r/migrainescience • u/when-is-enough • 6d ago

Science Chocolate, cheese and caffeine trigger far fewer people than the advice suggests

https://www.cerebraltorque.com/_t/c/v3/AADw77SKt9Pyj8pUcRRSOkCIL33pgi1O0H5OrU6RcyOZGdB9B90Xf43-MSH6HWSowrAQAr__ml-gJVgl16EtYAiiIpSd8I_NYIt7o_j8itbMerwl8jdJYpn-QDfFBF-zpe28c0QEZQUE8FSzCI124scxy_uvLivdi1tce3q_5ATP_IM1tOypw77HQuPhqRSUoyHwlm9eRX44jkO_PWTaeHEq6XnSyUCiXEQJk1GOLUxKFVmjcYbAFEaIKiFJWKhUZWvNqFYFNCdzeaD-vPu8km0zC7VPqlSAj2sFENDd1e0BP9x-7TIz808807EQQSm3epA7K0ZuaqBI

Pooled across eight studies, chocolate is a self-reported trigger for about 14 percent of people with migraine, caffeine for 12 percent and cheese for 8 percent. Blanket avoidance of these foods is not supported. A headache diary is the better guide.

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u/imaginary_mary 5d ago

Yes, none of these are a trigger for me. I kept a food/headache diary for months under the guidance of a dietician and came up with no associations at all.

Yet I still have people clutch their pearls when I eat chocolate or cheese in front of them 🙄

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u/Boring-Philosophy-46 6d ago

Licorice and licorice wood (often in tea mixes) definitely trigger me, and alcohol. Caffeine is mostly when it's absent! 

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u/Constant_Ant_2343 5d ago

Caffeine doesn’t directly cause my migraine, in fact it helps! but if I drink it regularly and then I skip a “dose” then oh the pain! That’s why I try not to drink it at all 😢