Champagne is the ultimate celebratory drink. But even if you don’t have something to celebrate and toast to, many people still prefer this over other alcoholic beverages thanks to its bubbly and refreshing nature. However, many do wonder, is champagne high in histamine?
Like other alcoholic beverages, champagne is fermented. Generally, fermented food and drinks have high histamine content. Though actual histamine content varies per bottle, champagne can have about 15 to 670 micrograms of histamine per liter.
Champagne has varying histamine content due to differences in grapes used and the overall fermentation process to aging.
Is Champagne High in Histamine?
Champagne is one of the most popular and loved alcoholic beverages in the world. Its fizzy and bubbly nature is fun to drink whether you’re celebrating a milestone and event or just having a quiet night in with a few friends.
If you gravitate towards a glass of champagne when it’s time to choose your drink for the night, you should know for sure – once and for all – if champagne is high in histamine.
This is an especially important thing to find out for yourself if you are sensitive to histamine.
Champagne, and other alcoholic beverages, contain varying levels of histamine.
Alcoholic beverages – including champagne, red wine, white wine, and beer among others – are fermented. Generally, fermented food and beverage products are very high in histamines.
Additionally, histamine is a direct result of fermentation, so yes, champagne and other alcoholic beverages release histamine.
When food and beverages undergo fermentation, they produce products of amino acids called biogenic amines. These biogenic amines include histamine, among others.
As we’ve said above, champagne has varying levels of histamine. We can safely say that champagne’s histamine content can go from 15 to 670 micrograms per liter.
You’re only hoping to cap off the night with a refreshing glass of champagne, so why must you even bother yourself with this information? This is an important thing to know if you are sensitive to histamine. Having this knowledge, you can plan out the rest of your night accordingly.
What Are Histamines?
Histamines are chemicals and organic compounds our bodies naturally make and produce. They’re also found in various foods like alcoholic beverages and cheese.
Histamines are part of the body’s immune system and response.
Our bodies produce histamines as a response when they encounter allergens, allergic reactions, irritants, or inflammation. This release of histamines results in various physiological responses like inflammation, itching, and increased mucus production. Its release also causes fluid to come out of the capillaries which is why some get itchy eyes and runny noses too.
The immune system releases histamines to signal the body to fight foreign irritants and invaders.
Histamines are an important component that helps your body get rid of something bothering your immune system – like an allergic reaction or injury.
How Does Histamine Affect the Body?
Histamine is an organic compound naturally present in the body. They are essential in the body’s immune response. The body releases them to fight allergens, injuries, irritants, and other foreign invaders that may harm you.
Naturally, histamines are good for your health and bodily functions. But sometimes, the body can produce too much of it. When there is too much histamine, people develop problems such as histamine intolerance. Histamine intolerance isn’t much of a sensitivity to histamine. It’s more of an indication that your body has produced too much of it.
When this happens, your body will start causing allergy-like side effects. Some may notice that they are very similar and can even aggravate existing hay fever symptoms.
Symptoms of histamine intolerance vary from one person to another but here are some common symptoms many experience:
- Sneezing
- Hives
- Headaches
- Sinus issues and nasal congestion
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Migraine
In more severe cases, sufferers may also experience any of the following symptoms:
- Anxiety
- Dizziness
- High blood pressure
- Irregular heart rate
- Body temperature fluctuations
- Abdominal cramping
When the symptoms one experiences get too much, many individuals would take anti-histamine medications. These would stop the symptoms and immediately make them feel better.
Histamine-Rich Foods and Histamine Intolerance: How to Relieve Symptoms
If you do have histamine intolerance, you might want to remember these ways to relieve your symptoms:
- Try a low-histamine diet. This should be done with the help and guidance of a dietician or health care practitioner. If champagne is one of the causes of your symptoms, you may want to drink it in moderation, look for low-histamine champagne, low-histamine wines, and low-histamine beers, or stop drinking alcohol altogether.
- Take supplements to improve your symptoms. Some supplements you can look into are DAO (Diamine oxidase), vitamin C, and vitamin B6 supplements.
- Medications like antihistamines, topical or oral steroids, creams, and lotions shall help relieve symptoms too.
Ultimately, you should visit your healthcare provider so they can diagnose you properly and help you make reasonable lifestyle changes to counter histamine intolerance symptoms.
Conclusion
Who doesn’t like champagne? Whether you’re at a party celebrating something or simply want a refreshing and bubbly drink to finish off the night with, it’s not easy to say no to champagne. But it makes you think, is champagne high in histamine?
Fermented food and beverages like champagne and other alcoholic beverages – red wines, white wines, beers, etc. – are typically very high in histamine. Histamine is a result of fermentation so yes, champagne can have varying levels of it. It mostly depends on the bottle of champagne you have but champagne can have histamine levels of 15 to 670 micrograms per liter.
Histamine levels in champagne would vary depending on factors like the type of grapes used and the process of fermentation.
