In cases of food intolerance, it is advisable to maintain a low-histamine diet. Avoidance of histamine-containing food and beverages is a basic prerequisite. Histamine is heat-stable and cold-stable. It cannot be destroyed by common methods of cooking such as freezing, boiling, baking or microwave heating.
Fish is particularly susceptible to microbial spoilage, which causes large quantities of histamine to be formed. Under proper processing and storage, deep frozen food and preserved fish is hardly affected. Adding salt and/or smoke-drying, however, may increase the histamine content of preserved fish. Marinated fish might contain histamine due to the fluid used for marination (vinegar). Seafood is subject to the same phenomena as fish. Therefore, one should consume either fresh or deep-frozen fish.
Always remember to close opened packs of sausage properly. When buying minced meat and lean minced pork, be particularly certain to ensure they are fresh and avoid long storage times. Do not warm any prepared meat dishes. Ensure all animal products are adequately and continuously cooled. Fresh or deep-frozen meat or fowl should be given preference.
Caution is advised in cases of cheeses that take a long time to mature. The longer the maturation period, the greater is the histamine content. This is particularly true for hard cheeses. In cases of soft cheeses, one should avoid mature or overripe pieces.
Bread and Confectionery
Individuals with diamine oxidase deficiency are usually unable to tolerate bread and confectionery. The reason is the use of yearst which contains a large quantity of histamine and other raising agents. Though eliminating bread and confectionery completely from one’s diet is neither feasible nor justifiable in terms of nutritional physiology, avoidance of cake and sweets that contain large quantities of raising agents is advisable. Alternatives are yeast-free confectionery and bread.
Fruits and Vegetables
Avoid sauerkraut, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant, avocado and mushrooms as well as commercially prepared salads. Marinated foods such as salted cucumbers also contain histamine because vinegar introduces histamine into the otherwise harmless cucumbers. All other types of vegetables may be consumed provided they are either fresh or deep-frozen.
Histamine is contained in wine in an alcoholic solution. Therefore, wine is tolerated even more poorly than other histamine-containing foods. Alcohol also inhibits the enzyme DAO, which is responsible for the degradation of histamine.