Eggs and histamine intolerance
Eggs are a staple food. Whether as a breakfast egg, scrambled, or fried egg – they are definitely popular in quick and easy cooking. Furthermore, eggs are often indispensable in baking. However, eggs are often not well tolerated. How does egg consumption affect those with histamine intolerance? And what alternatives are there?
Eggs and histamine (intolerance)
The egg cannot be considered as a whole, as a distinction must be made between the egg white and the yolk. According to the SIGHI list, the yolk has a histamine level of 0, while the raw egg white has a SIGHI level of 2. It doesn't contain much histamine itself, but is primarily considered a histamine liberator. This means that your body releases histamine even if you haven't ingested any through food. However, a cooked egg is more tolerable and is no longer considered a histamine liberator. As is so often the case, it comes down to your individual tolerance level.
In general, you should consume eggs with caution, as they have a high allergy potential. Furthermore, eggs contain sulfur, to which some people react. This is often related to an imbalanced gut flora.
Which eggs are suitable for someone with a histamine intolerance?
If you don't want to give up your eggs, make sure to buy organic and fresh eggs. Otherwise, we've listed alternatives for you further down in the article.
You should completely avoid pickled eggs. These are hard-boiled eggs preserved in salt, which you should definitely avoid if you have a histamine intolerance.
Freshness test eggs
Did you buy eggs a while ago and are now unsure if they're still fresh enough? The general rule for histamine intolerance is: use them quickly! However, there's a simple trick to determine the freshness of eggs.
Fill a large glass with water and place the egg in it. Now there are several possible scenarios:
- The egg sinks to the bottom -> the egg is fresh
- The egg is tilted in the water -> the egg is several days to weeks old, but not yet spoiled.
- The egg rises to the top/floats on the surface -> the egg is old and spoiled
Alternatives to eggs for histamine intolerance
Quail eggs are a well-known and proven alternative to regular eggs.
Two to four quail eggs can replace one chicken egg. This means nothing stands in the way of fried eggs or baking recipes.
If you want to completely avoid animal egg substitutes, the following options are available:
- ground flaxseed
- Chia seeds
- starch flour
- applesauce
One tablespoon of the aforementioned alternatives is equivalent to one egg.
Ground flaxseeds resemble egg whites when soaked in water. Flaxseeds can replace one or two eggs in baking and serve as an alternative binding agent. The process is similar with chia seeds and cornstarch.
These alternatives won't bring you scrambled or fried eggs, but they will help you bake delicious vegan baked goods.