Histamine Intolerance – Symptoms and Foods

Histamine Intolerance can be very debilitating for some people. You get to the point where you hardly know what you can eat. The symptoms of a histamine reaction can vary from person to person. In general, they feel very much like an allergic reaction; this is due to the fact that many of the symptoms of most allergic reactions are in large part caused by histamine. Here is a partial list from The Gut Health Protocol. This topic is discussed in detail in Chapter 20, with a food list in Appendix Q.

•  Hives – a type of skin rash possibly with red itchy bumps or welts
• Nasal stuffiness
• Diarrhea
• Constipation (due to the inflammation it causes)
• Flushing
• Tachycardia – an abnormally rapid heart rate.
• Nausea Joint Pain
•  Fatigue and Weakness (along with other symptoms here), Chronic fatigue
• Low blood pressure (or higher blood pressure in some people)
• Asthma symptoms

For some people the only symptoms is diarrhea (common), or they may any one or two of these symptoms. But the symptoms usually come on after something that triggers a histamine release (or contains histamine).

Here is a partial list of foods high in histamine. Depending on your degree if histamine intolerance the list might contain things like ‘leftover foods’, even if refrigerated! The Gut Health Protocol contains a much longer list and helps you spot high histamine foods not on the list.

•  Aged and fermented foods of any kind. Some of the more common ones are listed below.
• Smoked or cured meats – salami, hams, sausages, fish, etc.
• Cheese, especially aged
• Kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, cottage cheese
• Dried fruits
• Alcohol – it is a fermented product and will contain histamine. Sorry.
• MANY probiotics (but not Phage Complete, it only contains strains that do not produce histamine)

For most people Histamine Intolerance does not need to be permanent. Follow The Gut Health Protocol,  rebuild your microbiome, avoid histamine containing foods, and wait. You may also want to read the following post on the link between histamine intolerance and Escherichia Coli bacteria.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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