Programmes commonly ask people to avoid aged, fermented, cured or overripe foods, alcohol, pork and red meat, and heavily processed, salty, sugary or spicy food. Lists differ. The aged and fermented items are the ones linked to tyramine, which can interact with MAO-inhibiting medicines. Follow your programme’s list and do not treat it as a medical clearance.
Ayahuasca Diet (Dieta): What Programmes Ask Before and After a Ceremony, and Why
Why food lists differ, which restrictions come from tradition, and which overlap with known MAOI risks. This is not a meal plan and not medical advice.
The ayahuasca diet, or dieta, is a period of simple eating and abstinence that many ceremony programmes ask for before and after ayahuasca. Some restrictions are traditional. Others overlap with safety concerns, because the brew contains compounds that inhibit MAO and can interact with tyramine-rich foods and some medicines. Follow your programme’s list and check medications with a clinician.
What is the ayahuasca dieta?
Dieta is a word programmes and traditions use for a period of simpler food and, often, other abstentions around ayahuasca.
Traditional dieta and the preparation diet a retreat sends out
In Amazonian ceremony traditions, a dieta is reported as a practice of restraint: plain food, and often time away from alcohol, sex, and other stimuli, sometimes in relation to a particular plant. That is a traditional and reported practice. It is not a clinical trial result, and this page does not treat it as a proven health benefit.
A “preparation diet” is the shorter instruction sheet many retreat programmes email before a visit. It usually names foods and drinks to limit, and a number of days. Those sheets are house rules. They are not a single medical protocol.
Why lists differ between programmes
Centres copy one another, follow a lineage, or mix tradition with a low-tyramine idea borrowed from pharmaceutical MAOI diets. Eggs, avocado, nuts, fish and tofu appear on some lists and not others. When two programmes disagree, that disagreement is the finding. Neither list becomes safe because it is printed.
Why the diet matters: tradition and pharmacology
Some restrictions are cultural. Some overlap with known interaction risks of MAO-inhibiting drugs. Those are different reasons, and they should not be collapsed into one.
MAO inhibition and tyramine, in plain language
Ayahuasca is typically a brew of a DMT-containing plant and the vine Banisteriopsis caapi. The vine’s harmala alkaloids inhibit monoamine oxidase-A, which is why oral DMT is not broken down in the gut in the usual way (Ruffell et al., 2020; Malcolm and Lee, 2017). Harmala alkaloids are described as reversible MAO-A inhibitors, unlike older irreversible antidepressant MAOIs.
Tyramine is found in higher amounts in foods that are aged, fermented, cured, overripe or spoiled. With irreversible pharmaceutical MAOIs, tyramine can cause a sharp, dangerous rise in blood pressure (Edinoff et al., 2022; Mayo Clinic, 2025). Mayo Clinic lists examples such as aged cheeses, cured or smoked meats, fermented foods and sauces, yeast-extract spreads, and some alcoholic drinks.
Malcolm and Lee state that effects of tyramine in people taking ayahuasca have not been described, although extrapolation from pharmaceutical MAOIs suggests a risk of hypertensive crisis. Ruffell and colleagues note that reversible MAO-A inhibitors interact less with tyramine than irreversible non-selective MAOIs, and that the risk is not a reason to invent certainty in either direction. Do not read this as “the diet is unnecessary” or as “the diet makes ayahuasca safe.”
Which restrictions have a safety rationale, and which are traditional
Aged, fermented, cured and spoiled foods are the group with a pharmacological story, because they are the high-tyramine foods in MAOI diet guidance. Alcohol is both a common programme rule and a tyramine-related caution for some drinks. Pork, red meat, spicy food, “heavy” meals and sexual abstinence are widely reported as tradition or as a request for a quieter body. They are not established here as proven medical protections.
Malcolm and Lee note that Amazonian dietas often involve bland foods and avoid alcohol, cheese and other fermented items, and that this is not necessarily designed as a tyramine-minimising diet. Bland food can overlap with the tyramine concern without having been designed as a drug diet.
