How to do the low-histamine diet

There are a few guidelines for as little pain as possible when going low-histamine. Histamine levels in foods vary depending on how ripe or aged the food is, so buying and eating fresh is best.

You’ll find your own limits with histamine-containing foods, so experiment.

More information on histamine

• Histamine intolerance
• Mast-cell activation syndrome (MCAS)
• MTHFR and histamine

How to do the elimination diet

The low-histamine diet is largely an elimination diet that can go from four weeks to six months, where you determine what foods you tolerate and which you don’t to eliminate symptoms.

If you want histamine-degrading supplement support, see the low-histamine experiment.

Eating a full range of nutrients is important, so keep track of what you’re skipping out on and replace your nutrients with other foods. Use an app like Cronometer to track your nutrient levels.

If you’re not sure what you’re doing, book in with one of our expert naturopaths who can guide you through.

Phase 1
First 2-4 weeks

Follow a strict low-histamine diet to reduce symptoms.

Phase 2
From 2-4 weeks onwards

Reintroduce one histamine-containing food at a time to determine histamine tolerance and symptoms. Keep a spreadsheet or list where you record the dose of food and any reaction.

Phase 3
Ongoing

Eat tolerable foods and ensure nutritional needs are met while working on the underlying causes of your histamine overload. If you are still on a low-histamine diet after six weeks, get practitioner support. This is NOT a sustainable or long-term diet; it’s a symptom-reducing strategy as you work out what the underlying drivers of high histamine are.

Tips for eating low-histamine

• Avoid food from a can
• Avoid ready-made meals/frozen meals
• Avoid ripened or fermented foods such as aged cheese, drinks with alcohol, products that have yeast, old fish
• Avoid leaving food outside the fridge for long, particularly meat
• Keep food preparation areas clean
• If you don’t know how to cook, you’ll soon need to learn!
• If you get stuck, see a professional nutritionist or naturopath

