Diet and Headache

Dietary triggers do not necessarily contribute to headaches in all patients, and particular foods may trigger attacks in certain individuals on occasion. Be your own expert by keeping a log of the foods you have eaten before a migraine attack, and see whether the removal of these foods from your diet reduces or eliminates your headaches. Below is a list of foods that may trigger migraine headaches and should be avoided by sufferers.

AVOID

Ripened cheeses - Cheddar, Emmentaler, Stilton, Brie and Camembert (Permissible cheeses - American, cottage, cream cheese and Velveeta)
Herring - pickled or dried
Chocolate
Anything fermented, pickled or marinated
Sour cream - no more than 1/2 cup daily
Nuts, peanut butter
Sourdough bread, breads and crackers containing cheese or chocolate
Broad beans, lima beans, fava beans, snow peas
Foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG) - soy sauce, meat tenderizers, seasoned salt
Figs, raisins, papayas, avocados, red plums - no more than 1/2 cup daily
Citrus fruits - no more than 1/2 cup daily
Bananas - no more than 1/2 banana daily
Pizza
Excessive amounts of tea, coffee or cola beverages - no more than 2 cups daily
Sausage, bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage, hot dogs
Chicken livers
Alcoholic beverages- If you do drink, limit yourself to two normal size drinks selected from Haute Sauterne, Riesling, Seagram's VO, Cutty Sark

A more complete diet listing is here: Low Tyramine Headache Diet (PDF, 115k).