Low Histamine Diet Plan I — Specific Foods That Promote Excess Histamine In The Body- read this article
In this article you care read about:
Low Histamine Diet Plan II- General Rules For A Healthy Diet (And Lower Histamine)
How To Reduce Histamine In The Body With Vitamins and Minerals
How To Reduce Histamine In The Body With Herbs
Other Ways To Reduce Histamine In the Body– With Better Sleep, Stress Management, And By Avoiding Toxic Chemicals
Related articles: about the many roles of this neurotransmitter for brain, gut, immune system, inflammation and more, its connection with allergies, MS and other conditions here. The best prescription meds targeting histamine receptors and mast cell stabilizers here.
Low Histamine Diet Plan II- General Rules For A Healthy Diet (And Lower Histamine)
What I consider more important than histamine content of the foods
Key points for a healthy diet (more details below)
Organic, fresh foods, cook daily; avoid leftovers, canned, frozen, and more importantly- processed foods and GMOs
East as much as possible in season foods
Eat as much as possible from local farms
Variety is the key. You may need to limit foods for a short period, but only short term (a few weeks).
Fresh fruits and veggies as much as possible. If you have issues with raw foods, try to either combine them with spices or cook them -again, with spices. Include different colors. Not everyone will be sensitive to the same foods. Keep a food diary and see which ones work best for you. Consider the following :
Veggies : anise, arugula, artichoke, asparagus, beets, bell peppers, bok choy, rainbow/red/green chard, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, cucumbers, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, okra, olives, onions, parsley, radishes, rhubarb, shallots, squashes, sweet potatoes and yams, water chestnuts, watercress, zucchini. Note: spinach, tomatoes and eggplants may cause problems for some.
Fruits: Try eat apples, peaches, apricots, prunes, pomegranates, melons and watermelon, mango, persimmon, lychee, cherries, sour cherries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, currants. Limit the amount of high histamine fruits such as raspberries, pineapples, banana, grapefruit and overripe fruits/ rotten parts. Avocados may cause problems for some.
Dairy products:Try ghee (clarified butter), and small amounts of goat, sheep and buffalo soft cheeses, yogurt and kefir. Hard, old cheeses, and all cows dairy products (except ghee) will cause problems in many.
Meats, fish and eggs: Wild caught fish (from clean waters, check out the source) and clean meats (grass fed, organic, grown without antibiotics or hormones ie chicken, turkey, venison, rabbit, buffalo, even red meats). Some may be ok with seafood and shellfish, some won’t (especially with shellfish mussels, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, prawns). Food diary will help you again.
Use plenty of cooling spices on your foods, they are natural antihistamines. Organic, of course. Turmeric, coriander, fennel, cumin, saffron, cardamom, mint, parsley, dill are tolerated by most, so try them first. Drink teas based on these spices on a daily basis. You can experiment with rosemary, sage, oregano, etc.
Beans and grains: Avoiding most grains- especially those with gluten — it is a smart idea. Millet, sorghum, rice, quinoa, amaranth, oats are well tolerated by many. Some may is sensitive to beans while most will have specific issues with soybeans. Try lentils and chickpeas first. Both grains and beans should be organic, pressure cooked or soaked overnight and cooked with a lot of spices.
Nuts, seeds, coffee, cacao. Coconut- milk, cream, yogurt, coconut aminos (alternative to soy sauce)- all fine for most. Eat flax seeds, hemp seeds, almonds and walnuts if tolerated. Coffee is ok (add cardamom or cinnamon and use coconut cream/milk as alternative to dairies). Cacao can cause symptoms.
Oils & Vinegar: olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, ghee are good choices. Apple cider vinegar only.
Alcohol. Best to be avoided. If you want to have a glass of wine, choose white wine over red, avoid beer. Add some cinnamon or cardamom.
Fermented and pickled foods: a very controversial topic. I think it is safe to eat them in low/moderate quantities, during cold seasons only. They aren’t as bad as you may have heard (details below).
A few more things to consider
Avoid eating when you are stressed. Stress increases histamine levels, even if your meal is low in histamine; sit down when you eat, and try eating with family and friends you enjoy, rather than alone.
Try to eat at regular times, 2-3 hours break between meals; avoid eating 4 hours before going to bed- these can help improve your gut health and how you digest foods. Experiment with intermittent fasting. Quick note here: the process of eating by itself activates histamine- mastication and feeding are potent activators of the brain histamine system [1].
