 Oscar WongGetty Images Some people rarely get headaches, and if one strikes, just popping an aspirin will put a stop to the pain. But for other folks — especially those dealing with chronic migraines — finding relief is a lot trickier. Fortunately, when and what you eat can have a big impact on the frequency and severity of headaches. “Migraine is a disease. It’s there every day, whether or not someone has an attack,” says Simy Parikh, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University. “So when we talk about food, it’s usually more along the lines of preventive care.” Dr. Parikh says certain brain structures that are involved in migraine (such as the hypothalamus) are also involved in regulating your body’s natural daily rhythm. As a result, sticking to a regular schedule, and eating and sleeping at the same times every day — not skipping meals or sleeping in late — can go a long way in averting pain. “In terms of food itself, there’s not a lot of research on which specific foods will be really helpful, but we do know that there are certain vitamins and minerals and things like that that could be helpful in prevention,” explains Dr. Parikh. “A lot of times they’re taken as supplements, but people can have a diet rich in some of these things and that can hopefully prevent a migraine attack from happening.” Unfortunately, there’s no magical food you can eat to immediately feel better when your head is throbbing, but eating more of the foods below might up your chance of relief and lower the likelihood of future headaches.
Research shows that magnesium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12 and coenzyme Q10 — four ingredients commonly found in fish like tuna and salmon — may help prevent migraines. Salmon alone has 108% of our recommended daily intake of B12 in a 3-ounce serving. As a bonus, fatty fish are also full of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Not only do omega-3 fatty acids help fight inflammation, studies have found that people who consume more EPA and DHA (the two main types of omega-3 fatty acids) have fewer headaches. Walnuts and avocados are both rich in both omega-3 fatty acids and magnesium, notes Dr. Parikh, but avocados have the added benefit of also being high in riboflavin. Eggs are high in riboflavin, but that’s not the only reason you might want to eat them in the midst of a migraine. “We know that patients with a migraine brain, sometimes that brain is hyper-irritable to a change in schedule and a patient may not eat regularly during a migraine attack,” says Meryle Diamond, M.D., the managing director at the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. “So we try to encourage our patients, even if they can’t eat a lot because of nausea, to make sure they get something in.” She says hard-boiled or scrambled eggs provide easily digestible protein, which will help keep your blood glucose levels stable and your whole body functioning better, including your brain. “It’s important to feed your brain,” adds Dr. Diamond. RELATED: 60 Easy Egg Recipes Okay, so it's not actually a food, but staying hydrated is the one of the most important things you can do to treat and prevent migraines. “One of the first things I always tell my patients is, during a migraine attack it's really easy to get dehydrated,” says Dr. Diamond. Some patients develop an aversion to eating and drinking, she says, while others urinate more, “so always keeping up with fluids is important.” RELATED: How Much Water Should You Drink Every Day, According to Experts If your headaches are accompanied by nausea, ginger should be your best friend. “Ginger is a really good, natural, anti-nausea food,” says Dr. Parikh. If you’re having trouble keeping solids down, she says, it can be especially helpful to add sliced ginger to water. That way you can combat the nausea and stay hydrated at the same time. Some studies have shown that cantaloupe can help stabilize insulin levels in non-diabetic patients, and since low blood sugar can be a headache trigger, eating cantaloupe could potentially stave off headaches. Plus, the fruit contains plenty of magnesium and potassium as well as water to support good hydration. “This is a double-edged sword,” says Dr. Diamond. “Caffeine can sometimes help with migraine pain. However, if you overuse caffeine, it could come back and cause a rebound.” When you consume caffeine daily and then suddenly stop, the withdrawal can also trigger a headache. Essentially, according to Dr. Diamond, caffeine is a wonderful therapy if you don’t regularly take it and only use it intermittently or sporadically. It’s also important to point out that coffee is a diuretic, which means it makes you urinate and expel fluids from your body. “One tip I sometimes give my patients is if they notice that lack of hydration is a trigger for them, for every cup of coffee they drink, they should also drink a cup of water,” says Dr. Parikh. Milk is a hydrating protein-rich liquid and full of important minerals like calcium and potassium. It’s also naturally high in riboflavin and fortified with vitamin D, which some research suggests may reduce the frequency of headaches in people with migraine. In fact, research has found an inverse relationship between dairy consumption and headache frequency in general. That said, dairy can be pro-inflammatory for certain people, says Dr. Diamond. “I always think keeping a headache diary or a headache journal is important because it's really difficult to say a food is a trigger if you don't keep track of it to see if it really has an impact or not,” she says. So, if after logging your food intake for a few weeks, dairy seems to be a trigger for you, then it’s smart to avoid it. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Don't have a pain reliever on hand when you feel a headache coming on? As long as you're near a properly-stocked kitchen, you should be fine. What most people don't realize is that there are plenty of natural headache remedies that you can find in your own pantry. That's right! The best foods for headaches can actually prevent headaches from coming on. Here, we take a look at the evidence-backed foods that can prevent and relieve headache pain. After you've skimmed through this list, bookmark this page so that you'll be armed with the information you need if you're stuck with a debilitating headache. Another tip if you're regularly plagued with pain: Keep a headache journal. Although there are a few classic foods that trigger and soothe headaches, everybody responds differently to diet-based remedies. If you write down what you've eaten both before and after your headache comes on, it can help you understand what could be triggering them and which remedies work best for you. For even more health facts, check out What Happens to Your Body When You Drink a Smoothie Every Day. Strange, but true: Dry mouth = a debilitating headache. Yes, that's right, one of the primary causes of headaches is dehydration. And oftentimes, when your body is in need of water, it's also in need of electrolytes like potassium. Once you feed your body the nutrients it needs, the pain will likely subside. So next time you feel a headache coming on, bake a russet potato and enjoy it skin and all! One large tater packs more than three times the amount of potassium as a banana (which is often thought of as the most potent source). And since a potato is about 75 percent water, so it's uber hydrating, too! STAY INFORMED: Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest food news delivered straight to your inbox. Made up of 97 percent water, the mighty cucumber is another vegetable that can help you stay hydrated and headache-free. Slice some up and enjoy it with hummus or combine the veggie with some tomatoes, red onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and black pepper for a simple summer salad. For more summer salad recipes you're sure to love, check out these salad recipes for weight loss. If you're prone to getting headaches at a certain time of day or after a certain activity (like excessive computer use), ward off the pain by nibbling on some cherries. Not only does the red, vibrant fruit provide your bod with some H2O to keep dehydration-related pain away, they also contain compounds that convert to nitric oxide in the blood, a naturally occurring gas that may help protect against tension headaches and migraines. Beetroot and beetroot juice will also have the same effect. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, consuming adequate amounts of riboflavin (AKA vitamin B2) can help keep migraines at bay. Thankfully most cereals are fortified with the nutrient, so it's super easy to sneak it into your daily diet. Wheaties, Fiber One, and All Bran are all Eat This-approved and overflowing with the soothing nutrient. Curious which cereals to steer clear of? Check out our special report about the unhealthiest breakfast cereals. If your headaches tend to sideline you for hours, you might want to consider noshing on some spicy bites to speed up the recovery process—if the pain is stemming from congestion, at least. If a headache is due to sinus congestion, spicy foods may help to decrease the pressure and open the airways, which helps decrease the pain, explains registered dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, LDN, CPT. Interested in giving it a go? Add some hot salsa or chili peppers to an omelet or homemade burrito bowl, or give one of these creative ways to eat hot sauce a try. Magnesium, which is found in abundance in pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and almonds, may ward off head pain by relaxing blood vessels. (Just a half cup of pumpkin seeds provides nearly 100 percent of your daily magnesium needs.) More fun facts on the essential nutrient: Magnesium is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including brain and muscle function. Ignore your body's need for it and you won't just wind up with headaches. Muscle aches and overall fatigue are also common indicators that you're not getting enough of the nutrient in your life. While getting headaches from time to time is normal, having them every day after embarking on a low-carb weight loss plan is a sign you may have taken things too far. "Carbs don't require any additional processing to make glucose, so they keep blood sugar levels steady quite effectively," says registered dietitian Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN. "However, when you don't eat enough carbs, blood sugar levels can dip and cause headaches." Incorporate some carb- and water-rich produce like apples, pears, and carrots to keep the pounds coming off while keeping the head-pounding pain at bay. Healthy carbs like oatmeal and brown rice are also smart picks, as they soak up water during the cooking process.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e If you couldn't imagine going a day without stopping at Starbucks, your headaches are, more often than not, a result of caffeine withdrawal. When you regularly consume the stimulant, it leads to physical dependence. The result: You'll likely experience a throbbing headache if you miss a dose. While the reason for this is not yet fully understood, some medical experts say that caffeine relaxes blood vessels—so when it's been a while since your last cup, the vessels constrict and cause pain. To counteract the pain, get yourself a small cup of coffee or tea—emphasis on the word small. If you guzzle down too much, and you'll likely just get another headache when you come down off your caffeine high. If you're only eating sesame seeds when you order an everything bagel or some sesame chicken, you're missing out of one of the best migraine-busting foods around. The tiny seed is filled with vitamin E, a nutrient that stabilizes estrogen levels, warding off period-related migraines. It's also rich in L-arginine, a precursor of nitric oxide, the same naturally occurring gas found in cherries, that may help protect against tension headaches and migraines in both men and women. Sprinkle them on your oatmeal or on top of soups and stir-fries to reap the benefits. For more foods like sesame seeds, check out The 15 Best Vitamin E-Rich Foods. |
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