Certain antidepressant drugs referred to as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors deactivate the enzymes necessary to metabolize tyramine. When tyramine accumulates in the body, symptoms of severe hypertension, headaches, and nausea may occur. A tyramine-restricted diet may help to prevent these symptoms. Tyramine content may vary among brand names available in the market because of preparation, processing or storage. It is best to use freshly prepared foods and to avoid those that have been aged, fermented, pickled, or marinated.
Beverages
Allowed:
 |
Decaffeinated coffee |
|
Club soda and non-cola sodas |
|
Fruit juices |
Avoid:
|
Caffeine sources such as coffee, tea, cola-type sodas, hot chocolate, or cocoa |
Meat, Fish, and Poultry
Allowed:
|
Turkey |
|
Veal |
|
Beef |
|
Lamb |
|
Fish |
|
Tuna |
|
Chicken |
|
Pork |
|
Eggs (3 a week) |
Avoid:
|
Aged, canned, cured, or processed meats |
|
Canned or aged ham |
|
Pickled herring |
|
Salted and dried fish |
|
Chicken liver |
|
Aged game |
|
Hot dogs and fermented or summer sausage |
|
Nitrates and nitrites |
|
Bologna, salami, pepperoni |
|
Peanuts and peanut butter |
|
Any meat prepared with meat tenderizer, soy sauce, or yeast extracts |
Dairy
Allowed:
|
Milk (homogenized, 2%, or skim) |
|
Cheese (American, cottage, farmer, ricotta and cream cheese) |
|
Yogurt (limit to 2 cups per day) |
Avoid:
|
Buttermilk |
|
Sour cream |
|
Chocolate milk |
|
Cheese (bleu, brick, brie, cheddar, Swiss, gouda, stilton, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, and romano) |
Breads and Cereals
Allowed:
|
Commercial breads - white, whole wheat, rye, french, italian, english muffins, melba toast, crackers, bagels |
|
Hot and cold cereals - oatmeal, puffed wheat, puffed rice, cream of wheat, corn flakes |
|
Any cereals containing chocolate or nuts |
Avoid:
|
Homemade yeast breads |
|
Breads / crackers with cheese |
|
Fresh yeast coffee cake |
|
Sour dough breads |
|
Doughnuts |
Starches
Allowed:
|
White potato |
|
Rice |
|
Sweet potato |
|
Pasta |
Vegetables
Allowed:
|
Asparagus |
|
Spinach |
|
Corn |
|
String beans |
|
Pumpkin |
|
Zucchini |
|
Beets |
|
Tomatoes |
|
Broccoli |
|
Carrots |
|
Squash |
|
Green lettuce |
Avoid:
|
Broad beans |
|
Fava beans |
|
Sauerkraut |
|
Onions (except for flavoring) |
|
Lima or italian beans |
|
Navy beans |
|
Garbanzo beans |
|
Lentils |
|
Pinto beans |
|
Pickles |
|
Snow peas |
|
Pea pods |
|
Olives |
Fruits
Allowed:
|
Prune juice |
|
Cherries |
|
Fruit cocktail |
|
Pineapples* |
|
Apple juice |
|
Apricots |
|
Applesauce |
|
Tangerines* |
|
Oranges* |
|
Lemons* |
|
Apples |
|
Peaches |
|
Grapefruits* |
|
Limes* |
|
Pears |
|
Bananas |
*Limit intake to 2 cups per day
Avoid:
|
Avocados |
|
Raisins |
|
Papayas |
|
Passion fruits |
|
Red plums |
Nuts and Seeds
Avoid:
|
Peanuts / peanut butter |
|
Sunflower seeds |
|
Sesame seeds |
|
Pumpkin seeds |
Soups
Allowed:
|
Cream soups made from foods allowed |
|
Homemade broths |
|
Soup bases with autolyzed yeast or MSG (read labels) |
Avoid:
|
Canned soups |
|
Bouillon cubes |
Desserts
Allowed:
|
Fruits listed above |
|
Jello |
|
Sherbet |
|
Ice cream |
|
Cakes and cookies made without chocolate or yeast |
Avoid:
|
Ice cream (with chocolate) |
|
Pudding (with chocolate) |
|
Mincemeat pies |
|
Cookies and cakes (with chocolate) |
Miscellaneous
Allowed:
|
Sugar |
|
Hard candy |
|
Margarine |
|
Commercial salad dressing in small amounts |
|
Jelly |
|
Salt in moderation |
|
Cooking oils |
|
Jam |
|
Lemon juices |
|
Whipped cream |
|
Honey |
|
Butter |
Avoid:
|
Chocolate candies |
|
Cheese sauce |
|
Brewer's yeast |
|
Beef Stroganoff |
|
Any pickled, preserved, or marinated food |
|
chocolate syrup |
|
Soy sauce |
|
Meat tenderizers |
|
Cheese blintzes |
|
Carob |
|
MSG, seasoned salt, yeast |
|
Lasagna, pizza, macaroni & cheese, frozen dinners |
Back to Allergy/Asthma Page
To email us with questions, comments, or suggestions, click