Histamine release is a sensitive indicator of stress (both emotional and metabolic stress such as shock, hypoglycemia or dehydration) [1]; you can’t avoid shock, but you can hypoglycemia and dehydration.
Some explanations why I make the recommendations above:
Fresh, locally grown foods means that the quality of food and nutrient content are optimal.
If you eat from local farms it also means that your diet will change with the season, which adds more benefits to your gut, and overall health. It’s fine to have more carbs in the summer, and more fats/oils, and some fermented foods in the winter.
Add plenty of cooling spices (of course, organic). They are natural antihistamines. Stay away from heating spices: ginger, basil, thyme and oregano (you can reintroduce them later in your diet). I really want to emphasize the use of spices. If you look at their healing potential, spices are more powerful than foods, and herbs are even more powerful than foods and spices to promote health and healing [2].
Stay away from processed foods and GMOs. Many will benefit from avoiding gluten/other lectins. Note: if you live in one of those many countries than ban GMO foods and Monsanto’s Roundup, congratulations ! You are already a few steps ahead to correct histamine excess and many other health issues. However, do keep in mind that some of these countries that ban GMO crops will import GMO foods and will be available on the market. If you still eat GMOs you will need to do some serious research.
Go gluten free. If you had exposure to GMOs and pesticides, you are likely sensitive to gluten and other lectins, so stay away from them for a while. Be aware of the following links: glyphosate has similar structure with gluten, explaining why gluten sensitivities and intolerances are nowadays more common. Furthermore, the protein sequences in gluten are almost identical with the protein sequences in brain, thyroid, pancreas. Gluten sensitivity/intolerance makes your body attack its own cells that resemble gluten (molecular mimicry). The result: autoimmune conditions.
When you reintroduce grains in your diet make sure they are pressure cooked or soaked in water overnight and cooked with plenty of cooling spices
Stay away from all process foods. High in histamine and plenty of unhealthy chemicals, and a hidden source of gluten
Reduce/eliminate canned and frozen foods as they accumulate excess histamine; if you buy frozen, thaw quickly and use immediately
Cured, dried, marinated, smoked or otherwise preserved meat are high in histamine; avoid highly chopped meats (sausages, meatloafs) -histamine content increases with the degree of comminution.
II.How To Reduce Histamine In The Body With Vitamins, Minerals, Omega 3 And More
Vitamin C is the well-known vitamin with strong antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer qualities [3], [4] .Technical: vitamin C Increases degradation of histamine; decreases of histamine formation by inhibition of histidine decarboxylase [5].
However, there are other essential nutrients that can decrease excess histamine and inflammation as well: vitamin E [6], vitamin D [7], vitamin A retinol [8], B vitamins [9],[10],[11], magnesium [12], zinc [13], selenium [14]. Chromium is important in sugar metabolism, which is important to keep it healthy. Hypoglycemia, for example promotes histamine release [1].
Omega 3 essential fatty acids are potent anti inflammatory and mast cell stabilizers, being successfully used to treat allergies [15],[16].
Where do you get these essential vitamins and minerals from ? I recommend less and less synthetic vitamins (I make a few exceptions ie B vitamins, magnesium).
You can get these vitamins and minerals from high quality foods, and whole food supplements. For example, vitamin C is better absorbed and used by the body when combined with plant phenols. The best source of vitamin C is not the common (synthetic) vitamin C, but from foods, spices and Amla powder (amla is available alone, or in the combination called Triphala, in powder form or capsules).
For B vitamins, a high quality supplement with highly bio available forms (ie B2 as a riboflavin 5′-phosphate, B1 as benfothiamine, B6 as a pyridoxal 5′ phosphate, folate as L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate), may be beneficial in some cases.
A high quality cod liver oil (ie Carlson Labs) is a good source of vitamin A, omega 3 fatty acids and has some vitamin D, and small amounts of vitamin E. If you are concerned about vitamin A toxicity, Carlson Labs has a low vitamin A cod liver oil formula. I would alternate cod liver oil with regular fish oil.
Good sources of minerals (including trace minerals) are foods, ocean derived minerals, green supplements (spirulina, chlorella) and tissue salts. You may need extra magnesium (ionic, glycinate).
How To Decrease Histamine In The Body With Herbs
Naturally Occurring Herbal Mast Cell Stabilizers
You have many options, as you will see below. Herbs have potent anti histamine and mast cell stabilizer qualities. Remember, herbs are more powerful than spices and foods.
