Avoiding Foods That Trigger Migraines

Written and verified by Holly Hazen

Identifying the exact foods that trigger migraines for you is trial and error. Experts say the offending food must trigger 100% of the time to be a true trigger.

So where does that leave you, in desperation, to find out what to avoid? There are some well known food triggers, but everyone has different reactions to food. It can get a little confusing.

Plus different philosophies have different causes and triggers for migraines. And they often disagree with each others methods. 

For example these four potential migraine triggers are taken from the macrobiotic ideology:

• Any food that causes fatigue or indigestion can indicate allergy or food trigger;

• Anything spicy;

• Any food with additives using "E numbers", for more details please see my migraines and food article;

• All microwaved food.
  
  

The macrobiotic diet leans towards eating pickled condiments with each meal to aid digestion, which does not suit us migraineurs. I've written more about that here - Migraine Headaches Diet And Macrobiotic Food.

Chinese medicine says to stay away from hot foods due to the Liver Fire Blazing Upwards pattern associated with migraine.

You need herbs and foods that nourish the Yin and dispel heat. It would also consider climate, time of year, and your individual constitution first.

One example is red skinned apples, ginger and cardamom are considered hot. Green skinned apples, on the other hand, are better, as are cucumbers and soft juicy fruits. These are cooling foods.

Contrary to western medicine, coffee is not recommend in Chinese medicine to aid migraine sufferers. It is considered to be hot and too stimulating.

I believe that using these 'diets' or ways of looking at food are not one size fits all. We cannot feed everyone according to the same rules.

What triggers me may never trigger you and vice versa. So you need to become a detective and find an effective, healthy way to determine YOUR food triggers.

So here's the A-Z list to help you get started.

Can You Avoid All of These? I Think Not! And It Wouldn't Be Healthy To Do That

Here is the A-Z list for you to consider testing and then avoiding if they trigger and attack (you pick the percentage):

All Nuts

Almonds

Any meat that is aged, fermented, salted or smoked – salami, peperoni

Artificial sweeteners

Avocados

Beef

Beef Livers

Beer

Blackberries (tannins)

Black Tea

Buttermilk

Cashews

Cheese

Chewing gum

Citrus Fruit

Citrus Fruit juices

Chicken Livers

Chocolate

Coffee

Cola or caffeinated soda products

Cooking with aluminum pans

Cooking with Teflon coated cookware

Cooking with unsaturated oils – Canola Oil

Corn

Cranberries (tannins)

Dairy products (some)

Dates

Dried fruits (preserved with sulphites - raisins, figs)

Drinking out of plastic bottles

Eating out of hot plastic take away containers

Eggs (Organic is acceptable)

Fresh Raspberries

Fresh Strawberries

Green Tea (tannins)

Guarana

Herbs - see the list on migraine food trigger

High GI foods

Licorice

Lunch meats

Malted Barley Flour

Margarine

Miso

MSG

Mushrooms

Onions (especially raw)

Oranges and citrus fruit

Peaches (tannins)

Peanuts

Peas

Pesticides

Red plums

Red wine

Rhubarb

Ripe avocado

Ripe banana

Salami

Sauerkraut

Smoked Salmon

Snails or escargot

Soy sauce

Spices - see the list on migraine food trigger

Sugar

Teriyaki sauce

Wheat and or gluten

Worcestershire sauce

Yeast (sourdough)

Yogurt

Don't let this long list of foods that trigger migraines overwhelm you... just test one at a time. Here's a link to an easy elimination diet you can do, starting right now...

How To Find Your Foods That Trigger Migraines

If you haven't done an elimination diet yet to help determine your food triggers, here's an easy one:

• Migraine Elimination Diet: How Can I Do A Simple One?
  
  

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