I nearly ran myself into the ground looking for the magic histamine food list that would cure me. After restricting myself to no more than five “safe” foods, I finally understood that salvation lay in creating my very own list – more on that in my Low Histamine Lifestyle 101 Guide.

Luckily, one of the bonuses of being an ex-CNN/BBC news journalist is the dedication to pursuing interviews with those you most admire. Or maybe it’s just that not many out there (yet) are approaching this topic from a scientific/journalistic angle! In either case, the great news is that I’ll be in a position to clear up a lot of the histamine list confusion in my interview with author, immunologist Dr Janice Joneja. We’ll be going pretty deep into a number of topics of vital importance to our histamine intolerance/food allergy/food intolerance/mast cell activation/mastocytosis community. Sign up to my mailing list to be the first to know when the interview goes live.

In the meantime, till I get some clarification on how some foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties end up on high histamine food lists – stuff like cacao (when used to make a healthy chocolate like the picture above), I’ll still continue to enjoy the odd bit of cacao. I do it healthily, very infrequently, with just a touch of coconut sugar. Given that I rarely eat without purpose (healing!) the reason I still eat cacao is because of studies I found not only pointing to cacao’s properties as an anti-inflammatory agent, but also its potential for enhancing thymic function, which could be a good thing for those of us with histamine issues. Please don’t forget that anyone can react to any food, no matter which list it’s on. Cacao is on many lists as being high histamine. I choose to eat it for its other many health benefits.

For more on foods with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties check out the new Anti-Cookbook. 

Do you tolerate cacao? If so, don’t forget to sign up to my mailing list for the recipe that goes with the picture above!

I’ll also be sending out a link to my interview with Dr Brian Clements of the Hippocrates Institute (who would not approve of the coconut sugar!), conducted at a wonderful seminar run by the Fresh Network here in London. The Fresh Network brought together a number of great raw food companies for the event, so I walked away with way more than I could carry. You can order online from them here if you’re in the UK.