Migraine and diet

About migraine and diet

Your diet can have a strong influence on your migraine for many reasons. You might find that certain foods seem to trigger a migraine attack. Having regular eating patterns is also known to be important in managing migraine.

Following a healthy, balanced diet may also have a positive impact on your migraine. This may be through maintaining the balance of bacteria in your gut, known as the gut biome. We have more information on the gut biome and how it links to migraine below.

Although what you eat might impact your migraine, it’s important to know that the condition isn’t caused by anything in your diet. There are usually several factors that work in combination to influence migraine. Although making changes to diet can be helpful, it’s unlikely to stop your migraine attacks altogether.

It’s important to consider other aspects of your lifestyle too, such as your sleep routine, exercise and stress levels. It might be helpful to record this in a migraine diary. You should also talk to a healthcare professional about your treatment options.

Food triggers for migraine

Many people with migraine identify certain foods as triggers for migraine attacks. People sometimes refer to the ‘5 Cs’ as being common triggers for migraine. These 5 Cs refer to chocolate, cheese, coffee, coke and citrus fruits.

Although some people may identify a link with these foods and their migraine attacks, there is little evidence from studies to support this. We now know that it’s not as straightforward as simply avoiding the 5 Cs to prevent migraine attacks.

This is what the evidence says about the 5 Cs for migraine – and some other commonly-reported food triggers.

Tracking and avoiding food triggers

If you think that a certain food or drink is playing a role in your migraine attacks it can help to keep a headache diary. You can track what you have had to eat or drink around the times that you have an attack. You don’t need to do this forever – just long enough to see if you notice any patterns.

It’s worth bearing in mind that it can take a lot of time and effort to record everything you eat or drink. And it can be difficult to work out what are true triggers. Cutting out particular foods or drinks that you believe to be triggers may not necessarily lead to a reduction in your migraine attacks. It’s worth getting advice from your GP or a dietitian before making significant changes to your diet.

Specific diets and migraine

People often want to know whether particular diets will help with their migraine. Studies looking at the following diets in migraine have had some promising results.

• Mediterranean diet. This prioritises oily fish, olive oil, nuts, fruit and vegetables, and limits meat and dairy. It tends to be high in omega-3 fatty acids and is known to have a wide variety of health benefits.
• Ketogenic (‘Keto’) diet. This diet restricts carbohydrate consumption but typically has high fat intake.
• DASH diet. This diet incorporates wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy, nuts, fish and poultry. Salt, fat and added sugar is restricted.
• Low-fat diet. The focus in this diet is on lowering dietary fats.
• Gluten-free diet. This may help improve migraine in people with coeliac disease, who need to follow a gluten-free diet for life. There is no evidence to suggest it is helpful for people with migraine who don’t have coeliac disease.

The studies showed that some people may notice improvements in migraine attack duration, frequency or severity after following these diets. However, the evidence around this is weak. This means it’s difficult to say for sure how effective they are. Further research is needed before any particular diet can be recommended for migraine.

It’s not recommended to follow a diet that restricts or eliminates whole food groups without guidance from a healthcare professional.

Healthy eating for migraine

For most people with migraine, the best diet to follow is a healthy, balanced diet, with regular mealtimes.

A healthy, balanced diet involves:

• eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day
• basing meals on high-fibre or wholegrain, starchy carbohydrates
• choosing low-fat sources of protein such as lean meat, fish, or pulses
• opting for lower-fat dairy products
• using small amounts of unsaturated fats – including oils and spreads
• limiting food and drinks high fat, salt and sugar.

It’s also important to stay hydrated. This means drinking enough so that your urine (pee) is a clear, pale yellow colour. This usually means around six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day. Dehydration may trigger or worsen migraine attacks for some people.

You may also want to consider trying dietary supplements to see if they help with your migraine. Discuss with a healthcare professional before trying supplements. They can check if it’s safe for you, and whether they may interact with any medicines you are taking.

Missing meals and blood sugar levels

Skipping meals is a commonly-reported migraine trigger. This is thought to be due to a drop in blood sugar level. The same thing can happen after eating sugary snacks, going on a diet or exercising without eating enough food beforehand.

To keep blood sugar levels stable, aim for a healthy, balanced diet as outlined above. Cut down on sugary foods like cakes, biscuits and ice cream, which can cause blood sugar levels to spike.

It’s important to try and stick to regular mealtimes and not go too long without eating. If your migraine attacks appear to be triggered by low blood sugar levels, make sure you have small, frequent, low-sugar meals. Having small nutritious snacks if you need to between meals may also help. If you find you have headache when you wake up, it may help to have a healthy snack before bed.

The gut-brain axis and gut biome

The gut-brain axis refers to the two-way link between your gut and your brain, and how they ‘talk’ or communicate with each other. The gut-brain axis is believed to play a role in migraine, but it’s not clear exactly how.

We know that migraine can cause symptoms related to our gut, like feeling and being sick. There may be an association between migraine and certain conditions affecting your gut too. These include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and coeliac disease.

Certain changes in your gut may also make your brain more sensitive to a migraine attack. This is thought to be driven mainly by your gut biome. The gut biome means all the bacteria and other microorganisms that live in your gut. A healthy, balanced gut biome is known to be important for overall health. When there is an imbalance in the gut biome, it can result in signals being sent to your brain that make a migraine attack more likely.

Certain things can affect our gut biome, including stress and diet. A healthy, balanced diet, with plenty of fibre from fruit and vegetables, can help to maintain a healthy gut biome.

We may not fully understand how the gut-brain axis affects migraine yet. But recognising that a link exists can help us to appreciate the importance of our gut and what we eat when it comes to managing migraine.

Healthy weight and migraine

As well as being beneficial for your general health, a healthy, balanced diet will also help you to maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese doesn’t cause migraine. But it is associated with more frequent migraine attacks. It increases the risk of migraine becoming chronic too. Maintaining a healthy weight can have a positive impact on your migraine.

If you are trying to lose weight, aim to do so gradually. This will avoid sudden drops in blood sugar, which may trigger migraine attacks. It may also make it easier to keep the weight off in the long term.

Weight loss injections

Some people notice a worsening in their migraine when using weight loss injections, like semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Other people seem to notice an improvement in their migraine after taking weight loss medication.

Side effects of these drugs can include low blood sugar levels and dehydration. This may cause headaches or trigger a migraine attack in some people.

The way in which these medications work may also affect migraine. Weight loss injections work by reducing appetite and making you feel fuller for longer. This may lead to you skipping meals or eating much less than normal. These are known triggers for migraine. It’s important to try to continue eating regularly while taking these medications.

If you notice a worsening of your migraine after taking weight loss medication, report this to your doctor. They can advise on whether any changes to your diet may help, as well as on treatment options for your migraine.

Diet tips for migraine

• Avoid ‘fad’ diets – a healthy, balanced diet is best for general health, as well as migraine.
• Try to stick to regular mealtimes and don’t go too long without eating.
• Remember to keep hydrated too.
• Think about steps you can take to maintain a healthy weight.
• If you think a certain food or drink is triggering your migraine, consider using a diary to monitor any patterns.

About our information

This information has been written by The Migraine Trust Information and Support Services team. It has been reviewed by our panel of expert health professionals and people affected by migraine.

Our information has been awarded the PIF TICK quality mark for trustworthy health information.

If you have feedback on our information, please get in touch at: feedback@migrainetrust.org

Last reviewed: December 2025 | Next review due: December 2028