When it comes to a migraine diet, there are so many choices out there. Finding the right migraine diet for you can make a huge improvement in your symptoms and decrease attack days. But a lot of the complaints I see are focused on how difficult a migraine diet can be after you see the list of foods not allowed.
Foods Allowed on a Migraine Diet
Because I know it's very easy to get caught up in focusing on the foods to eliminate on a migraine diet like Johns Hopkins or Heal Your Headache, I spent a long time putting together this list of foods to embrace that you can eat freely during the elimination period. I began this diet because I wasn't complacent with just feeling 60-80% on my meds and supplements. I knew there had to be more, but wanted to approach things from a more holistic standpoint. You could have probably told me to walk around on my two hands to feel better and I would have tried it!
Focus On What You Can Have vs. What You Can't
Beginning a migraine diet can be completely overwhelming. I remember standing in the middle of the supermarket (which was already a challenge), looking at my book of things to eliminate and tearing up. It was like literally everything I picked off the shelves was on the "no" list. But I promise the shift gets a lot easier. This diet, although temporary, gives you the tools you need to make better decisions about food going forward. And even now that I've reintroduced foods, I try to cook more at home or check the ingredients on pre-made meals more often.
Because you now know foods to avoid temporarily, we will focus on the many things you can have. You might be surprised that you find new foods or spices that you actually enjoy more than you did before! Plus it can make you a better cook too.
Is Coconut a Migraine Trigger?
Coconut is controversial. Although HYH says to eliminate it, I don't see it affect people enough to that you should leave it in unless you don't see an improvement in your migraines, but that call is up to you. Perhaps eliminate it if you're not dairy free, but keep it in if your diet requires you to be dairy free.
I created two lists of basics that you can print out or save to your phone and carry with you to the grocery store. Hopefully it makes your life a little easier. If I missed something, it might not be on the "no" list. I just wanted to give you an idea of how many things you can actually have!
Heal Your Headache & Johns Hopkins Migraine Diet Foods to Enjoy
For pdf print outs:
Fruits Veggies and Spices Allowed on HYH
Meat, Cheese, Drinks, Beans, Grains, and Condiments Allowed on HYH
For more information on how to start a migraine elimination diet.
Pre-made Foods Allowed on a Migraine Diet
And for migraine diet pantry recommendations - check out these pre-made migraine-friendly foods and snacks.Don't forget these tips for eating out on a migraine diet.
Kris says
Hi Alicia. I was diagnosed with VM in February of 2019 after being overwhelmed with my symptoms since August of 2018. I have revisited your website again and again, but I definitely have the "food fear". I eat the same breakfast every day and virtually the same lunch every day. I rotate several different meats, veggies, and carbs for dinner. Everything I eat is bland and tasteless. The problem is that every time I "try" a new food that is on the HYH diet, I get mild to moderate VM symptoms. I tried sunflower oil in pure sweet potato chips and felt pretty bad the remainder of the day, so now I don't want to try the sunbutter I bought. Also, I try to incorporate eggs for protein. Sometimes I get symptoms after and sometimes I don't. I tried some turkey bacon that contained nothing but salt, sugar, and vinegar, so I'm assuming I have an issue with the vinegar. I used to think blueberries were ok, but the last few times I ate them, I had mild symptoms. I also seem to have major issues with barometric pressure changes. Do you have any suggestions? I am desperate for some new foods I can tolerate and enjoy, but I am terrified to try anything.
Alicia says
Hey Kris - So sorry to hear you're struggling with food fear. I definitely see many fall into this pattern if they're trying to restrict way more than what' on HYH. Are you trying to follow other diets at the same time, by chance?
I think people put way too much stock into food triggers because they're easiest to blame, but really there are so many things that are more likely to trigger an episode for us - stress, weather changes, hormones, loud noises or bright lights, an interrupted sleep schedule, etc. Often these things can build up on each other, so while it may seem like the sweet potato chips triggered you, it could be a number of other things. To increase this threshold, are you doing anything else besides the diet? Maybe medications or supplements?