Searchable Histamine Foods List

Type of food	Food	Histamine Content
Colour, additive, preservative	Additives – Benzoate, sulphites, nitrites, glutamate, food dyes	Releasing
Drink	Alcohol	Varies
Spice	Allspice	High
Flour, Nut	Almond – Blanched Almond Flour	Low
Flour, Nut	Almond – Blanched and unblanched	Low
Spread	Almond butter	Low
Grain	Amaranth	Low
Spice	Anise	High
Medication	Antibiotics	DAO interference
Medication	Antidepressants	DAO interference
Medication	Antipsychotics	DAO interference
Fruit/Veg	Apple – Fresh	Low, Beneficial
Vinegar	Apple cider vinegar (ACV)	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Apricot – Fresh (if dried, avoid preservatives)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Artichokes	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Artificial colors/colours	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Artificial colourings (esp. tartrazine – medication, supplements)	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Artificial flavors/flavours	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Artificial Sweeteners	High
Fruit/Veg	Arugula/Rocket	Low
Fruit/Veg	Asparagus	Low
Fruit/Veg	Avocado	High
Oil/Fat	Avocado Oil – Cold Pressed	Low
Baking	Baking mixes	High
Baking	Baking powder	Low
Baking	Baking powder – Gluten-free	Low
Baking	Baking soda	Low
Fruit/Veg	Banana – Fresh (use minimally)	High, Releasing
Herb/Spice	Basil	Low
Fruit/Veg	Beans – Green Beans, String Beans	High
Legume	Beans – kidney, black, navy, garbanzo/chickpea, soy	High
Drink	Beer	High
Fruit/Veg	Beets	Low
Fruit/Veg	Bell Peppers/Capsicum	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Benzoates	High
Colour, additive, preservative	BHA, BHT	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Biogenic amines	DAO inhibitor
Fruit/Veg	Blackberries – Fresh	Low
Fruit/Veg	Blueberries – Fresh	Low
Fruit/Veg	Bok choy	Low
Nuts	Brazil Nuts (limit to 3-4 nuts p/d max)	Low
Grain	Bread – Sourdough	High
Fruit/Veg	Broccoli	Low
Fruit/Veg	Broccolini	Low
Fruit/Veg	Brussels sprouts	Low
Grain	Buckwheat	Low
Oil/Fat	Butter	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cabbage – Chinese	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cabbage – Green	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cabbage – Red	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cabbage – White	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Calcium Chloride	High
Sweets	Candy, confectionary, sweets, lollies	High
Fruit/Veg	Cantaloupe/Rockmelon – Fresh	Low
Spice	Caraway	Low
Spice	Cardamom	Low
Sweets	Carob	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Carrageenan	High
Fruit/Veg	Carrots	Low
Nuts	Cashews	High
Grain	Cassava flour	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cauliflower	Low
Spice	Cayenne	High
Fruit/Veg	Celery	Low
Fruit/Veg	Ceps, morels, agaricus	High
Dairy	Cheese	Varies
Dairy	Cheese – cream cheese, mozzarella, curd cheese, cottage cheese, mascarpone, ricotta, goat cream cheese, young Gouda, Butterkäse, Schichtkäse	Low
Dairy	Cheese – Cream cheese, ricotta cheese (grass fed)	Low
Dairy	Cheese – Matured, hard, semi-hard, soft, processed, blue , mold/mould, fondue, aged Gouda	High
Fruit/Veg	Cherry – Fresh	Low
Nuts	Chestnuts	Low
Seed	Chia Seeds	Low
Spice	Chili Powder	High
Fruit/Veg	Chilli	Low
Fruit/Veg	Chives	Low
Sweets	Chocolate	High
Sweets	Chocolate – White chocolate (no additives)	Low
Alcohol	Cider – Apple, Pear	High
Fruit/Veg	Cilantro	Low
Spice	Cinnamon	High
Baking	Citric Acid	High
Drink	Clear spirits	Low
Spice	Cloves	High
Baking	Cocoa and cocoa mass	High
Baking	Cocoa butter	Low
Baking	Coconut – Dried Coconut	High
Fruit/Veg	Coconut – Meat/Flesh, Fresh	Low
Sweets	Coconut – Sugar	Low
Drink	Coconut Milk (100%, no additives)	Low
Oil/Fat	Coconut oil	Low
Oil/Fat	Coconut Oil – Extra Virgin	Low
Drink	Coffee	High, Releasing
Drink	Coffee – decaffeinated	Low
Drink	Coffee – low histamine, mould/mold-free brands	Low
Drink	Coffee – Purity Coffee	Low
Fruit/Veg	Collards	Low
Fruit/Veg	Corn	High
Grain	Corn – starch	Low
Baking	Corn – syrup	High
Fruit/Veg	Cranberry – fresh and dried (avoid preservatives)	Low
Baking	Cream of tartar	Low
Fruit/Veg	Cucumber	Low
Spice	Cumin	Low
Fruit/Veg	Currant – fresh and dried (avoid preservatives)	Low
Spice	Curry powder	High
Dairy	Dairy – Butter	Low
Dairy	Dairy – Buttermilk	High
Dairy	Dairy – Cream	High
Dairy	Dairy – Cream (grass fed)	Low
Dairy	Dairy – fresh raw milk directly from cow, UHT-milk, pasteurized/pasteurised milk	High
Dairy	Dairy – sour milk products, acidified buttermilk, sour cream, crème fraîche, feta/feta cheese	High
Dairy	Dairy – Whey (incl. protein powders)	Low
Dairy	Dairy – Yogurt (Low Histamine Yoghurt)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Dandelion greens	Low
Fruit/Veg	Dates	High
Herb/Spice	Dill	Low
Medication	Diuretics	DAO interference
Dressing	Dressing (packaged)	High
Drink	Drinks – All drinks with “flavour” or “spices”	High
Sweets	Dry dessert mixes	High
Animal	Egg	Low
