It is more practical for you to be aware of foods that are suspect and look for a cause and effect relationship to your headaches. Most offending foods and seasonings will cause a headache shortly after you eat them. Many of them will cause headache if you eat enough of them. For example, so called "hot dog headaches" are from nitrites and some sensitive people need to eat more than one hot dog to trigger the headache. As a general rule, consider certain foods that contain caffeine, chocolate, nitrites (preserved meats), fermented foods, alcohol, etc. Don't forget that artificial sweeteners such as Nutrisweet or Equal that contain a substance called aspartame. Alcohol itself is a trigger and so are fermented alcoholic beverages such as beer and red wine. MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a common trigger and is found under different names, including "hydrolyzed protein" or "natural flavoring".

It is more practical for you to be aware of foods that are suspect and look for a cause and effect relationship to your headaches. Most offending foods and seasonings will cause a headache shortly after you eat them. Many of them will cause headache if you eat enough of them. For example, so called "hot dog headaches" are from nitrites and some sensitive people need to eat more than one hot dog to trigger the headache.

As a general rule, consider certain foods that contain caffeine, chocolate, nitrites (preserved meats), fermented foods, alcohol, etc. Don't forget that artificial sweeteners such as Nutrisweet or Equal that contain a substance called aspartame. Alcohol itself is a trigger and so are fermented alcoholic beverages such as beer and red wine. MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a common trigger and is found under different names, including "hydrolyzed protein" or "natural flavoring".

Caffeine is a special issue. Certainly, excessive use of caffeine will provoke headaches but so will the sudden stopping of caffeine, producing the so-called "caffeine withdrawal headache". Ironically, caffeine is often used in our treatment strategy when it is part of some of the rescue medications. More is said in the medication section of this web page.

For a sample diet for migraine, click here.

-Return to headache survival guide

© Edmund Messina MD 2002