The Low-Histamine Food List
This list uses an emoji traffic light system to create a comprehensive, alphabetical histamine intolerance list. We’ve listed our sources at the bottom of the page too.
Red - foods that our sources seem to agree are high histamine = 😡
Yellow - foods that are medium histamine, or where there is debate about histamine levels = 🤔
Green - foods generally acknowledged as low histamine = ✅
OTHER LINKS: If you are new, perhaps you’d rather read an overview of the Histamine Intolerance Diet, or follow an easy three-day low histamine diet here.
Please note - you may well disagree with some of the below. Everyone is definitely individual with histamine intolerance and many sites wildly differ with their recommendations. There are so many conflicting food items in histamine intolerance. Beef, chocolate, cacao, eggs, berries – all of these seem to conflict on the major sites. On this site, I’ve consulted what I believe to be the best, most trusted resources on histamine intolerance (listed below - they still conflict though!), and compiled what is currently (but by no means definitively) the best low histamine diet list. This page aims to collate the most trusted sites and best knowledge we have, but please do your own testing. If you think anything is incorrectly listed below, then let me know, and we can investigate further. Where we refer to foods that are high histamine, for ease this also refers to foods that are histamine-releasing - there is a distinction.
Oh, and this is hopefully not your ‘forever’ list. Once you start to manage the symptoms of histamine intolerance, many people can reintroduce favourite foods.
DISCLAIMER: Always check with your doctor or health practitioner before starting any new diet. This is not advice, it is intended for information and discussion only.
Histamine food list - alphabetical with emojis
acerola ✅
agave syrup ✅
alcohol 😡
alcoholic beverages 😡
algae and algae derivatives 😡
almond 🤔 ( a food we’ve successfully reintroduced, see blog)
all non-organic meat is suspect, especially if aged 😡
amaranth ✅
anchovies 😡
anise, aniseed 🤔
apple ✅
apple cider vinegar 🤔
apricot ✅
artichoke ✅
artificial sweeteners 😡
Asimina triloba 🤔
asparagus ✅
aubergine 😡
avocado 😡
bamboo shoots 🤔
banana 😡
Barbary fig 🤔
barley 🤔
barley malt, malt 😡
basil ✅
bay laurel, laurel 🤔
beans (pulses) 😡
beef (depending on age of beef, organic, freshly cooked) 🤔
beef (fresh) ✅
beer 😡
beetroot ✅
bell pepper (hot) 😡
bell pepper (sweet) ✅
bison (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
bivalves (mussels, oyster, clams, scallops) 😡
black caraway ✅
black caraway oil ✅
blackberry ✅
blackcurrants ✅
blue cheeses, mold cheeses (nb, one of the absolute worst!) 😡
blue fenugreek 😡
blueberries ✅
bok choi ✅
borlotti beans 😡
bouillon (because of yeast extract / meat extract / glutamate) 😡
boysenberry 🤔
brandy 😡
Brazil nut ✅
bread 🤔
broad bean 😡
broad-leaved garlic 🤔
broccoli ✅
brown algae, algae 😡
brussels sprouts 🤔
buckrams 🤔
buckwheat 😡
Butter (usually okay) ✅
Butterkaese ✅
buttermilk (slightly sour, starting to ferment) 😡
cabbage, green or white (excepting coliflower and kohlrabi) ✅
cactus pear 🤔
caraway ✅
cardamom ✅
carrot ✅
cashew nut 🤔
cassava ✅
cassava flour ✅
cauliflower ✅
celery ✅
celery cabbage ✅
cep 😡
chamomile tea ✅
