Low Salicylate Diet & Product Guide

WHAT IS SALICYLATE INTOLERANCE?

Salicylate intolerance occurs when the body has a reaction to salicylates, which are a natural chemical found in plants. Plants use this chemical to protect themselves from disease, bacteria, fungi and insects. Common salicylate intolerance symptoms include airway inflammation/asthma, GI inflammation, diarrhea and hives. Salicylate amounts vary depending on the food, but are commonly found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, alcohol, coffee and tea. Salicylates may cause issues for some people, including those with mast call activation syndrome (MCAS), however recent research shows they may have anti-inflammatory effects. A low salicylate diet is not for everyone, so talk to your healthcare provider to understand if this dietary change is best for you.

WHAT IS A LOW SALICYLATE DIET?

A low salicylate diet allows you to consume foods that contain no, or very low levels of salicylates. The goal of the diet is to reduce symptoms of an intolerance. Usually, you start by eliminating foods that contain salicylates, then reintroduce them slowly to identify whether salicylate intolerance is an issue; this process should be done with careful guidance from your healthcare provider.

FOODS THAT ARE HIGH OR LOW IN SALICYLATES

Many studies have been done to report salicylate levels in certain foods, however the results are variable due to differences in testing methods, type of food processing, and food source. This food list should be used as a general guide in consultation with your healthcare provider.

FRUITS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Banana	Apple – golden delicious	Apple – red delicious	Apple – all other varieties	All dried Fruits
Canned Pear**	Nashi Pear	Canned or dried Fig	Canned Morello Cherries	Avocado
Lime	Papaya	Canned Pear**	Cantaloupe	Blackberry
Pear (ripe and peeled)	Paw Paw	Custard Apple	Grapefruit	Blackcurrant
	Tamarillo	Lemon	Kiwi fruit	Blueberry
		Loquat	Lychee	Boysenberry
		Mango	Mandarin	Cherries – all other kinds
		Passion fruit	Melons	Cranberry
		Pear (w/peel)	Mulberry	Currant
		Persimmon	Nectarine	Date
		Pomegranate	Peach	Grape
		Rhubarb	Sugar banana	Guava
		Fresh Tomato	Watermelon	Loganberry
				Orange
				Pineapple
				Plum
				Raisin
				Raspberry
				Redcurrant
				Strawberry
				Sultana
				Tangelo
				Tangerine
				Tomato
				Tomato
				Youngberry

** Canned Pear has negligible amounts of salicylate if it is in sugar syrup, but if it is in natural juices/syrups, it has a moderate amount of salicylate as these often contain some peel, which contains salicylates.

VEGETABLES

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Bamboo Shoots	Bean Sprouts	Asparagus – trimmed	Alfalfa Sprouts	Canned Green Olives
Beans (dried – not borlotti)	Borlotti beans	Aubergine – peeled	Artichoke	Capsicum
Cabbage (green or white)	Brussels Sprouts	Beetroot	Aubergine – w/peel	Champignon
Celery	Cabbage – red	Black Olives	Broad Bean	Chicory
Green Split peas	Chickpeas	Canned Asparagus	Broccoli	Chili peppers
Lentils (brown)	Chives	Carrot	Canned black olive	Courgette
Lentils (red)	Choko	Fresh Tomato	Cucumber	Endive
Lettuce (iceberg	Fresh Asparagus	Frozen Spinach	Eggplant	Gherkin
Peas (dried)	Green Beans	Lettuce (other than iceberg)	Fresh Spinach	Hot pepper
Potato (old/white and peeled)	Green Peas	Marrow	Okra	Peppers
Swede	Leek	Mushrooms	Radish	Radish
	Mung bean sprouts	Parsnips	Sweet Potato	Tomato
	Onion	Potato (new and red Pontiac)	Water chestnut	Tomato Products
	Potato (white w/peel)	Pumpkin	Watercress	Water Chestnut
	Shallots	Snow Peas	Zucchini
	Yellow split peas	Sprout
		Sweet corn
		Turnip

NUTS & SEEDS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Poppy seed	Cashews	Desiccated coconut	Brazil nuts	Almond
	Hazelnuts	Peanut Butter	Macadamia nuts	Peanuts w/skins on
	Pecan	Pumpkin seeds	Pine nuts	Water chestnut
	Sunflower seeds	Sesame seeds	Pistachio
		Walnuts

