Updated: Jun 18, 2017
Overview:
Results:
Learnings: What I Need To Do To Keep My Migraine Rate Low
Jim's Migraine Trigger Foods
Jim's Migraine Safe Foods
Untested Foods (I haven't formally checked these. I may never check the ones that have a wide reputation of being a headache trigger.)
- Closely monitor and log a wide variety of daily activities: foods consumed, amount of sleep, exercise, etc.
- Identify actions that contribute to (or help) my migraines.
- Strive to change only one item at a time in order to more easily determine what does and does not impact my headaches.
- Project start: Feb 9, 2017
Results:
- Significant reduction in frequency and intensity of migraines
- Reduction of use of prescription migraine pills from 5-7/month to 1-3/month
Learnings: What I Need To Do To Keep My Migraine Rate Low
- Food
- Avoid foods on my Migraine Trigger list (below). These are foods I have definitively found cause headaches for me.
- Eat foods from my Migraine Safe list (below) - adding one unsure or untested food every couple of days.
- Eat heartily during the day. (Prior to this program I would eat things like salads and fruit between breakfast and dinner. This left me famished in the evening, which lead to heavy eating late at night.)
- Do not skip meals.
- Have mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. (Low blood sugar between meals tends to be a headache trigger.)
- Eat no high-sugar desserts any time after dinner - ever. (e.g. Cake, Cookies, Pie, Ice Cream, Sorbet, the majority of restaurant desserts, etc.)
- Consume no calories after 9:00PM. (I sleep better on an empty stomach.)
- Go to bed no later than 1:00AM. Going to bed too late results in unrestful sleep. I'm convinced a deep, restful sleep is a key part of being headache free.
- Eliminate daily consumption of caffeine. Caffeine is a great headache cure. However in order to work it must cause a spike/stimulus of the nervous system. Daily caffeine consumption reduces the ability for caffeine to stimulate the system....because you already have a chronic high level of caffeine in the system. My first action when I get a headache is to take 2 Excedrin and a cup of caffeinated coffee. Most of the time this cures the headache.
- When possible sleep or nap after taking prescription headache medicine.
Jim's Migraine Trigger Foods
- Grocery Store Rotisserie Chicken (They're loaded with a variety of things, including lots of salt.)
- Raw Citrus (Lemon or Lime - including the juice).
- Balsamic Vinegar - especially Balsamic reductions
- Asian food eaten in restaurants. (I presume either soy sauce used in cooking or MSG is the culprit.)
- Pizza (I believe this is a result of the high carbs in the crust.)
- Processed Meat: Deli meat, pepperoni, bacon, etc.
- Processed foods that have MSG, Nitrites, Nitrates, etc. (e.g. a pre-packaged Tandoori Chicken spice caused me problems.)
Jim's Migraine Safe Foods
- Meat & Fish
- Beef
- Pork
- Chicken
- Salmon
- Mahi Mahi
- Sausage I cook myself (i.e. it doesn't have preservatives)
- Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Onions
- Cabbage (raw)
- All lettuce
- Red / Yellow / Green Pepper
- Jalapenos
- Avocados
- Fruit
- Blueberries
- Dates
- Figs
- Dairy
- Milk
- Cream
- Yogurt (Lightly sweetened. I eat Greek Gods Honey flavored - the full fat version.)
- Mainstream cheeses (Mozzarella, Provolone, Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, Pepper Cheese, etc.)
- Nuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Nut-Based Crackers (e.g. Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins)
- Walnuts
- Other
- Eggs
- Corn Tortillas
- Refried Beans
- Rice - White and Brown
- Tortilla Chips
- Salsa
- Tamales (These have so many ingredients it's tough to give them the OK categorically. I get tamales from two sources that work well for me. A third source looks like it causes problems.)
- Wheat without yeast (e.g. Triscuit crackers)
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Pork & Beans (This doesn't align with Bacon being on the trigger list. But for some reason Pork & Beans are ok for me.)
Untested Foods (I haven't formally checked these. I may never check the ones that have a wide reputation of being a headache trigger.)
- Widely recognized headache triggers:
- Peanuts
- Soy Sauce
- Chocolate
- Blue Cheese
- Parmesan
- Sauerkraut
- Cashews
- Bread - both yeasted and sourdough
- Cooked Citrus (for example, what about beef or chicken marinated in citrus and then cooked?)
- Scallops
- Shrimp