Migraine can be difficult to deal with, particularly because of the different symptoms it manifests in different individuals. Due to this reason, it can become really difficult to understand what is triggering the migraine. There is no universal trigger, so a particular food that affects one group of people might not be harmful to others. As food triggers are some of the most common triggers for migraines, here are a few surprising food items that can trigger migraines:
- Chewing gum: A study that examined several people with recurring headaches and a regular habit of chewing gum showed that about 87% of these people reported little to even no headaches at all in a short span after quitting the habit. Immediately after the researchers asked these people to start chewing gum regularly, all of them reported more severe headaches and migraines. Chewing gum is considered to be a food trigger for migraines as it places heavy pressure on the temporomandibular joint. Disorders of this join have a connection with headaches, establishing chewing gum as a potential trigger for migraines.
- Cheese: Aged cheese contains a compound called tyramine, which is highly associated with triggering migraine attacks. The greater the age of the cheese, the higher the amount of tyramine present in it. This substance is formed when certain proteins break down over time, and some types of cheese that have high amounts of tyramine and should be avoided by people experiencing migraines are parmesan, feta, and blue cheese.
- Red wine: Similar to cheese, the culprit in the case of red wine and other alcoholic beverages is tyramine. There are several other compounds present in red wine that are also surprising food triggers for migraines. In addition, alcohol consumption is known to increase the flow of the blood to the brain, which can increase the intensity of a migraine attack.
- Cold cuts: Cold cuts and other processed meats contain a combination of compounds that can trigger migraine attacks. This is a combination of tyramine and additives like nitrites. To understand whether they act as triggers, you can try removing these foods from your regular diet and observe any differences in the symptoms.
- Caffeinated beverages: Caffeine is present in many beverages, and coffee tops the list. However, eliminating just coffee from the diet may not be sufficient if caffeine is triggering your migraines. Other beverages like sodas and even dark chocolate can trigger migraines as they also have caffeine content. At the same time, if caffeinated beverages are triggering migraines for you, it is important to remove them from your diet gradually. Suddenly eliminating caffeinated foods and beverages from your diet can make things worse as caffeine withdrawal is another surprising trigger for severe migraines.