Fruit/Veg	Eggplant	High
Fruit/Veg	Endive	Low
Drink	Energy drinks	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Escarole	Low
Fruit/Veg	Fennel	Low
Fruit/Veg	Figs (avoid preservatives)	Low
Seafood	Fish	Varies
Seafood	Fish – canned tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies, mahi mahi	High
Seafood	Fish – canned, frozen, marinated, salted, dried, smoked, pickled	High
Seafood	Fish – fresh or frozen from market, fish shop	High
Seafood	Fish – snap frozen (thaw quickly and use immediately!) – pollock, cod, trout, whitefish, perch, organic pangasius	Low
Seafood	Fish – very fresh, freshly caught (fisherman, fish farm, angler)	Low
Seafood	Fish sauces	High
Seafood	Fish stock	High
Baking	Flavour enhancers/Flavour enhancers – glutamate, sodium glutamate, bouillon, broth, soy sauce, hot spices	High
Seed	Flax	Low
Seed	Flax meal	Low
Oil/Fat	Flaxseed Oil – Cold Pressed	Low
Grain	Flour – Bleached white wheat flour	High
Oil/Fat	Fresh meat drippings	Low
Fruit/Veg	Fruit – citrus (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, pomelo)	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Fruit – Dried fruit	High
Fruit/Veg	Fruit – overripe or rotten	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Garlic – Fresh or Powdered	Low
Medication	Gastrointestinal medications	DAO interference
Baking	Gelatin	High
Oil/Fat	Ghee	Low
Ferments/Pickles	Gherkin pickles	High
Herb/Spice	Ginger	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Gluten	Low
Grain	Gluten Free – bread, oats, pasta, grains with allowed ingredients only (1/2 cup p/d maximum)	Low
Grain	Grains – Gluten free (limited)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Grapefruit	Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Grapes – Red, Green (without mould)	Low
Sauces	Gravy – Homemade	Low
Sauces	Gravy – Packet	High
Baking	Guar Gum	High
Flour, Nut	Hazelnut Flour	Low
Nuts	Hazelnuts	Low
Medication	Heart medications	DAO interference
Flour, Seed	Hemp Protein Powder	Low
Seed	Hemp Seeds	Low
Sweets	Homemade desserts with allowed ingredients	Low
Sauces	Homemade relishes with allowed ingredients	Low
Dressing	Homemade salad dressings with allowed ingredients	Low
Sweets	Homemade with allowed ingredients	Low
Sweets	Honey (limit sugars)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Honeydew Melon	Low
Baking	Inulin	Low
Spread	Jam – Fruit (limit)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Juice – freshly squeezed from allowed fruits (limit)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Kale	Low
Sauces	Ketchup – tomato	High
Ferments/Pickles	Kimchi/Kimchee	High
Fruit/Veg	Kiwi	Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Kohlrabi	Low
Ferments/Pickles	Kombucha	High
Fruit/Veg	Leafy greens	Low
Baking	Lecithin – hydrolysed/hydrolyzed	High
Fruit/Veg	Leeks	Low
Misc	Leftovers – not frozen immediately after cooking	High
Misc	Leftovers – frozen right after cooking	Low
Legumes	Legumes – canned	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Lemon	Low
Herb/Spice	Lemongrass	Low
Legume	Lentils	High
Fruit/Veg	Lettuce – Butter	Low
Fruit/Veg	Lime	Low, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Loganberry	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Lychee	Low
Spread	Macadamia butter	Low
Oil/Fat	Macadamia Oil	Low
Nuts	Macadamias	Low
Herb/Spice	Mace	High
Medication	Malaria and TB drugs	DAO interference
Colour, additive, preservative	Malic Acid	High
Baking	Malt	High
Baking	Maltodextrin	High
Fruit/Veg	Mango	Low
Sweets	Maple Syrup (limit sugars)	Low
Oil/Fat	Margarine	High
Oil/Fat	MCT Oil	Low
Misc	Meals from restaurants, canteens, snack bars, etc.	High
Meat	Meat – aged, bone matured, dry aged, beef or bison	High
Meat	Meat – Beef, poultry, sheep/lamb, pork, wild boar, freshly cooked, unaged	Low
Meat	Meat – Cold cuts	High
Meat	Meat – Collagen	High
Meat	Meat – cured (ham, bacon, salami, pepperoni, luncheon meat, hot dogs)	High
Meat	Meat – fermented (sausages, salami, fermented ham)	High
Meat	Meat – leftovers	High
Meat	Meat – meatloaf	High
Meat	Meat – minced or ground	High
Meat	Meat – Offal, innards (especially liver)	High
Meat	Meat – Ostrich, Fresh	Low
Meat	Meat – Pork, Fresh	Low
Meat	Meat – Poultry, Fresh (Chicken, Goose, Duck, Turkey, Quail, Pheasant etc) bought and cooked fresh	Low
Meat	Meat – Pre-cooked sausages	High
Meat	Meat – Pre Packaged mince meat	High
Meat	Meat – Quail, Fresh	Low
Meat	Meat – Rabbit, Fresh	Low
Meat	Meat – sausages, liverwurst	High
Meat	Meat – Venison, game (ripening of meat)	High
Fruit/Veg	Mesclun	Low
Dairy	Milk – Flavoured	High
Dairy	Milk – fresh raw milk directly from cow, UHT-milk, pasteurized/pasteurised milk	High
Dairy	Milk – Plain A2 milk, reintroduce after 2 weeks	Low
Dairy	Milk kefir	High
Grain	Millet	Low
Fruit/Veg	Mint	Low
Grain	Miracle Noodles, Miracle Rice	Low
Sauces	Miso Commercial ketchup	High
Fruit/Veg	Mizuna	Low
Sweets	Molasses (limit sugars)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Monk fruit (100%, no fillers)	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	MSG	High
