Is yogurt high in histamine?
Plain yogurt tested low in histamine: five yogurts sold in Spain had none and only traces of putrescine. Four of ten published diets still exclude it as a fermented food.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
Why sources disagree. Five yogurts tested in Spain had no detectable histamine, but four of ten published diets exclude yogurt, more than most foods without histamine.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 5 yogurts; putrescine averaged 2.04 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 1 | 4 of 10 exclude yogurt. | |
| Review of amines in plant foods, 2018 2 | Amines in fermented foods come from the microorganisms involved, both spoilage and fermenting ones. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yogurts sold in Spain 1 (Table 1) | 5 | not detected | putrescine mean 2.04 mg/kg (nd–4.05); cadaverine and tyramine 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
Yogurt is fermented, and in fermented foods histamine depends on hygiene and on whether the bacteria used can make it. The five yogurts tested were plain, shop-bought products. Homemade yogurt, kefir, and yogurt kept open in the fridge for a long time were not measured.
No histamine in 5 yogurts; putrescine 2.04 mg/kg. (measured)
Why we rate yogurt 0
Yogurt is excluded from many low-histamine diets because it is fermented, and fermentation is where much of the histamine in food comes from. In a University of Barcelona survey of foods sold in Spain, cured cheese, dry-fermented sausages and fermented soy products reached high levels, with one sample in twenty above 203, 130 and 486 mg/kg respectively. Yet when the same team tested five yogurts, they found no histamine in any of them. There was no cadaverine or tyramine either, and putrescine averaged only 2.04 mg/kg.
The team's 2021 review explains why fermented foods vary so much. Histamine in them depends on two things: the hygiene of the raw materials and processing, and whether the bacteria doing the fermenting can make histamine at all. Not every fermented food ends up high, and plain yogurt, on this evidence, does not.
The published diets have not caught up with that. Four of the ten diets in the 2021 review exclude yogurt. The authors note that most foods without histamine are excluded by one to three diets, and they name yogurt among five exceptions, with eggs, chocolate, strawberry and pineapple.
We rate plain yogurt 0, "low", and mark it disputed. Five samples is a small number, and they cover plain yogurt from shops only. Kefir is made with a different mix of microbes, homemade yogurt depends on the starter and the kitchen, and yogurt kept open in the fridge for a long time gives bacteria more time; none of these were measured, so the rating does not cover them. If you are in a strict elimination phase and your dietitian has asked you to drop fermented dairy, that advice still stands.
Questions about yogurt and histamine
Is Greek yogurt high in histamine?
Greek yogurt was not reported separately. The five yogurts tested had no histamine, and we have no measurement that would rate strained yogurt differently, but it was not tested on its own.
Is kefir low in histamine?
Kefir was not measured in the Spanish surveys we use. It is fermented with a different mix of microbes from yogurt, so the yogurt result does not carry over to it.
Evidence behind this page
- Five yogurts sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, cadaverine or tyramine; putrescine averaged 2.04 mg/kg. 1
- In fermented foods, histamine depends on the hygiene of the raw materials and processing and on the histamine-making capacity of the bacteria used. 1
- Biogenic amines in fermented products are attributed to both spoilage and fermentative microorganisms. 2
- Four of ten published low-histamine diets exclude yogurt; the review's authors name it among five amine-free foods excluded more often than most. 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)
- 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)
- 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)