On a low-histamine diet, fresh green beans, peas, and sometimes black beans, lima beans, or chickpeas (if tolerated after preparation like pressure cooking) are often suggested, while canned/fermented versions are high-histamine; always cook fresh, soak, and pressure cook legumes to lower histamine/lectins, as individual tolerance varies greatly.
Below you will find a list of low histamine foods broken down by category.
Additionally, at the start of a low histamine diet, it's common to temporarily remove chickpeas as these can be irritants for other reasons. For example, chickpeas are hard to digest so can cause gut irritation for those with digestive issues.
Note: Canned foods are high histamine so all beans and legumes should be cooked fresh. Always soak overnight and pressure cook to reduce lectins and make them easier to digest.
Here are some foods that are low in histamine:
Gluten-free grains like amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, millet, rice, quinoa, and more. Fresh meat that has not been aged. Salmon: Only fresh or flash-frozen within 30 minutes of catch. Non-citrus fruits like apples, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, pomegranates, and more.
Grains – also products thereof such as rice noodles, white bread, rye bread, rice crisp bread, oats, puffed rice crackers, millet flour, pasta. Fresh pasteurised milk and milk products. Milk substitutes – goat milk, sheep milk. Cream cheese, mozzarella, butter, (without the histamine generating rancidity)
Legumes are a broad category of beans, lentils, and peanuts. The following legumes don't have a lot of histamine but have high levels of histamine-like chemicals: Chickpeas. Lentils.
Mast cell stabilizers.
Medications like cromolyn sodium prevent mast cells from releasing histamine. Some food components called flavonoids — like luteolin and quercetin — have a similar effect.
Cooking with moist heat can remove the toxicity of phytohaemagglutinin. Beans should be soaked and boiled thoroughly in fresh water (100°C). Beans should not be cooked at a low temperature, for example in a crock pot or slow cooker, since it may not destroy the toxin.
An example of a simple and healthy dish in a low-histamine diet can be a combination of green beans with cooked potato and raw onion. Another more elaborate, but just as delicious, is brown rice with green beans and chicken.
Low histamine proteins
Taylor had known that she was allergic to tree nuts since she was a small child. Growing up on her family's farm, Taylor ate a tree nut and would have died if it weren't for the heroic barking of her golden retriever who she had since birth.
Many people believe they experience a “histamine dump.” This phenomenon usually happens at night when your body releases a sudden surge of histamine. A histamine dump can interrupt your sleep and cause headaches, flushing, itching, anxiety, and a racing heart.
Some legumes like peanut, soybean, and lupine are particularly known for their allergenic potential.
Low Histamine Nuts
Fresh vegetables: Most veggies are low in histamine, except for spinach, tomatoes, and eggplant. Whole grains: Rice, quinoa, oatmeal, whole grain pasta, and bread are generally well-tolerated. Dairy substitutes: Coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk, and oat milk are generally well-tolerated.
Gas-Reducing Tips
Increase your bean intake slowly. Start by eating 2 to 4 tablespoons of beans per day, and gradually increase consumption to the ½ cup per day recommendation. Drink more water each day as you eat more beans. When soaking dry beans before cooking, change the water several times.
Sodium per label-size serving was measuredfor multiple brands offive canned bean varieties. ' in packing liquid,' drained of packing liquid,' and drained ofpacking liquid and then rinsed. Both draining and draining followed by rinsing signflcantly reduce sodium in canned beans.
Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a very common and well-known nutrient to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation. Vitamin C is also required to produce the necessary enzymes for the process of histamine breakdown, making it a vital anti-histamine nutrient.
Low-Histamine Foods (Score 0)
8 Low Histamine Bread Products
Sweet potatoes are low histamine while also stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas, which is great considering that histamine intolerance often includes symptoms of digestive distress in many individuals.
So if you suffer from histamine intolerance, you should prefer calmer sports such as strength training, Pilates or yoga. Interesting fact: Cardio training releases histamine and other inflammation substances, but the effect only takes temporary (up to 72 hours).
Cucumber is low in histamine and a refreshing addition to a salad. We've combined it with other low-histamine salad vegetables like radish, celery and anti-histamine onions in our radish and cucumber salad.