champagne 😡
chard stalks 🤔
chayote 🤔
cheddar cheese 😡
cheese made from unpasteurised "raw" milk 😡
cheese: soft cheeses 🤔(tolerated much better than hard cheese, introduce cautiously)
cheese: hard cheese, all well matured cheeses 😡
cherry ✅
chestnut, sweet chestnut ✅
chia ✅
chicken (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
chicken (must be fresh, not leftovers) ✅
chickpeas 😡
chicory ✅
chili pepper, red, fresh 😡
chives 🤔
chocolate 😡(sad times - white chocolate may be slightly better tolerated)
cilantro 🤔
cinnamon 🤔
citrus fruits 😡
clover 😡
cloves ✅
Coca-Cola 🤔
cocoa butter 🤔
cocoa drinks 😡
cocoa, cocoa powder (chocolate, etc.) 😡
coconut fat, coconut oil ✅
coconut, coconut shavings, coconut milk ✅
coffee 🤔 (see blog for lots more on coffee)
Coke 🤔
Cola-drinks 🤔
common sea-buckthorn ✅
coriander ✅
corn ✅
corn salad, lamb's lettuce ✅
cornflakes (if no additives) ✅
courgette ✅
cowberry ✅
crab 😡
cranberry ✅
cranberry nectar ✅
crawfish 😡
crayfish 😡
cream cheeses (means: very young cheeses), plain, without additives 🤔
cream, sweet, without additives ✅
cress: garden cress 🤔
cucumber ✅
cumin 😡
curd cheese 🤔
curry 🤔
dates (dried, desiccated) 🤔
dextrose ✅
dill 🤔
distilled white vinegar ✅
dog rose 🤔
dragon fruit, pitaya ✅
dried meat (any kind) 😡
dry-cured ham 😡
duck ✅
duck (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
earth almond ✅
egg white 🤔
egg yolk 🤔
eggplant 😡
eggs, chicken egg, whole egg 😡
elderflower cordial ✅
endive ✅
energy drinks 😡
entrails 😡
espresso 🤔 (see blog on coffee)
ethanol 😡
ewe's milk, sheep's milk ✅
extract of malt 😡
farmer's cheese (a type of fresh cheese) ✅
fennel ✅
fennel flower (Nigella sativa) ✅
fennel flower oil (Nigella sativa) ✅
fenugreek 😡
Feta cheese 🤔
figs (fresh or dried) 🤔
fish (freshly caught within an hour or frozen within an hour) ✅
fish (in the shop in the cooling rack or on ice) 😡
Flaxseed (linseed) ✅
Fontina cheese 😡
fructose (fruit sugar) ✅
game 🤔
garden cress 🤔
garlic 🤔 (usually well tolerated)
Geheimratskaese, Geheimrats cheese ✅
German turnip 🤔
ginger ✅
glucose ✅
goat's milk, goat milk ✅
goji berry, Chinese wolfberry, Chinese boxthorn, Himalayan goji, Tibetan goji ✅
goose (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
gooseberry, gooseberries ✅
Gouda cheese (young) 🤔
Gouda cheese, old 😡
gourds ✅
grapefruit 😡
grapes ✅
green algae, algae 😡
green beans 🤔
green peas 🤔
green split peas 🤔
green tea 🤔
guava 😡
ham (dried, cured) 😡
hazelnut 🤔
hemp seeds (Cannabis sativa) ✅
herbal teas with medicinal herbs (depends how many ingredients and tea blend) 🤔
honey ✅
horseradish 🤔
hot chocolate 😡
Indian fig opuntia, Barbary fig, cactus pear, spineless cactus,
prickly pear, tuna 🤔
innards 😡
inverted sugar syrup ✅
ispaghula, psyllium seed husks ✅
Jeera 😡
jostaberry ✅
juniper berries ✅
kaki ✅
kale ✅ (see blog for more on kale)
kefir 😡
kelp (large seaweeds (algae) belonging to the brown algae) 😡
kelp, seaweed, algae 😡
Khorasan wheat or Oriental wheat, KAMUT® ✅
kiwi fruit 😡
kohlrabi 🤔
Kombu seaweed 😡
lactose (milk sugar) ✅
ladyfinger banana 🤔
lamb (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
lamb's lettuce, corn salad ✅
langouste 😡
lard ✅
laurel, bay laurel, sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel 🤔
leek 🤔
lemon 😡
lemon peel, lemon zest 😡
lemonade 🤔
lentils 😡
