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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.
Hi Dizzy Cook,
I have had migraines since I was 13 get them at least 2 times a month and they are completely debilitating. I just brought the book thanks to you, I will start the diet next week and hopefully will see some good results. I have one question, maybe you can help me out. I have been lactose intolerant since i was very young ( I reintroduced some lactose like cheese and yogurt) but I cannot drink milk, I have replaced it with Almond milk. But this diet is nut free.. do you have any alternatives to milk that are not nut based? Thank you!
Hey Maria – I hope this diet will help in combination with some of the other treatments you’re doing! There are thankfully lots of good substitutes. Rice milk, hemp milk, and oat milk are the 3 most popular. Tempt original unsweetened hemp milk is the cleanest brand I’ve found, and Oatly oat milk is probably my favorite. You can also make your own if you’re up for that!
What about coconut milk? Or is coconut considered a nut?
Dr Buchholz classifies them as a nut, but really they can be considered a drupe or a fruit. Coconut milk is technically not allowed, but many find they do tolerate it well. Unless you’re dairy free, I recommend eliminating it in the beginning as the diet says, but it could be one of the first things you test out.
Hi Alicia, Are Collard greens okay? My son is on a low fodmap diet for IBS. Finding things that are gluten free (I’m celiac), HYH allowed, and low fodmap gets challenging! This list is super helpful.
Yes, most definitely!
This is wonderful!!
It’s really interesting to read all the “allowed” foods because a) there’s way more than you would expect and b) some of these “yes” options are huge triggers for me, example: agave and cream cheese. Don’t know why but they send me into a killer migraine almost instantly!
I can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to starting a diet for the first time in my life
Thank you!
You’re welcome!! I’m also not a fan of agave either, but it could have something to do with a spike in blood sugar. As for the cream cheese, have you ever checked the ingredients? Some brands contain a lot of gums or additives like carrageenan so it would make sense that you could be reacting to those. 🙂
Sorry for all the comments, but I am glad I found this. When the dizziness started, I noticed it would get significantly worse when eating (to the point i’ve lost 10 pounds because I was only getting halfway through a meal). My family thought I was crazy! Like how would food (when I was eating semi-healthy, but again…. nuts, yogurt, salad but with regular dressings…) make her dizzy?
Question- I see you say fresh as possible… without going to the store daily– are frozen fruits okay? Thinking smoothies might be a good breakfast option for me with allowed ingredients.
Hey Brooke – so sorry to hear that. You may want to keep calling and checking for cancellations. I was able to get into see my Dr earlier that way. You also may want to ask about them giving you a low dose of valium or ativan instead of meclizine, which isn’t very effective for VM. If your doctor questions it, you can print and show him this article from Dr. Hain.
As for the diet, the posts below may help you get started. You can definitely still eat out – chipotle and even mcdonalds plain burgers are options. You can just tell your waiter you have certain allergies and ask for things to be grilled with just salt and pepper. Or bring your own homemade dressing to restaurants and customize a salad. I replaced nuts with seeds and yogurt with cottage cheese. I would say since you’re chronic, it’s worth it just to jump into it. I see people try to eliminate one thing at a time and then they say the diet doesn’t work… My opinion is it’s better to go all in and screw up for a day or two than try to do it half-heartedly. You’ll mess up a lot your first month and that’s ok. It’s a learning experience that gets much easier with time. 🙂
Maybe you can get your daughter involved a little bit with the cooking. My girlfriend got her little guy a chefs hat and lets him add blueberries to the muffins or things like that. It can be a really fun moment for you both to learn while spending a little time together.
Frozen fruits are definitely ok!
How to Get Started
Pantry Staples
Some really easy recipes to start with
Honey Garlic Chicken (I get rave reviews on this one)
Sheet pan sausage, arugula, and potato salad
Egg roll bowl
Mediterranean Halibut
Fish tostadas (or just tacos)
Basic Dressing
For lunch – best sandwich ever
Breakfast – Chia Pudding and overnight oats with fruit are so easy to make ahead and have in the fridge ready to go. If you have a little more time these pancakes are awesome and here’s the blueberry muffins.
Also check out the 5 day meal plan. THere’s a lot of meals in there that are easy to prep and make ahead, then you can freeze them.
I have recently been told the reason I feel so cruddy and my head is always spinning is I have vestibular migraines. I am starting vestibular therapy and waiting for my neurology appointment (not until Sept) but I am trying to find things I can do to help myself now. My work has been amazing and is accommodating my work area with non-florescent lighting and I will get some glasses to wear as well (I work on a computer all day). I have started magnesium supplements, in addition to the b-complex and multi i’ve been taking for years. My doctor has told me to take meclizine when absolutely needed. But the diet… its overwhelming. I’ll admit as a full-time working mom with an almost 3 year old we eat A LOT of processed food. I have realized I am not going to be able to swallow ALL of this at once, so do you have any recommendations to slowly ease into better eating or is it going to be a huge trigger if I don’t just cut everything at once? Even the things I snack on healthy (nuts, yogurt) are no-no’s so i’m like okay….. what do I eat? Can I eat out? I am not great in the kitchen (nor do I have an abundance of time with my daughter and working) so how can I make foods that aren’t going to bore me (and make my cheat), that are easy, filling and tasteful? This is all so overwhelming but these awful headaches I have to function with!!! Any advice on this transition for someone who doesn’t know how to cook and is kind of picky too?
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.
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!
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!
Oh yay! So glad to hear pinterest actually works haha. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you every have any questions. 🙂