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Aw, Nuts! Another Migraine Trigger?
By Kerrie Smyres | May 8, 2007
Post-peanut butter, nuts have become a go-to food for me. When I’m hungry and can’t think about food, I put almond butter on a bagel. If I’m going to be away from home for awhile, I bring a bag of trail mix along. Turns out these good-for-you snacks aren’t so smart for me.
Last Tuesday I noticed that I had a migraine about 30 minutes after lunch, which I was able to abort. Then I had another one come on within an hour after dinner. The similarity between these two meals? Almond butter. Hmm, could this spell migraine food trigger?
Finally heeding the signals, I stopped eating nuts. Here’s the rundown since then:
- All my symptoms were present Wednesday at a moderate level, but there was no spike in pain or exhaustion.
- Thursday I had little pain and spaciness until evening. It was a long, intense, busy day. I was worn out, a little “off” and slightly headachy when I got home around 4:30. The migraine that followed lasted through Friday night.
- Saturday I woke up with lots of energy. After three hours at full speed, I felt spacey and tired. The pain came on in the late afternoon, but I was able to abort all the severe symptoms with a caffeine.
- Sunday started with an energy surplus that lasted a couple hours. Then I was tired off and on, but other symptoms never popped up and my headache pain was low all day.
- Monday, I went to a coffeehouse to work — and wound up writing for four hours! By 3 p.m. I was tired and my headache was moderate, so I rested between 3 and 6. After that, I was good to go until bedtime.
These are the highlights of course. I’ve still had moderate to severe head pain most nights, get spacey, feel tired, and need to rest every day. The nuts can’t hold all the blame, so I’m also being hypervigilant to not wear myself out. This morning started out slow, but I still went to yoga and the grocery store. I’m beginning to droop again, but I enjoyed my class and have gotten to enjoy some of this glorious Seattle day.
As wonderful as they are, nut can’t provide the same joy as not being chained to the couch nearly all day every day.
Topics: Coping, Treatment | 27 Comments »
May 10th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Yep, nuts are a trigger of mine too. I can have some… but not too much. And I can’t mix them with other triggers.
I really hate that I can’t eat too much of them. It’s pretty much the only protien that I can tote along with me if I’ll be away from the house.
********
That’s the most frustrating part for me too.
Kerrie
January 10th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I have had migraines for years..Recently i gave up almond butter as well as peanut butter…In the past 3 weeks of no almond butter i have had ZERO migraines?
At the same time i gave all this up and it has been hard since nuts are in everyhting, i also began taking 400 mg of Riboflavin and increased by B12 as well.
Now i don’t know which is the key…
Any experience with B vitamins for migraines?
January 20th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I have been a mgr sufferer for forty years. In the last decade I have discovered that various foods are really problematic for me, including chocolate, alcohol and coffee. I was afraid it was the caffeine until it was explained to me that the problem with coffee is the OIL. So, tea is fine. Meanwhile, I have had all these mgrs since Xmas, when I started eating walnuts on squash for breakfast (I know, I am weird). I had NO IDEA it might be the nuts. I am off them as of now and will report back. Thanks for the heads up. Glad to know we are all in this together and battling it out with the monster migraine meister. -Kate
May 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I to am victim of migraine headaches. Last year I was getting them frequently till August 23rd which is the date I started drinking 2 Tbs of Apple cider vinegar daily. I did not suffer from a migraine again till just a few days ago on May 23rd. The only things different I did was I had eaten a lot of almonds that day and the days before it. I also had tuna for lunch. ?? not sure if thats a trigger. I am thinking it was the almonds.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I work in health care and am like the cobbler’s kid with no shoes..so after advising everyone else to keep a food journal, I finally did it myself and figured out nuts are the common denominator…the migraine does not start until about 6 hours after I eat them though. Both peanuts and almonds are triggers..well, hope I have at least one thing figured out…migraine’s are disabling me… i will try apple cider vinegar…I’ve heard that from someone else too!
May 26th, 2009 at 6:02 am
May 26th, 2009
I def. have a correlation between nuts and migraines – I can almost guarantee that I’ll have a migraine if I eat peanut butter!!!! Sucks, because I love it!!!! Also yogurt will give me a migraine – weird, but true!!!
June 18th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Peanuts have long been a problem for me and I’m now trying to figure out if I’m having a problem with almonds or not. I’ll be upset if I am.
