Migraine Trigger Foods

If you suffer from migraines, you would probably do anything to avoid an attack. What if it were as simple as avoiding certain foods? Naturally occurring compounds in some foods as well as man-made additives can spark a migraine in sensitive people. You might be aware of some of your own triggers--others are less obvious.

Natural Substances

• Not all migraines are triggered by food sources. However, in sensitive individuals, some foods can bring on or intensify a migraine attack. Tyramine, a naturally occurring substance that results from the breakdown of protein in some foods, often causes a migraine. The longer a food ages, the greater the amount of tyramine in it. Aged cheeses (particularly blue cheese, aged cheddar, feta, and parmesan) possess a lot of tyramine. Other foods containing high levels of tyramine are pickles, onions, olives, some beans, dried fruit, nuts, avocados, processed meats, canned soups and red wine. Some people report headache trouble when they take in another natural substance. But beware, if you regularly take in caffeine and cut yourself off cold turkey, you might inadvertently trigger a withdrawal headache that can turn into a migraine.

Additives

• If you find migraines often occur after lunch, perhaps you should consider what you ate. Processed meats--including deli meats, pepperoni, hot dogs and some sausages--often contain preservatives called nitrates and nitrites. You might also have a sensitivity to monosodium glutimate. This flavor-enhancer is an ingredient in many different processed foods (think canned soup, restaurant meals, and prepackaged entrees), not just Chinese food. Nitrates/Nitrites and MSG dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow to the brain which cause headaches in some people. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, and some food colorings have also been tagged as possible migraine triggers. Those whose headaches result from food additives often feel the headache on both sides of the head, rather than on just one side as in a classic migraines. These headaches usually occur within 20 to 30 minutes of ingesting an offending food.

Cold Food

• Most of us experience "brain freeze" from time to time, but in migraine sufferers, brain freeze can spark a full-on attack. For most people, an ice cream headache is felt in the middle of the forehead, but for migraine sufferers, this pain can be more widespread--reaching areas that are usually affected during a migraine. According to the Cleveland Clinic's neurology department, more than 90 percent of migraine sufferers report problems with cold food and drinks.

What You Don't Eat

• Just as you have to be careful about eating certain foods, you should also be careful not to skip meals. The drop in blood sugar and disruption of your body's normal stability can also activate a migraine. If you find you get distracted easily and forget to eat at regular intervals, you might concentrate on grazing throughout the day to keep you and your head regular. Also, pay attention to the amount of fluids you drink. Dehydration is also a possible trigger for your migraines.

Less Common Triggers

• You need to learn your own triggers. Keeping a headache diary may help. If you record what you eat and any headache symptoms that occur afterwards, you can learn what substances trigger you. In addition to the more common ones listed above, people sometimes report migraines caused by organ meats (such as chicken livers), cultured dairy products like buttermilk and sour cream, yeasted breads--particularly sourdough, smoked and dried fish, some fresh fruits like bananas, raspberries, red plums and papayas, and cheese-flavored crackers.