Migraines typically cause throbbing, pulsing, debilitating pain on one side of the head and may last from a few hours to several days. Some patients experience a visual aura before the migraine begins, nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances. Many patients find that certain foods, smells, irritants, bright lights, stress or noises trigger migraines, so keeping a headache diary can help to identify these triggers. Foods that may trigger migraine headaches include processed foods, baked goods, dairy food, nuts, onions, peanut butter, chocolate, certain fruits and additives such as tyramine, nitrates and monosodium glutamate.
Step 1
Track your headaches in a diary or on a spreadsheet for six weeks to three months by recording the date, time, what you ate before the headache began and how long the pain lasted.
Step 2
Record details about about your headache symptoms, including whether the pain was throbbing, pounding, blinding, stabbing or splitting. Note related symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity and whether or not you experienced an aura before the headache began.
Step 3
Record other possible triggers in your diary or on your spreadsheet, including noise, stress, bright lights, alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, allergic reactions, odors and menstrual periods.
Step 4
Circle each food on your spreadsheet or food diary that you suspect might trigger your headaches. Typical trigger foods include peanut butter, processed foods, aged cheeses, wine, onions, chocolate, seafood, sugar, baked goods, bananas, MSG, soy sauce, and nuts, but responses to these foods are individual.
Step 5
Examine your diary or spreadsheet for possible combinations of foods that may trigger headaches. For example, nuts or wine alone may not trigger a migraine but a combination of both may be an issue for you.
Step 6
Eliminate potential triggering foods from your diet. You may eliminate one at a time or try eliminating several at once. Continue recording your headaches symptoms, if any.
Step 7
Analyze your journal or spreadsheet to determine if the frequency of your headaches has decreased after eliminating potential triggers for several weeks. If not, try adding back some foods and eliminating others.
Step 8
Discuss your findings with your health care provider to determine if you need to take other measures to prevent headaches in addition to managing your headaches through dietary control. You may need to take preventive medications, exercise and sleep more, or try various relaxation techniques.
References
- MedlinePlus: Migraine
- National Headache Foundation: Headache Diary
- National Headache Foundation: Diet and Headache
- "Cephalalgia: The International Headache Society;" Diet Restriction in Migraine, Based on IgG Against Foods: A Clinical Double-Blind, Randomised, Cross-over Trial; Kadriye Alpay, Mustafa Ertas, Elif Kocasoy Orhan, et al; July 2010
- Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Migraine
