The most important measure to take is to observe a low-histamine diet.

There are a couple of basic rules that you should keep in mind:

• No preserves, canned or bottled food products
• No over-ripe foods (matured cheeses, alcoholic beverages, products produced with yeast, less than fresh fish...) 
• Histamine levels can vary! Depends on the maturation/ripening stage and hygienic condition of the product. 
• No alcohol, especially not before, during or after meals. 
• Always make sure to tell any physicians treating you that you have histamine intolerance. This applies especially when you undergo surgery under anaesthetic!
• Always keep your emergency set with you (as prescribed by your doctor) 
• Certain medication should be avoided. (Ask your doctor! )
• Always eat food directly from the refrigerator; don’t take it out of the refrigerator to let it warm up before you eat it.

The following foods should be avoided in general:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Hard (matured) cheese
• Salami
• Nuts
• Tomatoes
• Fish (except for very fresh fish)
• Tuna (even when it’s fresh)
• Shell fish
• Sauerkraut    

You can find a more detailed list of tolerated and not tolerated foods here, and here in the histamine table.

Treatment of histamine intolerance

More information about the treatment and a low biogenic amine diet can be found in this Food Intolerance Network article

Sources include:
Maintz L, Noval N: Histamine and histamine intolerance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007
Jarisch, R. "Histaminunverträglichkeit", Thieme Verlag TB 2. Auflage

Last Updated on Friday, 05 April 2013 07:45