Is coconut milk high in histamine?
Coconut milk is probably mostly low in histamine, but neither coconut nor coconut milk was measured in our sources. It is not fermented; the main risk is an opened can or carton kept for days.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit as a group, 2020 review 1 | 136 fruit samples averaged 0.07 mg/kg of histamine; coconut is not named, and coconut milk was not measured. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Coconut milk is not on the review's chart of excluded foods. | |
| Review of amines in beverages, 2022 3 | Plant drinks, including fruit-based ones, are water extracts that are heat-treated; hygiene and pasteurisation can prevent amine formation. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Canned coconut milk is heat-treated in the can, and carton drinks are pasteurised or UHT-treated, so the unopened product is stable. Once opened, it is a rich, moist food kept in the fridge, and storage after opening was not studied. Freeze leftover canned coconut milk in portions rather than keeping it for days.
Not measured. Heat-treated in the can; use or freeze soon after opening. (estimate)
Not measured. A water-based plant drink, pasteurised or UHT-treated. (estimate)
Not measured. Stored cooked dishes, especially with meat or fish, build histamine. (estimate)
Why we rate coconut milk 1
Coconut milk is used two ways, as a thick cooking ingredient from a can and as a thinner drink in a carton, and neither has been measured for histamine in the studies we use. Coconut itself does not appear in their tables either. This page is an estimate, and it explains where the uncertainty lies.
What we have is indirect. A University of Barcelona team's 2020 review pooled 136 fruit samples and found an average of just 0.07 mg/kg of histamine, with a highest value of 2.51 mg/kg. The review does not say which fruits were included, so coconut may not be among them, but fresh fruit is consistently one of the lowest food groups for histamine. Coconut milk is made from the flesh with water and is not fermented, so the usual routes by which histamine gets into food, bacterial spoilage and fermentation, do not apply to the unopened product.
The 2022 review of amines in drinks describes plant drinks, fruit-based ones included, as water extracts that are separated and then pasteurised or UHT-treated. It also reports a study that found histamine in plant milks made from cereals, which is why we rate oat and rice milk more cautiously. Coconut milk was not part of that study as the review describes it.
Storage is the practical risk. A can of coconut milk is often opened for one recipe and the rest kept in the fridge, and that stage was not studied. Coconut curries are a separate concern: dishes with meat or fish that are kept and reheated give bacteria time to form histamine in the protein, and cooking does not remove it.
We rate coconut milk 1, "mostly low", as an estimate, for both the canned and the carton kind. Use an opened can soon or freeze the rest in portions, and cook coconut dishes fresh rather than relying on leftovers. Soy milk, the only plant milk measured in our tables, had no histamine in three samples.
Questions about coconut milk and histamine
Is coconut milk low in histamine?
Probably, but neither coconut nor coconut milk was measured in our sources. It is not fermented, and fruit is among the lowest food groups for histamine. We rate it 1 as an estimate; use opened cans quickly.
Is canned coconut milk okay on a low-histamine diet?
It was not measured, but it is heat-treated in the can and not fermented, so we rate it 1. Storage after opening was not studied; freeze what you do not use rather than keeping it for days.
Evidence behind this page
- Fruits pooled across 136 samples averaged 0.07 mg/kg of histamine, with a highest value of 2.51 mg/kg; the review does not list which fruits were included. 1
- Plant drinks are water-based beverages made from cereals, pseudo-cereals, oil seeds, legumes or fruits, by water extraction, separation of the solids and pasteurisation or UHT treatment; in non-fermented drinks, hygiene and good manufacturing practice, pasteurisation included, can prevent amine formation. 3
- Histamine is expected to be absent from fresh and cooked meat and fish as long as freshness and hygiene are maintained; when they are not, it can form. 21
- Amines are thermostable compounds, so cooking changes their content only through transfer to cooking water, dilution or concentration. 5
- Three soy milks from the Spanish market had no detectable histamine. 5
Sources
- 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, 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)
- Visciano P, Schirone M. Update on Biogenic Amines in Fermented and Non-Fermented Beverages. Foods 11(3):353, 2022. doi:10.3390/foods11030353 (Visciano P et al. 2022)
- 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)
- 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)