If you are among the almost one in five women who get migraines — debilitating headaches that can cause nausea and sensitivity
to light, smells and noise — you probably would do just
about anything to make them go away.
The good news? For many women, simple dietary changes can have a notable effect on the number and intensity of headaches
they get. “A lot of common foods are triggers,” says Sarah Mattison,
a registered dietician with Lifestyle Nutrition in Fitchburg. Common
food triggers include:
• Additives: Nitrates, nitrites, monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame
• Smoked, cured, aged or fermented foods: Aged cheeses like cheddar and parmesan, yogurt, cured meat, wine vinegar, alcohol (especially red wine), miso and tempeh
• Nuts and nut butters
• Caffeine: Coffee, cola, chocolate, and tea (green or black)

Foods that may also trigger migraines, but less commonly, include:
• Certain fruits: Dried fruits, red-skinned fruits, citrus fruits,
bananas, raspberries and avocados
• Some vegetables: Beans, peas, eggplant, canned vegetables
• Yeast-raised breads and foods with yeast extract as an ingredient
Before limiting the foods you eat, it’s important to consult with a physician or registered dietician. That’s because one of the
most common diet-related triggers is not a food at all, according to Dr. Cheryl Ray of The MIND (Madison Institute of Neurological
Disorders) Group in Middleton. It’s dieting or fasting. Making
radical changes in your eating can put the body under stress and
result in migraines. And it may turn out that none of the common
food migraine triggers are a problem for you.
Your health care provider will have you keep a diary of the foods you eat, then review it with you to find patterns. Do you tend to
get migraines within a day of eating a certain food or combination of foods? If so, they will work with you to change your diet.
However, not all patterns are easy to spot. A certain food might be OK most of the time,

but become a trigger when combined with another contributing factor, like stress or a change in physical activity. “Food is one of the most difficult things to sort out,” says Ray. Your health care provider might also give you menu ideas and a shopping list of foods that rarely trigger migraines. These include most freshly prepared meats, poultry and fish; berries other than raspberries; melons; apples and pears with yellow, green or brown skins; peaches and nectarines; most vegetables; whole grain products without yeast, such as pasta, tortillas, rice cakes, cereal and cooked whole grains; milk and fresh cheeses like cottage, cream and ricotta; most spices; and decaffeinated
coffee and tea.
A healthy, well-balanced diet can help prevent migraines by strengthening the body’s ability to cope with stress. Dr. David
Rakel, director of integrative medicine at UW Health, says a good guideline is to “eat young, fresh, natural foods and avoid aged,
processed food.” He says a modified version of the Mediterranean
dietary approach is one way to accomplish this, with its emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, a moderate amount of fish and
dairy products, and a low intake of red meat and processed food.
The main adaptation that Rakel recommends for people with migraines? Avoid red wine. The beverage is common in Mediterranean
diets, but triggers headaches in many people. (MediterraneanMark.org is a good source of information on the Mediterranean diet.)
According to Mattison, specific nutrients that may reduce the occurrence of migraines include:
• Omega-3 fatty acids: In salmon, rainbow trout, flaxseed and omega-3
fortified eggs.
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and other B vitamins: In fortified cereals,
asparagus, broccoli and lean beef.
• Magnesium: In spinach, quinoa, sweet potatoes, artichoke hearts
and whole grain pasta.
The work it takes to improve your diet and sort out migraine triggers is usually worth it. “Just weeding one food out can make a big
difference in people’s lives,” says Ray.

Kathryn Kingsbury is a Madison-based freelance writer.