Allergy or histamine intolerance

16 March 2021
Admin Admin

Allergy or histamine intolerance

When should you follow a low-histamine diet?

People with a food allergy may develop symptoms when they eat something they are allergic to. The histamine level in the body then rises. With histamine intolerance, symptoms can develop after eating foods that contain a lot of histamine.
In both cases, symptoms may occur, such as itching, a blocked nose, insomnia or abdominal complaints. With histamine intolerance, the symptoms arise from eating foods that trigger histamine production or foods that contain histamine. This causes an increase in histamine in the body. Histamine intolerance involves a deficiency of the enzyme that breaks down histamine, namely diamine oxidase (DAO). Below we provide information about histamine intolerance, how you can develop an eating pattern and how you can reduce the symptoms of histamine intolerance.

What is histamine?

Histamine is a substance with many functions in the body. It plays a role in immune responses and the production of stomach acid and causes blood vessels to dilate. Histamine is produced and stored in so-called mast cells. In normal amounts, histamine plays an important role in the body. An increase in histamine, however, can cause symptoms. The blood vessels then dilate, which can be visible and noticeable because the cheeks become red. An increase in histamine often causes palpitations.

Allergy and histamine

During an allergic reaction, histamine is released from the mast cells after eating products to which you are allergic. The amount of histamine in the body tissues, intestines and blood increases. This is therefore a purely internal reaction that occurs only when you have an allergy. A food allergy can be triggered by a particular food, such as eggs or tomatoes. People may also be sensitive to a number of foods or have an allergy to grass or tree pollen.

Enzyme that breaks down histamine

Another syndrome is histamine intolerance. An excess of histamine may be caused by the absence of a particular enzyme in the body that is supposed to break down histamine. This is the enzyme diamine oxidase. A deficiency of this enzyme can result in excessively high histamine levels in the intestine and blood. In short, the amount of histamine in the body can increase: 1) due to an allergy,
2) due to foods that contain a lot of histamine and products that release histamine when there is a deficiency of the DAO enzyme.

Deficiency of the enzyme diamine oxidase

An increase in histamine in the body causes blood-vessel dilation, a runny nose, itching, insomnia, palpitations or headaches. Itching and shortness of breath are often caused by food allergies and hay fever. The combination of an allergic reaction with insomnia, or developing red cheeks when drinking red wine, is fairly characteristic of histamine hypersensitivity due to an enzyme deficiency. Many people are unfamiliar with histamine intolerance and therefore do not realise where the symptoms described above come from. In that case, it is always useful to be tested for histamine intolerance.

mould-ripened cheese contains histamine

Histamine and food

Histamine occurs naturally in various animal and plant products. Processed and fermented foods in particular contain a lot of histamine, for example aged cheeses, mould-ripened cheeses and sausages. Fermentation is a natural process in which beneficial bacteria help food keep for longer. Lactobacillus brevis is a beneficial bacterium used for fermentation, and histamine can therefore be released during this process.

Histamine intolerance test

Histamine intolerance can be investigated by having the histamine level in the stool measured with a test. How do you do this? On day 1, consume a glass of red wine, chocolate, some aged cheese and nuts. The next day, take a stool sample. Use a special collection tube for this and send it to the laboratory, where the

histamine level is measured. Normal histamine values are between 0 and 107 uU/ml.

Foods containing histamine

Sauerkraut contains bacteria that cause fermentation and therefore has a very high histamine content. Tinned fish, such as tuna, contains a lot of histamine because of an increase in bacteria. Eating fresh fish that has been kept too long and is almost spoiled can also cause acute histamine poisoning. There are also foods that contain little histamine but release histamine when you eat them. Chocolate is one example. People who are sensitive to histamine are better off avoiding it. Chocolate, cheese, nuts and red wine should not be eaten. In addition, many foods such as tomatoes and avocado contain histamine. You can use these histamine-containing products in very limited amounts, but the meal should not contain more than 50 mg of histamine.

Advice: follow a low-histamine diet

On a low-histamine diet, you avoid substances/products that contain histamine or release histamine. Below is an overview of products that are best limited or, in some cases, avoided completely.

1. Avoid the following products

Chocolate
Herbs and spices: cinnamon, anise, sesame seeds, cloves, mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, chervil,
ginger and nutmeg. Use sparingly. Vanilla may cause symptoms.
Menthol and peppermint: liquorice, Marmite, ketjap.
Tinned fish and smoked fish: may contain a lot of histamine, 200 to 400 mg per kg.
Sausages: these can contain 470 mg/kg of histamine. Freshly made sausage can be eaten.
Mould-ripened and aged cheeses: older cheeses, for example sharp, mature mould-ripened cheeses, can contain 400 to 600 mg of histamine per kg.
Soya, legumes and nuts: peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts and cashew nuts contain a moderate amount of histamine.

2. Limit the following products

Products with a moderate histamine content may perhaps be used once a week. You should assess for yourself whether these foods cause symptoms. To do this, follow the rotation diet. Eat different products each day and note whether you develop symptoms. Foods that contain histamine and may possibly be used in limited amounts:

- Egg white.
- Pork and lamb, liver and meat from various types of game contain a lot of histamine.
- Beef, chicken, turkey and horse meat contain a small amount of histamine.
- Sausages and products made by the butcher often cause more symptoms.
- Some types of fish contain a lot of histamine, especially mackerel, tuna, cod, herring, sardines, prawns (prawn crackers) and shellfish. It is better not to eat tinned fish.
- Tomatoes contain 26 mg of histamine. So 100 grams contains 2.6 mg of histamine. Cooking tomatoes reduces the histamine level.
- Avocado: one kilogram of avocado contains 26 mg of histamine. You can therefore eat one or two avocados a week, but certainly not every day.
- Spinach, sauerkraut, beetroot and mushrooms, peppers, rhubarb.

High histamine content: kiwi, strawberries, melon, pineapple, grapefruit and raspberries.

Beans: fresh green beans, runner beans and legumes may contain moderate amounts of histamine.

Alcohol generally has the property of dilating blood vessels, for example cider, beer and red wine.

Tea may contain a moderate amount of histamine.

The rotation diet

With histamine intolerance, the products listed above can often still be used once a week. You can then assess for yourself whether you tolerate them. Eat these products in rotation. So do not combine avocado with tomato or cheese, for example, and do not combine beetroot with mackerel. The histamine levels would then become too high. For variety and planning of your diet, see the rotation diet.