If you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), you’ve probably heard about histamines. Your body naturally makes histamine. It is very important in the immune system, but it is also very important for digestion. It is also a part of the nervous system.
The correct balance of histamine levels is really important for good health. But with MCAS, these histamine levels can easily get out of control. Too much histamine is inflammatory, and inflammation causes the mast cells to release even more histamine. A vicious cycle is therefore created, making it extremely difficult to manage conditions triggered by MCAS (e.g. Melasma, Rosacea, Acne, Cellulite, Abnormal Weight Gain, Some Auto-Immune conditions).
The mast cells will also release other inflammatory chemicals which further exacerbates the problem.
Many foods naturally have histamines in them, and some foods cause the body to release histamine. Other foods block the release of the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) which is responsible for the breakdown of histamine.
Aged, Cultured & Fermented Foods (including Leftovers):
Any foods with bacteria in them can create high histamine. So anything that is out of date, spoiled, moldy, or not really fresh is higher histamine. This also means leftovers become higher histamine the longer they sit.
Look out for these high histamine foods:
Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts High in Histamines:
There are just a few fruits, vegetables, and nuts that are the highest in histamines or release histamines. If you are eating these foods, it would be a good idea to track how they affect you. Some things to look out for as indicators that you have an issue with these foods include, itching skin, headaches, migraines, disturbed sleep, or poor sleep quality.
Examples of high histamine fruits, vegetables, and nuts:
Processed Foods and Additives:
Avoid packaged and processed foods as much as possible. Many people with MCAS still eat lots of packaged foods. Canned foods, boxed nut milk, cookies, prepared sauces, and protein bars are higher histamine and inflammatory too. Packaged foods are highly processed to make them shelf-stable. This destroys the nutrients your body so desperately needs. Avoid sugar, additives, colourings & flavouring.
Watch out for these additives that can wreak havoc with mast cells:
Look out for Lectins, oxalates, salicylates, sulphur and FODMAPs.
These are types of foods beyond histamine issues that can affect MCAS.
Lectins are proteins found in certain plants. Lectins activate mast cells. Low lectin diets can make a big difference in mast cell issues.
A large number of MCAS patients have issues with Oxalates. Oxalates are tiny crystals that are also found in plants. People who have a genetic predisposition to high oxalates can have trouble with oxalate foods. Gut issues including leaky gut can lead to oxalate issues.
Salicylate issues are less frequent but do occur. Salicylates are found in many plants, especially in mint. Some people start to have trouble breaking down salicylates. This can cause a variety of symptoms similar to MCAS.
Sulphur foods can cause trouble for some people. It mostly affects people with genetic weaknesses for sulphur metabolism or those low in B6 and/or molybdenum.
FODMAPs are a type of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in foods like beans, onions, garlic, broccoli, and cauliflower. Sometimes people end up with FODMAP sensitivity when their gut flora gets out of balance.
Be sure you are eating fresh, whole, nutrient-dense foods. As produce ages, it loses nutrition. The fresher your foods are, the more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they have. These nutrients support a healthy immune system. They are also necessary to make histamine degrading enzymes, like DAO and HNMT. So they also have the added bonus of helping to lower histamine. Be sure to buy your produce as fresh as possible.
Cover most of your plate with vegetables. Vegetables have nutrients and antioxidants you need to heal. These are histamine lowering, low oxalate, low lectin vegetables you can emphasize:
If you don’t have trouble with oxalates, you can also add in:
Then eat moderate amounts of clean protein.
Healthy fats are needed for overall health.
Fats are necessary for healthy brain cells and to make your hormones. So add healthy fats to your vegetables to absorb the most nutrition. Healthy fat sources include: grass-fed butter, very fresh extra-virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, grass-fed ghee, cold-pressed flax oil, cold pressed avocado oil and unrefined palm oil.
Avoid canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and peanut oil. These are inflammatory.
Fresh nuts can be a good source of protein and fat.
Low histamine, low oxalate, and low lectin choices are flax seeds, macadamias, pistachios, coconut, and pecans in moderation.
If you don’t have oxalate issues, you can also enjoy almonds (blanched to remove lectins in the skin), hazelnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts (only 3-4/day), hemp seeds, and hemp protein powder. Buy nuts as fresh as possible.
Use lots of fresh herbs.
