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sour cream
Dairy & Alternatives
Trigger checker for sour cream
See sour cream rated across every trigger — FODMAP, histamine, salicylate, oxalate, tyramine and more — plus diet compatibility, all in one quick ingredient profile.
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Compare sour cream across criteria
Sensitivities
What sour cream contains
FODMAPs
Histamine & Amines
Plant compounds
Irritants
Additives
Allergens
Diet fit
Where sour cream fits
Therapeutic diets
Lifestyle diets
Religious diets
What to know about sour cream
Sour cream is cultured dairy, and culturing is the whole story. The bacterial fermentation that sours it also nudges up histamine and tyramine, so it grades borderline on both while fresh cream does not. On the flip side, that same fermentation, plus its high fat content, means sour cream is actually lower in lactose than fresh milk or cream, so it can sit better with lactose than people expect. It is still a dairy food, so anyone avoiding milk protein entirely should skip it, but its trigger profile is really about mild fermentation histamine rather than lactose.
Watch for
- Cultured, so it carries a mild histamine load that fresh cream does not: a real consideration if you are sensitive to fermented dairy
- Also borderline on tyramine from the fermentation, worth noting if you react to aged or cultured foods or are on an MAOI diet
- Its lactose is lower than fresh cream because fermentation and fat reduce it, so lactose is usually the smaller issue here
- Not paleo or AIP compliant, as a cultured dairy product
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FAQ
What does the FODMAP rating mean for sour cream?
No FODMAP rating yet: start small and log how you feel.
Is sour cream generally well tolerated?
Dairy Proteins (High) and Alpha-gal (Moderate) Start with those if you react.
What should I check next?
Compare within the Dairy & Alternatives group.