mace
Herbs & Spices
Is mace high in histamine liberators?
Is mace high or low in histamine liberators? See its exact rating, how much counts as a portion, and its FODMAP, salicylate, oxalate and diet compatibility in one place.
Related checkers
Compare mace across criteria
Sensitivity notes
Why histamine liberators food checker matters
Histamine liberators are foods that don't contain much histamine themselves but can trigger your body to release stored histamine. This can cause similar symptoms to high-histamine foods in sensitive individuals.
- Avoid histamine liberators alongside high-histamine foods
- Common liberators include citrus, strawberries, tomatoes, and chocolate
- Your tolerance may vary based on overall histamine load
- Keep a symptom diary to identify your personal triggers
- Consider your total 'histamine bucket' - liberators add to it
Sensitivities
What mace contains
FODMAPs
Histamine & Amines
Plant compounds
Irritants
Additives
Allergens
Diet fit
Where mace fits
Therapeutic diets
Lifestyle diets
Religious diets
What to know about mace
Mace is the lacy crimson aril that wraps the nutmeg seed, so mace and nutmeg come off the same fruit of the same tree (Myristica fragrans) and share the same chemistry. That includes myristicin, the compound behind nutmeg poisoning, which mace carries too. On the everyday trigger criteria mace is mild: moderate salicylate, a slight histamine-liberating tendency, a little free glutamate, and clean on histamine, nickel, tyramine, sulfites and all FODMAP groups. The thing worth knowing about mace is not an intolerance, it is the dose ceiling.
Watch for
- Same source as nutmeg, so mace is not a substitute if you are avoiding nutmeg for reasons of chemistry rather than flavour
- Contains myristicin, elemicin and safrole.Around 5 g of ground nutmeg is enough to cause nausea, racing heart, confusion and hallucinations, and mace has produced the same picture, including a documented case of a child needing hospital care after accidental ingestion
- Culinary use sits nowhere near that.A blade of mace in a béchamel or a pinch in a spice blend is a small fraction of a gram, which is why the spice is on the shelf at all
- Moderate salicylate, so it adds to the load in the warm-spice blends it usually appears in rather than being an issue in isolation
- Ground mace loses aroma fast, which pushes people to use more of it than a recipe intended
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Histamine Liberators Guide
Everything you need to know about histamine liberators sensitivity and smart food choices.
Histamine liberators are foods that don't contain much histamine themselves but can trigger your body to release stored histamine. This can cause similar symptoms to high-histamine foods in sensitive individuals.
Sensitivity varies widely. What triggers one person may be fine for another. Track your reactions to find your personal threshold.
These foods are generally well-tolerated for Histamine Liberators sensitivity:
View all safe options
These foods have moderate levels and may be tolerated in small amounts:
These foods are high in histamine liberators and may trigger symptoms:
View full list
If you're sensitive to Histamine Liberators, consider these strategies:
- 1Avoid histamine liberators alongside high-histamine foods
- 2Common liberators include citrus, strawberries, tomatoes, and chocolate
- 3Your tolerance may vary based on overall histamine load
- 4Keep a symptom diary to identify your personal triggers
- 5Consider your total 'histamine bucket' - liberators add to it
Pro tip: Keep a food diary to track your reactions. The Triggerbites app makes this easy with automatic pattern detection.
Want personalized tracking?
Download Triggerbites to log meals, track symptoms, and discover your unique triggers.
Get the AppFAQ
Is mace high in Histamine Liberators?
Histamine Liberators: moderate signal - portion size matters.
Can I still eat mace if I'm sensitive to Histamine Liberators?
Try smaller portions and space it out.
What else should I check?
Check AIP, Salicylates, and Low Salicylate next for a fuller picture.