I've been getting a lot more migraines than ususal lately. When looking at my diet I've had an increase in chocolate. Could chocolate cause migraine headaches? Thanks
Hi
This is Dr Sathya and I am very glad to help you with your question.
Yes that is correct.
Chocolate can indeed worsen migraine
It is a known trigger for migraine HA (headache)
Reducing the chocolate intake might help with the migraine (reduce both the severity & frequency)
The following are examples of other migraine triggers (you might have checked all these triggers already);
Varieties of food stuff (mentioned in details again below), food-preservatives (MSG, nitrates etc), caffeine, chemicals such as perfumes, cleaning agents, cigarette smoke, stress, sleep deprivation, food deprivation/hypoglycemia, weather changes, certain odors, hormonal etc.
These below are examples of the food triggers for migraine (chocolate already mentioned);
Avocados, Bananas, Beef liver, Blue cheese, Bologna, Canned soup, Camembert cheese, Cheddar cheese, ChicXXX XXver, Dates, Dried figs, Fava beans, Garbanzo beans, Kiwi, Lima beans, Nuts, Olives, Onions, Papaya, Peanut butter, Pepperoni, Pineapple, Pinto beans, Raisins, Raspberries, Red plums, Roquefort cheese, Salami, Sauerkraut, Soy sauce, Spinach, Stilton cheese, Summer sausage, Swiss cheese, Teriyaki, Tofu, Tomatoes, Yeast, Yeast extracts, ice cream etc.
Once again to your main question, yes, chocolate is indeed a known migraine trigger.
Hopefully reducing its intake will help you considerably.
oh my goodness that is a long list of foods
Hope I didn't scare you with this list
But start with chocolate now
yeah, i found in the past that when i stayed away from chocolate I had a significant numberof less headaches
okay that confirms then chocolate is indeed a trigger for your migraines
could it because of my newer birth control too?
I mentioned above hormonal trigger too
yes that too is possible - provided you see more migraine after starting the pills
oh ok. i think more women get headaches than men
yes, that is correct.
Do you have any further questions?
not really, im just going to try to reduce my chocolate intake and see how i feel. actually, when i get a headache how many advil should i be taking? i normally take 3
Yes that is the correct approach now, to reduce and see whether reduction in chocolate will help, hopefully it will help. On advil a total dose of up to about 2400 mg / day is fine (in divided doses).
how many equals the 2400 mg?
depends upon the strength of your tablet
if 600 mg then 4 tabs
with 800 mg 3 tabs
wow, my pills are only 200
then you can definitely take more number of tabs/day
take with some food or plenty of water
to minimize stomach irritation
ok, thanks so much for your help, i appreciate it.
You are welcome, I hope your migraine resolves quickly and completely, all the best!
Thanks so much! I hope so too.
Welcome, all the best!