The Link Between Your Diet and Migraine Attacks

Nothing can derail your day or your week more than a migraine. These severe headaches typically cause pulsing pain on one side of the head and often come with an aura, nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. They can last for hours or days and truly interfere with daily life.

Fortunately, there are ways to get migraines under control so you can live your life again — and our expert team at Glaser Pain Relief Center can help. As pain management specialists, we have numerous approaches you can rely on to manage your symptoms, from injectable medications for headache prevention to quick-dissolving drugs for acute symptoms. But that’s only the beginning. 

We also recommend closely examining your lifestyle to better understand what could be triggering your migraines in the first place. And that includes your diet.

Diet and migraine

Migraines are a complex neurological condition, and they can have numerous triggers, including your genes and environmental factors. To complicate matters, migraine triggers vary from person to person, making them difficult to identify. However, one common and controllable factor involves things you eat and drink. 

Dietary migraine triggers can include:

• Aged cheese, like cheddar, brie, parmesan, swiss, and feta
• Tomato-based products, including pizza sauce
• Dried fruits and some fresh fruits, including bananas and pineapples
• Pickled foods, like olives, pickles, and sauerkraut
• Nuts and seeds, especially peanuts and almonds
• Most legumes, including lentils, peas, and pinto beans
• Avocados, garlic, and onions
• Sourdough and fresh baked yeast goods 
• Cultured dairy products, like yogurt and sour cream
• Artificial sweeteners, including aspartame
• Brewer’s yeast and products with monosodium glutamate (MSG), like soy sauce
• Cured or processed meats containing nitrate/nitrite, like bacon, hot dogs, and lunch meats
• Organ meats and pate
• Smoked or dried fish
• Caffeinated beverages and chocolate
• Alcohol, especially red wine, champagne, beer, Scotch, and whiskey

This list of possibilities is only the beginning, and we understand that it can seem overwhelming. 

However, starting a journal and tracking foods and beverages you consume on a daily basis can help you identify your own triggers — including whether a specific food is to blame or an ingredient or chemical it contains, like aspartame.

Putting a plan in action

Some food triggers can cause an attack immediately, while others can take up to 24 hours.

If you notice a link between any foods, drinks, ingredients, or chemicals and your migraines, it’s time to take action. For example, if you get a migraine 40% of the time when you have a glass of red wine, try cutting back to see if it helps — or avoid wine entirely for a month and see what happens.

Of course, depending on your trigger, this can be easier said than done. Some culprits are hidden in certain products — for example, MSG, which goes by other names, like sodium caseinate, monopotassium glutamate, and hydrolyzed protein. The safest bet could be avoiding a product if you don’t recognize the ingredients on the label.

An easier approach to reduce your chances of food-related migraine triggers is adjusting your diet overall. For the best results, work to:

• Eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet with fresh foods, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat proteins
• Watch your salt intake
• Consume smaller meals throughout the day on a regular schedule and avoid fasting
• Avoid packaged and processed foods
• Reduce your daily caffeine intake 
• Stay hydrated with water, not sodas and juice

And don’t forget to get plenty of sleep and regular physical activity to keep you feeling your best.

Do you need help getting your migraines under control? Contact Glaser Pain Relief Center to schedule a consultation with one of our interventional pain management specialists in the San Fernando Valley of Encino, California.