Are cashews high in histamine?
Cashews are probably mostly low in histamine: they were not tested on their own, but nuts as a group had none in 47 samples in one survey. Fermented cashew cheese is a different matter.
- Histamine
- Varies by sample
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain (nut group) 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 47 nut samples; cashews were not reported separately. |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | 41 nut samples averaged 0.45 mg/kg of histamine, up to 11.86 mg/kg; it suggests other amines may explain reactions to nuts. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | 2 of 10 exclude nuts as a group. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 4 | Lists nuts among foods a low-histamine diet avoids. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuts sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1) | 47 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.40 mg/kg (ND–39.51); cadaverine mean 0.25 mg/kg; tyramine mean 0.11 mg/kg; spermidine mean 28.64 mg/kg (6.21–140.55) |
| Nuts (group) 2 (Table 1) | 41 | mean 0.45 mg/kg, range nd–11.86 mg/kg | median not detected |
| Nuts, range across studies (group) 3 (Table 4) | — | not detected | putrescine nd–40 mg/kg; cadaverine nd–23 mg/kg; spermidine 6–40 mg/kg; spermine 2–33 mg/kg |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Dry cashews were not measured on their own. Once soaked and blended into cashew cream they become a moist food, and the 2018 review notes that amines can keep forming in plant foods stored in the fridge, so make cashew cream close to when you will eat it. Cultured cashew cheese is fermented.
Measured only as part of the nut group: none in 47 samples in one survey, up to 11.86 mg/kg in another. (measured)
Not measured. Soaked and blended cashews; eat it soon rather than keeping it for days. (estimate)
Not measured. Made by fermentation; the foods with the highest histamine in the surveys we use were fermented. (estimate)
Why we rate cashews 1
Cashews were not measured on their own in the studies we use, so their rating rests on figures for nuts as a group. A University of Barcelona team tested 47 samples of nuts sold in Spain and found no detectable histamine in any of them. The paper does not list which nuts the group included. A 2020 review by the same group, drawing on a different set of 41 nut samples, reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg, with at least half of the samples having none and the highest at 11.86 mg/kg, again without naming the nuts.
The group is richer in other amines than in histamine. Putrescine averaged 4.40 mg/kg across the 47 samples and spermidine, a polyamine, 28.64 mg/kg. The 2018 review classes nuts among the plant foods with no histamine but high levels of other amines, and the 2020 review suggests these, rather than histamine, may explain why people react to nuts. Two of the ten low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review exclude nuts, and a 2024 clinical review lists nuts among foods to avoid at first.
For cashews, what they are made into matters more than the nut. Cashews sold as "raw" have usually been steamed or roasted to open the shell, which makes no difference here, because histamine is heat-stable. Soaked and blended cashew cream is a fresh, moist food; make it close to when you eat it, since the 2018 review notes that amines can keep forming in plant foods kept in the fridge. Cultured cashew cheese is different again. It is made by fermentation, and the two foods with the highest average histamine in the team's survey were both fermented: fermented soy products at 73.95 mg/kg and sauerkraut at 43.74 mg/kg. Cashew cheese itself was not measured, so we rate it 2 as an estimate.
We rate cashews 1, "mostly low", one step above almonds and hazelnuts, which were measured individually and had no histamine. The extra step reflects that cashews have only group figures, and one group survey found histamine in some samples. For a creamy sauce or a dairy-free cream, blanched almonds are the closest swap with their own clean measurements. A cashew allergy is a different condition from histamine intolerance and has its own tests.
Questions about cashews and histamine
Are cashews low histamine?
They were not measured on their own. Nuts as a group had no histamine in 47 samples in one survey and an average of 0.45 mg/kg in another, so we rate cashews 1, "mostly low".
Is cashew cheese high in histamine?
It was not measured. Cultured cashew cheese is fermented, and the two foods with the highest average histamine in the survey we use were both fermented, so we rate it 2 as an estimate. Fresh, unfermented cashew cream is rated 1.
Evidence behind this page
- Across 47 nut samples sold in Spain, no histamine was detected; the paper does not list which nuts were included. 1
- A 2020 review reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg of histamine in 41 nut samples, with a median of not detected and a maximum of 11.86 mg/kg. 2
- Symptoms after eating nuts may be due to other amines, especially putrescine, rather than histamine. 23
- Fermented soy products and sauerkraut had the highest average histamine of the foods surveyed in Spain, at 73.95 and 43.74 mg/kg. 1
- Amines can keep forming in plant foods during refrigerated storage. 3
Sources
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Rabell-González J, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Biogenic Amines in Plant-Origin Foods: Are They Frequently Underestimated in Low-Histamine Diets? Foods 7(12):205, 2018. doi:10.3390/foods7120205 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2018)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)