Is kefir high in histamine?
Kefir is moderate in histamine as an estimate: it was not measured in the surveys we use, and it is fermented with a broader mix of bacteria and yeasts than yogurt, which tested low. Plain yogurt is the measured swap.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements of yogurt, Spain 1 | Measured | Kefir was not measured. Five plain yogurts, also fermented milk, had no detectable histamine. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | Kefir is not on the review's chart of excluded foods; yogurt, the closest food on it, is excluded by 4 of 10. | |
| Histamine intolerance review, 2020 2 | Fermented products are systematically excluded from low-histamine diets because they are likely to contain histamine. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Kefir is sold with live cultures that keep working slowly in the bottle, and homemade kefir is often fermented at room temperature and kept going for weeks with the same grains. None of this was measured. A sealed, chilled bottle drunk within its date is the more predictable choice.
Not measured; fermented with a mixed culture of bacteria and yeasts. (estimate)
Not measured; grains, temperature and fermenting time vary from batch to batch. (estimate)
Why we rate kefir 2
Kefir was not measured in the Spanish surveys we use, which is a gap, because it is one of the most common questions about fermented dairy. It is milk fermented with kefir grains, small clumps of bacteria and yeasts held together in a soft, jelly-like mass, or with a starter culture made to copy them. The fermentation runs at room temperature, and shop-bought kefir is sold with live cultures that keep working slowly in the bottle.
The nearest measured food is yogurt, and it is reassuring as far as it goes. A University of Barcelona team tested five plain yogurts sold in Spain and found no histamine in any of them. But kefir is fermented by a different and broader mix of microbes, including yeasts, and the team's 2021 review explains that in fermented foods, histamine depends on hygiene and on whether the particular microbes can make it. Across fermented foods the same review found large differences, even between samples from one production batch. A 2020 review by the same group says fermented products are systematically excluded from low-histamine diets because they are likely to contain histamine.
Kefir is not on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published diets. Yogurt is, and four of the ten exclude it even though it measured low.
We rate kefir 2, "moderate", as an estimate. That is higher than yogurt because kefir has not been measured, its fermentation involves more kinds of microbes, and homemade kefir changes from batch to batch with the grains, the room temperature and how long it is left. Without measurements, we would rather not call it low.
If you want a fermented dairy food during a strict elimination phase, plain shop-bought yogurt is the measured choice, and milk is the unfermented one. If you reintroduce kefir later with your dietitian, a sealed, chilled bottle drunk within its date is more predictable than a jar kept going on the counter.
Questions about kefir and histamine
Is kefir high in histamine?
Kefir was not measured in the surveys we use. We rate it 2, "moderate", as an estimate, because it is fermented with a mixed culture of bacteria and yeasts and fermented foods vary widely in histamine.
Is kefir better than yogurt on a low-histamine diet?
Not on the evidence we have. Five plain yogurts tested in Spain had no detectable histamine; kefir was not measured in those surveys, and its fermentation is less predictable, so on the evidence we use, yogurt is the safer choice.
Evidence behind this page
- Five plain yogurts sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; putrescine averaged 2.04 mg/kg. 1
- In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of raw materials and processing and on whether the fermenting bacteria can make it. 1
- Histamine in fermented foods varies widely, even between samples from the same production batch. 1
- Fermented products are systematically excluded from low-histamine diets because they are likely to contain histamine. 2
- Four of ten published low-histamine diets exclude yogurt; kefir is not on the review's chart. 1
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)
- 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)