Top 10 Histamine Containing Foods

Thursday, July 30th, 2009 | histamine

Histamine is a biogenic amine that triggers the immune response. Histamine also acts as a neurotransmitter and has some other physiological functions (such as in the gut). Histamine increases the permeability of small blood vessels so that immune cells and proteins are better able to fight an infection. Histamine is also involved in sleep regulation; too much histamine release in the brain increases wakefulness.

Histamine is also thought to make rosacea symptoms worse. Since we also ingest histamine through our diet, I thought it was helpful to look at what foods contain the highest amount of histamine. Aged and fermented foods are naturally high in histamine, so these kind of foods dominate the list. I have gathered the information below from various sources on the internet as well as from a number of scientific papers.

The amounts of histamine are given as mg per serving size (either 3.5 Oz., 4 Oz. or pint). Please note that the same food item from different sources vary tremendously in their histamine content: food items that are close to their expiration date have a higher histamine content. Therefore, the numbers given below are for illustrative purposes only.

Here are the top 10 foods high in histamine:

  1. Champagne (76 mg/4 Oz.)
  2. Sauerkraut (23 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  3. Tofu (as high as 22 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  4. Parmesan Cheese (15 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  5. Beer (7 mg/pint) Beers vary in histamine content, with top fermented beers being higher in histamine.
  6. Sausage (6 mg/3.5 Oz.) Fresh sausage is often lower in histamine than the cured/aged sausage.
  7. Blue Cheese (5 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  8. Red Wine (3.5 mg/4 Oz.)
  9. Eggplant (3 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  10. Tomato Ketchup (2 mg/3.5 Oz.)
  11. Canned Fish (tuna, salmon, herring) (2 mg/3.5 Oz.)

“Numbers shown are approximate”

Foods that stimulate the release of histamine

Certain foods (even food that is low in histamine) can stimulate the release of histamine from mast cells (a type of immune cell). These foods include bananas, tomatoes, strawberries, pineapple, nuts, peanuts, shellfish, spinach, egg white and chocolate. Eating these foods can thus have an indirect effect on rosacea.

Some of the most tasteful food is high in histamine. High histamine levels however, can cause headaches, runny nose, sneezing, stomach aches/cramps and flushing skin.

Maintz, L. and Novak, N. (2007) Histamine and histamine intolerance. Am J Clin Nutr 85: 1185–96.

Tags: histamine

6 Comments to Top 10 Histamine Containing Foods

barbara shoop
August 1, 2009

thanks for the update

Linda Mainland
November 7, 2009

I have mastosytosis which is too much histamine in my blood. No one has ever told me what foods I can eat and which foods to stay away from. This helps me out.
Thanks!

Nina
February 6, 2010

Hi, I have been reading through these articles about rosacea and how to best deal with treating it. Overall, I have found a lot of good help. This article has also given me some great new tips of foods to stay away from, but to be honest, I’ve created quite a list now of foods that I can’t eat. I’m a vegetarian (but I do eat fish occasionally) and lactose intolerant. You can imagine how floored I was to find that tofu is just 3rd on the histamine list. :( About the last food item-canned fish- does this include sardines? I do enjoy the sardines for their vitamin benefits such as omega-3 fatty acids. Thanks again for writing this article.
-Nina

Linnie
April 11, 2010

Hi. I am yeast intolerant and thought i was OK to drink champagne, but now discover it is high in histamin – which causes all of of my symptons – are all chamapagnes the same? What about cava is that the same?

Dave
April 23, 2010

Other than peanuts, I have never seen a measured histamine level for any nuts or seeds. Does anyone have any information on actual amount of histamine in various nuts/seeds?

giovanni
May 18, 2010

is theren’t a way to see the entire list of foods?

Thanks!

Leave a comment

Search

Subscribe by email

Your email:

 

Useful links