Are pecans high in histamine?
Pecans are probably mostly low in histamine: they were not tested on their own, but nuts as a group had none in 47 samples in one survey and an average of 0.45 mg/kg in another.
- Histamine
- Varies by sample
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain (nut group) 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 47 nut samples; pecans were not reported separately. |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | 41 nut samples averaged 0.45 mg/kg of histamine, up to 11.86 mg/kg; nuts are excluded by 20–60% of the diets it compared. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | 2 of 10 exclude nuts as a group. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 4 | Lists nuts among foods a low-histamine diet avoids. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuts sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1) | 47 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.40 mg/kg (ND–39.51); cadaverine mean 0.25 mg/kg; tyramine mean 0.11 mg/kg; spermidine mean 28.64 mg/kg (6.21–140.55) |
| Nuts (group) 2 (Table 1) | 41 | mean 0.45 mg/kg, range nd–11.86 mg/kg | median not detected |
| Nuts, range across studies (group) 3 (Table 4) | — | not detected | putrescine nd–40 mg/kg; cadaverine nd–23 mg/kg; spermidine 6–40 mg/kg; spermine 2–33 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
Pecans were not measured on their own, and no study we use followed amines in nuts during storage. Histamine is heat-stable, so toasting pecans or baking them in a pie would not remove any. Candied pecans were not measured.
Measured only as part of the nut group: none in 47 samples in one survey, up to 11.86 mg/kg in another. (measured)
Not measured. Check the label for butter, cream or other added ingredients. (estimate)
Why we rate pecans 1
Pecans are a close relative of the walnut, and like walnuts they have never been measured on their own in the studies we use. Their rating rests on figures for nuts as a group, from surveys of nuts sold in Spain that do not list which kinds were tested, so we cannot tell whether any pecans were among them.
The group results are mostly reassuring. A University of Barcelona team found no detectable histamine in 47 nut samples. A 2020 review by the same group, drawing on 41 other nut samples, reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg, with at least half of the samples having none and the highest at 11.86 mg/kg. Even that highest sample is below the top tomato in the team's survey, at 17.07 mg/kg, and tomatoes are excluded by nine of the ten published diets.
Where nuts stand out is in other amines. Across the 47 samples, putrescine averaged 4.40 mg/kg and spermidine, a polyamine, 28.64 mg/kg. The 2018 review suggests these may explain why some low-histamine diets exclude nuts. Two of the ten diets in the 2021 review do so, an earlier comparison by the same group placed nuts among foods excluded by 20 to 60% of diets, and a 2024 clinical review lists nuts among foods to avoid at first. None of them names pecans.
We rate pecans 1, "mostly low". Almonds and hazelnuts, which were measured on their own and had no histamine, are rated 0; pecans get one more step because the only figures are group figures, and one group survey found histamine in some samples. Toasting does not remove histamine, which is heat-stable, and candied or praline pecans were not measured. For pecan pie, the other main ingredient with a measurement is eggs, and fourteen eggs in the team's survey had no histamine, putrescine, cadaverine or tyramine. If you would rather use a nut with its own measurements, toasted hazelnuts work in most pecan recipes.
Questions about pecans and histamine
Are pecans low histamine?
They were not measured on their own. Nuts as a group had no histamine in 47 samples in one survey and an average of 0.45 mg/kg, up to 11.86 mg/kg, in another, so we rate pecans 1, "mostly low".
Is pecan pie low histamine?
Pecan pie was not measured. Pecans are rated 1 from the nut group figures, and eggs had no histamine in 14 samples. Check the other ingredients, such as butter and syrup, separately.
Evidence behind this page
- Across 47 nut samples sold in Spain, no histamine was detected; the paper does not list which nuts were included. 1
- A 2020 review reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg of histamine in 41 nut samples, with a median of not detected and a maximum of 11.86 mg/kg. 2
- The exclusion of nuts from low-histamine diets may be explained by their putrescine and polyamine content rather than histamine. 3
- Fourteen eggs sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, putrescine, cadaverine or tyramine. 1
- Two of ten published low-histamine diets exclude nuts. 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)
- 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)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- 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)