Dieting and Migraine: Friend or Foe?

By Lisa Robin Benson

3 min read

This past year, I was on a mission to lose weight. I talk, in a video below, how that affected my migraine attack frequency.

Below my video, you can also read many comments from our community on how diet affects them!

I’m not the only one who has been triggered by weight-loss dieting

“I have found that dieting of any kind increases my migraines. They are worse during the start of the diet then become daily but more manageable migraines.”

“If I don't eat often I get sicker.”

“Not eating regularly affects my migraine.”

“If I don't eat, I get a migraine. So then I deal with it with high sugar foods because that's what seems to reduce it.”

But for some, dieting for weight loss has helped

“For the last month, I’ve been micro-fasting. 8 hours eating 16 hours fasting. I've had less pain, needed less medication.”

“I tried cutting out all the different food types before but didn't help me. However, after losing 12 stone with my gastric bypass cause of my polycystic ovary syndrome I have noticed my migraines have gone to once a week rather than daily!”

For others, eliminating a food has been useful

“Well, believe it or not, I've been wheat-free for 12+ yrs now as I found that was the cause of my migraine. Every time I tried wheat during those years I would get a migraine around 24 hrs after.”

“I am unable to find any food trigger for my migraines, but low glycemic and unprocessed diet helps as well as being active. Overall the salt cravings and fatigue make it hard to have a true routine and my medications affect my taste buds so I ride that roller coaster daily.”

“Going completely dairy-free has reduced my migraine occurrence to once every two to three months. I used to get 3-5 migraines a month!”

Dieting has helped some with their overall health, but not their migraines

“From 38-40 I lost 102 lbs. I got healthier. I eat better than I ever have and have kept the weight off. During that 2 years, my migraines turned chronic. Daily. I have since eliminated gluten as well as most carbs. I’ve done a ketogenic diet for over a year. None of this has really helped my migraine in any kind of calculable way, unfortunately. I’m healthier, and that is worth it though.”

Some people are triggered by diet shakes and supplement ingredients

“I tried Shakeology from Beachbody. During that month-long trial, I had 3 times the migraines I normally do. It has stevia in it, a natural plant-based sugar substitute. Absolutely NO sugar substitutes for me - 'natural' or not!”

“I tried meal replacement shakes and all of them seem to have stevia in them. I was getting horrible migraines during the time of making the shakes. I finally realized what it was and threw the shakes out.”

Some people can't diet due to health restrictions

“I am on Lyrica, Cymbalta for neck and back pain, and now Aimovig. I gained weight. I can't diet guess I have had so many major health issues, just can't.”

Some people have found exercise most helpful

“I lost 75 lbs last year. I watched my diet and went hiking once a week. Life has made hiking more sporadic and my migraines have gotten worse again. I was getting them around once a month while hiking, now I'm getting them once a week. I need to get back to hiking once a week again! My migraines are better, and I feel better in general spending that time in nature.”

“When I weight trained like a beast and ate as clean as clean could be without even a weekly cheat meal they went down to one fuzzy day and one blackout day per month... but a totally unsustainable way of life if you've got a young family and a job.”

And sometimes dieting makes no difference at all

“Seems like any and all forms of diet don’t help my migraine attacks at all... some definitely give me more energy but no impact on pain, nausea and other migraine symptoms. Plus some diets seem to trigger migraine attacks!”

“I have been on several diets due to health issues besides migraines and it hasn't decreased them at all. I actually became chronic about 20 years ago, so I deal with them 24/7. I had them since I been around 10, I'm in my sixties now.”

I'd love it if you join the discussion! Feel free to comment below on how dieting affects your migraine attacks!

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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smigley Member
I too have discovered that dieting increases my migraines, as does exercise. But I still try to stretch and walk several times weekly even though I know that I will pay for it. That's just not right. Intermittent fasting doesn't work too well. Too long with no food. Low blood sugar trigger I believe.
1. smigley Member
 If I don't have a snack or eat for more than three or four hours I get a migraine. I've had friends tell me that it is not a migraine just from not eating or for doing some stretching. Even medical personnel have told me this. Sorry I totally know the difference between a headache and a migraine. I have had them since my teens. I am almost 65 now. And, no, they didn't go away when I hit menopause years ago like I was told they would.
2. elleochs Member
 I had the exact same issue with needing to eat something all day long - and if I didn't, I would get a migraine. It's been that way for me since I was a small child, my migraines were diagnosed at age 5. I discovered while trying out the Atkins diet, then later low carb Keto - that the sugar swing migraines disappeared and I could go for many hours without eating. It was difficult at first to cut out sugar and gluten products (which I did to greatly greatly reduce my RA medications ) but well worth it when I realized that I could go many more hours without eating and not get a migraine. It seems extreme - but it really is worth a try.
ninafranco Member
Yes, if I let my blood sugar get too low I begin to get headachy and if I go to bed hungry I wake up with a migraine. Although I have no problems with diabetes, like a diabetic I always carry some hard candies, usually Life Savers, in my pocket. Having hard candies actually helps when I diet because they are relatively low calorie and helps kills cravings for higher caloric foods. My habit of carrying hard candies and my experience with handling migraines might have saved a life last summer. One of my bosses was driving a small utility vehicle when he had a diabetic episode, fainted, and crashed into a tree. Although not hurt in the crash, his blood sugar was dangerously low. I reached into my back pocket and took out a handful of hard candies that I keep in case I feel a migraine coming on. As he began to recover he complained of a massive headache. YES! I know what to do! I went to our freezer and took out a bunch of ice, put it into a plastic bag, wrapped it in a damp towel and held in on his head. My miracle cure for migraines! He went from deaths door to insisting on going back to work, all because of things I do to keep my migraines in control.