The outcome of a one month histamine restricted diet with 44 individuals suffering from ‘idiopathic’ urticaria, angioedema and pruritus found that 61% reported significant improvement and 18% reported some improvement. Other symptoms such as migraines and panic attacks were also alleviated for some of the participants. As the study was not of the type favored by scientists (i.e. double blind) the authors are reluctant to draw any conclusions other than that the results suggest that this type of restricted diet may be of benefit in some cases.
The longer food is stored or left to mature, the greater its histamine content and the more problematic it can be for individuals with food sensitivities and intolerance.
Fresh meat contains no or very little histamine. However, when meat is processed further, the maturation process results in the accumulation of biogenic amines.
Examples of foods/substances that may increase histamine levels, directly or indirectly, resulting in symptoms including digestive problems, headaches and skin rashes are:
- Alcohol, particularly red wine and champagne. Also white wine and beer.
- Aged, smoked, canned fish and fish sauces. Tuna fish, mackerel, sardines, anchovy, herring, catfish, salmon.
- Pizza
- Smoked and processed meats such as salami, ham, bratwurst and bacon
- Sauerkraut
- Certain vegetables: tomato, spinach, eggplant, avocado, mushrooms and canned vegetables as well as commercially prepared salads
- Certain fruits: strawberries, bananas, papayas, kiwi, pineapple, mango, tangerines, grapefruits, red prunes, peas
- Red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Cheese
- Mustard
- Ketchup
- Sunflower seeds
- Chocolate/cocoa
- Coffee, black tea
- Some fruits: citrus, bananas, strawberries, red prunes, pears, kiwi, raspberries, papaya
- Bread and confectionery made with yeast
- Peanuts, cashews, walnuts
While nuts do not contain histamine, they do contain histidine. Peanut, sesame, almond, pistachio, pine, and walnut have the highest levels of histidine among the nuts. Histidine, an amino acid, can be used by some gut bacteria to produce histamine. In other words, nuts can raise histamine levels indirectly.
Bananas contain serotonin, a vasoactive amine with properties like histamine, so are generally to be avoided.
Already available and used throughout Europe, Histame, the new dietary ingredient (NDI), the Diamine Oxidase (DAO) enzyme, was acknowledged by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008.
DAO, the intestinal tract histamine-degrading enzyme, breaks down ingested histamine, thus helping to lower overall histamine levels. A deficiency of DAO can cause an increase histamine exposure inside the body, which may result in symptoms of histamine food intolerance including digestive problems.
Histame is for people whose doctors have decided that their discomfort is caused by intestinal food intolerance, a non-immune system-based occurrence.
Histame is the first product worldwide that regulates histamine levels that can cause food intolerance by replenishing the body’s digestive enzyme DAO.
Histamine is a widely distributed biogenic amine, found in many foods. DAO, the intestinal tract histamine-degrading enzyme, breaks down ingested histamine, thus helping to lower overall histamine levels. A deficiency of DAO can cause an increase histamine exposure inside the body, which may result in symptoms of histamine food intolerance including digestive problems. This dietary supplement is clinically shown to regulate the histamine levels in the body (lower intestine) unlike antihistamines which only block the histamine.
Caution is advised. Histame is not cheap. Try to get a sample from a friend, if you can, to try it out first. Also, there are no studies demonstrating it’s usefullness, only the claim of clinical effectiveness.
Histamine-Restricted Diet can help with the following
Key
| May do some good |
| Highly recommended |
Glossary
Histamine
A chemical in the body tissues, produced by the breakdown of histidine. It is released in allergic reactions and causes widening of capillaries, decreased blood pressure, increased release of gastric juice, fluid leakage forming itchy skin and hives, and tightening of smooth muscles of the bronchial tube and uterus.
Urticaria
Commonly known as hives, urticaria is one of the most common dermatological conditions seen by allergists. Urticaria is not just an allergic disease, however. It can be caused by metabolic diseases, medications, infectious diseases, autoimmune disease, or physical sensitivity. Traditional allergies to foods or medications as well as viral illness are frequent causes of acute urticaria which usually lasts only a few hours but may last up to 6 weeks. Chronic urticaria (lasting more than 6 weeks) is more complex, given the vast number of potential triggers. Symptoms include sudden onset; initial itching; then swelling of the surface of the skin into red or skin-colored welts (wheals) with clearly defined edges; welts turn white on touching; new welts develop when the skin is scratched; usually disappear within minutes or hours. Welts enlarge, change shape, spread or join together to form large flat raised areas.
Angioedema
Recurring attacks of transient, subcutaneous edema (water retention/swelling of tissue), often due to an allergic reaction.
Pruritus
Severe itching, often of undamaged skin.
Migraine
Not just a headache, but a disorder affecting the whole body, characterized by clearly defined attacks lasting from about 4 to 72 hours, separated by headache-free periods; progresses through five distinct phases. Prodrome: experienced by about 50% of migraineurs and starting up to 24 hours before the headache - changes in mood, sensory perception, food craving, excessive yawning, or speech or memory problems. Aura: experienced by about 15% and starting within an hour before the headache - disruption of vision (flashing lights, shimmering zigzag lines, blind spot) or sensation (numbness or 'pins and needles' around the lips or hand), or difficulty speaking. Headache: usually pulsating and occurring on one side of the head, it may occur on both sides of the head and alternate from side to side. Muscles in the neck and scalp may be tender; there may be nausea and the desire not to eat, move, see or hear. Resolution: the headache disappears and the body returns to normal. Resolution may occur over several hours during sleep or rest; an intense emotional experience or vomiting may also end the headache. Postdrome: After the headache stops, the sufferer feels drained, fatigued and tired. Muscles ache, emotions are volatile and thinking is slow.
Panic Attack
A brief, irrational episode of fear that is perceived as so real that an individual may be driven to escape from the place or situation where it occurs. The attack is sudden and increases in severity until it leaves, usually within ten minutes. Panic attack symptoms are numerous and involve both mental and physical signs and symptoms. A panic attack can occur in other anxiety states such as agoraphobia and with certain activities and places. It may occur spontaneously without an apparent cause.
Yeast
A single-cell organism that may cause infection in the mouth, vagina, gastrointestinal tract, and any or all bodily parts. Common yeast infections include candidiasis and thrush.
Histidine
An amino acid. Precursor to histamine, a vasodilator and gastric juice stimulant. Has been used as a therapeutic aid for arthritis.
Amino Acid
An organic acid containing nitrogen chemical building blocks that aid in the production of protein in the body. Eight of the twenty-two known amino acids are considered "essential," and must be obtained from dietary sources because the body can not synthesize them.
Bacteria
Microscopic germs. Some bacteria are "harmful" and can cause disease, while other "friendly" bacteria protect the body from harmful invading organisms.
Serotonin
A phenolic amine neurotransmitter (C10H12N2O) that is a powerful vasoconstrictor and is found especially in the brain, blood serum and gastric membranes of mammals. Considered essential for relaxation, sleep, and concentration.
Enzymes
Specific protein catalysts produced by the cells that are crucial in chemical reactions and in building up or synthesizing most compounds in the body. Each enzyme performs a specific function without itself being consumed. For example, the digestive enzyme amylase acts on carbohydrates in foods to break them down.