# is beer /alcohol a histamine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603 "2005-07-15T02:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/21 "2005-07-16T05:50:35Z")
**Qadgop** , this is something I actually know something about, so if you’ll excuse me… 😉 Wine, but not beer, typically contains sodium or potassium sulfite, to which many asthmatics are sensitive, sometimes to the point of dying. Note I said “sulf_ **i** _te” not “sulf_ **a** _te.” These are used to keep the wine clear and make it not discolor with age so it’s especially common in white wine but you will notice most wines carry the warning “Contains sulfiting agents.” [aside] I used to take an allergy pill before drinking to counteract the effects of the sulfites and thought I was just a mean drunk. Turns out it was an ingredient in the allergy pills of the time (phenylpropylamine maleate) that was doing it and since it’s been made illegal I’ve become a mellow, if horny, drunk. [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/22 "2005-07-16T12:57:28Z")
For people who find they have issues with some beer, try a beer brewed under the German purity laws. It MUST contain only hops, grain, water and alcohol. No additives. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/23 "2005-07-16T16:30:42Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > For people who find they have issues with some beer, try a beer brewed under the German purity laws. It MUST contain only hops, grain, water and alcohol. No additives. And yeast, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/24 "2005-07-17T00:11:15Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > And yeast, of course. 😃 Right. And it must also ferment, which can produce histamine. It’s not like brewmasters are dumping histamines in their batches of Pale Ale. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/25 "2005-07-17T00:15:31Z")
Well, I’m having a beer right now, and it’s not exacerbating my allergies. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/26 "2005-07-17T15:07:10Z")
> [@psycat90](#): > > Right. And it must also ferment, which can produce histamine. You mean allergens (not allergans). ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/27 "2005-07-17T16:28:50Z")
> [@Number](#): > > You mean allergens (not allergans). No. I mean histamine. The human body is not the only producer of histamine. It’s found in plants and animals, and can be produced during the fermentation processes of beer or wine. ---
**Author:** ![david\_india](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@david\_india](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/david_india)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/28 "2013-06-19T17:14:33Z")
Antihistamines block the release of histamines but they are drowsy and also there is reverse rhintis effect. The natural ingredient to fight histamines is lemons. Having high concentrations of citric acid its also anti bacterial and anti histamine. Also being an anti oxidant it makes breathing easier. see wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/29 "2013-06-19T17:15:52Z")
> [@david\_india](#): > > Antihistamines block the release of histamines but they are drowsy and also there is reverse rhintis effect. The natural ingredient to fight histamines is lemons. Having high concentrations of citric acid its also anti bacterial and anti histamine. Also being an anti oxidant it makes breathing easier. see wikipedia. Thus is a Summer Shandy called for. Huzzah! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/30 "2013-06-19T17:48:36Z")
> [@david\_india](#): > > Antihistamines block the release of histamines but they are drowsy and also there is reverse rhintis effect. The natural ingredient to fight histamines is lemons. Having high concentrations of citric acid its also anti bacterial and anti histamine. Also being an anti oxidant it makes breathing easier. see wikipedia. I’ve found the newer antihistamines (e.g. cetirizine) cause no drowsiness whatsoever for me. Benadryl knocks me on my ass without fail. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/31 "2013-06-19T22:23:09Z")
As a kid I had a ton of allergies and had the scratch test done on me before going through allergy shots for a number of years. The doc said I’d never be able to drink beer because of stuff I came back as being allergic to (hops and grain, I presume, not alcohol). So a beer allergy is apparently a “thing”. But it turned out by the time I started drinking beer it never ruined my day like being in the same house as a shaggy dog. Either the shots did the magic on the hops and grain side of the ledger (and not so much the shaggy dog side…still get sniffly and asthmatic if I’m in a house with a fuzzy dog… it sucks) or I wasn’t really allergic to “beer” in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/32 "2013-06-19T23:04:18Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > As a kid I had a ton of allergies and had the scratch test done on me before going through allergy shots for a number of years. The doc said I’d never be able to drink beer because of stuff I came back as being allergic to (hops and grain, I presume, not alcohol). So a beer allergy is apparently a “thing”. But it turned out by the time I started drinking beer it never ruined my day like being in the same house as a shaggy dog. Either the shots did the magic on the hops and grain side of the ledger (and not so much the shaggy dog side…still get sniffly and asthmatic if I’m in a house with a fuzzy dog… it sucks) or I wasn’t really allergic to “beer” in the first place. some people who have problems with wheat also have problems with barley, which is what beer is made from. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603/33 "2013-06-19T23:07:05Z")
> [@david\_india](#): > > Antihistamines block the release of histamines but they are drowsy and also there is reverse rhintis effect. I thought antihistamines worked by [blocking the histamine receptors](http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Antihistamines/Pages/How-does-it-work.aspx), not by affecting the release of histamines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-alcohol-a-histamine/312603.md?page=1)