As for the turkey bacon, it's good to stay away from any pre-packaged meats as we don't know how fresh they are (as opposed to when you buy it from the counter at your butchers). Bacon is usually cured or smoked, and even if it's in the package, a build up of tyramine can begin. Same with the blueberries - were they very fresh or had they been in the fridge a few days? It could be that you are super sensitive to tyramine and need to eat things as fresh as possible.
My advice is to focus on the other areas you can increase that threshold, either through medications, supplements, maybe cognitive behavioral therapy or vestibular therapy. As time goes on and you improve, you may notice that your tolerance to these foods increase! For instance, avocados seemed to bother me for a while after I started HYH. I could do a little bit, but my dizziness always increased. As time went on and I started to feel even better, I found that I could tolerate them more and more. There are still some triggers that I can't touch even now - like caffeine, yogurt, and certain nuts. Journaling might also help with this! Not just noting what you ate, but what was the weather like, how much sleep did you get, did you wake up and go to bed at the same time, did you have a particularly stressful event. Just a quick note on all of them can help see some of these things a little more clearly. I hope that helps!
Brittany says
I think I've just become your new biggest fan! I'm excited to try this diet and actually commit to it. I'm loving all of your other migraine posts as well that I've found on Pinterest. I'm thankful for this content because it seems easy to read, well researched and you have actual personal experience with it! Thank you!
Alicia says
Oh yay! So glad to hear pinterest actually works haha. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you every have any questions. 🙂
Jeannine says
I get so discouraged and confused. Every safe and avoid food lists I read differ from each other. It’s getting that I’m afraid to eat anything.
Alicia says
Hi Jeannine, I get that. There's so much conflicting info out there. The idea of this website was to make you feel like you have lots of options to eat so you don't get that food fear. That is the opposite of what you want! I think it's best to stick with one site/book and just focus on that. This site strictly follows the Heal Your Headache book/Johns Hopkins Migraine Diet. Many people try to twist a version of it to fit their own ideas or eating plans, but this is the version that's given out at the clinic. If you don't see results in a few months after following one plan, you can always change to another!
Abigail Tanner says
Do glad I have found your site. I get classic migraine with aura and chronic vestibular migraines. I am on preventative Topomax but dose that is helpful and reduced frequency makes me a bit dopey. Have found gf, less white carbs and sugar/alcohol plus magnesium has also increase my tolerance, frequency and intensity but still getting too many migraine days a month.
I think trying this diet is next step ... Your sheets definitely helpful shopping list. As the no list ????
Just need to take the step. ????
Alicia says
Hey! Maybe with the diet it can help you decrease the amount so you can have a nice balance. Eating healthier definitely helps, but I will say I tried to go gluten/dairy/and refined sugar free later on in my journey to see if it would make an improvement. I didn't really notice one, but at the time I tried it I already had great success with HYH. It's definitely difficult to wrap your head around eliminating certain "healthy" foods, but it's just for short time - the first month is always the hardest!
You can find some support on facebook with the dizzy cook recipe chat and migraine strong groups. 🙂
One more thing I would recommend is trying out magnesium threonate to see if it helps. I'm not sure if it would since your symptoms are med related, but it REALLY helps me with brain fog and cognitive function. I have a post on it here if you're interested.
Alicia says
One more thing - there's a supplement my friends also love to use for brain function called Cognitive Factors. It might be worth asking your physician if it would help!
Abigail says
Thank you for replying. Have chatted to my husband about it. Going to start after Easter. He's pretty supportive about it - so we don't have to cook too many different meals etc.. and just make swaps. And eat same foods.
Will check out the magnesium threonate and FB recipe chat.
Alicia says
That's awesome! A supportive spouse makes all the difference with this. Hopefully he'll be into these recipes too. My husband doesn't have migraine but has been eating HYH meals for years now haha! (although he's kinda stuck with it now)
Chris says
I am interested to know if lentils are okay on this diet. They are for sure gluten free, so I am hoping they are. They are grown in abundance where I live.
Alicia says
Hi Chris, Unfortunately they're legumes and supposed to be eliminated due to their tyramine content, HOWEVER they can definitely be one of the first things you reintroduce. I do quite well with them!
