Diet for Migraine Relief

Nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound---the symptoms of migraine headaches can cause you almost unbearable pain for hours or even days. Once they hit, finding a dark, cool place to lie down and stay perfectly still until they pass is all you can think about. Preventing migraines is the best course and though there are medications today that can help with this, many people find altering their diet to be just as effective.

Causes

• Migraines usually begin in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood and can have many causes. Hormonal changes, such as pre or post-menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause can trigger migraines. Other causes include stress, changes in sleep patterns, bright lights, sudden loud sounds, intense pleasant or unpleasant odors, increased physical exercise, changes in air pressure (for example, just before a thunderstorm), or certain medications. One of the most common causes of migraines, and the most easily modified, is a diet high in salt, fat and processed foods.

Triggers

• According to the Mayo Clinic, the following foods can trigger a migraine: foods high in salt, processed foods (such as white flour and white sugar), foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG), chocolate and other foods and beverages containing caffeine, aged cheeses (such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, and gouda), and alcohol (primarily red wine and beer). A step-by-step elimination of these foods from your diet, along with keeping a detailed food journal, can help you determine which of these or other foods may be triggering your migraine headache.

Diet

• Research on reducing the amount of fat in your diet has shown a significant decrease in how often you experience migraines and how painful those headaches are. By keeping your intake of fats (especially saturated fats like butter) at 20 percent of your total daily food intake may cut the number and severity of migraines down six-fold. In other words, if you usually have six migraines in a month, by reducing your fat intake, you may only experience one migraine in a month.

Supplements

• Some herbal remedies that may help prevent or lessen the severity and length of migraine headaches includes butterbur and feverfew (but not during pregnancy), as well as vitamin B-2 (riboflavin) and magnesium. Some people find Coenzyme Q10 supplements useful.