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What is a Trigger Free Migraine Diet?
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No! The good news is that you do NOT need to be perfect for a Trigger Free Migraine Diet to be effective. It's about lowering your consumption of potential triggers at large, which means if you can cut even 25% of it, you may find some relief in your migraine frequency. Simply being aware of the common triggers and making alternative choices when convenient is a great step in the right direction.
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We certainly can't guarantee this will work. Food and diet is not necessary a trigger for everyone. Each person living with migraine deals with their own unique set of triggers.
With that said, what we put in our body has an impact on our well-being. And, it can be challenging to identify food triggers because not every interaction with a trigger will cause an attack right away (this is due to Threshold Theory). Therefore, we may be left confused as to what is really causing our migraine attacks. At Amia, we like to focus our energy on control, which is food and diet. There are so many triggers that we can NOT control, so by focusing on the ones we can, we give ourselves the best opportunity to experience relief in our migraine journey.
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There are many other potential triggers we, as migraineurs, need to be aware of. Some are triggers that we can control, others we can't.
Migraine Triggers we CAN control:
- Dehydration
- Sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules
- Diet - Some foods and alcohol
- Stress (we can control how we react to stress, not necessarily why the stress exists)
- Excessive light
Migraine Triggers we can NOT control:
- Barometric Pressure and changes in weather
- Hormones
- Certain smells
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Based on the research by Neurologist Dr. David Buchholz in his published book, Heal Your Headache, it is best to avoid the common migraine triggers below. However, everyone may have unique sensitivities and it is best to consult your doctor before making any dietary modifications:
- Cocoa (Chocolate)
- All Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Peanuts, Pecans, etc.)
- MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
- Artificial Sweeteners (Stevia, Nutrasweet, etc.)
- Alcohol - Particularly Red Wine and Beer
- Vinegar (Avoid too many condiments with vinegar)
- Processed Meats - Salami, Hot Dogs, Ham, Deli Meats, Bacon, etc.
- Certain Fish - Aged, Canned, Cured, Fermented, or Smoked
- Soy
- Aged Cheeses and other dairy products (the more aged, the worse - Yogurts, Sour Cream)
- Citrus Fruits (Pineapple, Oranges)
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Raspberries
- Gluten - if you can avoid!
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A Trigger Free Diet is inspired by the book, Heal Your Headache by Neurologist Dr. David Buchholz from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Buchholz used an elimination diet with his migraine patients over 3 decades to determine the most common migraine triggers. Through his research, he published the book, and the Trigger Free Diet is based off of his recommendations.
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There are some simple swaps you can make to begin following a trigger free migraine diet. Of course, it's recommended that you consult your doctor or a dietician before getting started.
- Replace Dairy Milk or Almond Milk with Oat Milk.
- Replace Chocolate snacks with Vanilla
- Replace Nut or Soy based Snack Bars with Oat & Seed Based Bars
- Replace regular coffee with decaf coffee
- Replace Citrus Fruits with Berries (except raspberries), Apples, Watermelon