SWEETS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Carob	Caramel**	Molasses		Chewing gum
Cocoa	Golden Syrup	Raw Sugar		Fruit Flavors
Homemade Caramel**	Malt Extract			Honey
Maple Syrup				Honey Flavors
White Sugar				Jam (except pear, preferably homemade)
				Liquorices
				Mint flavored sweets
				Peppermints

** Caramel can be made from just sugar and water or sugar and milk – both are salicylate free and therefore caramel is generally alright. However, store bought caramel can have a variety of additives and added flavorings that do contain salicylate – so be careful when buying/eating caramel and be sure to read the ingredients.

SEASONINGS, CONDIMENTS, SAUCES & TOPPINGS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Golden Syrup	Apple Butter (only if homemade from acceptable varieties of apples)	Fresh Coriander Leaves (also known as Chinese parsley)	All Spice	Aniseed
Malt Vinegar	Chives	Horseradish	Bay leaf	Basil
Maple Syrup (pure)	Fennel – dried	Mayonnaise	Caraway	Black pepper
Salt	Garlic		Cardamom	Cayenne
	Parsley (except Chinese parsley also known as coriander)		Cinnamon	Celery powder
	Saffron		Cloves	Chili flakes
	Shallots		Coriander	Chili powder
	Soy Sauce (if free of spices)		Ginger	Cider vinegar
			Mixed herbs	Commercial gravies and sauces
			Mustard	Cumin
			Pimiento	Curry
				Dill
				Fenugreek
				Fish, meat, and tomato pastes
				Garam masala
				Ginger
				Honey
				Jam/Jelly (all commercial varieties)
				Mace
				Marmite
				Mint
				Mustard
				Nutmeg
				Oregano
				Paprika
				Peppermint
				Rosemary
				Sage
				Tabasco
				Tarragon
				Thyme
				Turmeric
				Vegemite and other Yeast Extracts**
				White pepper
				White Vinegar
				Wine Vinegar
				Worcestershire Sauce

** Yeast extracts are high, but they are different from the yeast used in baking. Baking Yeast is generally ok.

FATS & OILS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Butter	Ghee	Almond Oil	Copha	Coconut Oil
Canola Oil		Corn Oil	Sesame Oil	Olive Oil
Margarine**		Peanut Oil	Walnut Oil
Safflower Oil
Soy Oil
Sunflower Oil

** Margarine only if it’s made from vegetable oil or canola oil.

GRAINS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Barley			Breakfast cereals that include fruit, nuts, honey or coconut
Buckwheat			Corn/maize cereals
Millet			Cornmeal
Oats (plain)			Flavored breakfast cereals
Rice			Maize
Rice cereals (plain)			Polenta
Rye
Wheat

MEAT

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Beef	Liver		Fish canned in an unacceptable oil and/or with seasonings added	Processed luncheon meats
Chicken	Prawns		Gravy made from prepared mixes	Seasoned meats (e.g. salami, sausages, frankfurters, and hotdogs)
Eggs	Shellfish
Fish
Lamb
Organ meats
Rabbit
Sausage casing
Scallops
Tripe
Veal
**

** Most meat, fish and poultry are salicylate free, but you should avoid meats that have been processed or seasoned as they often contain salicylates.

DAIRY & SOY PRODUCTS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Butter		Blue vein cheese
Cream
Cheese (not blue vein)
Milk
Yogurt (natural only)
Ice Cream**
Rice Milk
Goat Milk
Soy Milk*
Tofu

** Be sure the read the label carefully on these things, they are ok only if they do not have any additives or added flavorings. With Ice cream it can be very difficult to find brands that make pure and plan ice cream without all the additives (though there are a few out there), I recommend just making your own.

