Common Migraine Food Triggers - What to Avoid in Your Migraine Prevention Plan

Knowing the common migraine food triggers can greatly help the effectiveness of your migraine prevention plan.

Millions of Americans suffer from migraines and many people seek to control them in a natural way, rather than using prescription or over-the-counter medication. While various outside stimulants, such as loud noises, certain smells and bright lights, can trigger migraines, there are also several common food triggers as well.

One of the best ways to treat migraines in a natural way is to practice prevention. Therefore, knowing what your triggers are beforehand is a great way to try to avoid having them altogether.

So what are some common migraine food triggers?

Alcohol is often a culprit. Beer, whiskey, red wine, and champagne are the most common triggers. When you consume alcohol, the blood flow to your brain increases, and this can oftentimes induce headaches.

Some types of meats can also produce migraines. These include meats that contain nitrate preservatives like bacon and hot dogs, or cured or smoked meats like cured cold cuts, salami, or pepperoni. Some organ meats, such as liver, have also been known to trigger migraines.

Certain food additives or preservatives in general can trigger migraines. The preservatives, nitrates and nitrites cause your blood vessels to dilate, which can lead to headaches. A common additive found in Asian food is monosodium glutmate, or MSG.. MSG can be located in meat tenderizer, soy sauce, and in some packaged foods. Likewise, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are ingredients that you might want to stay away from if you suffer from migraines.

In truth, these chemicals are not only migraine food triggers, but are very harmful to health overall as well, so you may want to avoid them whether or not you suffer from these headaches.

While caffeine is a popular ingredient found in many migraine medications, caffeine itself can be a trigger. However, it's a little bit of a Catch 22, since in some cases, once you have a migraine, a small dose of caffeine can actually help alleviate the pain. Still, if you find that caffeine works against you rather than for you, then you might want to stay away from caffeine-flavored cocoa as well as beverages like tea, cola, and coffee.

One of the most common migraine food triggers is cheese. However, not all cheese is going to cause migraines. It is mainly cheese that contains tyramine, which is a substance that some cheeses naturally have, that could be a problem. Some that contain tyramine include Brie, Stilton, blue cheese, Feta, Gorgonzola, Muenster, Swiss, processed cheese, Cheddar, and Parmesan.

Although eating fresh fruits and vegetables is a good natural way of combating migraines, as is having a healthy diet, some dried fruits and nuts can in fact trigger them. Dried fruits such as raisins, dates, and figs, as well as some seeds and nuts (including peanut butter) have been found to be common migraine food triggers.

Lastly, food that is cold can actually cause migraines, too. This will typically happen if you eat cold food when you are already hot to begin with, either from exercise or the weather. Take care in eating cold food, such as ice cream, which might cause sensitivity.

It is important to remember that not every common migraine food trigger is going to cause you to have migraines. That is why it is important for you to pay attention to what you eat. Some people even suggest keeping a "migraine diary" in order to keep track of the food that might have led to the pain.

Knowing what migraine food triggers lead to your migraines is essential in migraine prevention. If you want to treat your migraines in a natural way, then taking some preventive steps to keep them from occurring is important.

In addition, eating a well-balanced diet that focuses on fresh, healthy foods that do not contain a lot of additives, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners can not only help you combat migraines, but also assist you in leading a healthier lifestyle.

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