Here is my diet, mostly in point form below. Please note that this is a document in progress!
One cautionary note I want to share about making changes in one’s own diet is that by removing foods that you have become desensitized to and currently tolerate, you may in fact cause them to become resensitized so foods that used to bother you only a little or not at all in small quantities may cause a severe reaction when reintroduced.
I strongly suggest caution when removing food you may want to continue to eat and suggest you remove suspected minor irritants after major irritants have been removed, or that you remove something only for a short period initially. This will provide a cleaner slate to measure the effect of removing other food that may not be a major problem.
Most of my diet takes this into account. When I first learned of my Mast Cell Activation Disease, anti nutrients, my nickel allergy, histamine, etc.; I wanted to remove all bad things on the many lists; however if one looks at Oxalates, salicylates, Phytates, Lectins, Saponins… (more on these to come in future posts) one won’t be left with much to eat and many things you could eat you might no longer be able to eat if you remove them and resensitize to them.
It is very important to continue to make choices that provide healthy nutrition and not just eliminate things you might be afraid of. This is a common problem driven by fear and it can lead to significant deterioration in overall health, even beyond what is currently a problem.
Total elimination diets and reintroduction of foods may be necessary in some cases, but my opinion remains that one should try to structure removal of foods in a worst first method. This does not work for everyone.
Much of the info on Histamine diet and foods I refer to and my guidance when it comes to histamine in my diet came from http://mastattack.org.
However I also combine the approach I have maintained for the care of my dogs and myself for many years that stresses providing good nutrition even when sick. I just did not know the difference between food that is generally good for you and intolerance to certain nutrients that modifies that condition. I also found this approach espoused very well on http://healinghistamine.com.
In some cases a complete cleans may be necessary, but I would not choose to do so unless it was.
This should only be determined with the help of a health care professional, Medical Doctor, Naturopathic Doctor, etc. And my personal caution is that I would first need to determine if that health care professional had any knowledge of mast cell disorders, actual nutritional value, anti nutrients etc.
In Progress:
At the moment I have three categories of food that are a problem:
- Food that poisons me and causes an allergic reaction in me and influences every histamine system; Skin, GI, Cardiopulmonary, CNS, immune system – Everything. And I do not yet know exactly what it is that causes these reactions.
- High histamine since I produce a ton more than I need and everything that produces higher histamine levels causes my baseline symptoms to increase.
- Nickel allergy that requires me to reduce overall nickel intake.
Food I eat:
-Water
-Coffee
-Squash (butternut, acorn, zucchini)
-Rutebaga
-Celery
-Cabbage
-Cauliflower
-Brussels Sprouts
-Arugula
-Parsley
-Boc Choi
-Sweet Basil
-Onion
-Garlic
-Apples (have not tried all types yet and some are high in other anti nutrients)
-Pears
-Mango
-Eggs
-Beef
-Chicken (limit intake due to higher inflammatory properties)
-Turkey
-Whey Protein
-fresh caught fish (within 30 minutes, unlikely)
-Butter
-Fish oil
-Coconut oil
-Canola oil
-Safflower oil
-Sunflower seed oil
-Olive oil
-Peppercorns
-Cumin
-Tumeric
-Oregeno
-Dairy (not fermented, listed below)
-Butter
-Cereal cream
-Ice Cream
-Mozzarella cheese
-Almond Milk
-Coconut milk
-Maple Syrup
-Pure jams and jellies (of acceptable fruit)
-Apple butter
-Baking soda
-Baking powder
Food I eat, but limit because of high nickel levels:
-Almonds and Almond milk
-Hazelnuts
-Sunflower seeds
-Pine nuts
-Sesame seeds
-Oats (also high in phytates I control with soaking in acid and Rye flakes)