A broad classification would be based on natural compounds of the plants that have the ability to stabilize mast cells
flavonoids
coumarins
phenols
terpenoids
aminoacids (theanine).
Herbal supplements I usually recommend: Triphala, Neem, Pomegranate powder, Magnolia Bark, Brahmi-Bacopa and quercetin plus luteolin combo, in addition to flavonoid/phenol/coumarins/terpenoids rich foods : onion, various fruits and veggies.
Let’s get into details now.
Among flavonoids, the most potent mast cell stabilizers are quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol and apigenin and fisetin [17]. Off note, quercetin seems to be even more potent than the commonly used mast cell stabilizer drug cromolyn. Quercetin plus luteolin is a great combo [18]. These flavonoids are found in many fruits, and veggies. Onion is probably one of the best source of these major flavonoids [19]. Flavonoids and other plant compounds from neem and mint make these herbs great mast cell stabilizers [20]. Silymarin from milk thistle also belongs to flavonoid family. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea is related to the flavonoid family as well [21].
Among coumarins, my favorites are: ellagic acid (found in pomegranate, mango kernel, walnuts and some berries) and cinnamic acid (found in cinnamon, some berries and olives). Haritaki contains not only ellagic acid but also tannins and chebulagic acid [22]. Haritaki (Terminalia chebula), along with Amla that I mentioned above (as a source of vitamin C) are part of the supplement Triphala.
Among phenols, I see a lot of value (as mast cell stabilizers) in curcumin (turmeric), magnolol and honokiol (found in magnolia bark), mangostin (from mangosteen) and resveratrol (found in grapes, wine, and some berries)
Terpenoids: Bacopa Monnieri, Cassia (Senna, different species) and Forskolin are great sources of terpenoids and other compounds with anti histamine/mast cell stabilizer effects [22].
If you are interested to learn more about herbs, their ingredients, how they work as anti histamine/mast cell stabilizers check out these two scientific studies: this one and this one.
IV.Other Ways To Decrease Histamine In The Body – With Better Sleep, Stress Management, And By Avoiding Toxic Chemicals .
Sleep well. It really is important to get a good night sleep. First because histamine decreases naturally during sleep. To me more specific, histamine producing neurons are active only when you are awake, as they promote arousal and wakefulness. and are inactive during sleep (especially REM sleep).Histamine works together with other neurotransmitters, including orexins. Both histamine and orexins are low in people who experience excessive sleepiness- including narcolepsy [23]. Secondly, that brain (and the whole body’s cells) repair and regenerate during sleep, and helps restore the brain health (including histamine producing neurons).
Cut Down On Stress With Deep (Nasal) Breathing, Yoga, Meditation. Stress is by far, one of the most potent sources of histamine release from mast cells [24],[25],[26],[27]. I would say is more important than low histamine foods for histamine intolerance treatment (or other causes of excess histamine).Decreasing stress will also improve other neurotransmitters levels, which is important because histamine works along with them. For example, orexin-containing neurons are neighbors of the histamine neurons; both excite histamine neurons. I wrote about orexins here. Histamine mediates the stress hormones (ie ACTH, ß-endorphin, and AVP) from the pituitary and controls stress-related activity of serotonin-, norepinephrine-, dopamine-, and acetylcholine-containing neurons [1].I wrote about these neurotransmitters here, here, here and here. Yoga (which involve deep breathing) had been extensively studied in people with asthma, a allergies and studies found an improvement in histamine levels [28], [29] .Mindfulness meditation can impact your health on the gene levels (gene expression), including genes involved in inflammation, and allergies, having an antihistamine, mast cell stabilizer effect [30],[31],[32]. Deep breathing, yoga and meditation are great stress relievers as well.
Avoid chemicals (from cosmetics, environment and even cooking utensils, pots, etc) and plastics. Some research shows that we absorb as much as 60% of the substances we put on the skin. Use clean, filtered water, and use an air filter at home [33].Note: Heavy metals like mercury [34], as as well as lead, cadmium, and bismuth can all activate mast cells. Silver and gold can promote excess histamine too [35], be careful with jewelry.Histamine is produced in the skin, brain, digestive system and immune cells. Therefore, all these chemicals can trigger excess histamine.
Finally, treat infections. Infections also activate mast cells- whether they are bacterial, fungal, viruses or parasites [36],[37],[38]
