Top 3 Consumable Triggers to Avoid & Safer Alternatives
Discovering your individual triggers can be a major challenge. Research has shown these items to be top, consumable triggers, however, every person is different in how they respond to triggers. Some items may be a big trigger, while others may find no effect at all. Please keep this in mind as you discover other triggers. There are many different factors that go into raising or lowering your tolerance for an attack or what we call the “threshold bar”. Recognizing these three food triggers is a good starting point as it can be very overwhelming. The items listed here are a broad representation and not all encompassing.
The goal is to temporarily eliminate these items as you start your journey and begin to uncover your true triggers which can take 4-6 months. Be patient, consistent, and kind to yourself.
1. Caffeine: Studies show time and time again that caffeine is a major trigger for many who suffer from migraine. With coffee being the number 1 source, it is an item frequently consumed on a daily basis for those who drink it. Its addictive chemicals can make it extremely difficult to eliminate, however, total elimination in the beginning is recommended. Other examples of the caffeine category include green/black teas, caffeinated sodas, energy drinks, some Vitamin waters, and even decaffeinated beverages. Be sure to take a careful look at the items you consume as some can be quite hidden. A Clif Bar once got me with almost 50 mg of caffeine!
Safer Alternative: To eliminate caffeine, try a more gentle approach (vs. cold turkey): use the quarter rule by reducing the amount of caffeine you drink by 25% every 3 days. Swap that warm cup of coffee for some herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, or ginger. If you are a soda drinker, a safe option would be carbonated waters and if you just need that soda craving, caffeine-free sodas like Sprite/7UP, Root Beer, and Fanta are better options, however, they do contain artificial flavorings and sugars so be cautious there!
Eliminating caffeine is a tough one! You may have relapses which can be normal, stay consistent and the hard work will pay off!
2. Alcohol: For all the wine lovers out there, this one can hit particularly hard for some. Alcohol in general and more specifically red wine is a well-known culprit for many. While many think about alcohol in beverages, we need to also remember the alcohol family as a whole to include vinegars (esp. balsamic) and even items like ketchup and your favorite BBQ sauce! As with caffeine, total elimination is recommended in the beginning.
Safer Alternative: With alcohol, the darker the content, the more potent the trigger, hence red wine being the worst. If you choose to have an alcoholic beverage, however, a more clear alcohol is better. Better options are drinks with vodka, gin, and white wine.
3.MSG: While MSG can greatly enhance the flavor of your foods, it does quite the opposite for your vestibular migraine brain. It is one to look out for as MSG is everywhere! It is seen in many restaurants, processed soups, cans, deli meats, broths, frozen meals, and seasoned chips like Doritos. The list goes on for MSG so pay extra attention to those sneaky labels.
Safer Alternatives: While eating out, be sure to check with restaurants whether the food contains MSG. If unsure, try sticking to the more simple food items listed. A good idea is to bring safe spices like garlic, ginger, curry, cayenne pepper if you like spice, or cinnamon. If you crave chips or crackers, it's recommended to go for the more plain versions like simple potato chips.
-Dr. Moshtaghi