But I’d also like to mention that beyond peanuts, which are legumes, many other legumes are trouble for me too — peas, snow peas, lentils, so you may want to be vigilant about some of these closely related things
June 30th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Everytime I eat almonds I get a feeling of coming migraine attack. I noticed that water with lemon helps a lot. I asked my naturopath doctor about it and he told me that lemon helps to flush bile (some how it’s related to migraines)
July 7th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I have lately realized the cause of my headaches are almonds, I refused to accept it initially because I love almond based chocolates and sweets, also some roasted ones with my beverages. I have stayed away from them for the past 2 weeks and haven’t gotten a headache.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
I am discovering that FOOD is a trigger for me. At least, that’s what it seems like. I have a new neurosurgeon, and he has a list of trigger foods. The common component is tyramine, and it’s in all nuts and seeds.
I don’t know how I will survive without the peanut butter. I eat it every day.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I have been blaming my migraines on caffeine and/or processed sugars for years. While it is true that processed sugars do give me migraine, I still had them when I did not eat sugar. I have recently stopped eating almost all nuts and have suffered 3 days after with light headed, nausea, dizziness and almost a costant headache. Thanks for this information!
February 20th, 2010 at 11:58 am
I loved peanut butter and ate a lot of it. I started getting headaches that would last all day. I discovered that it was peanuts that caused them. Sun butter is a product made from sunflower seeds. It taste very much like peanut butter. Try sun butter I think you will like it and no headaches.
December 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I rarley ever get headaches, even reagular ones. One day I felt very tired and fatigued. The next day I felt the same with bad headache and light headedness to the point of blotchy vision. Per freak chance my coworker and I were talking about food and he said his uncle went to the doctor for sudden migranes and found out he was getting them because he was recently eating large amounts of almonds. Between the day I started feeling off and the day before, I had had eaten about 30 0z of mixed nuts, the second most in the mix was almonds. Small world.
January 3rd, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Just happend upon this site, because I was reading how almonds are the “end all be all” for you. Puhleese. If I read one more article about almonds… I think it’s a conspiracy. It was explained to me that it was the protein/amino acids in certain foods, i.e. nuts that trigger migraines. Have you seen the list of amino acids??? It’s really hard to avoid. If one is trying to build muscle… protein is essential. This makes for a very frustrating diet. However, everyone is created differently so everyone is affected differently. I know some mirgainers that can eat chocolate!!!!! wahhhhhh of all the things I miss, it’s the peanut butter. I do cheat sometimes I can get away with it and sometimes I pay. What does work for me… exercise, hydration and vitamins and of course sticking to the migraine diet as much as possible. Happy New YEar to you all and all the best for less headaches this year!
April 1st, 2011 at 8:19 pm
I have been a sufferer of headaches for a long time now, I was told they are not migraines but tension headaches. I never really thought about food triggers for them. I started drinking almond milk over the last 6 months because I love to eat a bowl of cereal and I cannot drink cows milk. Well the headaches became more frequent. I stopped drinking it for 3 weeks and noticed alot less headaches. So I wanted to put it to the test and had just a couple of almonds and guess what… Raging headache… Who woulda though…
April 7th, 2011 at 9:03 am
I,too, have had migraines for at least 30 years. I am finding that some of these headaches are from a recently diagnosed condition called glaucoma. Never had a clue until my sister, who has had glaucoma for years, told me that the ones that come on during the night and start around my eye and eyebrow area are probably glaucoma. She was right. Now, I am aware that peanuts and almonds cause those that start in the back of my head and migrate to the front. After testing this theory many times by trying to cheat, I realize that I must give these nuts up and use my glaucoma drops religiously. By doing these two things I have eliminated most of my migraines. Still, I believe there is another trigger. Will try to figure it out. I love coffee in the morning, strong, dark Folgers and I love chocolate, the dark bitter sweet kind. I will be crying alot if I have to give these joys up.
July 14th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Got a migraine last night after eating alot of almonds over the past two days. I have had them from eating cashews aswell which sucks cause I love them. After reading this I’m slowing down on the nuts, so much for being good for you!
July 19th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
peanuts and most other nuts are migraine triggers for myself and my husband as well as my oldest daughter. we have to be careful of what we eat and make sure its peanut free – id rather do with out then suffer with the headache.
July 19th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
RE: B vitamins and headaches – niacin will cause headaches as it is a vaso-dialator otherwise known as the niacin flush and is often found in B vitamin supplement combos – daily vitamins with large amounts of niacin can cause headaches in some people – i have finally found a daily vitamin that does not cause me headaches after years of searching “Mulitbionta”
September 9th, 2011 at 6:55 am
Just a note for those who lump together nuts and peanuts–they are in different food groups. While both may be triggers, they are NOT the same. Peanuts are legumes; they grow in the ground. Tree nuts are (true) nuts.