Kim says
I was thinking of this article the other day in the grocery store...I remembered reading about your frustration when you went shopping and kind of thinking, "well that wouldn't happen to me." Lo and behold, this weekend I was in the store in tears as I tried to make sense of all the rules I need to follow in order to change my diet and hopefully help my migraines. I have now printed out the lists and am so appreciative of the information you are providing! I feel much better now about tackling food shopping next week.
Sandy says
Thank you again! There is definitely a learning curve, I appreciate all of your help with the process. When buying pasta if the ingredients are semolina (wheat), durum wheat flour we should be good. Right? The brand is Barilla it does say nonGMO project verified. I continue to try several of your recipes which is definitely making the adjustment easier. Lunch seems to be the biggest issue, other than leftovers and chicken salad my son doesn't seem to like some of the other choices. I will keep trying new recipes and continue
reading your blog. Thank you so much for being so kind and always getting back to me so quickly. Many thanks!
Alicia says
Yes, that is fine! Is he a fan of sandwiches? This is one of my favorites. https://thedizzycook.com/2018/08/27/the-best-sandwich-ever/ The boursin cheese is really good!
Hillary says
Thank you so much for this list! I haven't tried the HYH diet because it seemed so overwhelming, but this list helps SOOO much!
Question, do you think LaCroix would be okay on the HYH? It's naturally flavored. The citrus ones wouldn't work but berry or passionfruit could. What do you think?
Alicia says
Hey Hillary - I just looked up passionfruit and it appears it has moderate amounts of tyramine on other lists. They lump it in with papaya and banana. I would avoid that one for now, but other berry flavors would be ok. Hope that helps.
Sandy says
Thank you so much for the cereal and bread suggestion, also for the list of pantry staples. My son was diagnosed with 3PD, he is 27. I read through the HYH book and am studying your articles and recipes and have tried several of them. My question is in the HYH book under menus, breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles are listed, do they have to be home-made wheat pancakes GF or is there a pre-made mix such as buttermilk or regular mix that he could buy? Also under snack ideas cake and cookies are listed as long as they don't contain nuts, citrus, chocolate, peanut butter so does that mean store bought cookies are OK or do they have to be home made? I also noticed that several recipes are GF should he be following a GF diet? Items that say GF on the package are they safe to have? Are Mission Chips OK? Sorry for so many questions, I am trying to help him find foods that he can make easily. Carmel dip to have with his apples is that OK? I appreciate all your help, we are just starting this new diet and we are committed to following through. Any specific brands that you could share would be so helpful. Unfortunately at this point he is still unable to drive, not fun for a young guy. Thanks again for all your help.
Alicia says
Hey Sandy, Really kind of you to help out your son like this. I think the most important thing is just to read labels and try to get as few ingredients as possible. Gluten free is definitely not required. I tried it for a while (which is why a lot of recipes are GF) to see if it would help and it didn't. However, there are many migraine sufferers who are sensitive to gluten and find it helps them reduce their inflammation so I like to provide it. You can always use regular flour in any of the recipes. 🙂
Store-bought cookies are ok, as long as they do not contain the triggers. Shortbread and gingersnaps are often the way to go for those. Chessman are good! https://amzn.to/2O4IA45
As far as pancake mixes, Annie's is ok. https://amzn.to/2W8dbR7
Mission chips and potato chips are ok as long as they aren't flavored (salt is fine).
I'd have to see the ingredients on the caramel dip to make sure, but it should be ok. Sunbutter is another good one too. This post might really help you with some things to eat!
I hope he starts feeling better soon!
Sandy says
Thank you for the list, it is so helpful! Just a couple of questions, would you be able to suggest a few cereals and breads that are ok to use?
Alicia says
Hey Sandy - you're welcome!
Some breads are Dave's Killer Bread and Pepperidge Farm wheat. I find a lot of good breads from my local bakery too.
Cereals would be like plain chex or cheerios. This post on pantry staples might help you too!
Shawn says
Can you recommend any bottled seasoning? Most that the ones that I looked up without MSG contain onion and/or lemon.
Thanks
Shawn says
Do you have any recommendations for bottled seasonings? From what I read of the ones without MSG, most contain onions and/ or some sort of lemon. Thanks
Alicia says
Hi Shawn, what kind of flavor profile are you looking for? Or are you looking for seasoning mixes in general? Thanks!
