Is kiwi high in histamine?
Kiwi is low in histamine: 13 kiwis tested in a lab survey had none, and other amines were low. Two of ten published diets exclude it, on an unproven "histamine liberator" claim.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- 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 13 kiwis; putrescine averaged 2.49 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 2 of 10 exclude kiwi. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 3 | Kiwi has been reported to release the body's own histamine; the mechanism has not been shown. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwis sold in Spain 1 (Table 2) | 13 | not detected | putrescine mean 2.49 mg/kg (0.5–15.57); tyramine not detected |
| Range reported by other studies 1 (Table 4) | — | range nd–2 mg/kg | putrescine from not detected to 15 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
The measured kiwis were fresh, shop-bought fruit. We found no study of amines as kiwis ripen or are stored, or in dried kiwi.
No histamine in 13 samples; putrescine 2.49 mg/kg. (measured)
Why we rate kiwi 0
Kiwi has a reputation on low-histamine forums that the measurements do not bear out. A University of Barcelona team tested thirteen kiwis sold in Spain and found no histamine in any of them. Putrescine, the related amine behind many fruit exclusions, averaged only 2.49 mg/kg, a small fraction of the level in bananas or oranges. The other studies the team collected found kiwi histamine anywhere from none to about 2 mg/kg, which is a trace.
The reputation comes from the "histamine liberator" idea, the claim that some foods make the body release its own histamine. A 2020 review from the same research group lists kiwi alongside papaya, strawberries, pineapple and plums as fruits that have been reported to do this, and says plainly that the mechanism has not been worked out. We found no study in people that measured histamine release after eating kiwi.
The published diets mostly leave kiwi in. Two of the ten low-histamine diets compared in the team's 2021 review exclude it, the same number as plums and papaya, and far fewer than the nine that exclude tomato.
We rate kiwi 0, "low". There is no measured histamine, other amines are low, and most lists agree. We show the liberator claim on the page so you know where the advice comes from, but we do not raise the rating for it, because no human evidence supports it yet. As with any food, if kiwi seems to trigger symptoms for you, keep a note and discuss it with your dietitian. Some people are allergic to kiwi, which is a different condition with its own tests.
Questions about kiwi and histamine
Is kiwi a histamine liberator?
It is often called one. A 2020 review says kiwi has been reported to release the body's own histamine but that the mechanism has not been shown, and we found no human study that measured it.
Can I eat kiwi on a low-histamine diet?
Measured kiwis had no histamine and little putrescine, and eight of ten published diets do not exclude it. Your dietitian can tell you whether it fits your current phase.
Evidence behind this page
- Thirteen kiwis sold in Spain had no detectable histamine and averaged 2.49 mg/kg of putrescine. 1
- Other studies reported kiwi histamine from not detected to about 2 mg/kg. 1
- Kiwi is among the fruits reported to trigger release of the body's own histamine, although the mechanism has not been elucidated. 3
- Two of ten published low-histamine diets exclude kiwi. 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)
- 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)