Migraine Headache Prevention

Adjusting Your Diet

Preventing a migraine before the signs even start is very important and for many people with migraine headaches adjusting their diet will prevent migraine headaches. This is important because food is a major trigger of migraine headaches. Eating a proper diet and staying properly hydrated is very important in preventing migraine headaches because not eating and drinking can trigger a migraine headache.

The first step in preventing migraine headaches is to learn what foods will trigger your migraine headaches. As discussed above some people have common food triggers but every person is different and what can effect one person may not bother another. It is also important to track because some foods are only a trigger when combined with a certain other food.

It is also important because for some people portion sizes will effect whether or not a migraine headache is triggered. This is not only when a person overeats but for some people if they eat too little of certain foods a migraine headache will be triggered. The amount of fat in a food can also determine if it will be a trigger. For some people high fat foods will trigger a migraine. This is why it is important to keep a migraine headache journal and also eat a low fat diet.

If you are vomiting because of a migraine headache you will also have to temporarily adjust your diet. This is to avoid any further vomiting and so that you will not over stress your body. It is very important that you drink clear liquids if you are vomiting. When you first begin vomiting drinking small amounts of a clear soda such as sprite is a good idea. If your stomach is handling this amount you can begin to slowly increase the amount you are drinking over about an hour. If you cannot keep this amount cut back to just a sip every five or ten minutes.

After an hour of tolerating the soda you can continue to drink any clear fluid for the next five hours. After five hours without vomiting you can try to eat soft foods like applesauce, as long as it is not a dairy product as this may aggravate your stomach. Begin slowly with the soft foods and then after another hour try a few crackers. If this stays down you can then begin eating other solid foods every five hours, but should wait 24 hours before trying any dairy products.

On the next page we will discuss Migraine Headaches and Genetics.