Migraine is a very common problem. It affects about 18% of all women and 6% of all men. Studies have shown migraine is a genetic disorder, however, environment, lifestyle, and diet can still play a large role in how often you get migraines. (Please read my previous post on genetic and diets!!!)
Commonly reported migraine triggers include alcohol (especially red wine and beer ), chocolate , aged cheese , cured meats, smoked fish, yeast extract, food preservatives that contain nitrates and nitrites, artificial sweeteners, and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Migraine attacks are often due to multiple factors. When you’re already stressed, not sleeping well, and not exercising, eating a food trigger may make it more likely to have combination of all of these different things that contribute to the migraine, and not just the one food.
Not all of these foods will trigger a migraine attack in every person with migraine. Your personal food triggers can be difficult to figure out.
Here are some suggestions: Keep a food diary along with your headache diary, to help identify what you ate before migraine attacks.
Some foods can trigger a headache right away, while with other foods the headache can be delayed up to 24 hours.
If you think a specific food is triggering migraine attacks, you may try to avoid that food for a month. Monitor your symptoms to see if they improve.
Be careful about trying extremely strict diets. There is a risk of avoiding foods that are not necessarily migraine triggers and you may be missing out on many important nutrients.
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