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Shea butter

Low histamine

A stable plant fat with no known histamine content, more often used in cooking in some cuisines.

Shea butter is extracted from the nut of the shea tree and is highly saturated, making it very shelf-stable.

  • Minimal processing — traditional extraction involves boiling and skimming rather than fermentation, so there's no bacterial histamine production involved

  • Very stable fat — its high saturated fat content means it resists oxidation well, which is generally a good sign for tolerability

For people who use it as a cooking fat, it typically fits comfortably into a low-histamine approach.

Track your reactions to shea butter in Histamine Tracker. Log meals and symptoms to spot the patterns that matter for your body.

For educational purposes only. Not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for personal guidance.

References

  1. SIGHI Food Compatibility List — SIGHI (2026)
  2. Histamine and histamine intolerance — Maintz & Novak (2007)
  3. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art — Comas-Basté et al. (2020)
  4. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? — Sánchez-Pérez et al. (2021)
  5. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond — Jochum (2024)
  6. Guideline on management of suspected adverse reactions to ingested histamine — Reese et al. (2021)