Foods programmes commonly ask you to avoid
The table is a map of what shows up on programme sheets and in MAOI diet guidance. It is not an instruction to eat or avoid anything, and it is not a safe list.
Groups people are commonly asked about. Follow the programme you are actually attending, and ask a clinician about medicines.
| Item group | Commonly asked? | Why it is mentioned | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged, fermented, cured or spoiled foods, including aged cheese and cured meats | Often | Higher tyramine; can interact with pharmaceutical MAOIs | Clinical guidance (Mayo Clinic; Edinoff et al.) |
| Alcohol | Often | Programme rule, and some drinks are high in tyramine | Tradition and MAOI diet guidance |
| Pork and red meat | Often | Common retreat request | Programme tradition, not a cited drug interaction |
| Heavily processed, fried, very salty, sugary or spicy food | Often | Described as keeping food plain | Programme tradition |
| Caffeine | Varies | Some programmes limit it; Mayo Clinic notes caffeine drinks may also contain tyramine | Mixed: programme rule and a clinical aside |
| Overripe or dried fruit | Often | Overripe fruit is on low-tyramine lists | MAOI diet guidance |
| Yeast extracts and concentrated protein supplements | Often | Yeast-extract spreads are high-tyramine examples | MAOI diet guidance |
Foods programmes commonly allow
“Allowed” here means “appears on some programme sheets as acceptable.” It does not mean medically recommended.
Where lists conflict, the cell says so. Freshness and spoilage matter more than a brand name.
| Item group | Commonly allowed? | Why it is mentioned | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain fresh foods: rice, oats, boiled or steamed vegetables, ripe but not overripe fruit | Often | The “bland food” pattern described in the literature | Research description and programme sheets |
| Eggs | Varies by programme | Some sheets include them and some do not | Programme variation, not a safety proof |
| Avocado and nuts | Varies by programme | Overripe avocado is a tyramine example; fresh avocado is treated differently across sheets | Mixed |
| Fish and tofu | Varies by programme | Fresh versus aged or fermented is the distinction that matters for tyramine | Mixed |
| Fresh pasteurised dairy such as milk or yoghurt | Varies | Mayo Clinic distinguishes fresh cheeses from aged cheeses | MAOI diet guidance, applied cautiously |
How long before and after?
It depends on the programme. This page does not set a number of days.
Published guidelines differ by weeks, not by a single medical standard. Ask the programme for its own timeline and start early enough that changing how you eat is calm rather than last-minute. Do not treat a number you saw on another centre’s website as a prescription.
A longer preparation overview is on ayahuasca preparation and the week-by-week notes are on how to prepare for an ayahuasca retreat.
Medicines, supplements and the diet
Some medicines, especially serotonergic antidepressants, can interact seriously with ayahuasca. Do not stop, start or change any medication on your own.
Ayahuasca contains compounds that inhibit MAO. Combined with some medicines, especially SSRIs and other serotonergic antidepressants, this can cause serotonin syndrome, a reaction that can be severe (Edinoff et al., 2022; Ruffell et al., 2020). Malcolm and Lee also list other serotonergic drugs and name St John’s wort among agents they say ayahuasca should be avoided with. A case report has described suspected serotonin syndrome after ayahuasca in a person taking fluoxetine (cited by Ruffell et al.).
Tell your prescriber what you are considering, and tell any programme what you take, including supplements. This page has no washout timetable on purpose. Timing is a decision for the prescriber who knows the medicine.
Never stop, reduce or change a prescribed medicine, or a supplement such as St John’s wort, because of a diet sheet. Talk to your prescriber and a pharmacist.
Beyond food: other abstentions programmes ask for
Many programmes also ask people to avoid alcohol, recreational drugs, sex and heavy media use for a period.