Medication	Muscle relaxers	DAO interference
Fruit/Veg	Mushrooms	High
Spice	Mustard	High
Fruit/Veg	Mustard greens	Low
Fruit/Veg	Napa cabbage	Low
Fruit/Veg	Nectarine	Low
Fruit/Veg	Nopales cactus	Low
Spread	Nutella	High
Spice	Nutmeg	High
Nuts	Nuts – Long-stored nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios)	High
Nuts	Nuts (eliminate all nuts for first 2 weeks)	Varies
Milk/Drink	Oat milk	High
Grain	Oats	Low
Oil/Fat	Oil – Fats and oils with color and/or preservatives	High
Oil/Fat	Oil – pure, no preservatives	Low
Oil/Fat	Olive Oil – Extra Virgin	High
Ferments/Pickles	Olives	High
Fruit/Veg	Onions	Low
Fruit/Veg	Orange	Releasing
Herb/Spice	Oregano	Low
Medication	Pain medications (Aspirin, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac)	DAO interference
Oil/Fat	Palm Oil – Extra virgin unprocessed	Low
Fruit/Veg	Papaya	High, Releasing
Spice	Paprika/cayenne	High
Herb/Spice	Parsley – curly or flat	Low
Grain	Pasta and crackers – Gluten-free	Low
Grain	Pastry – Packaged, store bought	High
Fruit/Veg	Pawpaw	High
Fruit/Veg	Peach (limit)	Low
Spread	Peanut butter	High
Nuts	Peanuts	High
Fruit/Veg	Pear	Low
Fruit/Veg	Peas	High
Nuts	Pecans	Low
Herb/Spice	Peppercorns – Pink	Low
Herb/Spice	Peppercorns – Black, Green, White	High
Herb/Spice	Peppermint	Low
Fruit/Veg	Perilla	Low
Fruit/Veg	Persimmon	Low
Nuts	Pine Nuts	Low
Fruit/Veg	Pineapple	High, Releasing
Nuts	Pistachios	Low
Fruit/Veg	Plantain	Low
Fruit/Veg	Plums	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Pomegranate	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Potassium Sorbate	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Potassium Triphosphate	High
Fruit/Veg	Potato – Sweet	Low
Fruit/Veg	Potatoes	Low
Sweets	Prepackaged – cake decorations	High
Sweets	Prepackaged – dessert fillings	High
Sweets	Prepackaged – icings/frostings	High
Fruit/Veg	Prepackaged – olives	High
Dairy	Prepackaged dairy products made with restricted ingredients	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Preservatives	High
Fruit/Veg	Prunes	High
Fruit/Veg	Pumpkin	High
Seed	Pumpkin Seeds	Low
Fruit/Veg	Purslane	Low
Grain	Quinoa	Low
Fruit/Veg	Radish – Daikon radishes	Low
Fruit/Veg	Raisins	High
Fruit/Veg	Raspberries (1/4 cup, not during elimination)	Low
Misc	Ready meals	High
Sauces	Relish – Packaged	High
Misc	Resistant Starches to feed good gut bacteria (Avoid with SIBO)	Low
Fruit/Veg	Rhubarb	Low
Grain	Rice – Black Rice	Low
Grain	Rice – Brown Rice	Low
Grain	Rice – White Rice	Low
Misc	Rice and Pasta Meals – Packaged	High
Milk/Drink	Rice milk	High
Vinegar	Rice vinegar	High, Releasing
Fruit/Veg	Romaine	Low
Herb/Spice	Rosemary	Low
Fruit/Veg	Rutabaga	Low
Herb/Spice	Saffron	Low
Herb/Spice	Sage	Low
Herb/Spice	Salt	Low
Ferments/Pickles	Sauerkraut	High
Fruit/Veg	Scallions	Low
Seafood	Seafood and shellfish – fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mussels, crayfish, shrimps, prawns, lobster	High
Meat Substitute	Seitan meat substitute	High
Oil/Fat	Sesame oil	Low
Seed	Sesame Seeds	Low
Colour, additive, preservative	Smoke Flavouring	High
Drink	Soda – carbonated drinks or water	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Sodium Benzoate	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Sodium Nitrite	High
Colour, additive, preservative	Sodium Triphosphate	High
Grain	Sorghum – Black, popped or white	Low
Legume	Soy Foods – tempeh, miso, soy sauce, natto	High
Drink	Soy Milk and Drinks	High
Sauces	Soy sauce	High
Sauces	Soy sauce, coconut aminos, Bragg’s liquid aminos	High
Spice	Spice – Dried, ‘unknown’, seasoning packets	High
Herb/Spices	Spices – Hot spices (pepper, chili, curry, etc.)	Increases histamine uptake
Fruit/Veg	Spinach	High
Spread	Spreads with restricted ingredients	High
Fruit/Veg	Squash – Butternut squash, summer, winter	Low
Fruit/Veg	Starch – Sweet Potato Starch and Sweet Potato Starch Noodles	Low
Sweetener	Stevia	Low
Fruit/Veg	Strawberries	High
Sweets	Sugar	Low
Seed	Sunflower	Low
Fruit/Veg	Swiss Chard	Low
Syrup	Syrup	High
Drink	Tea – black, green, white, mate, rooibos	High
Drink	Tea – hot water, freshly sliced ginger	Low, Antihistamine
Colour, additive, preservative	Theobromine	DAO inhibitor
Medication	Theophylline	DAO interference
Grain	Tiger Nut flour	Low
Fruit/Veg	Tomato and all tomato products	High
Spice	Turmeric	Low
Fruit/Veg	Turnips – Greens or Roots	Low
Spread	Vegemite or Marmite	Unknown
Ferments/Pickles	Vegetables – Pickled vegetables, pickles	High
Vinegar	Vinegar – Wine, Balsamic, White, Champagne	High, Releasing
Vitamin	Vitamin C	Low, Antihistamine
Alcohol	Voda, gin, white rum	Low
Oil/Fat	Walnut oil	High
Nuts	Walnuts	High
Drink	Water	Low
Drink	Water – carbonated, fizzy	High
Fruit/Veg	Watercress	Low
Fruit/Veg	Watermelon	Low
Grain	Wheat germ	High, Releasing
Alcohol	Wine – Low histamine wine	Low
Alcohol	Wine – Red, White, Dessert	High
Baking	Xanthan Gum	High
Baking	Yeast	High
Baking	Yeast extract	DAO inhibitor
Dairy	Yoghurt	High

