Histamine Avoidance Diet

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Histamine Avoidance Diet

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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_

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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**) & shy; 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_

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* Irritants - caffeine and curry are gut irritants and can trigger

indigestion in some people.