Honey and histamine: A sweet wonder of nature – but is it also suitable for a low-histamine diet?
The thick, sticky, and incredibly sweet honey has been a popular ingredient for pastries or as a finishing touch for savory dishes for thousands of years. But is this liquid gold also suitable for a low-histamine diet, or is it one of those high-histamine foods? You can find more information about this and the versatility of honey in the blog post below.
Honey: Origin and Taste
Sweet honey, which is produced by bees from floral nectar and serves them as food at the same time, has also been used by humans for a long time. After all, beekeeping and apiary have existed for more than 2700 years. It is even assumed that humans have been gathering and eating honey since the Stone Age.
Honey consists to a very large extent of sugar, which is why it tastes predominantly sweet. Depending on the type of flower, however, it can taste slightly milder or stronger. The most well-known varieties are dandelion honey, acacia honey, forest honey, lavender honey, and blossom honey.
Production of the liquid gold
Bees are essential for the production of honey. It is created by the bees collecting the floral nectar with the help of their special mouthparts and storing it in their honey stomach, where it is enriched with saliva and mixed. The honey stomach is a small pouch in the bee's esophagus. While the floral nectar is being mixed in the honey stomach, the sucrose contained in the nectar is broken down by the enzymes from saliva and gastric juice into glucose and fructose, thus converting it into honey. This is subsequently stored by the bees in the cells of the honeycomb. There, the water content of the honey is reduced to approx. 14-20% through countless wing beats, a process that can take up to 20 minutes.
After that, the honey is finished; the consistency of the honey results from the respective ratio of glucose to fructose – This depends on the origin of the nectar. Approximately 5 kilograms of nectar are required to produce 1 kilogram of honey.
As a small example: A bee must cover between 20,000 and 100,000 flight paths to collect a single liter of nectar. That's quite a lot of work!
Honey in a low-histamine diet: Is it suitable for consumption?
As a rule, the consumption of honey in a low-histamine diet is unproblematic. Nevertheless, there are some people who do not tolerate honey particularly well. After all, it is a complex natural product consisting of more than 180 ingredients. Furthermore, the natural content of essential oils and traces such as benzoic acid can be problematic.
- low-histamine diet
- gluten-free diet
- lactose-free diet
- low-nickel diet
- low-sorbitol diet
- low-fructose diet
- low-salicylate diet
Honey in daily low-histamine life: Shopping tips and storage
When buying honey, it is recommended to opt for products with a Fairtrade seal or organic seal, as these manufacturers generally avoid the use of chemically synthetic pesticides. As a result, no harmful residues end up in the honey. It is also, of course, recommended to buy honey from a local beekeeper. This not only supports domestic bee colonies, but also local beekeepers.
Since honey is produced by bees, it is not a vegan food. Rice syrup or maple syrup are great vegan alternatives, which are also excellently suited for a low-histamine diet.
Naturally sweet – completely without honey
Would you like to avoid honey and are looking for a vegan alternative for a sweet treat now and then? Our Organic Berry Bar gets its pleasant sweetness from ingredients including rice syrup and contains no honey at all.
The fruity bar is suitable for a low-histamine & low-fructose diet, gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan. Furthermore, it consists of organic ingredients and manages without unnecessary additives.
This makes it a practical companion for on the go or whenever you feel like a small sweet snack.
Lieferzeit: 2-3 Tage
Honey in the low-histamine kitchen: Delicious recipes
Fittingly for the topic, we have put together some delicious dishes with honey as an ingredient for you. Enjoy!
Feta and Carrot Snack
You will need the following ingredients for 1-2 servings:
- 3-4 carrots
- 200g feta cheese (1)
- Frying olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (1)
- HistaFood Organic Vegetable Spread Carrot & Red Beet as a dip
Turkey with Red Cabbage and Dumplings
You will need the following ingredients for 6 servings:
- 1 red cabbage (approx. 1.6kg)
- 2 onions (1)
- 5 tbsp butter
- 6 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- HistaFood Organic Herbal Salt
- 4 tbsp liquid honey
- 400 ml apple juice
- 50g macadamia nuts
- 8-12 potato dumplings
- 2 cloves of garlic (1)
- 8 sprigs of lemon thyme
- 50ml acerola juice
- 6-8 baby turkey fillets with skin (approx. 200 g each; have them deboned by the butcher or use 3 turkey inner fillets of approx. 400g each)
- 400ml HistaFood Organic Vegetable Broth
- 2 tsp cornstarch (tapioca or potato)
- 1-2 tbsp quince paste (organic)
Cream Cheese Board with Grain Bread
You will need the following ingredients for 3-4 servings:
- 1 package HistaFood Organic Grain Bread
- 200g oat-based cream cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 pomegranate
- 2-3 sprigs of rosemary
- HistaFood Organic Herbal Salt
Your basics for a low-histamine diet
Would you like to discover more low-histamine products for your daily life? With our HistaBasic Set, you receive a versatile selection of HistaFood products – from savory basics to spreads and snacks, and practical companions for your low-histamine diet.
Each set contains 1x: Organic Vegetable Broth, Organic Vegetable Sauce, Organic Nut Spread, Organic Grain Bread, Organic Protein Bar (single), Organic Berry Bar (single), DextroFit, and DaoFit.
The included products are suitable for a low-histamine diet, gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan. Furthermore, we rely on organic quality and refrain from using unnecessary additives.
Lieferzeit: 2-3 Tage
Sources
- https://eatsmarter.de/lexikon/warenkunde/suesses/bienenhonig
- The Great Encyclopedia of Food, 1998 Südwest Verlag GmbH in the Verlagshaus Goethestraße GmbH & Co. KG, Munich
