Are lentils high in histamine?
Lentils are low in histamine: none was found in seven samples tested in Spain or in other studies. Putrescine varied, up to 21.81 mg/kg, and few published diets exclude lentils.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- 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 7 samples; putrescine averaged 8.19 mg/kg. |
| Review of plant foods, 2018 1 | Lists lentils among plant foods some diets exclude; finds no histamine and suggests polyamines may explain the exclusion. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | Fewer than 20% of the diets it compared exclude lentils. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 3 | Lists legumes among foods a low-histamine diet avoids, without naming lentils. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 4 | Lentils are not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lentils sold in Spain 1 (Table 1, row 'Lentils') | 7 | not detected | putrescine mean 8.19 mg/kg (1.96–21.81); tyramine and cadaverine not detected |
| Range across all studies in the 2018 review 1 (Table 4, row 'Lentils') | — | not detected | putrescine up to 21 mg/kg; cadaverine and tyramine not detected; spermidine 15–107 mg/kg; spermine 5–18 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
Dried lentils keep well, and none of the studies we use followed amines in them during storage. Cooked lentils and dal are a different matter: eat them within a day or freeze portions once they have cooled, because amines form in stored cooked food and reheating does not remove them.
No histamine in 7 samples; putrescine averaged 8.19 mg/kg. (measured)
Not measured. Heat does not remove histamine, but the lentils tested had none. (estimate)
Not measured; storage gives bacteria time to act, and reheating does not undo it. (estimate)
Why we rate lentils 0
Lentils had no detectable histamine in any of the studies we use. A University of Barcelona team tested seven lentil samples sold in Spain and found no histamine, tyramine or cadaverine. Putrescine, a related amine, was present in all of them and varied more than tenfold: from 1.96 to 21.81 mg/kg, with an average of 8.19 mg/kg. Another study of five samples found putrescine anywhere from none to 20.2 mg/kg, and a third reported 3 mg/kg.
That average sits just under the 10 mg/kg line our rating rule uses for other amines, so lentils stay at 0. For comparison, chickpeas averaged 3.63 mg/kg of putrescine, white beans 0.66 mg/kg, and bananas, which four of ten published diets exclude, 37.94 mg/kg. The idea that putrescine blocks the breakdown of histamine in the gut rests on old animal and laboratory studies.
The team's 2018 review lists lentils among the plant foods that some low-histamine diets exclude and suggests polyamines as the reason. Across studies, lentils carried 15–107 mg/kg of spermidine and 5–18 mg/kg of spermine, compounds that DAO, the gut enzyme that breaks down histamine, also handles, though with lower affinity. Whether that matters for people with histamine intolerance has not been tested. Most lists do not exclude lentils: a 2020 review from the same group found fewer than one diet in five does, and lentils have no bar on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten diets. A 2024 clinical review lists legumes in general among foods to avoid.
We rate lentils 0, "low". Red, green, brown and Puy lentils were not measured separately; the paper reports only "lentils". The risk with lentils is the way they are often eaten: a pot of dal or lentil soup made in bulk and eaten over several days. Histamine and other amines form as cooked food is stored, and reheating does not remove them, so eat cooked lentils within a day or freeze portions once they have cooled. Tinned lentils were not measured; we rate them 0 as an estimate, since the lentils tested had no histamine to carry into the tin.
Questions about lentils and histamine
Are red lentils low histamine?
The study we use reports "lentils" without naming the kind, and none of its seven samples had detectable histamine. We rate lentils 0 and have no data that separates red lentils from green or brown.
Is leftover dal high in histamine?
It was not measured, but amines form in cooked food as it is stored and are not removed by reheating, so we rate dal kept for several days 1 as an estimate. Freezing portions soon after cooking keeps it closer to fresh.
Evidence behind this page
- Seven lentil samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine; putrescine averaged 8.19 mg/kg (1.96–21.81). 1
- Other studies reported putrescine in lentils from not detected to 20.2 mg/kg (5 samples) and at 3 mg/kg; across the studies in the 2018 review, lentils had no histamine and 15–107 mg/kg of spermidine. 1
- The 2018 review suggests the exclusion of lentils from some diets may be justified by their polyamine content, which DAO also metabolises with lower affinity. 1
- Fewer than 20% of the low-histamine diets compared in a 2020 review exclude lentils. 2
- A 2024 clinical review lists legumes among the foods a low-histamine diet avoids. 3
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)
- 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)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- 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)