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What To Know About A Low Histamine Diet

Foods with lower levels of histamine typically include fresh, unprocessed produce. Fermented foods tend to have high levels.

Histamine is a chemical, known as a biogenic amine. It plays a role in several of the body's major systems, including the immune, digestive, and neurological systems.

The body gets all the histamine it needs from its own cells, but histamine is also found in certain foods.

People who experience an allergy-like response to histamine-rich foods may have a condition known as histamine intolerance. There may be individuals with genetic traits that increase their sensitivity to histamine.

Certain medical conditions may increase the risk of histamine intolerance. These include:

Some prescription or over-the-counter drugs may interfere with the enzyme that breaks down histamine, such as:

People with histamine intolerance may experience a wide variety of symptoms involving different systems and organs.

For some people, histamine-rich foods can trigger headaches, skin irritation, or diarrhea. Certain medications or conditions can increase the chance of histamine sensitivity.

There are no reliable tests or procedures that doctors can use to diagnose histamine intolerance. However, some medical professionals will suggest an elimination diet.

This involves removing certain foods from your diet for at least 4 weeks and slowly adding them back in, one at a time. An elimination diet can help you determine whether histamine is the problem.

Histamine levels in food are difficult to quantify.

Even in the same food product, like a piece of cheddar cheese, the histamine level can vary significantly depending on how long it's been aged, its storage time, and whether it has any additives.

Generally, foods that have been fermented have the highest level of histamine. Fresh unprocessed foods have the lowest levels.

There's also a theory that some foods — though not histamine-rich themselves — can trigger your cells to release histamine. These are known as histamine liberators. This theory, however, hasn't been proven scientifically.

The following foods contain higher levels of histamine:

fermented dairy products, such as cheese (especially aged), yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, and kefir

fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut and kimchi

pickles or pickled veggies

kombucha

cured or fermented meats, such as sausages, salami, and fermented ham

wine, beer, alcohol, and champagne

fermented soy products such as tempeh, miso, soy sauce, and natto

fermented grains, such as sourdough bread

tomatoes

eggplant

spinach

frozen, salted, or canned fish, such as sardines and tuna

vinegar

tomato ketchup

Low-histamine diets can be extremely restrictive and can lead to malnutrition.

Histamine intolerance is poorly understood and difficult to diagnose. There's no evidence that a low-histamine diet will improve quality of life in the long term if you don't have a true diagnosis.

The primary benefit of a low-histamine diet is that it can serve as a diagnostic tool.

By eliminating histamine-rich foods from your diet for several weeks (under the supervision of a doctor) and then slowly adding them back in, you can learn more about your individual tolerance to foods containing histamine.

Histamine tolerance varies significantly from one person to the next. When you add histamine back into your diet, you can carefully evaluate which foods trigger uncomfortable symptoms, if any.

To eliminate histamine-rich foods and practice a lower histamine diet:

cook all your own meals

eat foods that are as close to their original form as possible

record everything you eat in a detailed daily food diary (be sure to include the time of day you ate each food)

record the times and dates of any uncomfortable symptoms for comparison

avoid junk food or anything highly processed (if there are numerous ingredients and the food item is ready to eat)

don't be too hard on yourself as this diet is very restrictive

don't plan on eating this diet for more than 4 weeks

eat only fresh foods that have been kept in a refrigerator

speak with a dietitian or a nutritionist about getting all the nutrients you need while on this diet

talk to your doctor about vitamin and mineral supplements (consider DAO enzyme supplements, as well as vitamin B-6, vitamin C, copper, and zinc)

Consult with a doctor before beginning a low-histamine diet.

Nutrient deficiencies can be harmful at any age, but this diet is especially dangerous for children. If you suspect your child has food allergies or sensitivities, talk to your pediatrician about an alternative treatment.

If you experience dizziness, headaches, or any other complications, you should stop this diet immediately and consult a doctor.

After you eliminate or reduce histamine in your diet for 2 to 4 weeks, you can begin slowly introducing histamine-rich foods back into your meal plan, one at a time. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about how best to reintroduce these foods.

There's very little scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of a low-histamine diet and it can lead to malnourishment. Generally, a low-histamine diet isn't a long-term treatment plan for the general population. It's helpful in the diagnosis process and can help you rule out other food intolerances.

Ultimately, you'll need to determine your individual tolerance to different histamine-containing foods. Some medications can increase the chances of reacting to these foods.

Nothing To Sneeze At

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Westly, E. Nothing to sneeze at. Nat Med 16, 1063–1064 (2010). Https://doi.Org/10.1038/nm1010-1063

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Warning To Hay Fever Sufferers As 5-day 'pollen Bomb' Could Trigger 3 Nasty Infections

FROM stuffing up your nose, to tickling your throat and making your head feel fuzzy, pollen allergies can manifest in a number of different parts of your body.

Itchy, red and streaming eyes is a misery most hay fever sufferers know all too well.

Hay fever can affect your nose, eyes, head and throat

Hay fever can make your peeper more vulnerable to infections like styesCredit: Alamy

But the agony of hay fever might not end there for some.

A GP has warned that the ongoing 'pollen bomb' swirling around the UK could trigger three types of nasty infections in hay fever sufferers' eyes.

GP, Dr Nisa Aslam advisor to www.Goldeneyecare.Co.Uk eye infection treatment, said it could increase the risk of allergic eye conditions and eye infections, such as conjunctivitis, styes and blepharitis, bringing unexpected misery for many.

