Is wholemeal bread high in histamine?
Wholemeal bread is low in histamine: six loaves sold in Spain had none, with a little putrescine, 1.96 mg/kg on average. That is slightly more than white bread and still low.
- 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 six wholemeal loaves; putrescine averaged 1.96 mg/kg. |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 2 | Measured | 28 cereal samples averaged 0.12 mg/kg of histamine, none above 0.89 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 3 | Bread is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 4 | Gives bread as an example of a food low in histamine. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal bread sold in Spain 1 (Table 3) | 6 | not detected | putrescine mean 1.96 mg/kg (nd–4.32); tyramine and cadaverine not detected |
| Cereals (group) 2 (Table 1) | 28 | mean 0.12 mg/kg, range nd–0.89 mg/kg | median not detected |
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 Spanish samples had no histamine when bought. Day-old, frozen and toasted wholemeal bread were not measured. Throw away bread that has gone mouldy, for food-safety reasons unrelated to histamine.
No histamine in six loaves; putrescine averaged 1.96 mg/kg. (measured)
Not measured. Seeds such as sunflower had no histamine; loaves with nuts or dried fruit differ. (estimate)
Not measured. Made with a bacterial starter; see the sourdough bread page. (estimate)
Why we rate wholemeal bread 0
Wholemeal bread was tested more thoroughly than most grain foods in the University of Barcelona team's survey of foods sold in Spain: six loaves, against two each for white bread, rice and oats. None had detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine. Putrescine averaged 1.96 mg/kg, ranging from not detected to 4.32 mg/kg.
That putrescine is the only difference from white bread, whose two samples had none of it. The team's 2018 review notes that putrescine was slightly higher in wholemeal bread than in bread made with refined flour, without giving a reason. Wholemeal flour keeps the germ and bran that white flour loses, and wheat germ on its own averaged 31.64 mg/kg of putrescine in the same survey, which the review links to its fast-dividing cells, so a little more putrescine in wholemeal bread is not surprising. Even so, 1.96 mg/kg is low: below the 2.4 mg/kg in rice, and well under the 10 mg/kg level at which our rule moves a food up a step.
The pooled cereal figure from the team's 2020 review gives the wider picture: 28 cereal samples averaged 0.12 mg/kg of histamine, and none went above 0.89 mg/kg. Bread is not on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets, and a 2024 clinical review gives bread as an example of a food low in histamine.
The review does not say how the loaves were raised. Wholemeal sourdough relies on lactic acid bacteria as well as yeast, and some of those bacteria can form histamine, so it is rated with sourdough rather than here. Seeded and multigrain loaves were not measured; sunflower seeds had no histamine in two samples, but loaves with nuts or dried fruit carry those ingredients' own uncertainty.
We rate wholemeal bread 0, "low". Wholemeal toast and rolls made the same way fit the rating. As with any bread, the topping usually carries more histamine than the slice: aged cheese, cured sausage and canned fish are the ones to watch. Wholemeal bread contains gluten, which matters for coeliac disease, a separate condition; this rating says nothing about gluten.
Questions about wholemeal bread and histamine
Is whole wheat bread low in histamine?
Yes. Six wholemeal loaves sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, and their putrescine, 1.96 mg/kg on average, was low. It was slightly higher than in white bread, which had none detected.
Does gluten cause histamine problems?
Gluten is a protein, not histamine, and wholemeal bread had no detectable histamine. A 2020 review notes that low DAO activity has been linked with several gut disorders, including non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. If wheat seems to cause symptoms, raise it with your doctor; coeliac disease needs proper testing.
Evidence behind this page
- Wholemeal bread sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine in six samples; putrescine averaged 1.96 mg/kg (nd–4.32) (Table 3). 1
- Putrescine in wholemeal bread was slightly higher than in bread made with refined flour (Section 3.3). 1
- Wheat germ sold in Spain averaged 31.64 mg/kg of putrescine, linked to its high rate of cell division; sunflower seeds had no detectable histamine in two samples (Tables 2 and 3, Section 3.3). 1
- Across 28 cereal samples, histamine averaged 0.12 mg/kg, with a maximum of 0.89 mg/kg. 2
- DAO deficiency has been linked to functional gut disorders including carbohydrate malabsorption and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (Section 5.1). 2
- A 2024 clinical review gives bread as an example of a food low in histamine. 4
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)
- 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)
- 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)