DIETARY MODIFICATIONS FOR HEADACHE SUFFERERS

The following list of foods may provoke headaches in some people. This list should be used in collaboration with a food and symptoms journal. If you routinely get a headache after eating any of the foods listed below, it is a good idea to avoid the particular food(s) for 2-4 weeks. Then slowly reintroduce the food(s) one at a time to see if they are causing a headache for you. Alcohol, chocolate and tyramine containing foods are also known triggers.

Food Group	Foods Suggested	Foods to watch out for
Beverages	Decaf Coffee Decaf Soda Limit caffeine sources to 2 cups per day (includes coffee, tea, colas, fruit juices, club soda	Wine (especially red) Beer Champagne Non-alcoholic fermented beverages
Milk	Whole, 2% or skim	Chocolate Buttermilk
Dairy Products	Cottage Cheese Yogurt (limit to ½ cup) Sour Cream (limit to ½ cup)	Ice Cream Aged or processed cheeses – cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, Roquefort blue cheese Pizza
Meat, Fish, Poultry	Fresh meat, fish, poultry Eggs Tuna fish	Aged, dried, salted, smoked, cured or processed meats and those containing nitrates Pickled, dried or smoked herring Sausage, bacon, salami, bologna, hot dogs, chicken liver and marinated meats
Vegetables	Asparagus, string beans, beets, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, broccoli, potatoes, cooked onions, navy beans, soy beans	Raw onions, fava or broad beans, lima beans, pea pods, snow peas, pickles, olives, sauerkraut
Fruits	Apples, applesauce, cherries, apricots, peaches	Limit to ½ cup per day: Oranges, grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon, lime, avocados, bananas, figs, raisins, dried fruits, papaya, passion fruit, plums
Breads/Cereals	Commercially prepared yeast products leavened with baking powder such as biscuits, pancakes, coffee cakes, etc. All cooked/dried cereals All pasta	Homemade yeast breads Fresh coffee cake Donuts Yeast and yeast extracts Sourdough breads Bread or crackers containing cheese, chocolate or nuts
Flavor enhancers/ preservatives		Food containing MSG- nitrates, nitrites, soy sauce, Teriyaki sauce, Chinese foods Instant foods such as canned soup, TV dinners Processed meats Potato chips Many boxed food items
Nuts and Seeds		All nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans

References:

St. John Health Chronic Headache and Migraine Institute. “Diet for Headache Patients”. Available at: http://www.stjohn.org/Migraine/HealthInfo/Diet/. Assessed on December 2009.

National Headache Foundation. “Diet and Headache”. Available at: http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Diet_and_Headache_-_Foods. Accessed December 2009.