Food Triggers in Migraine

Food Triggers in Migraine

Everyone has heard about food triggers. They are the migraine trigger most commonly talked about. But in truth, only about 25% of migraine sufferers, on average, have any food triggers. Some studies show up to 40%, and others as low as 18%, but most of these are surveys by self-report. Migraine food triggers are generally not food allergies. Migraine sufferers with various food triggers have been tested for allergies to their offending foods, and no markers of allergy (IgE) have been found.

These are common food triggers:

Aged Cheese, Sour cream, Yogurt, Buttermilk
Citrus
Nuts
Legumes:
Peas
Beans
Soy:
Soy sauce
Tofu
Edamame
Soy “Nutraceuticals” used instead of estrogen HRT
Soy may hide in ingredients as texturized vegetable protein
Onions
Garlic
Pickled foods, Vinegar: Salad dressings, Ketchup, Relish

These are moderately common triggers:

Aspartame (Nutrasweet®)
Chocolate
Wine, Beer, Other alcoholic beverages
Wheat/gluten*
Caffeine

*This trigger applies primarily to those who have a comorbid condition called gluten insensitivity or celiac disease. This condition is slightly more common in migraine sufferers than it is in the general population.

Sulfites

Wine, especially red
Dried apricots, apples
Dehydrated potatoes
Shrimp, lobster
Used as a dough conditioner
Used to bleach food starch
Glacéed fruit
Jams
Prepared gravies
Molasses
Soup mixes
Vegetable juices
Fruit juices
Hard cider

Nitrates/Nitrites

Smoked fish
Corned beef
Bologna
Pastrami
Pepperoni
Canned ham
Bacon
Sausages
Frankfurters/ Hot dogs
Beef jerky

These are less common triggers:

Bananas
Papayas
Pineapples
Figs
Avocados
Olives
Yeasty foods, like freshly baked bread
Intensely sweet foods
Intensely salty foods

MSG – this may hide as the following:
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Hydrolyzed plant protein
Natural flavoring
Kombu extract

MSG has been questioned as a trigger. Although many people are convinced it is their trigger, the scientific basis for this has been debated. Glutamate is widely distributed throughout the brain as a neurotransmitter. Some scientists feel that it may be the sodium in MSG to which migraine sufferers are reacting, rather than the glutamate in MSG.