-Chic peas
-Parsnips
-Carrots
-Kale
-Broccoli
-Romaine lettuce
-Rice crackers
Food I limit frequency and amount due to high histamine, other anti nutrients:
-Dairy (fermented; small quantities only)
-Greek Yogurt (not sure anymore)
-Kefir (not sure anymore)
-Parmesan cheese (small quantities)
-Cheddar cheese (medium, very small quantities)
-Bread (sprouted whole grains; however still investigating)
-Strawberries (flavouring only, not sure)
-Raspberries (maybe not, not sure/flavouring only)
-Blueberries (flavouring only, not sure)
-Lemon juice in small quantities (exception to Citrus)
-Mayonnaise**
-Cesar Dressing**
-ranch dressing
Food I limit for other reasons:
-Coconut sugar (very little)
-Simple carbs
Stuff I don’t eat ever and that poisons me:
-Nightshades including tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (both sweet and spicy), egg plant
-Cherries (not a true nightshade but carry many of the same anti nutrients)
-Peanuts
-Artificial Dyes
-Asparagus
-Gum of Arachia
-Malt in bread etc
-Cane sugar (headaches in particular)
-Brazil Nuts
-Artificial Flavours
-Artificial sweeteners
-Alcohol
-Chocolate
Food I don’t eat due to high histamine levels:
-Beans
-Peas (green, sweet or sugar)
-Spinach
-Avocados
-Pumpkin
-Unpasteurized honey
-Chocolate
-Cocoa beans
-Cocoa
-Mushrooms
-Walnuts
-Pecans
-Pickled products
-Canned products
-Sauerkraut
-Dairy (fermented, some I love listed below)
-Aged chedder
-Sour cream
-Cottage cheese
-Cream cheese
-Soy
-Yeasts, yeast extract,
-Flavored gelatin
-Vinegar of any kind (minor amounts in some foods like Mayonnaise or even mustard I will eat)
-Citrus Fruits
-Berries, including cranberries, blueberries (not sure), blackberries, gooseberries, loganberries, raspberries**, strawberries**
-Stone fruits, including apricots, cherries (poison me), nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes; bananas, grapes, currants, dates, papayas, pineapples, raisins.
-Dried fruit of any kind
-Shellfish
-Processed meats
-Leftover meats (must be frozen for left overs)
-Dehydrated meat (eg. beef jerky)
-Raw egg white
Food I don’t eat due to High Nickel levels (I am simply trying to reduce overall nickel levels and eliminate only the worst offenders):
-Cashews
-Chocolate
-Spinach
-green, brown and white beans
-canned foods
-shellfish
Food I don’t Eat for other poisonous reasons:
-GMO anything (Corn, Canola, Soy, etc)
Food I am yet to test (may or may not be be high histamine or high in other anti nutrients):
-Other squash
-Tea
-Low histamine fruits I have not tried: Melons including Watermelon, Honeydo Melon and; fig, kiwi, passion fruit, rhubarb, starfruit, longans, lychees
-Fish (high histamine)
-Unfermented Cheese I have not tried; Mascarpone, ricotta, panir
-Pure, unbleached flour or grains (not high in histamine but Nickel or other anti nutrients may be an issue), but I have not tried many of these as of yet
-many forms of rice (not sure if brown or white is better, conflicting info to be resolved on Nickel and histamine, etc first
-pinto beans, white beans, navy beans, black eyed peas, black beans, lentils, split peas (all are higher in nickel and need to be regulated)
-plain gelatin,
-cream of tartar
-pasteurized honey (have not found any I would eat)
-Products that use baking powder for leavening like biscuits, soda bread, scones and muffins.
-Crackers without yeast are allowed, as are cereals if they don’t contain excluded ingredients.
Guidelines for Histamine:
1) Anything fermented should be avoided. Fermentation produces histamine as a side product. Some are only sensitive to yeast fermented products while some find that fermentation from any organism is triggering.
2) No preservatives and no dyes.
3) No leftovers and nothing overly ripe. This is one of the harder parts of this diet, but I find it very important. Fresh or frozen products seem okay. I have mixed success with thawing frozen meat, but lots of people do it successfully. The key is to not cook something, put it in the fridge and eat it three days later.
4) No canned products.
5) No pickled products.
* Allow small quantities
** Exception used in small quantities for flavour