A Helpful Food Chart
A PDF Version and the original reference courtesy of Migraine.com
https://migraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/elimination_diet_comprehensive.pdf
Please note this list isn’t an absolute but a guide and some items in the avoid category may not cause any issues
Vegetables
Vegetables to Eat
• Acorn Squash
• Artichoke
• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Bamboo Shoots
• Bell Peppers
• Bok Choi
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Butternut Squash
• Cabbage
• Canary Melon
• Cantaloupe
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Collard greens
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Endive
• Escarole
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Honeydew
• Kabocha Squash
• Kale
• Kelp
• Leeks
• Lettuces
• Mustard Greens
• Parsnips
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Spaghetti Squash
• Swiss chard
• Taro root
• Water Chestnuts
• Watercress
• Watermelon
• Zucchini
Vegetables to Avoid
• Avocado (tyramine)
• Beets, red (nitrates)
• Eggplant (histamine, tyramine, nitrites)
• Fava or broad beans (tyramine)
• Green peas (tyramine)
• Olives (histamine, tyramine)
• Onion (none of the known problematic food chemicals, but listed in traditional migraine diets)
• Potato (tyramine)
• Pumpkin (histamine)
• Snow peas (tyramine)
• Spinach (histamine, nitrites)
• Sweet potato (tyramine)
• Tomato and all tomato products (histamine, tyramine, sulfites, nitrites)
Fruits
Fruits to Eat
All pure, fresh or frozen fruit and their juices except those listed in the restricted column.
• Apples
• Coconut
• Figs
• Guava
• Kiwi
• Longans
• Lychees
• Mango
• Passion Fruit
• Pears
• Persimmons
• Pomegranate
• Rhubarb
• Star fruit
Fruits to Avoid
• Apricot (histamine)
• Bananas (tyramine)
• Cherry (histamine)
• Citrus—oranges, limes, lemons, grapefruit (histamine)
• Cranberry (histamine)
• Currant (histamine)
• Date (histamine)
• Grapes (sulfites)
• Loganberry (histamine)
• Mulberry (histamine)
• Nectarine (histamine)
• Papaya (histamine)
• Peaches (histamine)
• Pineapple (histamine)
• Plums (histamine, tyramine)
• Prunes (histamine, tyramine,
sulfites)
• Raisins (histamine)
• Raisins (tyramine, sulfites)
• Raspberries (histamine, tyramine)
• Strawberries (histamine)
• Any overripe fruit (tyramine)
• Any dried fruit that doesn’t say sulfite-free (sulfites)
Meat and Fish
Meat and fish to Eat
• Beef (not aged)
• Pork
• Chicken
• Turkey (white meat may be better than dark)
• Lamb
• Goat
• Eggs, only with fully cooked egg white
• All meat should be cooked or frozen within a day of purchasing, cooked leftovers can be frozen.
• Only use ground meat if you grind it yourself or have a butcher do it right before you buy it.
• Slow-cooking methods, like in a Crockpot or oven-roasted should be avoided.
• If grilling, try to minimize char marks.
• Fish that is gutted and cooked within 30 minutes of being caught is fine, but not many of us have access to that! Frozen fish may be OK; it depends on how long it sat before it was gutted and frozen.
Meat and fish to avoid
• Cured, smoked, aged, processed, canned, or tenderized meats—like bacon, hot dogs, prosciutto, pepperoni, lunch meat, etc. (histamine, tyramine, nitrates)
• Pre-ground meat (if you grind it yourself or have a butcher grind it right before you buy it, ground meat should be OK) (histamine)
• Old or leftover meat—meat should be cooked or frozen within a day of purchasing, cooked leftovers should be frozen immediately (histamine, tyramine)
• Liver from any animal (histamine, tyramine)
• Any game meat (histamine, tyramine)
• All fish and shellfish (histamine)
• Raw egg white (histamine)
Dairy
Dairy to Eat
• Plain milk (cow, goat, or sheep)
• Cream
• Butter
• Some preparations of ricotta, cream cheese, marscapone, farmer’s cheese, paneer, or quark—as long as they have no microbial enzymes, gums,
thickeners, or other restricted ingredients
• Ice cream with no restricted ingredients
Note tyramin can develop as these items mature so consume them as quick as possible
Dairy to Avoid
• Any fermented dairy products, like cheese, sour
cream, processed cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, kefir
(histamine, MSG, tyramine)
Legumes
Legumes to eat
• Chickpeas
• Black Beans
• Navy Beans
• Pinto Beans
• Lentils (not red)
• Black-eyed peas
• Split peas
Legumes to avoid
• Soybeans and all soy products (histamine, sulfites)
• Red beans (histamine)
• Fava or broad beans (tyramine)
Nuts and Seeds
Avoid all nuts and seeds. Walnuts and pecans definitely contain tyramine. The tyramine content of the others is
debated, but traditional migraine diets recommend avoiding them. Coconut (a nut) and quinoa and amaranth
(seeds) are borderline foods—some are fine with them, others are not.
