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Which foods help prevent migraines? Because migraines can be so debilitating, it’s important to recognize and prevent probable triggers. Specific foods or types of foods might be migraine triggers for some people.

Some meals, on the other hand, may help to minimize the frequency of migraine headaches or alleviate their symptoms. While there is no official “migraine diet,” people who keep track of what they eat may be able to lessen their migraines.

We’ll look at some of the foods that can help prevent, cause, or relieve migraines in this post.

Foods to eat during a migraine attack

Caffeine is a crystalline chemical that may aid in the treatment of migraine headaches. Over-the-counter (OTC) headache remedies may contain powdered caffeine, according to some pharmaceutical companies.

However, there is a thin line between the quantity of caffeine that can help with migraine headaches and too much caffeine that can cause withdrawal symptoms.

The American Migraine Foundation recommends that migraine sufferers limit their caffeine intake to 200 milligrams per day (mg). It’s worth mentioning, though, that eating more than 100 mg of caffeine per day on a regular basis is linked to headaches.

During a migraine attack, eating bland foods from the acceptable foods list below can help reduce nausea. White bread, saltine crackers, and pears are examples of these foods.

What foods can help prevent migraines?

Migraines can be avoided by following a healthy diet. Fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables, entire grains, and lean proteins, should make up a healthy diet.

Food preservatives like monosodium glutamate are less likely to be added to fresh meals (MSG). Some people are sensitive to preservatives, so avoiding meals that contain them can help.

To help people make better eating choices, the Association of Migraine Disorders has prepared a list of “migraine safe foods.” Preservatives, yeasts, flavorings, and other compounds that may provoke migraines, such as nitrites and phenylalanine, are often absent from these foods.

Within each food group, we look at which items to eat and which to avoid:

Bread, grains, and cereals

Foods to eat include:

• save for those containing nuts, dried fruits, or aspartame, most cereals
• bagels with sesame seeds or plain bagels
• Pumpernickel or zucchini bread are examples of fast bread.
• the vast majority of plain pretzels and potato chips
• white, wheat, rye, or pumpernickel bread from the store unflavored crackers, such as saltines or Club crackers white, wheat, rye, or pumpernickel bread from the store

Avoid these foods:

• crackers with different flavors, such as cheddar cheese crackers
• handmade bread or bread from a grocer’s bakery
• pizza, which is also a type of fresh bread
• chips with a lot of flavors or that have been seasoned
• pretzels that are soft

Meats, nuts, and seeds

Foods to eat include:

• steak, chicken, fish, lamb, hog, turkey, or veal, all fresh
• seeds of the poppy
• seeds from a pumpkin
• seeds of ses ame
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• sunflower seeds with no added taste

Avoid these foods:

• livers of beef and fowl
• beef that has been breaded
• meats that have been marinated
• popcorn with different flavors
• kinds of butter made from nuts

Salad dressings and sauces

Foods to eat include:

• Dips created from scratch with real ingredients and no artificial flavorings
• ranch dressings prepared from scratch
• Salad dressings made with oil and distilled white vinegar

Avoid these foods:

• salad dressings in a bottle
• salsa, alfredo sauce, or mustard dips that have been pre-packaged

Many pre-packaged dips and bottled salad dressings contain chemicals and preservatives that might cause migraines. MSG, nitrites, and aspartame are all additives to avoid.

Migraines can be exacerbated by aged cheese and red wine vinegar, therefore it’s better to avoid them.

Vegetables and fruits

Foods to eat include:

• fruits in season
• fresh fruits and vegetables
• lettuce in a bag with no preservatives
• Peppers, zucchini, new potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower are some examples of veggies to eat.

Avoid these foods:

• instant mashed potatoes from a box
• Sulfite-based preservatives in dried fruits
• fruits with a citrus flavor
• legumes lima
• beans in the navy
• onions
• sauerkraut

Some fruits contain pollens or other substances that might provoke a histamine release, which can lead to a migraine. Bananas, oranges, grapefruits, raspberries, and plums are some examples.

Other prevention tips

Eating many small meals throughout the day can also help maintain stable blood sugar levels and minimize hunger, which in some people can induce headaches.

A well-balanced diet can also help a person maintain a healthy weight. Obesity, according to the American Migraine Foundation, might increase the likelihood of headaches or intensify their symptoms.

What foods can trigger migraines?

Foods that cause migraines differ from person to person, and other people may not have any migraine triggers at all.

However, the following foods are known to cause migraines:

• cheeses that have been aged
• alcoholic beverages, especially beer and red wine
• chocolate
• foods that have been preserved
• nitrates, nitrites, MSG, and artificial sweeteners are examples of food preservatives.
• fish that has been smoked
• extract of yeast

Migraines can also be exacerbated by not eating anything at all. Prolonged hunger and a lack of food are known headache triggers for certain people. This could be due to a relationship between low blood sugar and migraine headaches getting worse.

Tips to identify trigger foods

Some doctors may advise migraine sufferers to keep a food journal to note what they eat as well as any headache symptoms they encounter.

It’s worth mentioning that some people react to food right away, while others don’t react for up to 24 hours after eating it.

The next step is to eliminate one possible migraine trigger food from the diet and evalu ate if migraines persist. For example, a person may opt to abstain for a week from all red wine-containing goods, including red wine vinegar and the wine itself.

This method can help people avoid removing foods from their diet that aren’t necessary.

Additional migraine triggers

Doctors have discovered five key migraine trigger categories, one of which is dietary kinds. The following are the other four categories:

• Changes in the environment.Changes in the natural world. Migraines can be triggered by changes in air pressure, the season, or even storms.
• Hormones. Changes in hormone levels caused by the menstrual cycle, as well as some hormonal changes during pregnancy, can cause migraines.
• Stimulation of the senses. Some people are sensitive to bright lights, particular scents, smoking, and loud, repetitive noises, which can all provoke migraines.
• Stress. Migraines can be triggered by stress, strenuous exercise, illness, or irregular sleeping patterns.

A migraine headache can be caused by a mixture of migraine triggers. For example, a person could be really anxious, miss a meal, and sleep less.

Additional migraine treatment options

Changing your diet isn’t the only way to get rid of migraines.

There are some over-the-counter migraine treatments available. Acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine are frequently combined in these.

Anyone who needs to use these meds multiple times a week to manage their symptoms will almost certainly need further prescription migraine therapies.

Other therapy options could include:

• Topiramate, for example, is a medication that can lessen the overactive nerve transmission that causes migraines (Topamax).
• Injections of onabotulinum toxin A (BOTOX) may assist to reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines.
• Doctors normally reserve occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) for the most severe, persistent headaches.

The occipital nerves communicate through the tissue in the back of the head, and ONS entails putting specific devices called leads into that tissue. The leads provide impulses to these nerves in an attempt to stop transmissions that could cause migraine headaches.

Some natural remedies, such as peppermint, ginger, and the herb feverfew, have been shown to help migraine sufferers.

These and other treatment options might be discussed with a doctor to assist a person control their migraine headaches.