Low Histamine Diet
Many of us find that it does not matter if the diagnosis is Histamine
Intolerance, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Idiopathic Anaphylaxis or
Mastocytosis, we have similar symptoms and reactions. What we have found is that maintaining a low
histamine diet, along with some other lifestyle changes, reduces symptoms in
many patients with these various disorders.
Histamine Intolerance appears to be a DAO enzyme issue where
these other disorders have “triggered” mast cells that dump chemicals and often
the triggers are food. Many find that a
following a low histamine diet is relieving regardless of the diagnosed disorder.
It is important to understand that removing histamine from
our diet is impossible because food naturally produces histamine. It just does!
We’ve been programmed to believe that all fruits and vegetables are good
for us which isn’t necessarily true. For
some of us, ingesting tomatoes or spinach is like poison. Just because something is good for most does
not mean it is good for all! The Paleo diet
seems to be a popular option because of the grain elimination. Gluten is often a problem for a lot of us
with histamine issues but it is important to understand that meat is histamine
producing due to bacteria found on the decaying food which soon happens after
it is cooked. If someone does not
possess enough of the DAO enzyme, they may find trouble in the metabolizing of histamine.
Too fully understand the role of histamine, it is both good
and bad. Histamine regulates body
functions by binding to the appropriate receptors however, it is also responsible
for allergic reactions when it finds what it believes to be a foreign invader
roaming about in the blood system.
How to Eat
Eat fresh! Eat as fresh as possible! Always! Overripe fruits, vegetables, and meats cause
histamine production. Foods that have
been sitting out after being cooked may begin producing histamine very quickly especially
meat.
Buy your produce as fresh as possible, purchasing frozen as a second
option and canned as the last. Personally,
I try to buy as little in a can as possible in a can. Canned foods are often high in the sodium,
devoid of nutrients and cooked until the goodness of flavor is boiled down to a
bland bite of something that resembles a vegetable. Sometimes canned options are okay in a pinch
but do not make it part of your regular meals.
Use the 90%/10% rule.
Organic
I try and eat as organic as possible.
I believe we are our own worst enemy.
All the crap that goes on our food to protect it from pests or to help
it super produce, finds its way into our bodies through both our food and water
supply. The toxins are now down to the
seed level. Think GMO! The debate is hot and controversial and I’m
on the avoidance side of the fence. I wrote
“I” because it is my opinion and we are all entitled to our own thoughts. However, I believe the toxins we ingest
change our chemical makeup and induce disease in us, our children and grandchildren. Why are auto-immune diseases common? Why do we all know someone with an illness
such as lupus, MS, RA, EDS or some medical mystery like MCAS? Why are cancer rates so high? Heck, we even have cancer super centers located
throughout the U.S. If we practiced more
prevention education and action, some of these centers would have to shut down
due to lack of business. Now, I don’t
buy everything organic because that is very hard to do. I cannot seem to find everything I need in
one store and I’m not about to travel all over the city, however I buy as much
as possible and am trying to fully move into that direction. I also believe, for me anyways, the
pesticides, GMOs, and growth promoters that are on food, contribute to my mast
cell bucket filling up which then leads to my mast cells triggering.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods have their place but not at the beginning of the healing
process. It is no secret that there are
some foods that are super gut healers and our goal is to focus on healing but
we also need to remember baby steps! My
path has been elimination, low histamine, gut healing, and reintroduction. I do not believe in completely eliminating
foods or our diet will be limited, unbalanced and nutrient deficient.
Food Breakdowns
|
Low Histamine Foods
| |||
|
Fresh meat and chicken
|
Most herbs
|
Pasteurized honey,
maple syrup, corn syrup
|
Herbal tea
|
|
Freshly caught and
gutted fish
|
Olive, flaxseed and coconut oils
|
Icing Sugar
|
Pure juices of allowed
fruits and vegetables
|
|
Egg yolk (egg whites
may be problematic)
|
Unbleached flour or
grain
|
Pure Jams, Jellies,
Marmalade
|
Plain And Carbonated
Mineral Water
|
|
Most fruits with the
exception of strawberries and the ones listed in the table below.
|
Crackers without yeast
|
Baking powder/baking
soda
|
Coffee
|
|
Fresh pasteurized
milk, coconut milk, and rice milk
|
Lentils (red, yellow,
brown)
|
Cream of tartar
|
|
|
Fresh vegetable except
tomatoes, spinach, peas, eggplant, and
pumpkin
|
Chickpeas
|
Plain gelatin
|
|
|
Butter, cream cheese
and ricotta cheese
|
Black beans, white
beans, split peas, navy beans, and pinto beans
|
Homemade relishes with
allowed ingredients
|
|
|
Histamine Stimulating
Foods
| |||
|
Tomatoes
|
Spinach
|
Eggplant (aubergines)
|
Avocado
|
|
Pumpkin
|
Bananas
|
Papayas
|
Pineapple
|
|
Strawberries
|
Kiwi
|
Mango
|
Raspberry
|
|
Tangerines
|
Grapefruits
|
Red
prunes
|
Spices
|
|
Shellfish
|
Tree nuts/peanuts
|
Uncooked egg whites
|
|
|
High Histamine Foods
| |||
|
Fermented
foods such as sauerkraut, pickled anything, soy sauce, kefir, yogurt, miso, kimchi,
etc.
|
Processed
foods that come in a box
|
Snacks
with preservatives and flavorings such as MSG (flavored potato chips/tortilla
chips)
|
Chocolate
and Cocoa/Cocoa Beans
|
|
Vinegar (pickled
anything), mayonnaise, ketchup, dressings, mustard
|
Mushrooms
Dried
fruit
|
Fava Beans,
red beans, soybeans, and
green peas
|
Cinnamon,
anise, cloves, curry powder, cumin, cayenne, nutmeg, taco or any others
pre-packaged seasonings.
|
|
Cured meat
(ham, salami, bacon, sausage, jerky, and deli meats)
|
Canned
fruits and vegetables. Buy fresh or frozen.
|
Prepared dessert fillings/prepared
icings and frostings, cake decorations,
confectionery,
commercial candies
|
Spreads with restricted ingredients
|
|
Canned and
smoked fish
|
Prepared
salads
|
Citrus-foods
|
Cola and drinks labeled “flavor”
or “spice”
|
|
Mincemeat
|
Walnuts,
cashews, peanuts
|
Yeast/brewer’s
yeast
|
Alcohol and non-alcoholic
beers
|
Conclusion
This
post is meant as general information regarding what is considered low
histamine, histamine releasing and high histamine foods. I will provide some follow-up posts that
discuss foods that are full of nutrients, anti-inflammatory and that may
actually help on the healing path.
References
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