This week I had the pleasure of meeting Barcelona-based nutritionist Adriana Duelo. She has kindly allowed me to re-blog an article that was originally part of her nutritional thesis. Adriana’s research is regularly submitted to the prestigious SPANISH SOCIETY OF DAO DEFICIENCY (of which she is also a member). Something that quickly caught my eye on Adriana’s website was a breakdown of histamine content in some popular foods. The charts and the text below were translated from the spanish on her site (using Google Translate). Adriana herself speaks perfect English and will be sharing a few more interesting articles for release through my site in the coming weeks.
Were you as surprised as I by some of these results? I was excited to see chocolate scoring so low – but we already know that cacao is more of a histamine liberator rather than being high in it. Alcohol, though not too high histamine, has the very unfortunate effect of blocking DAO (diamine oxidase) production. I don’t feel that bad when I drink (as long as I stick to tequila, rum or gin), but feel horrible for days afterwards when things I usually tolerate suddenly start bothering me.
Milk certainly shocked me, though it’s not relevant to me as I don’t indulge in dairy. My home made (raw) chocolate bars are pure cacao and almond butter. Before you rush out and indulge in all the things you’ve thought were off the menu – please read the text below from Adriana’s site where she points out that not only is there some dispute about the histamine content of foods, but also at what concentration (mg per kilo) to avoid them.
I personally don’t think people should be too strict. I’m only as strict as I have to be and most of the time chemicals bother me more than foods. I understand that histamine is necessary for almost all bodily functions, but that doesn’t give me permission to pig out on pizza and sausage. I’m much more likely to be found adding tomatoes to my salads and pineapple to a smoothie.
Continued from Adriana Duelo’s site….
FOODS RICH IN HISTAMINE
The lack of enzymatic activity of Diamino oxidase (DAO) can cause different symptoms in our body that is manifested by several signs, as shown in an article published last month in this blog: ” Deficit of enzyme DAO . “
First, is diagnosed when there is a lack of DAO activity with a blood test, the nutritionist can rate portal as a diet low in histamine and other amines . (These other amines also be taken into account, but I’ll leave for another article).
This pattern is essential to prevent the onset of symptoms (one of the main, the migraine ), so you need to degrade histamine enzyme DAO, and but we have enough accumulated histamine can produce symptoms mentioned.
From this diet, while nutritionist decide if, moreover, the supplies necessary for a DAO enzyme dietary supplement to help absorb the low histamine foods that we ingest.
There is disagreement over the criteria to be followed for the consideration of whether or not a food rich in histamine. Some authors suggest avoiding those foods from the diet that have concentrations above 20 mg / kg, while others are much more demanding and consider foods with low amounts of histamine which contain less than 1 mg / kg. ‘ What is clear is that the dose symptomatological is much lower in patients with CAD deficit in sporadic histamine poisoning: 15-20mg and 150mg respectively. This demonstrates clearly important in a diet low in rate portal histamine deficit in patients with CAD.
65 Responses
fyi, the broken links are .TIFF files. If you right click and save-as, you can see what they are.
i can’t see the files 🙁
Sorry guys, I forget not everyone is on a mac..reposted jpg. Should be ok now.
Do you think salmon would be in the ‘oily fish’ category?
So, what’s the best source for low histamine protein (chicken vs. beef, vs. lamb, etc.)?
Hi Mike, no I don’t. I speak Spanish (this was a google translate from Spanish) and the original says conserved fish, meaning canned or preserved (like herring). I believe it falls under the fresh fish category, which is not that low (Dirk always made a face when I said I was eating salmon) BUT omega 3 is necessary for proper DAO function and so I think it’s a necessity.
I can’t really comment on that. I eat beef once in a blue moon for my iron, other than that I don’t like meats…as long as they’re not frozen it really just varies depending on how bacteria contaminated they are…
And thanks so much for letting me know that the tiffs weren’t showing up!
ur welcome, and thanks for this great site and resource! Any other good communities where people share low histamine info? The low salicylate folks have great forums, but I haven’t found much in the histamine world.
Can someone explain the nd in front of some of the numbers? Thanks.
Hi Dee, I just asked Adriana, it means “not exactly known” which seems to refer to the fact that histamine levels in food are very variable according to bacterial contamination, time of year grown, how long they’ve been on the supermarket shelf, pesticides/chemicals etc.
Can someone tell me what is RAW milk? Would this number compare to what we buy at the store?
I believe it refers to unpasturised milk. That would be because raw milk would not be heat treated (pasteurized). The bacteria in cooked foods are higher, and bacteria is high in biogenic amines.
is coconut kefir high?
is kale or cabbage (not fermented) high?
celery, yellow squash, green zucchini, or cucumbers high? these are the only vegetables I can currently eat.
I do eat meat since I am so limited with vegetable right now, would taking DOA enzyme while eating meat help with the reaction of histamine ?
thanks
d
Most kefir would be since it’s fermented, but it’s also rich in the probiotics needed for proper gut health. I used to try to have a little daily. Those veggies are not high no. Neither is cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, chicory, sweet potato, chickpeas, lentils/
A dao enzyme could help. I used to take one but it’s no longer available. Try to find one with few fillers and extraneous ingredients.
