Are green beans high in histamine?
Green beans are mostly low in histamine: none was found in 12 lab samples, but putrescine, a related amine, averaged 10.30 mg/kg, just above the level at which we add one step.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 12 samples; putrescine averaged 10.30 mg/kg. |
| Other study in the 2018 review 1 | No histamine in green, yellow or purple beans; putrescine averaged 14.8 to 77.8 mg/kg. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | Green beans are not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green beans sold in Spain 1 (Table 1) | 12 | not detected | putrescine mean 10.30 mg/kg (2.98–28.81); tyramine mean 2.46 mg/kg (nd–9.86); cadaverine not detected |
| Green beans, another study 1 (Table 1, row "Beans (green)" (study [46])) | — | not detected | putrescine mean 34.9 mg/kg; tyramine not detected |
| Purple and yellow beans, same study 1 (Table 1, rows "Beans (purple)" and "Beans (yellow)" (study [46])) | — | not detected | putrescine mean 77.8 mg/kg (purple) and 14.8 mg/kg (yellow); tyramine and cadaverine not detected |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
No study we use followed amines in green beans during storage, and frozen and tinned beans were not measured. Histamine is heat-stable. For putrescine, one study found boiling moved some into the water and another found it rose after boiling, so neither method can be relied on to lower it.
No histamine in 12 samples; putrescine averaged 10.30 mg/kg. (measured)
No histamine; putrescine 14.8 mg/kg in one study. (measured)
No histamine; putrescine 77.8 mg/kg in one study. (measured)
Not measured. (estimate)
Why we rate green beans 1
Green beans had no detectable histamine in the measurements we have. A University of Barcelona team tested twelve samples sold in Spain and found none in any of them. Cadaverine was not detected either, and tyramine averaged 2.46 mg/kg, with a highest sample of 9.86 mg/kg.
Putrescine is the reason this page is not a 0. It averaged 10.30 mg/kg in the Spanish samples, ranging from 2.98 to 28.81 mg/kg, which sits just above the 10 mg/kg average at which our scale moves a food up one step. A second study, by Preti and colleagues, found more: 34.9 mg/kg in green beans, 14.8 mg/kg in yellow beans and 77.8 mg/kg in purple beans, again with no histamine in any of them. The concern about putrescine comes from old laboratory and animal studies suggesting it competes with histamine for DAO, the gut enzyme that breaks histamine down. That is a reason for one step of caution, no more.
Cooking gives mixed results. Histamine is heat-stable, but green beans had none to start with. For putrescine, one study cited in the team's 2018 review found that boiling green beans moved some of it into the cooking water. The Preti study found the opposite: putrescine rose significantly after boiling, while steaming left it unchanged. With two studies pointing in different directions, we do not claim that either method lowers it.
Green beans do not appear among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review. Because that chart covers only some foods, we say that no diet in our sources excludes them, not that all ten allow them.
We rate green beans 1, "mostly low". On histamine alone they would be a 0, and they are an easy vegetable side on a low-histamine diet, next to fresh meat or fish, potatoes or rice. If you are limiting putrescine as well, the Spanish figures put green beans well below the purple beans in the Preti study, and the measured vegetables with the least putrescine include carrot, lettuce and cauliflower. Frozen and tinned green beans were not measured.
Questions about green beans and histamine
Are green beans low in histamine?
Yes for histamine itself: none was found in 12 samples sold in Spain or in another study. We rate them 1 rather than 0 because their putrescine, a related amine, averaged 10.30 mg/kg.
Does boiling green beans lower their amines?
The evidence is mixed. One study found boiling moved putrescine into the water; another found putrescine rose after boiling and did not change with steaming. There was no histamine to remove.
Evidence behind this page
- Twelve samples of green beans sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or cadaverine; putrescine averaged 10.30 mg/kg (2.98–28.81) and tyramine 2.46 mg/kg. 1
- A study by Preti and colleagues found no histamine in green, purple or yellow beans, with putrescine averaging 34.9, 77.8 and 14.8 mg/kg respectively. 1
- One study found that boiling reduced putrescine in green beans by transfer to the cooking water; the Preti study found a significant increase in putrescine after boiling and no change after steaming. 1
- Green beans do not appear among the foods charted as excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. 2
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)