Lower histamine foods

• Meat – cooled, fresh or frozen
• Fish – fresh or frozen (hake, trout)
• Chicken – cooled, frozen, fresh
• Eggs (whole eggs, avoid egg white alone)
• Fresh fruit – except plantains
• Fresh vegetables – except tomato, eggplant, spinach
• Grains (including rice noodles, white bread, rye bread, rice crackers, oat, pasta)
• Animal milk and milk products – fresh, pasteurised, cow, goat, sheep, cream cheese, mozzarella, butter, yoghurt (except some bacteria used)
• Most cooking oil
• Most leafy herbs
• Most fruit juice – except citrus
• Herbal tea – except below

Higher histamine foods

• Alcoholic drinks
• Eggplant
• Pickled food
• Canned food
• Aged cheese
• Smoked meat (salami, ham)
• Shellfish
• Legumes – beans, chickpeas, soy flour
• Nuts that are stored for long periods – peanuts, cashews, almonds, pistachio
• Cocoa products – chocolate
• Mock meat products made from wheat gluten (seitan)
• Rice vinegar
• Ready meals
• Salted snack foods
• Sweets with preservatives and artificial colours

Histamine-releasing foods

A histamine-releasing food is a food that liberates histamine rather than simply containing histamine. Foods can be both.

• Citrus fruits – lemon, lime, oranges
• Fish and shellfish
• Cocoa and chocolate
• Eggs (may be tolerated by some)
• Walnuts, peanuts
• Papaya, pineapples, plums, kiwifruit, banana
• Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans)
• Tomatoes
• Wheat germ
• Most vinegar
• Additives – benzoate, sulphites, nitrites, glutamate, food dye

Diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme blockers

• Alcoholic drinks
• Black tea
• Energy drinks
• Mate tea

Understanding yeast and histamine

Yeast doesn’t contain histamine but acts as a trigger for variable levels of histamine generation during the leavening of baked products. There is no yeast in the end product.

Yeast extract has been reported to be high in amines and is a DAO inhibitor, so is not suitable on a low-histamine diet.

References

Maintz L, Novak N: Histamine and histamine intolerance, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007

Jarisch, R. “Histaminunverträglichkeit”, Thieme Verlag, 2nd Edition