Migraine Headaches & Diet

Migraine headaches are an incredibly painful condition that can leave you wholly incapacitated for days at a time. Although there is no single cure for migraine headaches, analyzing what you eat can help minimize their prevalence, as certain foods can sometimes trigger attacks.

Migraines

• Migraine headaches are characterized by progressive symptoms that can last for as long as two full days. Typically, migraines are worse on one side of the brain than the other and are accompanied by sweating, fatigue, tunnel vision and sensitivity to light. The only reliable way to steer clear of migraines is to avoid doing things that trigger them.

Migraine and Diet

• Although no one knows why, certain foods can be a catalyst behind a migraine headache. Thus, the best approach is doing some detective work to discover which foods cause you pain and removing them from your diet.

Trigger Foods

• The most common trigger foods are aged cheeses, fatty foods, ice cream, processed meats, MSG, yogurt, sour cream, caffeine, alcohol, seafood, citrus fruits and pork. While these are the most common triggers, there may be more.

Food Journal

• The specialists at Google Health recommend keeping a food journal while designing an anti-migraine diet. Making a list of what you have eaten in conjunction with the dates and severity of your migraines can help you find the specific triggers that set off your headaches. Three to four weeks of data should provide enough information to determine which foods you can tolerate and which you should avoid.

Supplements

• According to americanchronicle.com, those who supplement their diet with a daily intake of omega-3 fats (whether from fish or fish oil) exhibited less severe and less frequent migraines. Furthermore, taking fish oil immediately upon feeling preliminary symptoms of a migraine has been shown to relieve discomfort. Three to 5 grams daily is the recommended dose.