Histamine intolerance and oral nickel allergy

This blog article is all about the topic of nickel and oral nickel allergy, because this can also occur in combination with histamine intolerance and be a reason why symptoms cannot be brought under control despite a low-histamine diet.

An oral nickel allergy occurs in most cases in people who already have a contact nickel allergy, i.e., who show skin reactions upon contact with nickel. Have you perhaps ever gotten a rash from wearing jewelry?

Approximately 2–10% of those with a nickel allergy also react to nickel in food. Unlike IgE-mediated food allergies, the trigger here is not a protein, but a trace element.

The symptoms of an oral nickel allergy from consuming nickel-containing foods can be:

• Constipation & diarrhea
• Heartburn
• Nausea
• Heart palpitations
• Migraines
• Fatigue
• Depressive moods
• Dry, cracked skin
• Cracked fingertips
• Eczema

And lo and behold: the symptoms of an oral nickel allergy are once again very similar to those of a histamine intolerance.

We will now show you an initial way to confirm or, in the best case, rule out a suspected oral nickel allergy.
To do this, you should first follow an elimination diet and avoid nickel-containing foods. A food-symptom diary can help you with this.

Since nickel is contained in many foods and a completely nickel-free diet would be accompanied by many deficiencies, you should initially cut out the "nickel bombs" to feel the first changes.

Here is a list of foods with a high nickel content:

• Oatmeal
• Cocoa
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Whole grain products
• Coffee
• Peels of fruits & vegetables

In addition, you should ensure that your cooking and baking utensils are also nickel-free, as nickel is released from items like pots during the cooking process and gets into your food. Stainless steel pots are a good option here.

The exclusion phase should last approximately 4–6 weeks. If your suspicion of a nickel allergy is confirmed, you can have the diagnosis established by a dermatologist or allergist. Skin tests, such as the prick test or patch test, are used for this. An oral nickel allergy cannot be cured by conventional medicine. Nevertheless, there are some steps you can take to reduce your allergy-related and histamine-related symptoms:

Treatment options for oral nickel allergy

The first step is to have a test carried out by a doctor to obtain a confirmed diagnosis.

➡️ After that, a low-nickel diet is important to alleviate the symptoms.

Since nickel is found in most foods (albeit in small amounts), the long-term goal should not be a nickel-free diet, as this can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

➡️ The aim here is to minimize the hypersensitivity of the organism.

We have a step-by-step guide for you to address the cause(s):

It is important that you slowly take care of your gut and liver and consciously integrate certain antioxidants into your diet.

1. Gut restoration

using low-histamine bacterial strains

2. Strengthen the liver

The stronger our detoxification organs are, the better our body can eliminate pollutants and heavy metals.

3. Integrate antioxidants into your diet

These include, for example, berries, carrots, apples, garlic (1), onions (1), pomegranates, lettuce, and grapes

4. Vitamin C-rich diet

Foods with a high vitamin C content are:

🥔 Potatoes
🥬 Cabbage vegetables (e.g., savoy cabbage)
🫐 Currants
🍒 Acerola cherry (this can also be supplemented as natural juice or powder)

Would you like to easily integrate selected vitamins, minerals, and plant substances into your daily routine? Our BalanceFit combines vitamin C with zinc, selenium, quercetin, and OPC in a practical capsule form.

Vitamin C, zinc, and selenium help protect cells from oxidative stress. This makes BalanceFit very easy to integrate into your everyday life as a supplement.

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