may be able to tolerate some of the foods while others are major triggers. I have found that pizza, spaghetti sauce, and vinegar to bother me the most. This is not a list of allergic foods, so you  may be able to eat small quantities of these foods without problems. 

Meat, poultry fish and eggs to avoid:

Fish,  shellfish, seafood, anchovies, sardines.  (Note that when fish and shell fish spoil, they can produce high concentrations of histamine which can cause a special case of  histamine poisoning known as scombroid poisoning.)

Avoid eggs except in pancakes, bread, cake etc.

Processed, smoked or fermented meats:  sandwich meat, sausage, weiner, bologna, salami, pepperoni, smoked ham, bacon. Chemically cured meats such as ham and meats are distinctly pink.

Leftovers: Histamine is produced from bacterial action in leftover protein based food at room or refrigerator temperatures. Freeze leftovers to stop histamine production.

Milk Products to avoid:

Avoid fermented milk products such as cheeses, yogurt, buttermilk, and kefir, sour crfeam. Cheeses include processed cheese, cheese slices and spreads. Avoid cheddar, coldby, blue cheese, brie, camembert, feta, romano, cottage cheese and ricotta cheeses.

Fruits to avoid:

Orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, cherries, grapes, apricots, avocados, raspberries, cranberries, prunes, loganberries, dates, raisins, currants (fresh or dried). Bananas, papayas, pineapple, strawberries and tomatoes all release histamine.

Vegetables to avoid:

Tomatoes and tomato products like tomato sauces, catsup etc., soy products, spinach, red beans, eggplant, pumpkin.

Olives, pickles, relish and other foods packed  in vinegar or brine. Fermented vegetables like sauerkraut. 

Alcoholic beverages to avoid:

Alcoholic drinks of all types should be avoided, including beer and wine. They release histamine.

Food additives to avoid:

Tartrazine and other food colors, Preservatives especially benzoates and sulphites. yeast, extract.

Seasonings to avoid:

Cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, chili powder, anise, curry powder, nutmeg, soy sauce.

Beverages to avoid:

Tea (regular or green), chocolate, cocoa, cola drinks, de-alcoholized beverages like beer, ale wine, ciders.

Miscellaneous to avoid:

Fermented soy products - soy sauce, miso, fermented foods such as sauerkraut. chocolate, some nuts, vinegars, some oriental foods.

Medication additives to avoid:

Tartrazine is in some medications and vitamin supplements.  Pharmacies keep a list of tartrazine free products.

Toiletries and cosmetics to avoid:

Toiletries and cosmetics can contain histamine releasing substances that can cause contact allergies.  Histamine releasing substances include cinnamaldehyde, balsam of peru, benzoates of any type, sulfites, and dyes.

Based on the book, ""Dietary Management of Food Allergies and Intolerances", Janice Vickerstaff Joneja  and http://allergies.about.com/cs/histamine/a/aa071000a.htm 

Other triggers:

In addition to histamine producing or releasing foods, other natural food chemicals can trigger symptoms. It is important to realise that reactions to these substances are not due to allergy, and so allergy testing is of little use in helping us to decide what to avoid.

* Monosodium glutamate (MSG, 620, 621, "flavour enhancer") ­ was originally isolated from seaweed in 1908 by a Japanese chemist. It also occurs naturally in such foods as camembert cheese, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce and mushrooms. MSG stimulates nerve endings, perhaps accounting for its function as a "flavour enhancer" amongst other properties.
* Vasoactive amines such as tyramine, serotonin and histamine are well known triggers of migraines in some patients and are present naturally in pineapples, bananas, baked meat, vegetables, red wine, wood-matured white wine, avocados, chocolate, citrus fruits and mature cheese. Amines can act directly on small blood vessels to expand their capacity, perhaps accounting for their effect on flushing, migraines and nasal congestion in some patients.
* Salicylates are aspirin like compounds (and aspirin was originally isolated from willow tree bark) present in a wide variety of herbs, spices as well as fruit and vegetables. Indeed, reactions to these may be even more common than reactions to artificial colours and preservatives. Aspirin can trigger hives (urticaria) by acting directly on skin mast cells. Natural and structurally similar salicylates can also worsen hives in some patients.
* Toxins - Other than contamination of food with micro-organisms or their products (spoilage, food poisoning), some foods contain toxins than can cause severe symptoms. For example, if some types of fish are stored poorly, their gut bacteria can convert histidine to histamine, resulting in allergy-like symptoms.

http://www.allergycapital.com.au/Pages/fdintol.html 
* Irritants - caffeine and curry are gut irritants and can trigger indigestion in some people. 

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