Genevieve says
I don't have VM but I do have migraines and occipital neuralgia. I have just finished HYH and am diving into the diet head on. I am a Dietitian so I have an idea of what I have to do. I thank you so much for the tips and putting all your recipes and ideas out there!! Because of you I don't have to start from scratch!! I am starting today making my own dressings which I find the hardest besides giving up lemons :(. Thank you so much and just one question do you take any other supplements besides Magnesium?? Thank you Genevieve!!
Alicia says
Hey! Your background will make it super helpful! You'll have to let me know how it works for you. I know, I struggled with lemons too. Thankfully I was able to add them back in later so there is hope!
Yes, I do quite a few others, especially B2 and CoQ10. It's sort of changed throughout the years as my symptoms subsided but B2 and Magnesium have been constant. I have a post on it here and here.
Shelby says
Hi there! I am so happy I found your blog, our stories seem so similar. I have been almost constantly dizzy for the past two months and was recently diagnosed in Phoenix as well. My neurologist suggested that I start Topamax, but I am a little bit scared of the side effects. Have you heard much about this helping with vestibular migraines?
I ordered the book and I am going to start this diet! I also ordered the magnesium supplements so hopefully that will give me some relief. From your experience, do you have any other advice for turning constant dizziness into just episodic?
Alicia says
Hi Shelby, Wow, I'm so glad you finally received a diagnosis! I have many friends on Topamax who find it to be an excellent preventative for both migraine and vestibular migraine, so just know that it does work for many people. That being said - I was scared to try medication too. All you hear are horror stories online! Some people experience side effects in the beginning while they adjust to the new med, but it typically settles down. Your neurologist should be giving you a slower taper up so your body can adjust. Make sure you work closely with them and let them know what you're feeling - they can tell you what's normal and what's not. Worst case, if it doesn't work, there are many other options to try as well. I think you'll find a lot of helpful info about meds in Heal Your Headache too! The only thing that I don't necessarily agree with is Dr. Buchholz opinion on benzodiazepines. For VM, they're really helpful in low doses and a lot of the top VM neurologists have shown that it doesn't hinder compensation when given at these low doses for a limited amount of time. All of these things work together to calm your brain and lower that threshold of attacks, so over time you can turn that chronic dizziness into episodic. A preventative like topamax will help a lot also. 🙂
Dana says
Hi Jill! In my personal experience, doctor’s opinions vary when it comes to diet and migraine. My primary told me diet doesn’t effect migraines, my first neuro told me to avoid the same as yours, or just take teiptans before I ate them (turns out my body hates triptans), and my current neuro gave me a fairly long list of things to avoid. I think it comes down to the individual and what seems to bother you in particular. I found the best thing that worked for me, was doing a really intense elimination diet for 12 weeks and then reintroducing Foods one by one.
Alicia says
Great advice, Dana!
Dana says
Thank you!❤️
Jill Goff says
Hello-
My name is Jill and I live in Phoenix AZ. I was recently diagnosed with vestibular migraines after being mis-diagnosed for over a decade by ENT's. Life as I knew it was over for me until I was finally referred to a Neuro Otologist. Dr. John Macias-Neuro Otologist told me to avoid 4 foods only. Coffee/Caffeine, Chocolate, Yellow Cheese and Red Grapes...am I or is he mis-informed? I was so happy to finally have a diagnosis that I pretty much trust every word this doctor says.
Alicia says
Hi Jill, I was diagnosed in phoenix too! So neurologists vary widely in what they recommend as far as a migraine diet. Many don't believe in them at all! A big reason for this is because there's simply not enough research to back up any claims made that it works and doctors like to go off research. My neurologist thought Heal Your Headache was too strict, but knew all the doctors who endorsed it as some of the leading physicians when it came to migraine so he said it was worth a try. Plus Johns Hopkins is leading clinic for migraine research and I knew this was the diet they give to their patients as well.
I don't necessarily think he is misinformed - perhaps he is just giving you the easiest plan to follow. I do trust my neurologist, but I was just very willing to try anything and everything to get better. I think most of the people who try HYH have a similar mindset where the benefits outweigh the cost for a few months of trial.