What is Histamine?
Histamine is a messenger involved in inflammatory and immune reactions in the body. It is released when our immune system is reacting to a threat which causes dilatation of blood vessels and swelling of the local tissues. Other symptoms experienced during an acute histamine release are sniffing, sneezing, watery eyes, itching, coughing … However, various symptoms could be experienced when histamine is being chronically released in the body and that’s what is called histamine intolerance.
Food sources of histamine:
As well as being produced during the immune response, histamine can also be absorbed from histamine-containing foods, and produced by bacteria in the gut.
The biggest source of histamine in food isn’t the food itself. It’s the bacteria present on foods including fermented foods and leftovers, which naturally produce histamine as part of their metabolic process.
These are the main foods that lead to high histamine levels in the body:
- Aged or fermented foods: kimchi, pickled foods or canned foods, yogurt or kefir, kombucha, aged cheese, alcohol of any kind, vinegar, cured meat ...
- Soured dairy products
- Fish and seafood: especially canned or smoked fish.
- Chocolate and cacao-based products
- Nuts and peanuts
- Vegetables and fruits: Eggplants, Citrus fruit (lemon, oranges …), papaya, strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, plums, kiwi, banana, spinach, dried fruits …
- Starches: soured bread, wheat germ ...
- Processed foods and ready meals
- Black tea & green tea
