Hay fever. I have it. Do you? Did you know that what you eat could be making your hay fever worse?

All human bodies contain histamine. Most of us, most of the time, aren’t bothered by it one bit. However, our bodies have a threshold for histamine. When the level of histamine in our bodies goes above that threshold, we experience symptoms. They are the symptoms that us hay fever sufferers know all too well – itchy eyes, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose, etc.

Histamine in the Body

Where do the histamines in our bodies come from? There are three major sources. The first source are histamines that are released as a part of the allergic response. In the case of hay fever, they are released in response to breathing in pollen. That’s why hay fever medications are called anti-histamines.

The second source is our gut microbiome. Our gut bacteria naturally produce histamine. This histamine is absorbed into our bodies.

The third source is food (and drink). A number of foods contain histamine. These foods naturally contain it. They aren’t contaminated in any way. When we eat these foods, the histamine enters our bodies and contributes to the amount of histamine circulating through our bloodstream.

The trick to getting rid of the symptoms of high histamine (i.e. hay fever symptoms) is to get the level of histamine in our body back below our threshold. Trees and grasses will produce pollen for as long as they are programmed by nature to do so – there’s nothing you can do about that. Even healthy gut bacteria produce histamine so there’s nothing that you can do about that.

Which leaves you with one factor that you have the ability to change – how much histamine-containing foods you eat. Let me be clear, this isn’t like a food allergy where you need to remove 100% of histamine from food. You don’t need to avoid all of these foods. But you can reduce the amount of these foods that you eat when your hay fever is acting up.

Foods and Drinks with Histamine:

Foods and beverages that naturally contain histamine include:

• Alcohol and non-alcohol versions of alcoholic drinks (e.g. near-beer)
• Coffee and tea
• Vinegar and foods made with vinegar (e.g. pickles)
• Chocolate, cocoa, cola
• Fermented vegetables and soy (e.g. sauerkraut, soy sauce)
• Cheese
• Processed meats/ charcuterie
• Fish and shellfish – unless you cook them immediately after catching/harvesting them
• Red beans
• Soy beans
• Eggplant
• Spinach
• Pumpkin/ squash
• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Grapes
• Citrus fruit
• Apricots
• Cherries
• Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries
• Pineapple
• Many dried fruits such as dates, raisins, prunes
• Some spices such as cinnamon, chili powder, nutmeg

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