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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
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3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Relationships between food, wine, and beer-precipitated migrainous headaches
1Princess Margaret Migraine Clinic, Charing Cross Hospital, London, England.
Headache
|June 1, 1995
Summary
Migraine patients frequently report sensitivity to cheese, chocolate, and red wine, suggesting shared triggers. Alcohol sensitivity appears to involve different mechanisms than food triggers in migraine headaches.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Gastroenterology
- Dietary Science
Background:
- Dietary factors are commonly reported as headache triggers in migraine patients.
- The specific relationships between different food and beverage sensitivities in migraine are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of dietary triggers, specifically cheese, chocolate, and alcohol, in migraine patients.
- To explore potential associations between sensitivities to different dietary precipitants.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 577 consecutive patients from a migraine clinic were surveyed regarding dietary headache triggers.
- Patients were categorized into migraine, tension headache, and mixed features groups based on diagnostic criteria.
- Statistical analysis was used to determine associations between reported sensitivities.
Main Results:
- 16.5% of migraine patients reported sensitivity to cheese or chocolate.
- Significant associations were found between sensitivity to cheese/chocolate and red wine (P < 0.001), and beer (P < 0.001).
- Sensitivity to alcoholic drinks in general showed no association with food sensitivities.
Conclusions:
- Cheese/chocolate and red wine sensitivities share closely related mechanisms, distinct from those for alcohol in general.
- These food-related triggers appear more linked to migraine than to tension-type headaches.
- Separate mechanisms likely underlie sensitivity to alcoholic drinks in migraine.
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