Many migraine sufferers, particularly those who have had years of incapacitating headaches, now feel that a migraine patient’s diet should differ from that of healthy individuals and that those who have the condition should refrain from consuming certain foods.
Among the most commonly consumed items that aggravate migraines are chocolate, cheese, and coffee. The findings of clinical trials might not apply to the general populace, and it’s possible that after a few intakes, foods that induce headaches won’t trigger migraine attacks.
On the other hand, foods or beverages that can treat migraines might stop an attack or stop it in its tracks, but it’s also likely that after a few uses, they cease working. However, knowing the diet that millions of migraineurs follow to treat their headaches would be informative and useful if you yourself suffer from migraines.
Stay with us in this post as we examine which foods to consume in moderation and which to avoid if you want to treat a migraine quickly.
Why are foods high in magnesium helpful for treating migraines?
Magnesium supplements are thought of as typical remedies for migraines. In actuality, the constant pain that migraines cause makes the brain’s neurons more active and sensitive than usual, and this excessive sensitivity greatly contributes to the lengthening of the migraine process.
For these neurons, magnesium serves as a cellular gatekeeper. Cell gates are held closed when magnesium is present in large quantities, preventing neurons from being activated or sensitized.
A fall in magnesium levels causes cellular gates to open, allowing ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium, as well as substances like glutamate, to change the physiological characteristics of the neurons responsible for migraine headaches.
What foods can relieve a migraine?
Magnesium appears to be useful in reducing migraine headaches, making a diet high in magnesium a favorable migraine diet. The following section will look at several meals that can help with an anxious migraine.
1- Spinach
One of the foods that is beneficial for migraines and high in magnesium is spinach, especially spinach with dark green leaves. You can easily and effectively enhance your diet’s magnesium intake by eating a cup of cooked spinach.
We advise eating spinach with eggs for breakfast, raw spinach in a salad for lunch, and fried spinach with garlic for dinner if you don’t get along well with cooked spinach.
2- Cabbage
In addition to being high in fiber and magnesium, cabbage is one of the foods that can help with a nervous migraine. It is also a staple of a healthy diet. If the stiffness of cabbage bothers you despite your preference for eating it raw, simply dunk the leaves in lemon juice and let them sit for an hour to soften.
Roasting or incorporating cabbage into salads are further uses for it. Some people serve pasta with roasted cabbage.(1)
3- green cabbage, mustard, and turnip
Green cabbage, mustard, and turnips, which are high in magnesium and offer a welcome diversity in the diet of migraine sufferers, are among the helpful foods for migraines. Adding these boiled or fried vegetables to pasta or soup might be a healthy way to eat them.
4- Almonds
Almonds are a great source of fiber, healthy fats, and magnesium. It can be consumed raw, roasted, or milk-ground. If almonds are not your thing, cashews are also excellent sources of magnesium.
Pay attention to the fact that, due to their high calorie content, nuts should not be a part of your diet.
5- Avocado
Healthy fats and magnesium are abundant in avocado. Avocado can be used raw in salads, sandwiches, and with eggs.
Remember that some people may experience migraines after eating avocados, especially if they are overripe. Tyramine is abundant in ripe avocados, and tyramine-rich meals can cause migraines.
The majority of people are able to digest the amino acid tyramine. However, a lack of the monoamine oxidase enzyme or the use of particular antidepressants can impede the breakdown process.
6- Dark Chocolate
According to research, migraines and high blood pressure are related. In other words, stress can result from pain, and pain itself can raise one’s blood pressure. Dark chocolate consumption can help decrease blood pressure.
Flavanols, plant compounds that lower the risk of high blood pressure and enhance heart health, are abundant in dark chocolate.
However, the severe migraine diet needs to be more stringent, as dark chocolate and caffeine may aggravate migraines and lead to headaches. Additionally, dark chocolate is high in calories and saturated fat.
7- Fish
Omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in fish, may aid some individuals with migraine medication by lowering the severity and frequency of migraine attacks.
8- Flax seed
We can consider foods containing flax seeds as helpful for migraines and as an herbal remedy for migraines. These small seeds are a natural source of magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds must be pulverized since they are inedible.
Three grams of fiber, which can help regulate blood sugar and decrease cholesterol, are present in one tablespoon of ground flax.
9- ginger
Migraines can be treated with a decoction of ginger. While ginger can be used as a food addition, drinking ginger tea can help relieve headaches. According to some research, ginger may be just as efficient in treating migraine headaches as the drug sumatriptan. However, there are many restrictions on ginger usage and not everyone should consume it.
What shouldn’t I consume to treat migraines?
The next stage will involve looking at foods that should be avoided in order to reduce migraine headaches now that we are aware of what foods are excellent for migraine.
1: baked goods with yeast
Yeast is used to produce a variety of goods, including sweet bread, candies, doughnuts, and many types of cakes. In general, health can be ensured by avoiding all forms of carbs.
2: types of tyramine-containing cheeses
Some cheeses, such as cheddar, feta, mozzarella, parmesan, and Swiss cheese, are high in tyramine, which, as we have discussed, causes migraines.
3: Several fruits, vegetables, and seeds
Some foods can make a migraine worse, including citrus fruits, bananas, raspberries, red plums, papayas, figs, dates, peas, beans, maize, sauerkraut, tomatoes, and soy products (miso, tempeh, and soy sauce).
4: Additional migraine-provoking chemicals
The following foods are listed among those that are bad for migraines:
- cultivated dairy goods (such as yogurt and kefir)
- Chocolate
- nuts
- Vinegar
- Food supplements (chemical additions to food to improve flavor or prolong its freshness)
- sodium monoglutamate (an organic preservative)
- Chemicals found in processed meats, such as nitrates and nitrites
- Aspartame (a synthetic sweetener)
Treatment of migraines with conventional medicine
The following are some of the medicinal plants used by traditional medicine to cure migraine headaches:
- Tanacetum parthemium
- Petasites hybridus
- Mentha x balsamea
- Salix spp
- Zingiber officinale
- Valeriana officinalis
- Coriandrum sativum
- Angelica sinensis
- Lavandula angustifolia
- Rosmarinus officinalis
- Tilia spp
- Armoracia rusticana
- Lunicera japonica