lettuce iceberg ✅
lettuce: head and leaf lettuces ✅
lime 😡
lime blossom tea, limeflower, flowers of large-leaved limetree ✅
lingonberry ✅
liquor, clear 😡
liquor, schnapps, spirits, cloudy (not colourless) 😡
liquorice root 😡
lobster 😡
loganberry 🤔
lychee ✅
macadamia 🤔
malt extract 😡
malt, barley malt 😡
maltodextrin ✅
maltose, malt sugar (pure) ✅
mandarin orange 😡
mango 🤔
maple syrup ✅
margarine (ugh - regardless of histamine levels this stuff is gross) 😡
marrow ✅
Mascarpone cheese 🤔
mate tea 🤔
meat extract 😡
melons (except watermelon) ✅
meridian fennel ✅
milk, lactosefree 🤔
milk, pasteurised ✅
milk, UHT ✅
milkpowder 🤔
millet ✅
minced meat (if eaten immediately after its production) ✅
minced meat (open sale or pre-packed) 😡
mineral water, still ✅
mint ✅
mold cheeses, mould cheeses 😡
monosodium ascorbate ✅
morel 😡
morello cherries ✅
Mozzarella cheese 🤔
mulberry 🤔
mungbeans (germinated, sprouting) 🤔
mushrooms, different types 🤔
mustard, mustard seeds, mustardseed powder 😡
napa cabbage ✅
nashi pear 🤔
nectarine 🤔
Nigella sativa oil ✅
Nigella sativa seed ✅
Nori seaweed 😡
nut grass ✅
nutmeg 🤔
nutmeg flower ✅
nutmeg flower oil ✅
nuts 🤔
oat drink, oat milk 🤔
oats ✅
olive oil ✅
olives 🤔
onion 🤔 (usually well tolerated)
orange 😡
orange juice 😡
orange peel, orange zest 😡
oregano ✅
ostrich ✅
ostrich (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
oyster 😡
pak choi ✅
palm kernel oil ✅
palm oil, dendê oil ✅
palm sugar ✅
papaya, pawpaw 😡
paprika, hot 😡
paprika, sweet ✅
parsley ✅
parsnip ✅
passionfruit
pasta (search individual ingredients, eg wheat 🤔, corn ✅)
paw paw 🤔
peach ✅
peanuts 😡
pear 🤔
pear, peeled canned in sugar syrup 🤔
pearl sago ✅
peas (green) 🤔
pea shoots ✅
pepper, black 😡
pepper, white 😡
peppermint tea ✅
perennial wall-rocket 😡
Persian cumin ✅
persimmon ✅
pickled cabbage 😡
pickled cucumber 😡
pickled gherkin 😡
pickled vegetables 😡
pine nuts 🤔
pineapple 😡
pistachio 🤔
pitaya, pitahaya, dragon fruit ✅
plum 🤔
pomegranate ✅
poppy seeds 🤔
porcino mushroom 😡
pork (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
potato with peel ✅
potato, new, with peel ✅
potato, peeled ✅
poultry meat ✅
prawn 😡
prickly pear 🤔
processed cheese 😡
products made from unprocessed (raw) milk 😡
prune 🤔
Prunus domestica subsp. Domestica 🤔
psyllium seed husks ✅
pulses (soy, beans, lentils... some other pulses listed individually, always test) 😡
pumpkin seed oil ✅
pumpkin seeds ✅
pumpkins (various varieties) ✅
purple granadilla, passionfruit 🤔
quail ✅
quail (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
quail eggs ✅
quark ✅
quince ✅
quinine 🤔
quinoa ✅
rabbit (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
raclette cheese 😡
radish: red radish (the tiny red round ones) ✅
radish: white radish (the long white ones) ✅
raisins (if no sulphur) ✅
ramsons 🤔
rapeseed oil (called canola oil in US) ✅
raspberry 😡
raw milk ✅
ready made cheese preparations (with other/further ingredients) 😡
red algae, algae 😡
red cabbage ✅
red wine vinegar 😡
redcurrants, currant ✅
rhubarb 🤔
rice ✅
rice buiscuits, rice cakes ✅
rice crispies ✅
rice milk, rice drink 🤔
rice noodles ✅
Ricotta cheese 🤔
Rochefort cheese 😡
rock lobsters 😡
Roman coriander ✅
Roman coriander oil ✅
rooibos tea ✅
Roquefort cheese 🤔
rose hip 🤔
rosemary ✅
rum 😡
rye 🤔
safflower oil ✅
sage ✅
sage tea ✅
sago ✅
salami 😡
