Benefits of a histamine-reducing diet - for some patients with chronic urticaria and angioedema

Urticaria and angioedema symptoms result primarily from the physiological a ctions of histamine. Some individuals with urticaria have a decreased abili ty to degrade dietary histamine before it enters the circulation. Foods hig h in histamine, such as fermented foods, may exacerbate urticaria and angio edema in these individuals. Certain food additives may increase endogenous release of histamine and urticaria and angioedema symptoms. The objective o f this study was to evaluate the effect of a histamine-reducing diet on urt icaria and angioedema symptoms, and on nutrient intake. Nineteen subjects w ith chronic urticaria or angioedema were randomized to a treatment group (n =9) or a control group (n=10). The treatment group followed a histamine-red ucing diet, and the control group eliminated artificial sweeteners from the ir diets. The subjects recorded antihistamine medication intake, number of wheals, the severity of pruritus and the severity of angioedema for two wee ks before starting the diet and for six weeks during the dietary interventi on. Subjects completed three-day food records every two weeks. There was a marginally significant decrease in the number of antihistamine tablets take n in the histamine-reducing diet group compared with the control group, and two of nine treatment subjects had dramatically improved symptoms. During the study there was no significant risk of nutritional deficiency for eithe r group.