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.