Know the most common migraine food triggers

 
Are you suffering from a painful migraine headache? Your horrible headache may have food as a trigger. Chocolate, alcohol, caffeine have been identified as migraine triggers. Well, if you are thinking how food can trigger migraine, you will be surprised to know that around 40% of migraine patients reported certain food items as migraine triggers. However, it does not mean that all types of food trigger migraine. There are few classic foods that initiate this headache in people. Therefore, to identify these food items, it is best to keep a food journal where you can note down the food items that trigger a migraine.
The throbbing attack that takes place after eating something is certainly the food that triggers a migraine. What often followed is the pain to one side of the head, high sensitivity to light, visual impairment, aura, etc. This attack lasts from 5 hours to maximum 72 hours. However, the good news is that you can successfully deal with this headache if you avoid the most common migraine triggers.
From alcohol, coffee to processed food, studies shows that certain types of food items are considered migraine triggers. Let’s have a look at them –

• Chocolate – does it really trigger a migraine?

Research at the International Headache Society suggests that chocolate can actually protect the nerve cells that trigger a migraine. Around 22% of headache sufferers identify chocolate as one of the triggers of their migraine attack. However, no reason or fact has been established till now that depicts how chocolate triggers a migraine. Well, doctors believe on the concept that many people with migraine have food cravings just before the attack. Reaching for a chocolate bar at that time may be the result of migraine.

• Wine or other alcohol reactions

Basically, sulphite is used as a preservative in wine that may trigger migraine. Alcohol increases blood flow to the brain and this ultimately results in dehydration, both these things trigger migraine. It has been observed that people with migraine get a worse hangover from any type of alcohol drink. In fact, alcohol causes cluster headache in some people.

• Coffee

If you sleep late on the weekend, you will wake up with headache and that can cause probably a caffeine withdrawal headache. Well, a little caffeine may help to get rid of your headache, but if you consume it in an excessive amount, it can surely be a migraine trigger.

• Aged cheese

There is not much research on cheese that confirms this food item as migraine trigger. However, it is agreed generally that aged cheese is more likely to cause headache. A substance called tyramine forms as the protein in cheese, and this may cause headache sometimes. The older the cheese is, the more tyramine it contains.

• Food preservatives and MSG

Monosodium glutamate or MSG is used as a food additive and mostly found in soy sauce and various other food items that cause diarrhea, cramps, and horrible headache in around 10 to 15 percent of people who suffer from migraine headache. Why soy sauce triggers migraine is mainly due to MSG. Besides this, it is also salty that causes dehydration which is another possible reason for migraine trigger.
These are some of the most common food items identified as migraine triggers. However, it is not certain these food items triggers your migraine as well because it varies from person to person. A food item that triggers migraine in one person may not be the same for someone else. So, to identify the food items that trigger your headache, you should consult with migraine specialists. Only he or she can give you the best solution to deal with this throbbing attack. To locate a doctor nearby your place, you can click on this link http://www.mewithoutmigraine.com/locate-a-doctor/. It will show you the names of migraine specialists nearby your place.