Food Guide
Welcome to the Salicylate Food Guide. This list has been composed out of many lists from a variety of sources and I hope that it will be a complete and helpful guide to you. However, you will notice that some foods are not on the list. If there is something missing from the list it is because it has not been tested for salicylates or there was not enough complete evidence suggesting which category it should go under. I recommend that you avoid items that are not on the list as they may contain salicylate, especially during the elimination diet. After doing the elimination diet you can try out foods not on the list to see if they cause a reaction for you, but I would recommend doing this with caution and under the supervision of a doctor/specialist as anaphylactic shock can occur from introducing too many salicylates into your system at once.
I hope this Food Guide is helpful to you. If you find yourself overwhelmed by how many things contain salicylates and how few things there are that have negligible/low amounts of salicylates check out our Recipe Page for helpful recipes made only from things in the negligible and low categories.
FRUITS
VEGETABLES
NUTS & SEEDS
SWEETS
SEASONINGS, CONDIMENTS, SAUCES & TOPPINGS
FATS & OILS
GRAINS
MEAT
DAIRY & SOY PRODUCTS
BAKING SUPPLIES
COMMERCIAL SNACKS
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Banana Canned Pear**** Lime Pear (ripe and peeled) |
Apple – golden delicious Nashi Pears Papaya Paw Paw Tamarillo |
Apple – red delicious Canned or dried Fig Canned pear**** Custard apple Lemon Loquat Mango Passion fruit Pear (w/ peel) Persimmon Pomegranate Rhubarb
|
Apple – all other varieties Canned Morello cherries Cantaloupe Grapefruit Kiwi fruit Lychee Mandarin Melons Mulberry Nectarine Peach Sugar banana Watermelon |
All dried Fruits Apricot Avocado Blackberry Blackcurrant Blueberry Boysenberry Cherries – all other kinds Cranberry Currant Date Grape Guava Loganberry Orange Pineapple Plum Prune Raisin Raspberry Redcurrant Rock melon Strawberry Sultana Tangelo Tangerine 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 salicylats
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Bamboo Shoots Beans (dried - not borlotti) Cabbage (green or white) Celery Green Split peas Lentils (brown) Lentils (red) Lettuce (iceberg) Peas (dried) Potato (old/white and peeled) Swede |
Bean Sprouts Borlotti beans Brussels sprouts Cabbage – red Cauliflower Chickpeas Chives Choko Fresh Asparagus Green Beans Green Peas Leek Mung bean sprouts Onion Potato (white with peel) Shallots Yellow split peas |
Asparagus - tinned Aubergine – peeled Beetroot Black Olives Canned Asparagus Carrot Fresh Tomato Frozen Spinach Lettuce (other than iceberg) Marrow Mushrooms Parsnips Potato (new and red Pontiac) Pumpkin Snow Peas Sprout Sweet corn Turnip
|
Alfalfa sprouts Artichoke Aubergine with peel Broad bean Broccoli Canned black olive Cucumber Cucumber Eggplant Fresh Spinach Okra Radish Sweet Potato Water chestnut Watercress Zucchini |
Canned Green Olives Capsicum Champignon Chicory Chili peppers Courgette Endive Gherkin Hot pepper Peppers Radish Tomato Tomato Products Water Chestnut |
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Poppy seed
|
Cashews Hazelnuts Pecan Sunflower seeds
|
Desiccated coconut Peanut Butter Pumpkin seeds Sesame seeds Walnuts
|
Brazil nuts Macadamia nuts Pine nuts Pistachio
|
Almond Peanuts with skins on Water chestnut |
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Carob Cocoa Homemade caramel**** Maple Syrup White Sugar
|
Caramel**** Golden Syrup Malt Extract
|
Molasses Raw Sugar |
Chewing gum Fruit flavors Honey Honey flavors 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
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Golden Syrup Malt Vinegar Maple Syrup (pure) Salt |
Apple Butter (only if homemade from acceptable varieties of apples) Chives Fennel – dried Garlic Parsley (except Chinese parsley also known as coriander) Saffron Shallots Soy Sauce (if free of spices) |
Fresh Coriander Leaves (also known as Chinese parsley) Horseradish Mayonnaise |
All Spice Bay leaf Caraway Cardamom Cinnamon Cloves Coriander Ginger Mixed herbs Mustard Pimiento
|
Aniseed Basil Black pepper Cayenne Celery powder Chili flakes Chili Powder Cider Vinegar Commercial Gravies & Sauces Cumin Curry Dill Fenugreek Fish, meat, and tomato pastes Garam masala Ginger Honey Jam/Jelly (all commercial varieties – you can make your own from acceptable ingredients) Liquorices 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 Worcester Sauce
|
**** Yeast extracts are high but they are different from the yeast used in baking. Baking Yeast is generally ok.
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Butter Canola Oil Margarine**** Safflower Oil Soy Oil Sunflower Oil
|
Ghee |
Almond Oil Corn Oil Peanut Oil
|
Copha Sesame oil Walnut Oil
|
Coconut Oil Olive Oil
|
**** Only if it’s made from vegetable oil or canola oil
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Barley Buckwheat Millet Oats (plan) Rice Rice cereals (plan) Rye Wheat |
Breakfast cereals that include fruit, nuts, honey or coconut Corn/maize cereals Cornmeal Flavored breakfast cereals Maize Polenta |
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Beef Chicken Eggs Fish Lamb Organ meats Rabbit Sausage casing Scallops Tripe Veal Etc etc.**** |
Liver Prawns Shellfish |
Fish canned in an unacceptable oil and/or with seasonings added Gravy made from prepared mixes (i.e. stock cubes/bouillon/meat extracts/etc.) |
Processed luncheon meats (many are seasoned and thus contain salicylates) Seasoned meats (e.g. salami, sausages, frankfurters, and hotdogs) |
**** Most meat, fish and poultry are salicylate free, but you should avoid meats that have been processed or seasoned as they often contain salicylates
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Butter Cream Cheese (not blue vein) Milk Yoghurt (natural only) Ice Cream **** Rice Milk Goat Milk Soy Milk **** Tofu |
Blue vein Cheese |
**** 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.
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Arrowroot Corn starch (also known as corn flour in Australia) Golden Syrup Malt Malt extract Poppy seeds Rice Flour Rye Flour Sago Soy Flour Sugar Sugar (brown, castor, granulated, icing, powdered) Tapioca Wheat Flour |
Sesame seeds |
Corn Syrup |
| Negligible | Low | Moderate | High | Very High |
|
Plain potato chips (read the ingredients list) |
Apple chips (only if homemade from acceptable varieties of apples) |
Popcorn Popping corn |
Chewing gum (all flavors) Fruit flavored candy, gelato, ices, popsicles, sherbet, sorbet, and sweets Licorice/liquorices (all flavors) Mint/peppermint/wintergreen flavored candy/sweets Pickles (and anything pickled) |