Is oat milk high in histamine?
Oat milk may be moderate in histamine, though it was not measured in our sources: oats themselves had none, but a study of cereal-based plant milks reported histamine as their most abundant amine.
- 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, Spain (oats) 1 | Measured | Two samples of oats had no detectable histamine; oat milk itself was not measured. |
| Review of amines in beverages, 2022 2 | Reports a study of cereal and pseudo-cereal plant milks in which histamine was the most abundant amine. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 3 | Oat milk is not on the review's chart of excluded foods; neither are cereals. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Plant milks are pasteurised or UHT-treated before sale. How oat milk's amines change once a carton is opened and kept in the fridge was not studied, so finish an opened carton within the time printed on the pack rather than stretching it.
Not measured. Cereal-based plant milks were reported to contain histamine. (estimate)
Not measured. Oats had no histamine; not stored or processed. (estimate)
Why we rate oat milk 2
Oat milk looks like an easy "low": it is made from a grain that had no histamine. The evidence is less tidy. Oat milk itself was not measured in the studies we take numbers from, so this rating is an estimate, and it is more cautious than you might expect.
Start with the oats. A University of Barcelona team's 2018 review reports two samples of oats with no detectable histamine and only 0.67 mg/kg of putrescine, and the team's 2020 review pooled 28 cereal samples at an average of 0.12 mg/kg of histamine. On the grain alone, oat milk would be a 0.
The drink is a different product. A 2022 review of amines in drinks explains that plant milks are made by extracting the grain with water, separating off the solids, and pasteurising or UHT-treating what is left. The same review describes a study of plant milks made from cereals and pseudo-cereals in which histamine was found and was the most abundant of the amines measured. The review does not list which drinks or brands were tested, and we could not check the original study. Because we also found an error in how the review reports units from another study, we do not repeat its figures. But the finding is enough for us not to call oat milk low. If it holds, histamine is being added somewhere between the grain and the carton, as it was for some fruit juices.
Soy milk, the one plant milk in our tables, points the other way: three soy milks from the Spanish market had no histamine. That makes a single unconfirmed study a thin basis for any rating, and we will revise this page when better data appear.
We rate shop-bought oat milk 2, "moderate", as an estimate, and homemade oat milk drunk fresh 1. Almond and coconut milk were not covered by the cereal-milk study and are rated 1. If oat milk suits you, the evidence is not strong enough to tell you to stop; if you are in a strict elimination phase, it is worth discussing with your dietitian.
Questions about oat milk and histamine
Is oat milk low in histamine?
We are not sure. Oats had no histamine, but a study of cereal-based plant milks reported histamine as their main amine. Oat milk itself was not measured in our sources, so we rate it 2 as a cautious estimate.
Which milk alternative is lowest in histamine?
Soy milk is the only plant milk measured in our sources, and three samples had none. Almond and coconut milk were not measured but are rated 1; oat and rice milk are rated 2 because of a study of cereal-based milks.
Evidence behind this page
- Two samples of oats from the Spanish market had no detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine; putrescine averaged 0.67 mg/kg. 1
- Cereals pooled across 28 samples averaged 0.12 mg/kg of histamine, with a highest value of 0.89 mg/kg. 5
- Plant milks are made by extracting the raw material with cold or hot water, separating the solids and pasteurising or UHT-treating the drink; a study of plant milks from cereals and pseudo-cereals found histamine to be the most abundant of the amines measured. 2
- Three soy milks from the Spanish market had no detectable histamine; putrescine averaged 1.02 mg/kg. 1
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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)