Q I have migraines. Are there particular foods I should avoid?
A MSG, nitrites (smoked meats), aspartame, tyramine (cheese, red wine), and caffeine are known migraine triggers. Keeping a headache diary to identify your own trigger foods is the most accurate approach.
Detailed Answer
Because migraine trigger foods vary greatly from person to person, keeping a headache diary for 2-4 weeks to identify patterns is recommended. Alcohol (especially red wine), excess caffeine or caffeine withdrawal, tyramine in cheese and smoked meats, artificial sweeteners (aspartame), and MSG are common triggers, and skipping meals can also induce headaches.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
Dongjedang places importance on how waste products created by food can block circulation. Greasy, spicy foods and heavy drinking accumulate sticky phlegm-rheum in the body and obstruct circulation in the head and nape, so it is best to cut back on them. Drinking lukewarm water often instead of caffeine to lower the viscosity of the blood, and reducing salty foods that cause swelling, directly help with headache management.
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