You can eat these histamine-free foods without worry

Tomatoes, red wine, cheese: there are many foods that people with a histamine intolerance do not tolerate well. Experts explain which alternatives you should use instead.

Histamine is a messenger substance that plays a role in various reactions in the human body. Among other things, it is used in the immune system to defend against pathogens. In people with so-called histamine intolerance, however, it also promotes allergic reactions, which can vary in severity. The reason for this lies in the small intestine.

They should therefore avoid foods that are high in histamine, including wine, beer, nuts, chocolate, tomatoes and aged cheese.

Tips for a low-histamine diet

Instead, they should eat histamine-free or low-histamine foods. The Institute for Nutritional Medicine at the Technical University of Munich has compiled a list of just such. The experts recommend the following for a low-histamine diet:

Limit fish types such as mackerel, herring, anchovies and tuna, better avoid them. It is better to use fresh or frozen fish instead of smoked, dried, salted or canned fish.

Consume milk and dairy products such as cream cheese, quark and butter cheese instead of hard cheese, Camembert, mold cheese and Harzer Roller. Prefer young cheeses to old, long-ripened cheeses, the highest content of biogenic amines is in the rind area.

Prefer boiled sausage and scalded sausage to raw sausage (salami, mettwurst, cervelatwurst) and raw ham as well as Landjäger.

Vegetable foods (vegetables, salad, grain products) contain little histamine, with the exception of sauerkraut. Sauerkraut should therefore be avoided.

Avoid foods with a high content of other biogenic amines, e.g. bananas, pineapple, papaya, nuts, cocoa and chocolate.
In addition, avoid foods that can release or activate histamine stored in the body; these are: strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, alcohol and seafood.

Limit alcohol intake. Small amounts of white wine, sparkling wine and pilsner are better tolerated than red wine or wheat beer.

Anyone who has an intolerance to histamine should generally prefer fresh, unprocessed or little processed foods.

Perishable, protein-rich foods such as fish, meat and dairy products should only be eaten fresh. This means that the cold chain must not be interrupted. It is best to set your fridge as cold as possible – five degrees Celsius or lower.