To naturally lower histamine, focus on a fresh, low-histamine diet (fresh meats, non-citrus fruits, many veggies), manage stress (yoga, meditation), get quality sleep, engage in moderate exercise, and consider natural antihistamines like Vitamin C, Quercetin, and probiotics, but always consult a professional first as lifestyle and supplements can impact histamine levels.
How do you flush histamines out of your body? Staying hydrated, maintaining electrolyte balance, and supporting liver and kidney function can help flush out histamines. Consuming anti-inflammatory foods and supplements like vitamin C may be helpful.
High histamine levels are often caused by a deficiency in the enzyme DAO, which helps to break down histamine.
This article describes the eight best natural antihistamines and looks at the science behind them.
Currently, the only evidence-based strategy for alleviating or preventing symptoms is adherence to a low-histamine diet, often supplemented with exogenous DAO to enhance histamine breakdown at the intestinal level [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16].
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.
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.
Natural antihistamines like ginger, turmeric, and capers offer effective, holistic ways to manage allergies. While these remedies may not replace traditional treatments for severe cases, they can significantly reduce symptoms when used consistently.
For example, respiratory symptoms associated with histamine receptor intolerance include rhinorrhea, rhinitis, nasal congestion, dyspnea, and sneezing [19,21]. Histamine receptors are present in the skin; therefore, there will be skin manifestations, including pruritis, flushing, urticaria, dermatitis, and swelling.
Citrus Fruits
Vitamin C is a well-known immune booster, but it also has antihistamine properties. “Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits can help reduce symptoms like a runny nose and watery eyes,” says Oldman.
The Role of Estrogen in Histamine Regulation
This is because estrogen can boost the release of histamine from mast cells, which leads to heightened symptoms such as itching, headaches, and hives.
The role of vitamin B12 in histamine intolerance
Vitamin B12 supports the methylation process—a biochemical pathway that helps the body detoxify and regulate histamine levels. When B12 is lacking, methylation slows down, leading to higher histamine concentrations in the blood.
Zinc has been shown to inhibit the release of histamine from mast cells, which is a blessing for anyone who is trying to bring their histamine levels under control. Note: if you're looking at zinc because of an issue with histamine, remember copper.
An intolerance to histamine is thought to be due to a lack of an enzyme called diamine oxidase. In this Factsheet you will find the most common foods that may be a problem to someone with a histamine intolerance and how best to go about identifying and eliminating problem foods.
A Low Histamine Diet
This diet reduces foods that are known to be higher in histamine. These include: Avocado.
In this study, after being on a histamine-free diet for four weeks, patients showed significant improvement in their symptoms and decreasing plasma histamine level. Even so, the doses of drugs being used could not be reduced and there was no significant change in plasma DAO activity.
Medical Conditions
Autoimmune disorders affect immune system function, which might lead to more histamine being released (11). Another condition causing elevated histamine levels is mastocytosis, rare disorder involving abnormal mast cell growth—the cells that make and store histamine (12).
There is currently no cure for histamine intolerance. The key to success is for the patient to learn to adjust to a low-histamine diet and manage the condition(s) until it either goes away, or for life.
People with mastocytosis have an increased risk of developing a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction. This is known as anaphylaxis. The increased risk of anaphylaxis is caused by the abnormally high number of mast cells and their potential to release large amounts of histamine into the blood.
While no single "most powerful" natural antihistamine is definitively crowned, Quercetin is widely considered the top contender, acting by stabilizing mast cells to prevent histamine release, with Vitamin C and Stinging Nettle also being very effective natural options for allergy relief, often used in combination with Quercetin in supplements. Other beneficial natural remedies include probiotics, bromelain (pineapple), ginger, and turmeric for reducing inflammation and symptoms.
Here are some foods that are low in histamine:
Non-citrus fruits like apples, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, pomegranates, and more. Avoid grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange. Non-dairy milk like almond, coconut, or hemp. Fresh vegetables; avoid tomato, avocado, eggplant, squash, and spinach.
Low Histamine Herbs and Spices
Anise. Cinnamon. Chilli Powder. Cloves.
Excess histamine can cause a variety of different symptoms which very often mimic allergic reactions. The most common symptoms are rashes (e.g. hives), itching, flushing, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), indigestion, breathlessness, palpitations, migraines, dizziness, anxiety/panic, joint aches and nasal congestion.
Histamine levels are another potent downstream target. Allergic symptoms exacerbate during nighttime and plasma histamine levels exhibit nocturnal peaks. In mastocytosis patients, peak levels of plasma histamine were observed in the early morning with the lowest in the afternoon (19).
That would be for example a gastroenterologist if you have stomach or bowel problems, a dermatologist if you have skin problems, an allergologist or an immunologist, because they need to make sure that you don't have any other illness.