Dietary advice tips:
(4) migraine
Many factors trigger migraine, but food and diet can have an influence in some people. The following dietary advice should be considered:
- Avoid going for long periods of time without food or not eating after prolonged exercise. This may cause low blood sugar, which can indirectly cause migraine.
- Certain foods may cause migraine in some people. These include cheese (although cream cheese and cottage cheese is usually suitable), vinegar, nuts and peanut butter, citrus fruits and juices, beans, bananas, plums, raisins, avocados, fresh bread, processed meats (eg, sausage, bacon, salami) and chocolate.
- Drinks that have been implicated include red wine and champagne and those containing caffeine (ie, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cola drinks). Decaffeinated drinks are usually tolerated but may be a problem for some people.
- Certain chemicals may be implicated. These include monosodium glutamate (MSG) (which is present in Chinese food and many processed snack foods [see labels]), nitrates and nitrites (present in many cured and processed meats), tyramine (present in cheese and red wine), aspartame, tartrazine and other food additives.
This series of "dietary advice tips" is intended to be a reminder of the main points to be made by pharmacists when giving nutritional information to the public. The conditions included in the series are those where diet is a well recognised risk factor, those in which diet contributes to the management of the condition, and others for which patients may welcome sound dietary advice.The series is written by Dr Pamela Mason (a pharmacist with a postgraduate qualification in nutrition)
