I’ll admit it: I love chocolate. Milk, dark, truffles, bars, chips… I’m not picky. But the other night my son came home from a trip to Switzerland where he stocked up on some of the finest on our planet. After indulging in what can only be described as an impressive amount of chocolate, I was hit with a migraine. It got me thinking: was the chocolate to blame?
I’ve heard that chocolate is a common trigger for migraines, but the connection has always felt a little murky. Sometimes I can eat plenty of it and feel totally fine. Other times, like this one, I wonder if I pushed it too far. So I decided to dig a little deeper into the chocolate-migraine mystery. I’m calling it the Confection Connection.
What’s in Chocolate That Could Trigger a Migraine?
Turns out, chocolate contains several ingredients that may play a role in migraines. It all depends on the person and how you respond to these ingredients, but here they are for our consideration:
1. Caffeine
Chocolate contains small amounts of caffeine, especially dark chocolate. For some people, even a little caffeine can trigger a migraine. For others (like me), caffeine can relieve migraine symptoms. I actually take caffeine during the early stages of a migraine to try to knock it back. The fact that it can be both a remedy and a trigger is classic migraine chaos, and why these things are so tricky to figure out.
2. Tyramine
Tyramine is a naturally occurring compound found in aged or fermented foods, including chocolate. It can cause blood vessels in the brain to dilate or constrict—both of which are thought to play a role in migraines. Tyramine is certainly something to keep an eye out for when it comes to migraines. It’s in a lot of foods. In fact the list of “most common foods” that contain Tyramine could easily be my personal list of favorite things to eat: cheese, fruits (especially older fruits that are starting to ferment), aged meats, nuts, and alcoholic beverages (looking at you wine and beer!) The fact that it’s in chocolate, too, is a testament that nature can be cruel.
If you suspect you are triggered by Tyramine, here’s a tip: eat fresh. Tyramine builds up over time as foods ferment, so the more fresh you can eat, the less Tyramine you’ll be ingesting.
3. Phenylethylamine (PEA)
This tongue-twister of a compound is another potential suspect. PEA can affect blood flow in the brain, which might contribute to triggering an attack in sensitive individuals. Oh, and brace yourself” Phenylethylamine is commonly found in my list of favorite foods mentioned above. Yup: chocolate, nuts, cheese, aged meats… you may as well be describing my dream weekend.
PEA can cross the blood-brain barrier and has stimulant-like effects. For some people, especially those prone to migraines, this may dilate blood vessels, increase nerve excitability, and trigger the early phase of a migraine. However, just like with chocolate, not everyone is sensitive to PEA, and some people may even feel better after consuming these foods. It’s a conundrum wrapped in a riddle with a side of random variability. That’s why it’s important to track your migraine attacks with Simple Migraine Tracker [wink].
4. Sugar
High-sugar treats can cause spikes and crashes in blood sugar, which may act as a trigger for some people. If you ate a lot of sweet chocolate on an empty stomach, for example, that rollercoaster effect could potentially set things in motion. Some chocolates have a lot of sugar, and some don’t, so this is an area where you may be able to mitigate some of the risk. Dark chocolates (which happen to contain more PEA) are fairly low in sugar compared to their milk chocolate counterpart.
If you are a chocolate lover (and who isn’t?) and suspect sugar might be a trigger for you, reach for the dark chocolates and eat them sparingly. And while we’re on the subject…
Quality Over Quantity?
So what about the type of chocolate? Does quality make a difference?
It might.
- Dark chocolate tends to have more cocoa (and more caffeine and PEA) but less sugar.
- Milk chocolate is higher in sugar and often contains dairy, which is another potential migraine trigger for some.
- Highly processed chocolate or candy bars with lots of additives might be more problematic than high-quality, minimally processed dark chocolate.
Some people find that they can tolerate one kind of chocolate but not another. It’s also possible that quantity plays a role. As I may have discovered for myself; eating a single square might be fine, but devouring a half dozen truffles (ahem) could tip the scales. For the record, I left “half a dozen” in the dust, so the “chocolate trigger” may take a little more effort than just a bite or two. At least for me.
Is Chocolate a Trigger or a Warning Sign?
Here’s an interesting twist: some researchers believe that chocolate cravings may actually be part of the migraine prodrome—the phase that happens before the headache hits. That means you may crave chocolate not because it causes your migraine, but because your brain is already in the early stages of one. (If you’re not familiar with the stages of a migraine headache, check out my article on The Four Stages of a Migraine Attack.)
This theory makes some sense to me. There have been times I needed chocolate and soon after… boom. Migraine. I’ll be tracking this interesting discovering in the future, for sure.
So… Is Chocolate a Migraine Trigger?
The frustrating answer: maybe.
For some people, chocolate is a clear and consistent trigger. For others, like me, the relationship is fuzzier. It might depend on timing, quantity, what else you’ve eaten, how hydrated you are, or even what kind of day you’re having.
I’ll definitely be paying more attention to chocolate and how it plays into my migraine patterns moving forward. That’s part of why I use a migraine tracker—it helps me spot trends that I might otherwise miss.
If you’re trying to figure out whether chocolate (or anything else) is triggering your migraines, I highly recommend logging your attacks. A tool like Simple Migraine Tracker can automatically record time, location, weather, activity and a host of other data you can look at in simple, easy-to-read charts and graphs. Simple Migraine Tracker is designed to make tracking easy, so you can focus on feeling better, not filling out a form while your head is pounding.
Taking the Wrapper Off of Chocolate and Migraines:
Chocolate isn’t the villain for everyone—but it can be a suspect. Like so many things in the migraine world, what’s true for one person might be completely different for another.
So if you’re unsure, don’t panic. Take note. Experiment. Track. Test. One day, you might find that your migraines have a pattern. And if chocolate is part of that puzzle, at least you’ll know for sure.
Until then… maybe just one truffle?