I don’t deny that both could be triggers for migraines, but it really is important to distinguish the difference.
October 12th, 2011 at 8:17 am
tyramine is the cause of all my headaches. my doctor analyzed the food i ate which caused the headaches.
tyramine is a protein in peanuts, and all fermented and aged foods,
wine,aged cheeses, chocolate, also yogurt, yeast,
sour cream, chocolate, and nuts have the protein. you can eat a little but if you pass your threshhold, its a splittiing headache and high blood pressure.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:27 am
I ate a lot of dry roasted peanuts about 2 weeks ago. Within 10 minutes I got a migraine. Today it happened again, with a half of a pb and j sandwich. I was going to try almond butter, which I like too…but now I’m scared. Did anyone else try the sunflower butter?
November 17th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
In my life I’ve eaten tons of trailmix, peanuts and almonds but never had a migraine until several months ago. Then I started, each week or two, being awakened in the middle of the night by a crushing headache which persisted for several hours. I noticed or imagined after a few months of this that while I had the headache I had a lingering taste of almonds in my mouth from the night before. I stayed away from almonds for a while, but they are irresistible and one evening I ate a handful. Sure enough, a huge headache followed so I stayed away from them for a few months until I decided that it didn’t make sense to think that almonds could cause headaches, and enjoyed a handful. Sure enough, a huge headache woke me up. No more almonds for me.
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Re: seed butters
I am almond and peanut sensitive and joyfully eat the Naturally Nutty seed butters. Sugar free too. Don’t let the name fool you, the company makes both nut and seed only butters.
February 10th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I do not realy suffer anytype of headache problems and have had about 5 migraines in my life.
I had one last night and when I do get them I get them bad enough I find myself dry reaching most the time.
I was trying to put it together and why was it I got them.
I looked up this site and looked at what I had eaten in the day. I dont eat breakfast most days but had cerial with yes nuts in it in the morning.
Then because I was home for the day had some toast and peanut butter for lunch.
I then looked in the fridge and my wife had got me some boiled peanuts so tucked into a few of them latter in the day. Buy 6pm I was seeing stars.
No more nuts for me in large lots like that. I thought it might be beer as I had suffered a few times when drinking a beer but what do we have when we have a beer yes a hand full of nuts.
March 26th, 2012 at 8:30 am
HI, BEEN HAVING MORE MIGRAINES LATELY,WAS LOOKING TO SEE WHAT COULD BE TRIGGERING THEM,AND RAN ACROSS THIS SITE, I HAVE STATED EATING WALNUT TO GET MY OMEGA 3, WAS OUT OF THEM FOR TWO DAYS AND NO HEADACHE, SO GOING TO STOP THEM AND HOPE IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, THANKS FOR ALL TH INFO HERE.
March 29th, 2012 at 11:24 am
I HAVE ACTUALLY SUFFERED FROM MIGRAINES LONGER THAN I REALIZED. BUT WAS RECENTLY INTRODUCED TO THE GAPS DIET. WHAT I LEARNED IS THAT A LOT OF MIGRAINE SUFFERED HAVE A VERY COMMON AILMENT CALLED LEAKY GUT SYNDROME IN WHICH TYPICALLY GOES UNDIAGNOSED. THIS CONDITION CAUSES TOXINS TO BE RELEASED INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM THROUGH YOUR STOMACH LINING. SO WHILE OTHER PEOPLE WITH A HEALTHY GUT DUMP TOXINS NORMALLY, WE ACTUALLY GET POISONED BY THEM. SO ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT NUTS PEANUTS OR WALNUTS. THEY ALL NEED TO BE PROPERLY PREPARED. SOAKED IN ORDER TO BE BETTER DIGESTED, THESE FOODS ARE VERY HARD TO DIGEST. IF YOU DON’T THAT FOOD SITS IN YOUR STOMACH WHILE THE MICROSCOPIC FLORA BEGINS FEASTING AND MULTIPLYING OFF OF IT, RELEASING TOXINS INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM. MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE WITH THIS WAS INTERESTING. I HAD A HORRIBLE MIGRAINE AFTER EATING IMPROPERLY PREPARED NUTS AND THREW EVERYTHING UP WHOLE AND UNDIGESTED AND RIGHT AWAY BEGAN FEELING RELIEVE. SO GAPS IS A DIET THAT HEALS AND SEALS THE GUT THROUGH PROPER NUTRITIOUN. I PLAN ON CURING MY MIGRAINES, NOT TREATING THEM! GOD BLESS!