Conch Meat Histamine Information

Conch meat, similar to other sea mollusks, contains the protein histidine, which, when subjected to bacterial action, gets converted to histamine. It's not that conch meat inherently has a high histamine level, but mishandling during storage and preparation can lead to a spike in histamine levels, causing symptoms in individuals with histamine intolerance. Specific studies or data pin-pointing the histamine content in conch meat are not available. Looking at associated ingredients, conch meat is often prepared or served with foods such as tomatoes and vinegar, which are known to have a high histamine content. It's also frequently paired with alcohol, especially in dishes like conch salad, where the cocktail preparation could potentially exacerbate the histamine response, considering alcohol's role in delaying the breakdown of histamine. Worth noting is that conch, like other invertebrate seafood, can act as a histamine liberator, promoting the release of histamine from other foods or from the body's mast cells. So even though conch meat itself may not raise histamine levels significantly, in combination with other foods, it could contribute to a surge in histamine activity. As for foods lowering histamine, they work primarily by aiding the enzymes responsible for breaking down histamine in the body. Certain foods like fresh fruits (except citrus), fresh vegetables (except tomatoes, eggplant, and spinach), egg yolks, and olive oil, assist in this process. Although conch meat is not directly linked with lowering histamine levels, the incorporation of these histamine-lowering foods in a balanced diet can mediate the overall histamine activity in the body. References: - Maintz, L., & Novak, N. (2007). Histamine and histamine intolerance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 85(5), 1185-1196. - Food intolerance network fact sheet (Histamine Intolerance). Retrieved from https://www.mastzellaktivierung.info/downloads/foodlist/21_FoodList_EN_alphabetic_withCateg.pdf. - Schnedl, W. J., Lackner, S., Enko, D., Schenk, M., Mangge, H., & Holasek, S. J. (2019). Evaluation of symptoms and symptom combinations in histamine intolerance. Intestinal research, 17(3), 427.