Hope this helps! Thanks for commenting.
I wonder if A2 milk is better than other forms. Apparently A1 has histidine at position 67 of the beta casien amino acid chain, whereas A2 as well as goats milk, have proline in the equivalent position. Would love to know if that translates to higher levels of histamine in A1 compared to A2 milk? Anyone know?
I noticed that cider vinegar is low in histmaine yet regular and balsamic are high. Do you know why there is such a wide difference? Also, any idea where rice wine vinegar falls on this spectrun?
I have learned a lot from reading your blog–thank you!
Hi Keith, I don’t have any specific information regarding this (I don’t do milk of any kind), but I was told that goat’s milk is fine for histamine issues, as is goat’s cheese. Hope that helps!
Hi there, that would be a few things: apples are not high histamine, while grapes are. Also, cider vinegar is not fermented for as long as balsamic. Rice wine vinegar, I imagine, would fall somewhere in between. Thanks for the kind compliment!
Wouldn’t frozen meats be lower in histamine considering they are typically frozen right away and most bacteria cannot survive flash freezing. Which is one of the purposes of flash freezing?
Wouldn’t frozen meats be lower in histamine considering they are typically frozen right away and most bacteria cannot survive flash freezing. Which is one of the purposes of flash freezing?
How is almond milk?
How is almond milk?
Fresh home made almond milk is usually fine unless you react to nuts or oxalates. The skins are highly nutritious so I add them to my milk and flours.
Fresh home made almond milk is usually fine unless you react to nuts or oxalates. The skins are highly nutritious so I add them to my milk and flours.
So red wine has more histamine than white – am I reading that right? I’d always been told the opposite, moreover it implies Chardonnay is very low whereas I’d been told Chardonnay was the one white wine to avoid.
So red wine has more histamine than white – am I reading that right? I’d always been told the opposite, moreover it implies Chardonnay is very low whereas I’d been told Chardonnay was the one white wine to avoid.
Hi there, yup that’s generally considered to be the case. Every list is different. I have thrown away the lists and made my own. It’s been the key to getting better in my case. I kept a food diary for years and tracked my reactions. But ultimately – food is not the root cause. It is however, your best ally for recovery.
Hi there, yup that’s generally considered to be the case. Every list is different. I have thrown away the lists and made my own. It’s been the key to getting better in my case. I kept a food diary for years and tracked my reactions. But ultimately – food is not the root cause. It is however, your best ally for recovery.
Hi, sorry, I’m new to this topic and this site. What does “nd – ” mean, please? I don’t know how to interpret these numbers, so I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.
Thanks very much, and please pardon my ignorance! 🙂
Considering that these lists are different on each site I visit, I’m not sure what to believe.
ND (from a laboratory perspective) means none detected.
Are grapes and pairs safe? If not which fruits are??
this content is rubbish without scientific validity. if there was significant active histamine in these foods your mouth would immediately swell or you would get hives on cracked lips
Hello medical specialist – perhaps you’re not familiar with mast cell disorders? I would think you would be. Those are exactly some of the symptoms we deal with though at times the reactions can be somewhat delayed. I recommend reading the research of Drs: Akin, Afrin, Castells and Theoharides on this subject. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.
Hi there, the point is the lists are there for some guidance, nothing more. It’s important to understand that mast cell disorders (histamine intolerance/mast cell activation/mastocytosis) are not really all about food. Histamine content of foods, histamine released through the act of digestion, are only a very small part of how/why histamine levels, as well as those of other inflammatory agents, are released from mast cells and basophils. I found I had to compile my own list of safe foods, but more importantly, I had to understand the limited role food plays in these disorders.
Hi Aasem – grapes are generally considered high histamine. Pears are ok on most lists. I suggest you google Dr Janice Joneja’s food list to help guide you.
But the chart says goat cheese is 87…?
Hi Sarah, that’s what I was told. I was given a different list when I was diagnosed.But again, everyone has a different list. They are useful as a general guideline only, rather than something to be followed religiously.
How in the world could yogurt be 13 and milk be 162? That makes no sense to me since yogurt is simply fermented milk. It should be much higher, not 10 times lower. And, milk is on the low-list everywhere I’ve seen. How could this be accurate?
A question on this, as i’m newly adapting to this after years of trying to figure out why I’ve been so sick, but can you clarify what you mean by “ultimately food is not the root cause” so I can understand better. I’m guessing you mean it’s the body that is the root cause and the food is our ally for a misbehaving body? Thanks!
id love to see results of histamine levels in people after drinking a2 cows milk appose to a1 milk. however there seems to be alot of suppression of how good a2 is… mostlikely the goverments and bigpharma protecting there anti-histamine profits.
I surely hope ‘medical allergist’ is just a nickname, since an allergist definitely ought to know the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance.
To learn more about food intolerance I advice you to thorougly read this site.
i would think these 2 question previously asked are very important…1. what is the root cause ( i have an idea, if you have high histamines, you are a low methylator, meaning your ability to detox is impaired in the methylation pathways b/c they are blocked and typically blocked due to some environmental toxins, ESP mercury and mold causing mast cell degrandulation.
