One of the most important things you can do to manage migraine triggers is to eat regularly throughout the day and make sure each of these meals contains a bit of protein. Most people find that eating 4-5 meals daily spaced 2-4 hours apart works well to maintain their blood sugar levels and keep headaches at bay.
In addition, avoiding pesticides, herbicides and insecticides in your food can dramatically reduce migraine triggers. In particular, the Environmental Working Group has found that you can dramatically lower your pesticide exposure by buying just the following foods organically (called the Dirty Dozen) or substituting foods that contain fewer pesticides, such as those on the Clean Fifteen:
|
The Dirty Dozen (buy organic or avoid) |
The Clean Fifteen |
| 1. Apples | 1. Onions |
| 2. Celery | 2. Corn |
| 3. Strawberries | 3. Pineapples |
| 4. Peaches | 4. Avocado |
| 5. Spinach | 5. Asparagus |
| 6. Nectarines (imported) | 6. Sweet Peas |
| 7. Grapes (imported) | 7. Mangoes |
| 8. Bell Peppers | 8. Eggplant |
| 9. Potatoes | 9. Cantaloupe (domestic) |
| 10. Blueberries (domestic) | 10. Kiwi |
| 11. Lettuce | 11. Cabbage |
| 12. Kale/collard greens | 12. Watermelon |
| 13. Sweet Potatoes | |
| 14. Grapefruit | |
| 15. Mushrooms |
Click here to download these lists as a pdf.
Buying organic whenever you can will further reduce your pesticide exposure; buying the foods listed on the Dirty Dozen organically is a great start. Buying organic can cost more, but there are many ways you can buy organic on a budget.
