[Debating histamine intolerance: are adverse reactions to histamine-containing foods fact or fiction?]

Low-histamine diets are very popular and often self-imposed among people suspecting histamine intolerance. Most of these diets avoid a huge variety of foods containing more or less histamine, which has a considerable impact on their quality of life, but in most cases no long-term benefit. Underlying a diminished capacity for histamine degradation, the lack of partial or complete symptom improvement might be due to the fact that endogenous histamine release could also be responsible for symptoms. The role of ingested histamine-below the level for intoxication-is discussed controversially. However, it is obvious that the histamine content of a certain food alone is not enough to predict its tolerance. If histamine intolerance is suspected, an individual diagnostic and therapeutic procedure is mandatory in order to minimize avoidance and to preserve a high quality of life. Ideally this is done in a close cooperation between allergists and nutritionists.