Identifying Migraine Triggers

Could your diet be contributing to your migraines? A recent study found that adults who got more than 51% of their calories from carbohydrates were more likely to report severe headaches or migraines. Does that mean carbs cause migraines? Not necessarily. But it does add to the growing evidence that what we eat may influence migraine symptoms for some people.

The challenge is that migraine triggers are highly individual. For one person, it might be stress. For another, it could be poor sleep, certain foods, dehydration, or a combination of factors. That's why managing migraines often requires looking at the bigger picture.

Not all triggers affect every person, but here's a list of commonly reported triggers:

• Chocolate and cocoa (Chocolate: milk, ice cream, pudding, cookies, cake, or pie)
• Alcoholic beverages (especially red wine, beer, and sherry)
• Caffeine
• Nuts and nut butters
• Pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds
• Fruit such as: watermelon, figs, raisins, papayas, avocados (especially if overripe), red plums and overripe bananas
• Beans such as: broad, fava, garbanzo, italian, lima, navy, pinto, pole and string beans
• Other vegetables such as: snow peas and onions (except for flavoring)
• Raw garlic
• Anything fermented, pickled or marinated (sauerkraut, olives and pickles)
• Cultured dairy products (buttermilk and sour cream)
• Cheese: blue and brick (natural), gouda, gruyere, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, romano, roquefort, cheddar, swiss (emmentaler), stilton, brie and camembert types
• Aged, canned, cured or processed meat, including ham or game, pickled herring, salted dried fish, sardines, anchovies, chicken livers, sausage, bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage, hot dogs, pâté, caviar and mincemeat pie
• Other high sodium products: meat tenderizer, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate (MSG), seasoned salt (Accent), canned soup, soup or bouillon cubes
• Nutrasweet
• Excessive Vitamin A (over 25,000 I.U. daily)
• Freshly baked yeast bread or coffee cake, doughnuts and sourdough bread

The best way to identify foods that may be triggering your migraine is to keep a daily food journal. A journal allows you to look back and identify specific foods that may be contributing.

Source: Zhai D, et al. Journal of Nutritional Science. January 2026.