It is notable that most allergic symptoms worsen after the consumption of foods as eggs, shellfish, fish, strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, chocolate or drinking alcohol (especially wine and beer) or smoking. During the allergies, the body reacts to them by producing extra histamine, hence anti-histamines drugs are recommended. Other foods that contain great amounts of histamine, or release histamine do cause severe allergic symptoms-alcohol as red wine form one of the major triggers. It must be noted that each individual has different tolerance level for histamine thus different people will react differently on different histamine levels. If your histamine tolerance level is reached; it overflows causing allergic symptoms happen.
The fermenting of foods lead to histamine is production as in cheese, grits, vinegar and alcoholic drinks. Unfortunately some foods have natural extra amounts of histamine as tomato, eggplant and spinach. Food additives including azo dyes, tartrazine and preservatives trigger the histamine releasing. Benzoates which occur natural in some foods also cause histamine to be released hence making them to be listed as those that need to be avoided so as to reduce the allergic symptoms.
Others food that must be avoided
i) Meat, poultry fish and eggs to avoid: most of these products will produce high levels of histamine that cause a histamine food poisoning known as scombriod especially fish, shellfish, anchovies and sardines if they start going bad.
Eggs product except in its other products as pancakes, bread, cake and others must also be avoided.
Avoid all processed, smoked or fermented meats as sandwich meat, sausage, weiner, bologna, salami, pepperoni, smoked ham, bacon. In some of these foods chemicals are used to cure them as in ham and meats giving a distinct pink color.
Leftovers are easily acted upon by bacteria hence histamine is produced especially in protein based leftover kept at room or refrigerator temperatures. To avoid this freeze all the leftovers to stop histamine production.
ii) Milk Products to avoid: Avoid all fermented milk products h as cheeses, yogurt, buttermilk, and kefir, sour cream. When we say cheeses we include processed cheese, cheese slices and spreads for are fermented and at the same time processed; these include cheddar, coldby, blue cheese, brie, camembert, feta, romano, cottage cheese and ricotta cheeses.
iii) Fruits to avoid: In the list are oranges, grapefruit, lemon, lime, cherries, grapes, apricots, avocados, raspberries, cranberries, prunes, loganberries, dates, raisins, currants-fresh or dried. In addition bananas, papayas, pineapple, strawberries and tomatoes for also release histamine.
iv) Vegetables to avoid: Tomatoes and their products like tomato sauces, catsup and others, soy products, spinach, red beans, eggplant, pumpkin.
All vegetables packed in vinegar or salt as olives, pickles, relish and other fermented vegetables as sauerkraut must be avoided.
v) Alcoholic beverages to avoid: All types of alcohol must be avoided; including beer and wine for they histamine.
Other foods to be avoided in controlling and treating hives are some; food addictives and food colors, seasons as cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, chilli, anise, nutmeg, soy sauce and curry powder, beverages as tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, cola, alcohol and any others that will cause allergy in you. Taking of lemon water at least 8 times a day is recommended.