And 2. how do you interpret the numbers next to the foods?
thanks
denise
Hi Denise, everyone has their own theory as to the cause of this disorder. In my case I believe that past trauma caused my nervous system to wire itself for stress, causing hormonal changes that impacted my mast cells, thereby releasing tons of inflammation into my body. The more I manage my stress, while eating a histamine balanced rather than low histamine diet, the quicker my recovery gathers momentum. The chart indicates that the numbers mean mg per kilo.
Hi Denise, everyone has their own theory as to the cause of this disorder. In my case I believe that past trauma caused my nervous system to wire itself for stress, causing hormonal changes that impacted my mast cells, thereby releasing tons of inflammation into my body. The more I manage my stress, while eating a histamine balanced rather than low histamine diet, the quicker my recovery gathers momentum. The chart indicates that the numbers mean mg per kilo.
Meaning milligrams per kilo
Meaning milligrams per kilo
That’s very kind of you to say Googlick.
That’s very kind of you to say Googlick.
hi, thank you so much..i too believe my past trauma plays a role as well as the environmental toxins I have been exposed to mercury in mouth and lived in a moldy house…do you have any situations like that, that you think might contributed to your ill health? Can you share more about histamine balance vs low histamines? do you eat all fruits wether that have histamines are not? veggies as well? can you please share the ratio of fruits to veg? I am trying to find a balance for the yeast and bacteria in my body. I do really well on fruits…they have helped me start to sweat, have more energy, more elimination (didn’t have a BM for 3 1/2 yrs only on enemas) and sleeping better BUT they can be hard on the bacteria in my body and/or pancreas b/c i will then suffer with upper “gut” pain or bacteria or pancreas pain…have been real, real sick. thank you so much for the replies
denise
hi, thank you so much..i too believe my past trauma plays a role as well as the environmental toxins I have been exposed to mercury in mouth and lived in a moldy house…do you have any situations like that, that you think might contributed to your ill health? Can you share more about histamine balance vs low histamines? do you eat all fruits wether that have histamines are not? veggies as well? can you please share the ratio of fruits to veg? I am trying to find a balance for the yeast and bacteria in my body. I do really well on fruits…they have helped me start to sweat, have more energy, more elimination (didn’t have a BM for 3 1/2 yrs only on enemas) and sleeping better BUT they can be hard on the bacteria in my body and/or pancreas b/c i will then suffer with upper “gut” pain or bacteria or pancreas pain…have been real, real sick. thank you so much for the replies
denise
The problem with this is the “load” factor. I you eat a kilo of blue cheese you have bigger problems than the histamine levels. Who consumes a kilo of balsamic vinegar or sauerkraut? These numbers would be much more useful “per serving”. It reminds me of when people said that carrots would make you fat because they have a high glycemic index; except you’d have to eat a whole bag of carrots for them to raise your blood sugar a significant amount.
I am very interested in denise question on certain vegetables.
Kale, cabbage, celery, yellow squash, green zucchini, cucumbers. I just started today to take B6 vitamin to see if it will help along with vitamin C powder.
nd = not detectable. This refers to the lower limit of detection associated with the testing method employed in the research. In other words, histamines may be present but at a level lower than is detectable.
I have been suffering from so many issues expecially itchy rash. I have been eating all of the items listed with high Histamines. I am going to keep a journal and eliminate those foods. Will let you know.
No where does it say what the “nd -” numbers mean…i dont understand this 🙁
No where does it say what the “nd -” numbers mean…i dont understand this 🙁
Can you explain what the nd stands for in relation to mg/kg. This would be helpful information to understand this relationship to the different recommended amounts to stay below.
Can you explain what the nd stands for in relation to mg/kg. This would be helpful information to understand this relationship to the different recommended amounts to stay below.
I believe it might mean “not detectable’ but not sure.
No. Releases of large stores of histamine occur during severe allergic reactions to something. But with histamine intolerance (more accurately called histaminosis), levels of histamine build up in those people with enzymatic defects because they cannot degrade the histamine. They/we get body wide symptoms from the chronic activation of Histamine 1, 2, 3, and 4 receptors and thus get body wide symptoms. However, we can also get hives, crack lips (mine are almost chronic! swelling and more as anaphylactic shock when the histamine levels are high enough. I myself have suffered anaphylactic shock many many many times before learning about my enzymatic defects. Now shock is much less common for me unless I get exposed to an allergen, and yes I have allergies as well.
With mast cell disorders, the mast cell release too much histamine and over load the body before they can be broken down. With mastocytosis, one has too many mast cells, and thus again, putting out too much histamine. With DAO defects, one cannot properly break down histamine. With some methylation defects histamine cannot be methylated properly, which is another biochemical pathway to break down histamine and again it builds up.
Many of us have more than one type of this disorder, which makes the effects that much more accumulative.
I feel everything is effecting me and feel lost
Not-detected. It’s a common abbreviation in scientific research papers.
Not-detected. It’s a common abbreviation in scientific research papers.