How to keep histamines low on the GAPS diet

Histamines are a biogenic amine which act as a response to the immune system. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of taking antihistamine medications for hay fever or allergies. Histamine is actually produced largely in the gut as it serves many important roles. However, when dealing with a leaky gut, there is often an overproduction of histamine, and a lowered capacity of the body to break it down. This is because undigested food particles are constantly leaking into the blood stream. This causes the immune system to be on high alert and in constant attack mode, and histamine release is a way to deal with these “invaders”. This can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as rashes and itchy skin, shortness of breath, watery eyes, headaches, abnormal heart rate, runny nose and more.The GAPS intro diet is deigned to fix the gut lining which calms the immune system and lowers levels of histamine. However, most people when beginning the GAPS diet, need to be mindful to keep histamines low in order to reduce these symptoms. One way to keep histamines low is by eating a relatively low histamine diet and cooking foods as fresh as possible.Many foods on the GAPS diet are high in histamines, however they are also powerful foods that correct and heal the problem overtime. Meat stock and ferments are some of these foods and they should not be avoided. However, there are many things you can do to lower the histamine levels of these healing foods:Meat Stock:Meat stocks are not the same as bone broths. They are short cooked and prioritise meaty and gelatinous bones. Because they are short cooked they are much lower in histamines and other amines that may be initially irritating. To keep your meat stock low in histamines I recommend the following:

1. Buy all of your bones frozen. The longer they sit refrigerated at the butcher, the more the histamine levels increase
2. Cook your meat stocks in the timeline outlined below
3. When meat stock is finished cooking, strain and pour into sturdy, high quality glass jars and containers such as pyrex and Ball jars. Let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate or freeze. Some people are extremely histamine sensitive and need to freeze everything and defrost only what they need each day. I suggest not letting meat stock sit in the fridge for more than 2 days.

Cooking meat stock- Add bones to your pot, cover with water so it is just 1 cm above the bones. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.Simmer your stock for:Fish - 1 1/2 hoursPoultry- 2-3 hoursLamb & Goat 3 hoursBeef- 4 hoursSimmering time increases with the size of the animal. These are not hard rules but a helpful guideline. As time goes on and your body adjusts to the GAPS diet, the cooking time can increase without any symptoms.Fermented foods:Sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables are essential to repopulating the gut and supporting the lining of the intestinal tract. As they are consumed, they remove pathogens and harmful yeasts and bacteria. Overtime this creates an environment that supports the entire body. These fermented foods are extremely high in histamines so a few ways to introduce them include:

1. Begin with small amounts of the sauerkraut juice, also known as brine. You can start with 1 drop a day if you are sensitive and increase. It’s important to wait 3 days before increasing the dose as histamine reactions can take up to 3 days to show.
2. Let your sauerkraut ferment for a longer amount of time. It has been shown that after a few months at room temperature the histamine levels decrease. I only suggest doing this if the individual is extremely sensitive to histamines. It’s not recommended for everyone.

Cooked foods and meats:While bulk cooking is recommended on the GAPS diet to make life easier, it’s important to be mindful of leftovers. After meats and vegetables are cooked, they increase in histamines which can be problematic for some. Making sure cooked foods and leftover do not sit in the fridge for days can be helpful for sensitive individuals. This should not be necessary long term, but is helpful in the early stages.Decreasing non-healing high histamine foods:I don’t support the idea of staying on a low-histamine diet long term. Removing histamines is not the answer and makes life incredibly difficult. The GAPS diet, which may be more difficult in the short term will fix histamine intolerance and make life much easier in the long run. That being said, while the gut lining is permeable, it can be helpful to reduce some high histamine foods. This will help to minimise uncomfortable symptoms.The list of high histamine foods is extensive but include the following:ChocolateCitrus fruitsVinegars and Soy sauceAged cheesesFish and shellfishNutsTomatoesPapayaMany people do not need to do all of these steps with caution, but they are helpful to know about if you are experiencing a lot of healing or detox reactions.