BAKING SUPPLIES

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Arrowroot		Sesame seeds	Corn Syrup
Corn starch (also known as corn flour)
Golden Syrup
Malt
Malt extract
Poppy seeds
Rice Flour
Rye Flour
Sago
Soy Flour
Sugar (brown, castor, granulated, icing, powdered)
Tapioca
Wheat Flour

COMMERCIAL SNACKS

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
	Plain potato chips (read the ingredient list)	Apple chips (only if homemade rom acceptable varieties of apples)	Popcorn	Chewing gum (all flavors)
			Popping corn	Fruit flavored candy, gelato, ices, popsicles, sherbet, sorbet, and sweets
				Licorice (all flavors)
				Mint/peppermint/wintergreen flavored candy/sweets
				Pickles (and anything pickled)

BEVERAGES

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Decaffeinated coffee	Dandelion coffee	Coco cola	Regular coffee
Milk (goat and cow)	Store bough pear juice	Rose hip tea	All teas
Ovaltine		Rose hip syrup	Cordials and fruit flavored drinks
Homemade Pear Juice			Fruit and vegetable juices
Soy Milk
Rice Milk
Water

ALCOHOL

Negligible	Low	Moderate	High	Very High
Gin		Cider	Liquor
Whiskey		Beer	Port
Vodka		Sherry	Wine
		Brandy	Rum

PRODUCT GUIDE

There are a variety of different products containing salicylate and it is sometimes difficult to determine if a product is salicylate free or not. Hopefully this page will help.

PRODUCTS THAT OFTEN CONTAIN SALICYLATES

Acne products
Air fresheners
Alka Seltzer
Breath savers
Bubble baths
Cleaning products
Cosmetics
Detergents
Essential oils
Fabric conditioners
Fragrances and perfumes
Gums
Hair sprays, gels and mouses
Herbal remedies
Lipsticks and Lip glosses
Lotions
Lozenges
Medications
Mouthwash
Muscle pain creams
Pain relievers
Pepto-Bismol
Razors with aloe strips adjacent to the cutting edge
Shampoos and Conditioners
Shaving cream
Skin cleansers or exfoliants
Soaps
Sunscreens and tanning lotions
Supplements derived from rose hips or bioflavonoids
Toothpaste
Topical creams
Wart or callus removers

TERMS/INGREDIENTS TO AVOID

Acetylsalicylic acid
Aloe Vera
Any coal tar derived dye
Artificial flavorings
Artificial food colorings
Aspirin
Azo dyes
Benzoates (preservatives)
Benzyl salicylate
Beta-hydroxy acid
BHA
BHT
Choline salicylate
Disalcid
Ethyl salicylate
Eucalyptus Oils
Isoamyl salicylate
Magnesium salicylate
Menthol
Methyl Salicylate
Mint
Nitrates/Nitrites
Octylsalicylate
Oil of Wintergreen
Peppermint
Phenylethyl salicylate
Red Dye (#40)
Salicylaldehyde
Salicylamide
Salicylate
Salicylic acid
Salsalate
Sodium Salicylate
Spearmint
Yellow Dyes (#5 & #6)

BRAND NAMES OF COMMON DRUGS CONTAINING SALICYLATES

This is not a complete list of all drugs containing salicylate, but it is a start and hopefully will aid and help you in avoiding drugs/medications that contain salicylate. If you are taking a medication and you are not sure if it contains salicylate or not check with your pharmacist or doctor. Never start the elimination diet without checking all medications and first and consulting a professional. Never start taking a medication with salicylate in it directly after the elimination diet and shock can occur from introducing too much salicylate into your body after it has gone a long while without salicylate. This list was put together by the Mayo Clinic.

Acuprin 81
Amigesic
Anacin Caplets and Tablets
Aspirin Regimen Bayer Adult Low Dose
Aspirin Regimen Bayer Regular Strength Caplets
Bayer Children’s Aspirin
Bufferin Caplets and Tablets
Disalcid
Extra Strength Bayer Aspirin Caplets and Tablets
Mobidin
Mono-Gesic
Norwich Aspirin
P-A-C Revised Formula
Regular Strength Ascriptin
Salflex
Salsitab
Sloprin
Joseph Adult Chewable Aspirin
Tricosal
Trilisate
ZORprin

About the Author

Dr. Colin Renaud is uniquely board certified in Chiropractic Medicine, Natural Medicine and in Medicine as a PA. He practices functional medicine, wellness, and regenerative medicine in order to achieve individualized health and wellness for all patients.

Low Salicylate Diet & Product Guide

WHAT IS SALICYLATE INTOLERANCE?

WHAT IS A LOW SALICYLATE DIET?