Fresh herbs are some of the highest nutrient and antioxidant foods. Adding herbs to your meals will give them more flavour. Ginger, basil, chives, oregano, garlic, peppermint, rosemary are all excellent histamine lowering herbs.
Avoid anise, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, paprika, and nutmeg. These can liberate histamine and cause mast cell reactions.
Eat Fruits as a dessert.
Spikes in blood sugar (including fruit sugars) affect the mast cells. Prioritize lower sugar berries like blueberries. Tart cherries and green apples are also good choices. Lemons and limes are ok, if you tolerate them.
If you don’t have trouble with oxalates, raspberries and blackberries are lower in sugar. Other lower histamine, low oxalate fruits are: all types of apples, fresh apricots, cherries, fresh cranberries, fresh currant, cantaloupe, fresh figs, grapes (especially black), honeydew, kiwi, mango, nectarine, peach, pear, and watermelon. These do however higher sugar levels.
Sweeteners should be kept to a minimum.
There are some good sweetener options that don’t affect blood sugar, though. These are stevia, monk fruit, and inulin. These come from plants, and our bodies don’t metabolize them like sugar.
You want to be sure to avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, and corn syrup. These are very inflammatory.
Vegetables - Lower Histamine
Fruits - Lower Histamine
Meat, Poultry & Fish - Lower Histamine
All pure, freshly cooked, un-aged meat or poultry (not ground):
Fats & Oils - Lower Histamine
Spices & Herbs - Lower Histamine
Sweeteners - Lower Histamine
These don’t affect blood sugar:
Miscellaneous - Lower Histamine
Beverages - Lower Histamine
Milk & Dairy - Lower Histamine
Lower Histamine Foods
These dairy products are technically low histamine, however, if you have casein and lactose issues be cautious.
Foods that can HIGHER Histamine - Limit or Avoid these!
Vegetables to limit/avoid
Nuts to avoid/limit
Fats and Oils to avoid/limit
Spices & Herbs to avoid/limit
Sweeteners and Sugars to avoid
Other Higher Histamine Foods to avoid/limit
Additives to avoid
Beverages to avoid/limit
Dairy to avoid
If you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), you’ve probably heard about histamines. Your body naturally makes histamine. It is very important in the immune system, but it is also very important for digestion. It is also a part of the nervous system.
The correct balance of histamine levels is really important for good health. But with MCAS, these histamine levels can easily get out of control. Too much histamine is inflammatory, and inflammation causes the mast cells to release even more histamine. A vicious cycle is therefore created, making it extremely difficult to manage conditions triggered by MCAS (e.g. Melasma, Rosacea, Acne, Cellulite, Abnormal Weight Gain, Some Auto-Immune conditions).
The mast cells will also release other inflammatory chemicals which further exacerbates the problem.
Many foods naturally have histamines in them, and some foods cause the body to release histamine. Other foods block the release of the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (DAO) which is responsible for the breakdown of histamine.
Aged, Cultured & Fermented Foods (including Leftovers):
Any foods with bacteria in them can create high histamine. So anything that is out of date, spoiled, moldy, or not really fresh is higher histamine. This also means leftovers become higher histamine the longer they sit.
Look out for these high histamine foods:
Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts High in Histamines:
There are just a few fruits, vegetables, and nuts that are the highest in histamines or release histamines. If you are eating these foods, it would be a good idea to track how they affect you. Some things to look out for as indicators that you have an issue with these foods include, itching skin, headaches, migraines, disturbed sleep, or poor sleep quality.
Examples of high histamine fruits, vegetables, and nuts:
Processed Foods and Additives:
Avoid packaged and processed foods as much as possible. Many people with MCAS still eat lots of packaged foods. Canned foods, boxed nut milk, cookies, prepared sauces, and protein bars are higher histamine and inflammatory too. Packaged foods are highly processed to make them shelf-stable. This destroys the nutrients your body so desperately needs. Avoid sugar, additives, colourings & flavouring.
Watch out for these additives that can wreak havoc with mast cells:
Look out for Lectins, oxalates, salicylates, sulphur and FODMAPs.
These are types of foods beyond histamine issues that can affect MCAS.
Lectins are proteins found in certain plants. Lectins activate mast cells. Low lectin diets can make a big difference in mast cell issues.
