“Let food be thy medicine.”
-Hippocrates
Do you or someone you love suffer from migraine headaches? From my experience of treating migraines for the last 8 years, I find the most common causes of these debilitating headaches are neck and shoulder tension from stress and whiplash injury, diet, toxin exposure, screen time, and a lack of free flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. While supporting muscle relaxation and spinal alignment with craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, and meditation practices are an essential piece to mitigating and preventing migraines, small changes in your diet can be a critical piece in feeling better quickly.
While you may not have to avoid all of the foods listed, you may want to eliminate them initially if you don’t know what foods trigger your migraines and then reintroduce them into your diet one at a time.
Foods to eat regularly to prevent and mitigate migraines:
- Walnuts, pumpkin seeds
- Salmon, sardines, cod, Atlantic mackerel, canned light tuna, lake trout, fish oil
- Coconut water, and staying well-hydrated in general
- Blueberries, pomegranate, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
- Any kind of melon: watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew
- G3 superfruit antioxidant blend (buy online)
- Celery, cucumber, broccholi
- Cooked root vegetables
- Green tea (limit to 1-2 cups per day)
Foods to avoid in excess or altogether to prevent migraines:
- Inflammatory foods, including processed munchies, dairy, fried foods, and foods made with processed sugar and processed grains
- Coffee and excess caffeinated tea (while a little bit of coffee can help certain types of migraines that require more blood flow to the brain, too much coffee is dehydrating and can exacerbate headaches)
- Sour cream, yogurt, and ripened cheeses, like cheddar, gruyere, brie, and camembert
- Hot fresh breads, raised coffee cakes, doughnuts (due to activated yeast)
- Chocolate
- Certain nuts: cashews, peanuts, almonds
- Soda beverages
- Alcoholic beverages
- Foods that are fermented, pickled, or marinated
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Fermented sausage, for example, bologna, salami, pepperoni, summer sausage, hot dogs
- Nutrasweet, aspartame
- Foods to limit: citrus fruits, bananas, pork