Histamine in itself is an endogenous substance that can cause inflammation, pain, redness of the skin, allergies, swelling, sleep disorders, seasickness, tachycardia and a drop in blood pressure. Histamine is also involved in the development of a migraine attack. The enzyme diamine oxidase is necessary to break down histamine. If it is lowered in the blood, histamine intolerance exists.
Nutrition for histamine intolerance
The enzyme diamine oxidase is necessary to break down histamine. If it is lowered in the blood, histamine intolerance exists. People with low levels of diamine oxidase and/or the symptoms mentioned above should avoid foods with a high histamine content. Histamine intolerance is certainly not an allergy or a voluntary nutritional trend, and not only one food or food group (such as lactose intolerance) is affected, but several foods each containing histamine, which in the case of histamine intolerance is difficult or impossible to break down. In addition, the body also produces histamine itself - it is responsible for some processes, such as the sleep-wake rhythm. In contrast to a classical allergy, no specific IgE antibodies are formed, which is why we speak of a pseudoallergy.
High histamine level

  • meat: sausages (especially salami, cured meats, smoked meats), offal, pork, pre-marinated meat, escalope (breaded with wheat)
  • Fish: tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies, pangasius, mahi mahi, fish fingers (breaded with wheat)
  • Dairy products and cheese: hard cheese such as Parmesan, long-ripened cheese such as Harzer, Emmentaler, Camembert, Cheddar
  • Cereals and bakery products: products containing wheat (also couscous, ebly and bulgur) and products containing yeast should be avoided, rye can be problematic, the pseudo grain varieties amaranth and buckwheat are often not tolerated
  • Vegetables: Sauerkraut, olives, capers (pickled), spinach, tomatoes (also ketchup, tomato puree), aubergine, avocado, legumes, mushrooms, amaranth, celery, kohlrabi, leek, Brussels sprouts, radish and horseradish are considered histamine liberators, onions, rocket
  • Nuts and kernels: peanuts (actually a legume), cashew nuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, poppies, almonds
  • Spices/herbs: flavour enhancers such as glutamate, soy sauce/teriyaki sauce, mustard, dill, clover, chives, curry, chilli are so hot that they can put additional strain on the stomach and should therefore be avoided, often cinnamon (strong allergen), nutmeg, ginger should only be taken in small amounts (hot, but anti-inflammatory)
  • Sweets: any chocolate containing the binding agent soya lecithin, but often whole milk chocolate and white chocolate are tolerated in certain quantities, avoid bitter and dark chocolate, as well as very dark chocolate, cocoa
    • .
  • alcohol and other beverages: Alcohol is to be avoided in principle, since histamine is formed during fermentation, especially red wine, whiskey, sparkling wine, wheat beer, vinegar, black tea, filter coffee, energy drinks, mate tea and soft drinks
    • .
  • Soy products: also tofu and soy milk and some spreads should be avoided (often also in margarine), teriyaki sauce, soy sauce
  • Wheat products: many products also contain wheat without it being immediately obvious: pasta and other pasta products such as lasagne plates, couscous, cornflakes and many mueslis (read the small print on the package)
  • Oil: Peanut oil, sunflower oil, also Pesto Genovese is to be avoided, since it contains olive oil and usually also Parmesan and pine nuts
Low histamine level

  • Meat: (fresh or deep-frozen) Beef, lamb, poultry, game, frozen meat should be processed immediately and not thawed slowly in the refrigerator
  • Fish: (fresh or frozen) cod, trout, coalfish, salmon, plaice and many other kinds of fish, frozen food should be processed immediately and not be thawed slowly in the fridge, some kinds of sushi and maki from the Asian of your choice (must be fresh!)
  • Milk products and cheese: mozzarella (without citric acid - read composition), feta, cream cheese, whole milk (no raw milk), natural yoghurt, cottage cheese, curd cheese, cream/ cream, butter cheese, young Gouda, butter
  • Cereals and baked goods: preferably spelt products (better smooth flour than whole grain), you can also bake bread yourself with baking powder instead of yeast, millet, rice, corn, hemp, coconut and spelt flour, spelt noodles (attention: also in whole grain noodles is often wheat), oat flakes, teff or dwarf millet
  • Vegetables: fresh vegetables such as green salad, lamb's lettuce/bog salad, cabbage varieties (note: no pickled red cabbage/red cabbage, no Brussels sprouts), cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin (above all, the following vegetables are also available) variety butternut), rapeseed salad, paprika (often a good tomato substitute), carrots, potatoes, rice, cucumber, zucchini, corn (if you can't get it out of a can), asparagus (if fresh, not out of a glass), garlic in small quantities (like all leek plants classified as histamine liberator), rhubarb in small quantities, artichokes (not out of a glass), fennel, chicory, parsnips
  • Fruit: blackberry, apple, peach, apricot, cherry, blueberry, cranberry, gooseberry, currant/ribisel/cassis, coconut, sea buckthorn (not with sorbitol intolerance), light grapes, attention with overripe fruit!
  • Nuts and seeds: basically no nuts, but often nuts can be replaced by pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds, sometimes sunflower seeds are tolerated in small amounts (but are considered a histamine liberator), macadamia nuts are here tolerant, Chia seeds, hemp seeds, black cumin!!! (lowers histamine)
  • Spices/herbs: garlic in small quantities (fresh or powdered), kitchen herbs (many are easy to grow on the windowsill, e.g. cress), table salt, boar's rue, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, marjoram, caraway, black cumin, parsley, savory, sage, Baikal helmet cabbage, bishop's cabbage, balm, mint, wild garlic, juniper...
  • Sweets: Milk chocolate darker and dark chocolate preferred, white chocolate is tolerated even better than milk chocolate (in each case without soy lecithin and without sunflower lecithin)
  • alcohol and other beverages: basically no alcohol, sometimes clear brandies and bottom-fermented beers are tolerated, white wine prefer red wine, instead drink plenty of (still) water/therapeutic water with the food or herbal teas, rooibos tea, espresso or milky coffee with espresso is better tolerated than filter coffee, because it contains less bitter substances and less caffeine, green tea (let it brew only for a short time)
  • Oil: pure olive oil is suitable for frying. Sunflower seeds are considered to be a histamine liberator. Therefore sunflower oil only works to a limited extent. Pumpkin seed oil, hemp seed oil, safflower oil, linseed oil etc. can also be added to salads. For sweets: coconut oil/fat
  • Other: cereals with oats, change bakery products in the household to spelt products, if you bake yourself, then with spelt flour or the other flour types indicated (see above), bread dishes not with ready-bought breadcrumbs (wheat) but with oat flakes or sesame