Migraine food triggers?

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Illona88
Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been to see my doctor about regular migraines and he told me to keep a food diary to see if there are any food triggers.
Only he didn't tell me (and I didn't think to ask) how much time there is between eating something and it causing a migraine.

Is it within the hour of eating a trigger or within a day or anywhere in between?

Does anyone know this?

It's kind of hard to figure out what caused the migraine if you don't know this. Obviously I eat more than one thing in a day, so it's hard to tell which food caused the migraine.


And does anyone know what are common migraine triggers?

I got a list from my doctor:

caffeine
fatty/fried foods
food additives, esp. MSG and aspartame
full fat dairy
citrus fruits
dried fruit
peanuts
chocolate
processed meats

Which should I pay extra attention to and does anyone know if there is anything missing from this list?
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Replies

  • AnahitaCanDoIt
    AnahitaCanDoIt Posts: 448
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    What causes mine are:

    processed meats and cheeses which contain nitrates (hot dogs, cheap cold meats, cured or smoked foods)

    Caffeine withdrawal: this is in fact, for me, the worst WORST migraines I've ever had...everytime I've been pregnant/bfeeding I've cut out caffeine by cutting down and cutting down until I've had to eliminate the last cup of coffee... it results in three to five days of severe migraines, vomiting, being unable to move my head... I was told by the doctor that some people have oversensitivity to caffeine so it's as strong a withdrawal as narcotics...very tough...

    What does work is avoiding those foods (which aren't healthy anyway) and staying on caffeine :) Water lots of it does help!
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
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    Red wine used to be one of my triggers, as was dark chocolate. and pretty much everything else on the lust the doc gave you. I'd say it would take about half an hour after eating one of those things that I would start feeling the migraine come on.

    Strangely enough, once I dropped 100+ pounds, the migraines just... went away. I used to get them almost weekly (to the point of "oh-my-God-lock-me-in-a-dark-room-and-let me-die" migraines), and I think I have had *TWO* in the past two years.

    The only trigger that sees to affect me now is any type of artificial sweetener.

    Good luck!
  • successiswithinme
    successiswithinme Posts: 91 Member
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    I suffered migraines for the longest time...some of my triggers that I was aware of were:
    -not eating in a timely manner, (waiting to long between meals)
    -dehydrating, without even realizing it...now I always have a bottle of water
    -caffeine as stated above
    -hormones played a big part also-(PMS)
    -a super stressful job...which I would like to add I have not had ONE MIGRAINE since I left that job in August.......woohoo!

    just keep charting and looking for patterns that develope. Good Luck they can be quite debilitating so I feel for you
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
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    I can get an aura within MINUTES of sipping on some red wine.... it's probably compounded with light triggers, but it happened a couple weeks ago and I had just had a few sips of wine.

    Now, I used to get migraine with aura, but now as I have gotten older---- I only get the aura.

    IMO, it's just as bad as the headache because I'm disoriented, I can't speak, I can't move properly, I have tunnel vision and the nifty squiggly disco lights in my vision.

    Then, afterwards, I am so exhausted I feel like I've been beat with a baseball bat.

    If I'm driving when I get it (it's happened quite a bit) I have to pull over until it passes.
  • EmpressOfJudgment
    EmpressOfJudgment Posts: 1,162 Member
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    Caffeine withdrawal: this is in fact, for me, the worst WORST migraines I've ever had.

    ^^^^ THIS

    Caffeine, wine, and dehydration are huge causes for me. Lately, I've noticed citrus fruits also set me off.


    The idea of a diary is to see a pattern. It will take time to see what your triggers are. Everyone isn't the same.
  • fofipps
    fofipps Posts: 17 Member
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    Mine are:
    Chocolate
    Avocados
    Artificial Sweetener
    Carbonated beverages
    Some aged cheese


    Mine happen within a day of eating. I took the same list that you have and just stopped eating those things for a few weeks. Then slowly started to introduce one thing at a time.
    Nothing really helps when I get one, and they last for 5-10 days, so it wasn't too hard to give up the stuff that causes them.
  • jus_in_bello
    jus_in_bello Posts: 326 Member
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    Mine were triggered by Gluten/Wheat and the migraine started soon after ingestion.
  • SaBh93
    SaBh93 Posts: 114 Member
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    Artificial Sweeteners (except stevia)
    MSG (basically most asian foods and seasoning)

    I usually stay clear from them, but at times I will have something and basically get a headache in half an hour or so. If it is MSG related- I drink plenty of water and it subsides. Aspartame on the other hand will stay with me for a couple of hours and no amount of water seems to help. It's horrible.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
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    Caffeine withdrawal: this is in fact, for me, the worst WORST migraines I've ever had.

    ^^^^ THIS

    Caffeine, wine, and dehydration are huge causes for me.