Grains, Cereals, Bread, Baked Goods
Grains, Cereals, Bread, Baked Goods to Eat
• Any pure, unbleached flour or grain: wheat, kasha, rye, buckwheat, millet, teff, amaranth, kamut, wheat berries, sorghum, tapioca, spelt, bulgur, barley
• Rice, wild rice
• Corn, popcorn
• Oatmeal, oats (unflavored)
• Pasta from approved ingredients (basic semolina pasta is fine as long as it doesn’t have additives)
• Breakfast cereals with allowed ingredients, including all plain grains, oatmeal, corn flakes, shredded wheat, puffed rice, puffed wheat, puffed kamut,
cream of rice, cream of wheat
• Baked goods leavened with baking soda: biscuits,
quick breads, muffins, scones, soda bread, scones
• Crackers with allowed ingredients (Triscuit-type
crackers, water crackers, and some saltines are usually a good bet)
• Small servings of yeast-risen bread products are OK for some people; should not be freshly baked
Grains, Cereals, Bread, Baked Goods to Avoid
• Bleached flour (histamine)
• Modified flour (sulfites)
• Modified gluten (sulfites)
• Barley malt (sulfites)
• Any containing restricted ingredients
Fats, Oils, and Sauces
Fats, Oils, and Sauces to Eat
• Canola
• Corn
• Safflower
• Sunflower
• Olive (olives are out, but many people do fine with
small amounts of olive oil)
• Homemade condiments and relishes using allowed
ingredients
Fats, Oils, and Sauces to avoid
• Vinegar
• Any fats or oils that contain color and/or
preservatives (histamine)
• Soybean oil
• Margarine
• Prepared salad dressings with restricted ingredients
(which are most of them)
• Prepared gravies
• Prepared condiments and relishes, including
ketchup, mustard and sauerkraut (histamine, sulfites,
MSG)
• Soy sauce (histamine, tyramine, MSG)
Teryiaki sauce (tyramine)
• Most commercial salad dressing (histamine)
• Fish sauce (tyramine, MSG)
Herbs and Spices
Herbs and Spices to Eat
• Basil
• Bay leaf
• Black pepper
• Caraway
• Cardamom
• Celery seeds
• Chives
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Dill
• Ginger
• Mint
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Poppy seed
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Savory
• Thyme
• Turmeric
Herbs and Spices to Avoid
• Anise (histamine)
• Cinnamon (histamine)
• Cloves (histamine)
• Curry powder (histamine)
• Hot paprika (histamine)
• Nutmeg (histamine)
• Prepared foods labeled “with spices” (histamine,
MSG)
Sweets
Sweets to Eat
• Sugar
• Honey
• Stevia (with no additives, the only one I’ve found is
Whole Foods brand)
• Molasses
• Maple syrup (real)
• Molasses
• Corn syrup
• Pure jams, jellies, marmalades, conserves made
with allowed ingredients
• Homemade sweets and baked goods with allowed
ingredients
Sweets to Avoid
• All chocolate and cocoa (histamine)
• Flavored gelatin (histamine)
• Artificial sweeteners (histamine)
• Flavored syrups (histamine)
• Prepared desert fillings (histamine)
• Prepared icings, frostings (histamine)
• Spreads with restricted ingredients (histamine)
• Cake decorations (histamine)
Commercial candies (histamine)
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous to Eat
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cream of tartar
• Plain gelatin
• Homemade relishes and sauces with allowed ingredients
Miscellaneous to Avoid
• Mincemeat (histamine)
• Miso (histamine, tyramine)
Pickles (histamine, tyramine, sulfites, nitrites, MSG)
• Anything fermented (histamine, tyramine)
• Coleslaw (nitrates, sulfites)
• Sauerkraut (histamine, tyramine)
Drinks
Drinks to Have
• Water
• Mineral water
• Juice from allowed fruits, vegetables
• Homemade ginger ale
• Coffee (limit to one cup a day if caffeinated; if decaf, make sure it is decaffeinated using a water process rather than chemicals – chemical decaffeination is the norm, The Coffee Bean is the only large chain I know of that uses a water process for decaf)
• Herbal tea made from allowed herbs and spices (ginger and peppermint are the most common, holy basil is another option, chamomile should be fine)
• Plain vodka, gin or white rum are the least problematic alcoholic beverages, but any alcohol can be a trigger; it’s best to avoid all alcohol to get the
best information from your elimination diet
Drinks to Avoid
• Fruit juices and cocktails made with restricted ingredients (histamine)
• Carbonated beverages other than mineral water (histamine)
• Soda (caffeine, sulfites, histamine)
• Coffee (caffeine): decaf OK only if decaffeinated without chemicals
• Tea: black, green, or white, even decaffeinated (histamine, caffeine)
• All drinks with “flavor” or “spices” (histamine, MSG)
• Fermented beverages (histamine, tyramine)
• All alcohol (histamine, tyramine, sulfites)
Additives
Avoid prepared foods with any of these ingredients (you may find it easiest to avoid prepared foods altogether)
Addidives to Have
• Artificial colors (histamine, MSG)
• Artificial flavors (histamine, MSG)
• Benzoyl peroxide (used to bleach wheat) (histamine)
• BHA (histamine)
• BHT (histamine)
• Calcium hydrogen sulfite (sulfite)
• Calcium sulfite (sulfite)
• Guar gum (MSG)
• Hydrolyzed lecithin (histamine)
• Microbial cultures (histamine)
• Microbial enzymes (histamine)
• MSG: MSG hides under more than 40 different
names! For a complete list, check:
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
Additives to Avoid
• Potassium hydrogen sulfite (sulfite)
• Potassium meatbisulfite (sulfite)
• Potassium sulfite (sulfite)
• Preservatives (histamine, MSG)
• Sodium bisulfite (sulfite)
• Sodium hydrogen sulfite (sulfite)
• Sodium meatbisulfite (sulfite)
• Sodium sulfie (sulfite)
• Sulfite ammonia caramel (sulfite)
• Sulfur dioxide (sulfite)
• Yeast, yeast extract, brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast
(tyramine, MSG)