Migraine attacks and other types of headaches can be triggered by certain foods. But not all well-known headache triggers deserve their bad rap. Sometimes a food may be only a mild contributor to migraine attacks in a small number of people, while other foods might actually be misidentified as triggers.
A broad variety of triggers can cause the body to react with pain that’s felt in your head, jaw, or face. These may include environmental changes, tobacco, changes in hormone levels, stress, bright lights, or changes in sleeping habits, among other things. What triggers a headache or migraine varies from one person to the next, and often, a combination of triggers lead to a headache.
If you get headaches after eating, they may be triggered — at least in part — by specific foods or beverages.
"It is not unusual at all for food to trigger migraines or other types of headaches," says Noah L. Rosen, MD, a neurologist and pain specialist at Northwell Health Physician Partners Neuroscience Institute in Great Neck, New York. But since different foods can trigger headaches in different people, it can help to keep a food and headache diary to uncover which if any foods are involved in yours.
Here are some foods, beverages, and ingredients that are commonly linked to headaches and migraine attacks — and what you should know about how strong that link actually is.
Chocolate: Is It Really a Migraine Trigger?
Many people often get a headache soon after eating chocolate, which understandably leads to a belief that chocolate triggers headaches. But it turns out that may not be the case.
A review of studies on chocolate and migraine found that a small number of people identified chocolate as a trigger for their headaches. But in studies in which participants received either chocolate or a similar-tasting substitute without knowing what they got, there was no increased risk for headaches linked to chocolate.
"Chocolate may be getting a bad rap as a migraine trigger," says Dr. Rosen. "Many people with migraine have increased appetite and food cravings just before their headaches start." In other words, reaching for a chocolate bar may be the result of an impending migraine rather than the cause.
Red Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverages Often Trigger Migraine Attacks
Sulfites, used as preservatives in both white and red wine, are considered a potential migraine trigger. That means wine can be a potent trigger for some people, due to the combined effect of sulfites and alcohol. Alcohol in any beverage causes increased blood flow to your brain and can result in dehydration, both of which can be headache triggers.
"People with migraine tend to get worse hangovers from any type of alcohol," notes Robert B. Daroff, MD, a professor of neurology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland and past president of the American Headache Society. “Alcohol will also trigger a headache in someone going through a period of cluster headaches.”
Coffee Is a Headache Trigger and a Pain Reliever
Disrupting your normal routine of caffeine consumption is a common trigger for headaches. "If you sleep later on the weekend and you wake up with a headache, you probably have a caffeine withdrawal headache," says Dr. Daroff.
A little bit of caffeine, though, can actually help get rid of a headache, and caffeine is included in some over-the-counter headache treatments. But too much caffeine can make you generally more susceptible to headaches. Research suggests that to limit their headache risk, people with migraine should limit their daily caffeine intake to 200 milligrams and consume the same amount at about the same time each day.
Watch Out for Aged Cheese if You Have Migraine
"There is not much research on cheese as a migraine trigger, but it is generally agreed that aged cheese is more likely to cause a headache," says Rosen. The culprit may be a substance called tyramine, which forms as the proteins in cheese break down over time. The longer a cheese ages, the more tyramine it has. Some examples of aged cheeses include blue cheese, Swiss, cheddar, Gouda, and Parmesan.
Tyramine may also be found in processed or cured meats and in fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. Following a low-tyramine diet may be helpful for some people with migraine, according to the National Headache Foundation.
Processed Meats May Cause Headaches After Eating
"There are no good studies that say processed meats will cause you to get a headache," says Rosen. But the nitrates used as preservatives in hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats may dilate blood vessels and trigger headaches in some people, according to the National Headache Foundation. While the amount of these chemicals in meats tends to be fairly low, some people could be especially sensitive to them. As with all food triggers, the best way to figure out if you’re one of these people is to keep a food and symptom diary.
Avoid Foods That Contain MSG for Migraine Prevention
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is found in soy sauce and used as a food additive in other products, is a common headache trigger that can also cause digestive upset. "Soy sauce as a migraine trigger is probably due to MSG, but soy sauce is also very salty, which can lead to dehydration, another possible headache trigger," says Rosen.
While checking food labels is one way to find MSG, it’s worth knowing that MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate, as well as in seaweed, tomatoes, and cheeses, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Products containing those ingredients do not have to list MSG as an ingredient on the label or include the information that they naturally contain MSG.
Blame the Cold for Headaches After Eating Ice Cream
That stabbing headache after eating ice cream is most likely a reaction to the cold, not the ice cream itself. An ice cream headache is more likely if you’re overheated, and the pain typically peaks in about 30 to 60 seconds.
"Cold foods, like ice cream, may be migraine triggers for people who suffer from migraine, but for most people, the pain goes away quickly. The solution is to eat your ice cream or drink your cold drink more slowly," advises Daroff.
Artificial Sweeteners: Not So Sweet for Migraine?
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose have been linked to headaches in some people, but the available evidence suggests they’re not particularly strong migraine triggers for most people. “For aspartame, you’d have to drink huge amounts to have it associated with headaches” as a stand-alone trigger, says Vincent T. Martin, MD, a headache specialist and professor of clinical internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
But that doesn’t mean artificial sweeteners are irrelevant, especially when combined with other potential migraine triggers. If your food diary suggests that you’re getting headaches more when you drink diet soda, you might want to avoid these sweeteners when you’re experiencing other triggers like stress, your menstrual period, or bad weather.
Additional reporting by Quinn Phillips.