A large number of MCAS patients have issues with Oxalates. Oxalates are tiny crystals that are also found in plants. People who have a genetic predisposition to high oxalates can have trouble with oxalate foods. Gut issues including leaky gut can lead to oxalate issues.
Salicylate issues are less frequent but do occur. Salicylates are found in many plants, especially in mint. Some people start to have trouble breaking down salicylates. This can cause a variety of symptoms similar to MCAS.
Sulphur foods can cause trouble for some people. It mostly affects people with genetic weaknesses for sulphur metabolism or those low in B6 and/or molybdenum.
FODMAPs are a type of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in foods like beans, onions, garlic, broccoli, and cauliflower. Sometimes people end up with FODMAP sensitivity when their gut flora gets out of balance.
Be sure you are eating fresh, whole, nutrient-dense foods. As produce ages, it loses nutrition. The fresher your foods are, the more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they have. These nutrients support a healthy immune system. They are also necessary to make histamine degrading enzymes, like DAO and HNMT. So they also have the added bonus of helping to lower histamine. Be sure to buy your produce as fresh as possible.
Cover most of your plate with vegetables. Vegetables have nutrients and antioxidants you need to heal. These are histamine lowering, low oxalate, low lectin vegetables you can emphasize:
If you don’t have trouble with oxalates, you can also add in:
Then eat moderate amounts of clean protein.
Healthy fats are needed for overall health.
Fats are necessary for healthy brain cells and to make your hormones. So add healthy fats to your vegetables to absorb the most nutrition. Healthy fat sources include: grass-fed butter, very fresh extra-virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, grass-fed ghee, cold-pressed flax oil, cold pressed avocado oil and unrefined palm oil.
Avoid canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and peanut oil. These are inflammatory.
Fresh nuts can be a good source of protein and fat.
Low histamine, low oxalate, and low lectin choices are flax seeds, macadamias, pistachios, coconut, and pecans in moderation.
If you don’t have oxalate issues, you can also enjoy almonds (blanched to remove lectins in the skin), hazelnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts (only 3-4/day), hemp seeds, and hemp protein powder. Buy nuts as fresh as possible.
Use lots of fresh herbs.
Fresh herbs are some of the highest nutrient and antioxidant foods. Adding herbs to your meals will give them more flavour. Ginger, basil, chives, oregano, garlic, peppermint, rosemary are all excellent histamine lowering herbs.
Avoid anise, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, paprika, and nutmeg. These can liberate histamine and cause mast cell reactions.
Eat Fruits as a dessert.
Spikes in blood sugar (including fruit sugars) affect the mast cells. Prioritize lower sugar berries like blueberries. Tart cherries and green apples are also good choices. Lemons and limes are ok, if you tolerate them.
If you don’t have trouble with oxalates, raspberries and blackberries are lower in sugar. Other lower histamine, low oxalate fruits are: all types of apples, fresh apricots, cherries, fresh cranberries, fresh currant, cantaloupe, fresh figs, grapes (especially black), honeydew, kiwi, mango, nectarine, peach, pear, and watermelon. These do however higher sugar levels.
Sweeteners should be kept to a minimum.
There are some good sweetener options that don’t affect blood sugar, though. These are stevia, monk fruit, and inulin. These come from plants, and our bodies don’t metabolize them like sugar.
You want to be sure to avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, and corn syrup. These are very inflammatory.
Vegetables - Lower Histamine
Fruits - Lower Histamine
Meat, Poultry & Fish - Lower Histamine
All pure, freshly cooked, un-aged meat or poultry (not ground):
Fats & Oils - Lower Histamine
Spices & Herbs - Lower Histamine
Sweeteners - Lower Histamine
These don’t affect blood sugar:
Miscellaneous - Lower Histamine
Beverages - Lower Histamine
Milk & Dairy - Lower Histamine
Lower Histamine Foods
These dairy products are technically low histamine, however, if you have casein and lactose issues be cautious.
Foods that can HIGHER Histamine - Limit or Avoid these!
Vegetables to limit/avoid
Nuts to avoid/limit
Fats and Oils to avoid/limit
Spices & Herbs to avoid/limit
Sweeteners and Sugars to avoid
Other Higher Histamine Foods to avoid/limit
Additives to avoid
Beverages to avoid/limit
Dairy to avoid