She explained that hay fever is caused by the reaction of the immune system to pollen, which triggers the release of histamine.

This in turn will cause unpleasant hay fever symptoms to manifest, such as a runny, blocked nose, sneezing, coughing, and itchy, red eyes.

Dr Aslam said your peepers can be especially sensitive to allergens like pollen, which causes hay fever.

"When pollen invades the eyes, they become itchy, watery, swollen and red," she explained.

"And if we rub our eyes – which is very tempting when they itch – they become susceptible to infections such as styes, conjunctivitis or blepharitis."

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Styes are small, painful lumps that appear on the eyelid, which can make the sensitive skin around your peeper red and swollen.

Conjunctivitis - also known as red or pink eye - can be caused by allergies and infections, leaving peepers red, burning and gritty feeling, with pus that sticks to lashes.

My hay fever symptoms turned out to be an allergy to every day items like crisp packets, makeup and drink cans

Finally, blepharitis can makes eyelids swollen and itchy, with flakes and crusts clogging the roots of the lashes.

"Such eye conditions require immediate treatment to prevent them getting worse," Dr Aslam said.

She recommended the GoldenEye Eye Ointment for all three eye conditions, as it contains antiseptics to help stop bacteria from growing and multiplying, or the Golden Eye Drops, which also have antifungal properties

For acute bacterial conjunctivitis, she recommended the GoldenEye Antibiotic Eye Ointment.

Hay fever symptoms and how to treat them

HAY FEVER can cause a range of different symptoms, affecting your nose, throat, eyes and sometimes even your ears.

Typical symptoms include:

Sneezing and coughing

A runny or blocked nose

Itchy, red or watery eyes

Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears

Less commonly, you may also experience:

Loss of smell

Pain around the sides of your head and your forehead caused by blocked sinuses

Headache

Earache

Tiredness

To ease sneezing or a runny and blocked nose, try using a nasal spray alongside antihistamines.

And to soothe dry, sore and watery eyes, allergy relief drops can be used to help.

Here's other things you can do to ease your symptoms when the pollen count is high.

Put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen

Wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen from getting into your eyes

Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off

Stay indoors whenever possible

Keep windows and doors shut as much as possible

Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth

Buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter

Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities

Source: NHS

The NHS recommends treating these eye conditions at home, relieving your peepers with warm flannels and painkillers and getting advise from a pharmacist if they don't go away within a few days.

Dr Aslam also shared some tips for taking care of your eyes during hay fever season, to prevent infections in the first place.

"Thoroughly wash the eyes each night to get rid of any pollen left in the eye.

"Try to keep windows, including car windows, closed to prevent entry of pollen and for best eye protection wear wraparound sunglasses when the pollen count is high.

"Keep an eye on the Met Office pollen forecast. Also avoid going outside when the pollen count is at its highest – in the middle of the morning or the early evening."

The Met Office has been issuing warnings about surging pollen counts, with 'very high' levels expected to continue until the end of this week in most of the UK.

Pollen counts were 'very high' on Tuesday across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as Strathclyde in Scotland

Pollen spread will remain at similar levels across the week More intense pollen seasons

Dr Aslam said: "Hay fever is getting increasingly common, with 49 per cent of people suffering from hay fever symptoms.

"The pollen season is getting longer which is considered to be caused by climate change.

"Atmospheric change affects the release of pollen and a study showed that the start of the pollen season is occurring 10-40 days earlier and with greater intensity.

"Northern countries like the UK are expected to fare the worst because of larger temperature increases."

And contrary to what you might assume, your hay fever symptoms might be worse in the city rather than the countryside.

According to the GP: "Tree pollen could be worse in cities due to increasing traffic and urbanisation and research has also found that outdoor air pollution increases the allergic strength of tree pollen as a result of changing the structure of the pollen proteins."

The best hay fever treatments on a budget

1. Allergy Eye Mist

If you hate the thought of drops, consider an eye mist which works in the same way – just spray it once or twice onto closed eyelids to to three times a day.

Try Optrex hay fever relief eye drops, 10ml - £6, from Tesco.

2. Cetirizine Allergy & Hay Fever Tablets

Products containing Cetirizine work to combat allergies without making you feel tired.

Superdrug's pack of 30 tablets comes in at £5.45.

3. Hay Fever Relief Nasal Spray

For over-the-counter relief you could try Pirinase Allergy Relief Nasal Spray for Adults x 60 Sprays from Pharmacy2U, £4.98

Or for something on prescription, try Beclometasone Nasal Spray from ChemistClick, £5.49.

4. Vaseline

Dabbing a little bit of petroleum jelly around the edges of your nose works as a barrier to trap pollen before you breathe it in.

Get a 50g pot for £1.80 at Boots.

5. The Eye Doctor Allergy Hay Fever Compress

The Eye Doctor Allergy Hay Fever Compress has thermal dynamic fabric, which uses regulated evaporation to cool more rapidly.

It helps to reduce puffiness, swelling, itching, inflammation and even headaches, and comes with an adjustable comfy strap.

You can buy it at Superdrug for £8.99.

6. Throat spray

Ultra Chloraseptic Anaesthetic Throat Spray contains the active ingredient benzocaine which belongs to the group of medicines called local anaesthetics.

You can buy Ultra Chloraseptic Anaesthetic Throat Spray for £6 from Amazon

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