What is histamine intolerance?
Histamine intolerance (HIT) is a condition where histamine builds up in your body. Histamine is a chemical that your body naturally makes and that’s present in some foods. Some experts think that if your body can’t break histamine down like it’s supposed to, it can build up and give you an upset stomach, headache or allergy symptoms.
This is different from histamine intoxication (also called histamine poisoning). Histamine intoxication usually happens as a food poisoning outbreak, affecting many people who ate the same high-histamine meal. Public health officials usually trace it back to certain types of fish.
Histamine intoxication is well-documented. But histamine intolerance is more controversial. Experts disagree about whether relatively low levels of histamine could cause symptoms, or if it’s more likely that irritable bowel syndrome or another condition causes symptoms that look like HIT.
Is histamine intolerance a food allergy?
No, histamine intolerance isn’t an allergy, even though it has some symptoms of allergic reactions. It’s sometimes called a “pseudoallergy,” as it looks similar to an allergy but has a different cause.
Is histamine tolerance a real thing?
The American Academy of Allergy and Immunology doesn’t currently recognize histamine intolerance as a condition. It’s a controversial issue.
Some experts suggest that if your body can’t break down histamine as well as it should, it can build up in your body and cause symptoms. But a 2023 study ruled out histamine intolerance in most people who thought it was causing their symptoms. The study’s authors and other experts suggest that other conditions cause symptoms that look like a histamine reaction.
