Understanding Migraine Headache Triggers: Food and drink

Common foods and drinks act as migraine headache triggers. Activities play a role too. Many people with migraines report that eating or drinking certain foods will trigger a headache. We suggest to our patients that they use this list of food triggers to isolate their specific headache triggers and reduce them as much as possible. But oftentimes we find sleep, sleep position, and neck triggers to be more important than food triggers (see article on non-food triggers).

It may take as long as 24 to 36 hours after you ingest the food for the sequence of events to lead to a headache. Some days you’ll have a headache based on something you ate yesterday or the day before. Pinpointing specific headache triggers can be complex and something a headache specialist and patient need to work together to figure out.

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Specific food triggers
According to the Institute’s Dr. Dana Winegarner, food related headache triggers include:*

  • Chocolate. Chocolate may be a trigger, but there’s also evidence the desire to eat chocolate comes before the headache in many individuals and they get the headache whether they eat the chocolate or not. In other people the chocolate really is the trigger and in that case, we don’t know if that’s because of the caffeine in the chocolate or something else.
  • Dairy products: Any dairy product could be a trigger, with cheddar cheese, blue cheese and other moldy cheeses being high on the list.
  • Fatty fried foods: Pork products like bacon and pork chops seem to be a trigger for many people.
    Vegetables: A lot of different vegetables, especially beans, can be a trigger for some people.
  • Tea, coffee and sodas: We think these drinks are problems primarily because they contain caffeine. While a little caffeine can help a headache, too much caffeine often amounts to a headache trigger.
  • Gluten: The grains wheat, barley, and rye all contain the protein “gluten”. Many people are either sensitive of intolerant to gluten. If you suffer from gluten sensitivity, consuming gluten will cause inflammation in the central nervous system which leads to migraines. Try to eat naturally gluten-free foods to minimize your gluten consumption.
  • Alcoholic drinks: The biggest problems come from red wines or colored alcoholic drinks, but some patients have headaches triggered by white wine or clear beverages. We think it’s the fermentation process that is the trigger.
  • Nuts: especially peanuts (although they are technically a vegetable). We don’t know why nuts are a trigger.
  •  Avocados: Avocados are a trigger for some people.
  • Bread: Bread, especially bread that is not fully risen, can be a trigger because of the fermentation.
  • Pastries: We think pastries can trigger headaches because they are made from gluten and a lot of people have gluten sensitivity.
  • Fruits: Citrus fruits, bananas, plums and prunes can all be triggers.
  •  Nitrates: The nitrates in preserved meats such as hotdogs, salami and also in the blackened part of anything you grill are especially potent triggers. Nitro sublingual for heart patients can also trigger headaches.
  •  MSG (monosodium glutamate): This chemical used to enhance the spiciness of foods,particularly Chinese food, can frequently be a trigger. MSG is a strong form of sodium and excess salt can trigger migraines.