Getting Started on a Low Histamine Diet - Phase 1

You are in the right place if you have either Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance. If you want to read more about the differences between Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance, check out this post:

Histamine Intolerance vs. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

I start all my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance clients with a trial Low Histamine Diet. This is because I want to see if symptoms clear up with reducing Histamine consumption before adding a ton of supplements. Changing my diet to low histamine made a world of difference in my symptoms. 

However, eating Low Histamine didn’t fix everything. But it was a huge piece of the puzzle for me as well as many of my clients. 

Try the Mast Cell 360 Starter Low Histamine Foods List.  Track your symptoms before you start and as you are changing your diet. This way you’ll get a clear picture of what clears up.

If you’ve already been researching Low Histamine Foods List, you know there are a lot of them out there. Many lists only include high histamine foods. But a Low Histamine Diet is more complicated than that. These lists don’t include foods that are histamine liberators or foods that block Diamine Oxidase (DAO) – one of the major histamine degrading enzymes. So, most Low Histamine Diet Lists online essentially don’t work for most people.

I’ve seen low Histamine foods lists that allowed walnuts, a well-known histamine liberator. I’ve seen others that didn’t allow blueberries. But blueberries are known to be histamine lowering. 

It’s also confusing because some foods may be slightly higher histamine. But they contain a lot of quercetin that lowers histamine. So it balances out. Like raspberries for instance.  I’ve found most people with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance can tolerate a few raspberries – like around ¼ cup.

Another problem is, much of the histamine food research is flawed. Some Histamine Foods lists were created by listing every food someone in a study reacted to. But those reactions may not have been due to histamines alone. And many of those studies didn’t even control for reactions to things like; salicylates, oxalates, and just plain food sensitivities. So, the lists became far too limited.

Then some Histamine Food lists include a lot of processed, packaged foods in the “Safe column. But processed foods can make MCAS and Histamine Intolerance worse over time!!

So, what do you do?

Start following the Mast Cell 360 Starter Low Histamine Diet Foods list. 

This Starter Histamine Foods list has you eliminate:

• High Histamine foods
• Histamine liberating foods
• Foods that block Diamine Oxidase

This list also emphasizes foods that are highly nutritious and help lower histamine levels.

Tips on The Mast Cell 360 Starter Low Histamine Foods List for Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance

I recommend emphasizing a lot of high nutrient foods like cauliflower, onions, and blueberries that all have antihistamine properties. You can read more about those antihistamine foods here: 

How to do a Low Histamine Diet for Histamine Intolerance and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome Part 2: What to Eat

You’ll also want to remember that histamine levels work like a bucket. You might be ok with 1 strawberry or 1 bite of pineapple. But if you combine a few bites here and there of high histamine foods, your bucket might overflow. Your histamine bucket can also be fuller due to exposure to seasonal allergens, mold, fluctuating hormones, dehydration, stress, etc. So, keep this bucket in mind when making food choices.

Finally, you don’t want to limit your diet for too long. I get a number of clients who are down to 10 safe foods or less. I find that being too restricted on foods can snowball into more and more restrictions due to the nutrient deficiencies. 

I was once down to a very small number of safe foods, I wasn’t able to eat in restaurants at all. It has taken a lot of work to get a variety of foods back in my diet. I can now eat everything on the low histamine list below. I can also now eat small amounts of firm avocado, a couple squares of dark chocolate, and even a small handful of walnuts. I can even eat out (mindfully) without paying for it later. 

I’ve almost completely healed the underlying root triggers that caused my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance. I do still stay mindful of my histamine bucket. So I don’t load up on too many high histamine foods at once. 

It’s wonderful to be able to eat a variety of foods, now. I want this for you too!

The long term goal in Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance is to support histamine pathways to work correctly and reduce mast cell over-reactivity so that we can include more foods over time. Many higher histamine foods have great nutrients. So, we want to try to bring those back on board at some point when your Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance is calmed down – when it is safe for you. 

Get the Mast Cell 360 Low Histamine Diet Starter Foods List:

Mast Cell 360 Low Histamine Diet Foods List

Important Notes for Mast Cell 360 Low Histamine Diet Phase I: Elimination (usually 6 months)

Think of this phase as going back to basics. You’ll take out all High Histamine foods, Histamine Liberating foods, and Diamine Oxidase (DAO) blocking foods. 

1. Use the Mast Cell 360 Low Histamine Starter Foods List: PHASE I to eliminate high histamine foods. I recommend at this phase you avoid all dairy (except ghee), eggs, fish (even frozen Wild Alaskan salmon) and all high histamine foods.
2. Avoid packaged and processed foods.
3. Freeze all leftovers after cooking. Bring your own properly prepared meat to restaurants to add to your plate during this phase.
4. Be sure to follow the Meat Handling tips here.
5. Emphasize nutrient dense herbs and vegetables that are histamine lowering.
6. Follow this phase for 6 months
7. Keep a food diary of foods and symptoms so you can track if you may have other food sensitivities or intolerances beyond Histamine. This is common to have.