Alcohol and other drugs have a safety angle as well as a traditional one. Sexual abstinence and limits on screens are reported as traditional or practical requests. They are not presented here as treatments. Follow the programme if you have agreed to its rules, and do not treat the rules as medical care.
The diet after a ceremony and the start of integration
Many programmes ask people to keep food simple, and to avoid alcohol and recreational drugs, for a period after the ceremony.
That period often overlaps with the first days of integration: rest, ordinary routine, and time before big decisions. What to do with the experience itself is on ayahuasca integration and what psychedelic integration is. If you feel unwell or unsafe afterwards, use challenges after psychedelics.
Getting help with preparation
A preparation coach can help with intentions, planning and keeping to a programme’s written guidelines. Medical and medication questions belong with a licensed clinician.
Psymerge does not supply ayahuasca, brew it, or recommend a retreat. You can look at integration coaches or the guide directory for preparation conversations, and at licensed therapists when the question is clinical. A short first-step note is what to do first before an ayahuasca retreat. Preparation is already part of integration.
DMT is listed in Schedule I of the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the EU Drugs Agency says national penalties differ and should be checked with the national authority (EUDA). The International Narcotics Control Board has written that no plant containing DMT is controlled under that convention, and that preparations made from those plants, including ayahuasca, are not under international control. Countries can still prohibit the brew under their own law. This is not legal advice, and it is not help obtaining a substance.
Ayahuasca diet FAQ
What foods should you avoid before ayahuasca?
How long before a ceremony does the diet start?
It depends on the programme. Published guidelines are not one shared medical timeline. Ask your programme for its dates and start early enough to change food without rushing.
Is the ayahuasca diet a medical requirement or a tradition?
Both kinds of reason are in play. Some restrictions come from Amazonian dieta traditions. Others overlap with the low-tyramine advice given to people taking pharmaceutical MAOI medicines. Researchers note that tyramine effects with ayahuasca have not been described in humans, so the safety rationale is an extrapolation.
Can I take my usual medication during the diet?
Do not stop, start or change any medication on your own. Some medicines, especially serotonergic antidepressants, can interact seriously with ayahuasca. Speak to your prescriber and tell the programme what you take.
What should I eat after an ayahuasca ceremony?
Many programmes ask people to keep food simple and to avoid alcohol and recreational drugs for a period afterwards. That time often overlaps with the start of integration. It is a programme request, not a prescribed aftercare diet.
Can a coach help me prepare?
A preparation coach can help with intentions, planning and keeping to your programme’s guidelines. Medical and medication questions belong with a licensed clinician. If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
References
Opened sources only. Programme food sheets were not copied as endorsements. This page is not medical or legal advice.
- 1.Ruffell SGD, Crosland-Wood M, Palmer R, et al. The pharmacological interaction of compounds in ayahuasca: a systematic review. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry. 2020;42(6):646–656. View source
- 2.Edinoff AN, Swinford CR, Odisho AS, et al. Clinically relevant drug interactions with monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Health Psychology Research. 2022;10(4):39576. View source
- 3.Malcolm BJ, Lee KC. Ayahuasca: An ancient sacrament for treatment of contemporary psychiatric illness? Mental Health Clinician. 2017;7(1):39–45. View source
- 4.Mayo Clinic Staff. MAOIs and diet: Is it necessary to restrict tyramine? Mayo Clinic. Updated 31 January 2025. View source
- 5.European Union Drugs Agency. Frequently asked questions: therapeutic use of psychedelic substances. States that most psychedelic substances are controlled under the 1971 UN Convention and that national law differs. View source
- 6.International Narcotics Control Board. Correspondence stating that no plant containing DMT is controlled under the 1971 Convention and that preparations such as ayahuasca are not under international control. PDF copy hosted by ICEERS. View source
Preparation support is a conversation, not a ceremony
Bring medicine questions to a prescriber. A coach can help you plan around a programme’s written guidelines.