Categories: HEALTH & WELLNESS

Foods that Can Trigger Migraine Headaches

I have had migraine headaches since I began having periods, which was a long time ago now. They have always predictably come sometime during the week of my period, and so the hormonal connection has always been glaringly apparent. I do know that I have a couple of other triggers–certain environmental things to which I am allergic–but I have never thought myself to have food as a trigger. As I began to research for this article, I was quite interested to see what food might be migraine headache triggers. I figured that I would find a small list that contains a few things like red wine, processed meats, and MSG. Imagine my surprise to find that nearly any type of food can be a migraine trigger. Here is a brief list of suspects to consider:

All fruits and vegetables, but avocados, olives, peppers, plums, bananas, and pickles in particular.

Breads, including any bread, especially fresh out of the oven, made with yeast, any bread made with yeast period, pizza dough, and soft pretzels.

Meats and seafood–we have a smaller list here, limited to processed meats, hot dogs, sausage and bacon.

Dairy products including aged cheese, such as cheddar, blue cheese, and most any other cheese, whole milk and sour cream.

Beverages feature any alcoholic drink, especially red wine. Also beverages with caffeine, and beverages that contain chocolate are migraine triggers.

Miscellaneous foods include MSG, artificial sweeteners, and vinegar.

Now, you may look at this list, as I did, and think that the list is so long and all inclusive, that there is no way to identify a food that might be a migraine trigger for you. That may, or may not, be true. In some cases, the culprit may be fairly obvious. If you get a migraine each time you drink red wine, then red wine is probably a trigger for you. The same can be said for the meat category. The link there, aside from the sausage link, is the nitrites in processed meats. So, if your migraines occur after a meal containing a processed meat, nitrites are probably a migraine trigger for you.

See also Migraine Tips and Tricks

Other food triggers might not be so easy to pinpoint. What if you get a migraine headache after you have a glass of chocolate milk. Is the the chocolate, or the milk? And how can one possibly figure it out when it comes to fruits and vegetables. It might be easier than you think. To begin, you probably do not eat every fruit and vegetable every day. So, start keeping a diary, or think back, and see if you can remember having a migraine each time after eating the same fruit or vegetable. Maybe you get a migraine every time that you eat stuffed peppers, or after you eat guacamole. You may not have noticed the connection before, but knowing now that peppers and avocados can be migraine triggers, it may become clear to you that these food are triggers for you.

Like people with food allergies who use food diaries, and elimination diets, to determine what foods they are allergic to, people who suspect that certain foods trigger their migraine headaches can use the same strategies to narrow down their list of possible food triggers. In most cases, it may be only one or two foods that prove to be migraine headache triggers for you. All of this may seem like a lot of detective work, but if you suffer from frequent migraines, finding, and eliminating, food triggers from your diet may greatly improve the quality of your life.

Migraines are caused by things that we can control, and by things that we cannot control, as is the case with my hormonal migraines. If you can find a trigger that is within your control to manage, you are one step ahead of the game when it comes to reducing the number of migraine headaches that you must endure. To me, that would be worth the detective work.