low-tyramine diet Archives - Headache and Migraine News

low-tyramine diet

6 July 2017

The Low Tyramine Diet for Migraine – Is it time to rethink it?

One of the most popular migraine-fighting diets over the past 20 years has been the low tyramine diet. Avoiding foods such as soy sauce, salami, aged cheese, nuts and alcohol have been pretty standard. But – is it time to start eating these things again?

Time to rethink the low tyramine diet? There’s no doubt that the low tyramine diet has helped a lot of people reduce their migraine symptoms. But as we have learned over and over again, sometimes something “works” for a completely unexpected reason.

For example, could it be that just avoiding processed foods and being more careful about what you eat is actually the key, no matter what common migraine diet you’re trying? Or is there another chemical or compound in the food that is actually causing the problem, and not tyramine?

For example, the debate about just why some alcoholic beverages trigger migraine attacks in some people is far from over.

The makers of the Curelator app continue to challenge common knowledge about just what triggers attacks – and their latest target is, you guessed it, tyramine.

Taking information from 488 individuals with chronic or episodic migraine, they checked to see if tyramine actually triggered attacks. It did – but not very often.

Tyramine was a “confirmed trigger” in less than 10% of episodic migraine attacks, and less than 5% of chronic migraine attacks.

Now, at first this sounds pretty shocking. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Don’t forget the “unconfirmed” triggers. And — if we could wipe out 10% of our attacks for sure by avoiding tyramine – or if 10% of migraine sufferers could eliminate their attacks by avoiding tyramine — well, you get my point.

So tyramine does still seem to be a significant trigger. BUT.

But what about all the people avoiding tyramine that don’t need to?

The Curelator researchers found another surprising result. For many people who suspected tyramine to be a trigger, it actually turned out to be a “protector”. In other words, they were more likely to avoid a migraine attack when they ate foods high in tyramine!

Perhaps the biggest take-away from this study is that we’re not always very good at guessing what our triggers are. Life if very complex, and apps like Curelator are heolping us rethink migraine triggers and stop avoiding things that we really don’t need to avoid.

For more on these findings, check out Curelator Headache Presents New Data Underscoring Misconceptions About Migraine Triggers And Protectors At American Headache Society Scientific Meeting

1 September 2012

Can I be Migraine-Free and still eat Cheese?

James Tips 14

Cheese seems to be pretty high up on the list of foods to avoid when you’re a migraine patient. But as with anything related to migraine, it ain’t so simple.

First of all, my list isn’t your list. Just because cheese triggers and attack in Josh, there’s no proof that it may trigger an attack in Ashley.

The common theory when it comes to cheese is that it contains tyramine, an organic compound in a lot of foods that may trigger migraine attacks. Many migraine patients have tried a low-tyramine diet, and many have been helped by it.

Is there cheese that's safe for a migraine patient?

But here’s the catch – some cheeses are super-high in tyramine, others are not. Don’t just "avoid cheese" – there are many cheeses that may not bother you at all. (Of course, if you’re avoiding dairy altogether, skip the rest of this article and read this.)

Worst Offenders

The cheeses that are aged tend to be the worst offenders. From What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Migraines, here is a list of the common cheeses that are high tyramine, the worst first:

English Stilton
Blue cheese
Sharp (old) Cheddar
Danish blue
Mozzarella
Swiss Gruyère
Feta
Parmesan
Gorgonzola

Others that are often listed are Boursault, Boursin, Brie, Colby, Emmenthaler, Camembert, Gouda, Muenster, Provolone, Romano, Roquefort, and Swiss.

Now, there’s a bit of a fight over whether or not mozzarella should be on the list – particularly because people love their pizza. So we’ll talk more about mozza in a moment.

Safer Cheeses

So, did the list above seem kind of long? In the book Heal Your Headache, Dr. Buchholz offers this list of cheeses that are fairly low in tyramine.

Cottage cheese
Ricotta
Cream Cheese
(good quality) American cheese

The key here is fresh – young cheeses tend to have less tyramine. Go to your local cheese shop and see what fresh cheeses they offer – you might find a new love. You also might get away with some processed cheeses, such as Cheese Wiz, but I’m not into recommending a lot of processed food when it comes to migraine. And frankly, some processed cheeses are real serious migraine triggers.

And back to mozzarella. Different tests of mozza have led to different results, which is why you sometimes see it as a cheese to avoid, and sometimes as a safe cheese. For most, if you think cheese with tyramine may be a problem, it’s probably wise to err on the side of caution, and then carefully add it back into your diet later. Fresh goat cheese may be another one to try after a while

So, yes, you may be able to eat cheese. Maybe for you, cheese isn’t a problem at all. But if you’ve found a connection between cheese and your migraine attacks, try avoiding the worst offenders for a while and keep track in your migraine diary.