What can I do
After you have been diagnosed with PCOS, it is important proceed some changes in the way you eat. Some other solutions like not drink alcohol, not smoking, or not taking too long sunbath can be efficient, but what you eat and drink remains the main change you should operate.
We are going to give you a non exhaustive list of the food that contains the highest histamine levels, and explain you how you can reset your body regarding histamine. We will also show you some apps that can help you to differentiate histamine-free food from non histamine-free food, which can be helpful while you cook or when you are grocery shopping.
Food with high histamine levels
Pickled food such as pickles, dry tomatoes, olives etc. Here it can depend on how sensitive you are. Some can eat pickled food, some can not.
Cheese : The older the cheese is the more it contains histamine, for example Parmesan, hard cheese, blue cheese.
Smoked meat : Salami, ham, sausages, etc.
Seafood : Most of the fishes contains histamine. Due to the manufacturing process, a lot of fish contains more histamine than usual as the cold chain has been interrupted. If you are not high histamine intolerant, it can be possible to eat fresh fish from the market when it has be cooled right after fishing. Here you have to try carefully what works for you and what not.
Beans & Legumes : Peanuts, walnuts, kidney beans, lentils, black beans etc.
Wheat products : For some people it may be recommended to reduce wheat.
Fruits : Strawberries, oranges, pineapples, grapefruits, ripe bananas, dried fruits.
Veggies : Spinach, tomatoes, egg plants, peas, garlic etc.
Alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, vinegar, black tea, yeast
These are just examples and as every body can react differently, it is always important to try carefully different food and check how you body reacts.
As it is difficult to remember all the food that contains histamine or not, we can advise you, to use apps for Iphone such as “All I can eat” and “Intolerances” and for google play store “My Food Intolerance List” and “Food Intolerances” .
How to reset your body
After you are diagnosed with histamine intolerance, your body is already suffering for months or years and you probably can already list many uncomfortable symptoms. What your body needs the most now is: rest. Your body, your hormones, your organs need a break from food that contains high histamine levels.
That is why we recommend to go back to the basis, to food that does not contain any histamine at all.
In the first 4 weeks after you have been diagnosed with histamine intolerance, we recommend to only eat the following food:
Rice
Gluten free Pasta
Chicken and Beef from the Butcher
Low histamine vegetables like Pumpkin, Potatoes, Broccoli
Low histamine fruits like Apple, Blueberries, Nectarine
Low histamine dairy like Creme cheese, quark, milk
Vegetable Oils
Water
Tea without theine
After you made it through the first 4 weeks, you can slowly start every 3-4 days a new food that you like and see how your body reacts. If you realize, that you react in a negative way to a food, we recommend to make a break of 3-4 days to give your body the chance to rest. After a few weeks you should be able to classify the foods that your body can not process well and the food that you can eat without any regrets.
If you stay on a low histamine diet for a few years, it is possible that your body slowly starts to be able to process histamine better and better. But as always, it is different for everyone.
The secret to feel healthy and fit with histamine intolerance is to stick with your diet, and if you want to make an excuse, go back to your histamine free lifestyle right afterwards. If you are invited to an event such as a birthday or a dinner where you can not chose the menu, it can be helpful to take a supplement such as Cetirizine or Daosin. But be careful, it can make you tired and you should always ask your doctor first, before you take it.