    Quite happy right now that I've never started to drink coffee or alcohol. Dehydration definitely isn't a problem for me.

    -

    I have already started my diary about two weeks ago and so far have had two migraines.
    First one was about an hour after having lasagna, so that was probably food additives (was ready made).
    I have cheese for breakfast nearly every other day and that has never caused a migraine as far as I know.
    Second one was about an hour after having had processed meat, so I should probably cut that out too.

    I can't really get rid of all the foods on the list in one go, because I am living with my parents at the moment, so pretty much have to eat whatever my mom cooks for the whole family.
    Next week I am moving abroad to work as an au pair, so will have to see if I can stop eating the whole list and then reintroducing the foods again. I will be the one cooking, but not the one doing groceries, so will have to see how that is going to work.

    I really want to find my triggers as soon as possible, because they are a nearly weekly occurrence and really friggen painful.
  • goody2shews
    goody2shews Posts: 129 Member
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    Aspartame gives me a migraine within 15 minutes. Artificial colors and nitrates within an hour. Canned veggies and soup give me migraines if I eat more than out of 1 can say...in about a week. The cans are a strange one for me it seems I can tolerate it in small amounts.

    Splenda works for me well I use it everyday. However, sweetnlow and equal are out of the question. Of course gum, sugar free candy, low cal yogurt, low carb ice cream, diet soda and some salad dressing all have aspartame in it. I have to read labels carefully. Trident has a brand with Xylitol in it instead of aspartame. That is fine at least for me. Xylitol is great for your teeth so there's a plus.

    I had ocular migraines that almost made me lose my job in 1999. I found out through a food diary as well what the problem was. I was going to TCBY almost everyday for lunch and getting a sugar free cappucino.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I discovered that bananas are a big trigger for me. I used to eat one every day. When I stopped, my migraine frequency dropped dramatically. MSG is another big one, as are certain perfumes. Obsession is the worst one.
  • AnahitaCanDoIt
    AnahitaCanDoIt Posts: 448
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    Oh god, I forgot about perfumes! Smoke (second hand smoke) strong smelling cleaners and especially chemically air fresheners...

    I forgot to say the onset for me of migraines was in secondary school. I would not eat breakfast and have the school salad bar for lunch which i'm sure was full of perservatives and additives and Italian salad dressing. Bang. Migraine by 3pm every day. I was out of school for 3 weeks and had to be hospitalised with dehydration because I couldn't keep down the migraine meds or the anti nausea ones and vomitted so much ....horrible...I'm fairly sure there was a hormonal element to that as well.
  • EmpressOfJudgment
    EmpressOfJudgment Posts: 1,162 Member
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    Oh yeah! I gave up perfume and strongly scented soaps about 6 months ago when I realized they were a major trigger.
  • bms34b
    bms34b Posts: 401 Member
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    For me it's perfumes or strong scents (even that purple dawn...man that kills me), hot dogs with the nasty cheese inside of them, and any wines. However, I have found that "sulfite free" or really any organic red wines don't give me any headaches. Trader Joe's carries quite a few brands that I'd suggest.
  • successiswithinme
    successiswithinme Posts: 91 Member
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    Non Food related problem could be your teeth.....if you (meaning anyone) haven't had a check up in awhile get one

    upper teeth can cause headaches and pain in the eyes because the sinuses are closely wired there and lower teeth may cause earaches and sore throats. Just an FYI to keep in mind.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    It is different for everyone. You should just eat as you normally do, and note the times and the foods you ate, then note your migraines and the times they come on. In a month or so, you will hopefully see a pattern.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    Mine is chocolate, artificial sweetener, and fluorescent lights
  • Sondrasr
    Sondrasr Posts: 49
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    Thank you all for this list. I have been tying to figure out what has caused mine now for a long time. I think I finally got it down that I am/was dehydrated. Once I kept my water levels up I don't seem to have them as often.
  • Spatialized
    Spatialized Posts: 623 Member
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    What causes mine are:

    processed meats and cheeses which contain nitrates (hot dogs, cheap cold meats, cured or smoked foods)

    I've narrowed it down to this and MSG. Usually it is combined with stress/tension/sinus issues. I'm lucky though, they don't go full blown (yet?) and happen very rarely...it's like a perfect storm situation for them to pop. My mom is the same way, nitrates and MSG.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
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    Non Food related problem could be your teeth.....if you (meaning anyone) haven't had a check up in awhile get one

    upper teeth can cause headaches and pain in the eyes because the sinuses are closely wired there and lower teeth may cause earaches and sore throats. Just an FYI to keep in mind.

    That's a different type of headache. Not for migraines.

    And I have my teeth checked every six months (everyone in my country does), so that shouldn't be a problem.

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