Eating out at a restaurant can be tough when you suffer with migraines. There are food triggers hidden in some of the foods such as food additives and MSG.

It’s good to keep a mental note of migraine-friendly foods when you eat out so that you can order confidently and not worry about a migraine following your food. 

Really, when you go out, it’s best to keep it simple. That, for you, may mean eating something like grilled chicken or fish. And don’t forget to request no MSG or vinegar, if that’s a trigger for you. 

Tip:  When ordering side vegetables, request them steamed or sautéed in olive oil — and be sure to mention to your server that you are dealing with an allergy. When you make it known it’s a medical condition you’re dealing with and you are not just being picky, the chef will take it more seriously.

Food Choices:

Chicken, fish, or pasta: Request no MSG, no vinegar, and no citrus juice. Grilled, baked, roasted, steamed, boiled, or broiled fish or chicken are safe.
Veggies, rice, or potatoes – steamed vegetables or sautéed in olive oil and garlic are your best bet. Rice, baked, boiled, or roasted potatoes are also good options. 

If you want dessert, avoid the chocolate and go for something like strawberries with whipped cream or rice pudding. (If you are unsure whether or not chocolate is a personal migraine trigger, it is best to avoid it.)

Drink choices:

When it comes to a drink, try sticking with herbal tea – you can even try biscotti with it in place of a regular dessert. 

Restaurants to avoid: 

Cheap buffets, Asian restaurants, Mexican restaurants. These are more risky, because they tend to use more Migraine triggers in their cooking.

Restaurants to enjoy: 

Italian restaurants, seafood restaurants, and high-quality American restaurants are your best bet for a migraine-friendly meal.

What to incorporate into your eating:

When eating and drinking you need to learn what to avoid so that you can nourish your “migraine brain and body.” I believe that a “wellness approach” should be taken which is designed to help you prevent migraine and migraine attacks before they begin.

Most of us with migraines are told about food triggers, but not necessarily what foods can help prevent attacks. By choosing the right food in the right amounts, you really can help to treat, prevent or manage, and in some instances, even reverse debilitating issues like migraine attacks.

Remember, food is not a “cure-all,” but there are compounds in foods — antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, vitamins and minerals — that really do have potent effects, and you can use them as medicine, such as:

• Ginger which is a natural anti-inflammatory. 
• Omega-3 fats —  monounsaturated fats like olive oil. These fats also have anti-inflammatory properties, as does olive oil, and specifically extra-virgin olive oil because it’s more potent in anti-oxidants. For omega-3s, your best options would be wild salmon and sardines. Even with wild salmon, you can buy it in a can, and you could mash it up just like you would tuna salad – you are making something that could greatly help to manage or reduce the frequency and duration of your migraine attacks. Chia seeds also contain omega-3 and, in case you are not aware, are heat-resistant, so they are great to add to a healthy muffin, pancake batter, a smoothie, or even your oatmeal. 
• Riboflavin  — a B Vitamin that’s involved with energy production at the cellular level. There is some research suggesting that people who have migraine attacks can benefit from either taking a riboflavin supplement or by eating foods that are rich in riboflavin (my preference). There aren’t that many foods with riboflavin, but you can find it in milk, eggs, mushrooms, asparagus, kale and broccoli. 

Best drinks for migraines:

Of course, hydration is so incredibly important. If you suffer with migraines, you probably know that when you are dehydrated, you are in trouble. Water, whether it’s carbonated or flat, should be part of your daily routine –  there’s no added sugar, so it’s not going to throw your blood sugar into a tail spin, and obviously, it doesn’t have any of the migraine triggers often associated with other types of drinks. If you are bored with plain old flat water, infuse your water with something like cucumber, mint, lemon or blueberries.

Two big migraine drink triggers:

Let’s talk about tea and coffee for a minute. Some people get relief from a cup of coffee, and other people get rebound headaches from it. So, you need to know how these drinks affect you.

This is often accomplished by trial and error. Just be very careful, and learn about your own body and what your caffeine tolerance is.

Alcohol also differs with each individual. Because alcohol is dehydrating and also lowers your blood sugar, a lot of people will develop really bad symptoms and migraine attacks the morning after drinking. The tyramine in alcohol, like red wine, is also a know migraine trigger for some. 

Tip:  For some people, red wine is a trigger, and for some people, it’s chocolate or dairy or soy or cheese, but most migraineurs will not have every single trigger. It’s just a matter of knowing your body, keeping food diaries, and seeing how you react.

When you are careful with what you put in your mouth, you can dramatically reduce your symptoms.

So next time you go out to eat, be prepared before you go. Think about what foods best suit you and your migraine needs. Will one type of food trigger a migraine, and will another type of food help prevent one? It’s all about getting to know your own body and your own reactions to certain things. If you’ve never kept a food diary, I would strongly recommend that you do. If you don’t have one, >>CLICK HERE<< to download a free migraine diary.