sallow thorn ✅
salmon 😡 (probably okay if freshly caught within an hour or frozen within an hour)
sauerkraut 😡
sausages of all kinds 😡
Savoy cabbage 🤔
schnapps, clear (colourless) 😡
seafood, sea food 😡
seasoning made of hydrolysated proteins 😡
seaweed, seaweed 😡
seaweeds and seaweed derivatives 😡
sesame 🤔
sharon fruit ✅
sheep's milk, sheep milk ✅
shellfish 😡
shrimp 😡
smoked fish (any) 😡
smoked meat (any) 😡
snow peas 🤔
soda 🤔
soft cheese 🤔 (tend to be tolerated much better than hard cheese, introduce cautiously)
soft drinks 🤔
sour cherry ✅
sourcream 🤔
soy (soy beans, soy flour) 😡
soy milk, soy drink 😡
soy sauce 😡
sparkling wine 😡 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
spelt ✅
spinach 😡
spineless cactus 🤔
spiny lobsters 😡
spirit vinegar ✅
spirits, clear (colourless) 😡
squashes ✅
star anise, star anise seed, Chinese star anise, badiam 🤔
starch ✅
stevia (stevia leaves, liquid, powder) ✅
stinging nettle 😡
stinging nettle herbal tea 🤔
strawberry 😡
sucrose ✅
sugar (beet sugar, cane sugar) ✅
sugar banana 🤔
sunflower oil 🤔
sunflower seeds 😡
sweetcorn ✅
sweet potato ✅
tamarillo, Solanum betaceum 🤔
tap water (but we much prefer filtered - use the berkey water filter) ✅
tea, black tea 😡
thyme, common thyme, German thyme, garden thyme ✅
tiger nut sedge ✅
tomato 😡
tomato juice 😡
tongue (veal, beef) ✅
trifolium 😡
trigonella 😡
trout 🤔
tuna 😡
turkey ✅
turkey (organic, freshly cooked) ✅
turmeric ✅
turnip 🤔
turnip cabbage 🤔
vanilla extract 🤔
vanilla, vanilla pod, vanilla powder, vanilla sugar 🤔
veal (fresh) ✅
venison 🤔
verbena herbal tea ✅
vinegar: apple cider vinegar 🤔
vinegar: balsamic vinegar 😡
vinegar 😡
Wakame seaweed 😡
walnut 😡
walnut oil 😡
watercress ✅
watermelon 🤔
wheat 🤔
wheat germ 😡
whey ✅
white button mushroom 🤔
white onion 🤔
white vinegar, spirit vinegar ✅
white wine vinegar 😡
wild garlic 🤔
wild meat 🤔
wild rice ✅
wine 😡 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
wine, histamine free (<0.1 mg/l - I’ve never actually found this, but if anyone does let me know!) 🤔 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
wine: red wine 😡 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
wine: Schilcherwein 😡 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
wine: white wine 😡 (except for the Low Histamine Wine Club. Use the code HIST10 for 10% off first order.)
wood garlic 🤔
yam ✅
yeast (fresh, dried, in all forms) 🤔
yeast extract 😡
yellow nutsedge ✅
yellow split peas 🤔
yogurt/yoghurt 😡
zucchini (courgettes) ✅
I hope this helps. I am well aware there are certain contradictions in this list. That’s because every histamine food list contains confusing contradictions, and as best as I can I’ve tried to simplify.
Sources:
Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) (pdf - the most comprehensive, breaks down histamine liberators, histamine blockers and high histamine foods, and yet still has quite a few contradictions)
https://www.histamine-sensitivity.com/histamine_joneja.html (the excellent Janice Joneja on histamine)
Dr Axe on Histamine (very helpful overview of Histamine Intolerance)
http://mthfr.net/histamine-intolerance-mthfr-and-methylation/2015/06/11/ (Dr. Ben Lynch - brilliant on histamine and genes)
https://www.amymyersmd.com/2017/10/histamine-intolerance/ (Amy Myers also very useful on histamine)