Food

Do Foods Trigger Your Migraines?

Trigger avoidance is an important part of migraine prevention. However, not all migraine sufferers have any known food triggers. Even for those who do have food triggers, not all the food triggers are the same for everyone. Food triggers are not necessarily food allergies or intolerances.

If you do think you have a food trigger, avoiding that food can reduce the number of headaches you have. Triggers are additive, so food triggers in addition to other triggers, like sleep deprivation or hormonal changes, can more easily bring on a migraine attack.

It is not usually necessary to go on a special migraine trigger elimination diet to discover what your food triggers are. It is usually sufficient to keep a food diary in conjunction with a headache diary. You can learn more about food triggers here.

by Christina Peterson, MD

updated Nov 14, 2009

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