Sulfur Exclusion Diet for Migraine

The sulfur exclusion trial is done as follows:

1. All high thiol foods and supplements containing thiol groups (see list below) are strictly avoided for a seven day period. Seven days allows the effect of the last ingestion to wear off. Again, the negative effects of sulfur occur over a 4-7 day period after the last sulfur ingestion, which means you need to exclude all sulfur foods AND sulfur supplements for at least a week before you know what is going on. ALA is also on this list and thus no ALA-chelation should be done during the sulfur exclusion trial.

2. Then, after ten days of avoiding them, the high thiol foods are added sharply back to your diet and you eat a lot of them for a week, noticing what happens to your health over this time. If you feel worse soon after introducing sulfur foods, you do not need to do this for a week as it indicates you are better off eliminating sulfur foods.

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Food list high in thiols

When you are on a low thiol diet, do not eat ANY amount of high thiol foods.

• artichokes, Jerusalem but not French

• asparagus

• bakery products containing whey, cysteine, eggs or enzymes

• bean curd/tofu milk

• bean sprouts

• beans of all sorts

• bok choy

• broccoli

• brussels sprouts

• buckwheat

• butter - cream turns into butter and buttermilk. Buttermilk is where the thiols end up. Butter is thiol free

• cabbage

• carob

• cauliflower

• cheese, of all sorts - aging of cheese does not affect thiol sulfur content

• chives

• chocolate

• coffee

• collard greens

• cream

• daikon

• dairy products

• dandelion greens

• eggs

• garlic

• green beans

• greens

• horseradish

• jicama

• kale

• leeks

• lentils, of all sorts

• milk, from any animal

• miso soup

• mustard

• onions

• papaya (slightly)

• peas, of all sorts

• peanuts

• pineapple (slightly)

• radishes

• rutabaga

• sauerkraut

• sesame seeds, ground, as when in tahini (when in hull ok for most, except the very sensitive)

• shallots

• sour cream

• soy cheese

• soy milk

• spinach

• split peas

• sunchoke

• tahini (from ground sesame seeds)

• tamarind

• tempeh

• tofu

• turnip

• turmeric (though not high in thiols, it is really good at raising thiol levels)

• quinoa

• whey

• yeast extract

Also,

• Watch out for foods that have garlic and onion powders added e.g. processed meats like hot dogs.

• Meat is also high in sulfur, but most people tolerate it well due to low thiol level and it depends upon how sensitive you are. If you need to limit meat, then you would also need to supplement amino acids, especially glutamine. This also helps to heal the gut lining.

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Supplements high in sulfur/thiol groups

• ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid or Thioctic Acid). Obviously this needs to be used for chelation purposes at some point, whether you are sulfur intolerant or not, but it MUST always be used properly, and according to its half-life, as described in Andy Cutler’s oral chelation protocol. If you are sulfur-sensitive, you may only tolerate small amounts of ALA, so start low just in case. This is not always true, but worth remembering. Also, do not take ALA during your sulfur exclusion trial.

• bromelain and papain (use enzymes derived from animals)

• chlorella,

• cysteine

• dairy source acidophilus,

• DMSO,

• extracts of the high sulphur foods,

• glutathione,

• NAC,

• MSM,

• Methionine (converts down into cysteine)

• Turmeric is really good at raising thiol levels.

Supplements that are safe for you and are worth trying as they actually support the sulfur pathways

• Molybdenum is very good at supporting the sulfur pathway and worthwhile supplementing. Dose = 500 – 1000mcg/day.

• If you have elevated cysteine and you want to convert some glutathione, take 2:1 weight ratio of glutamine and glycine and your body will do the rest.

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Foods low in thiols:

• abalone

• acai

• acorn squash

• alcohol (beer, wine, spirits – all low thiol, unless someone adds a thiol source, e.g. milk, or a spear of asparagus in a bloody mary or an onion in a martini)

• all spice

• almond extract

• almond milk

• anchovies

• ancho chilli

• anatto

• anise

• apples

• arrowroot

• artichokes (french)

• aubergine (all forms)

• avocado

• bacon

• bananas

• bamboo shoots

• barley

• basil

• bay leaves

• beef

• beef liver

• beer

• beets

• berries

• bilberry extract

• black pepper

• bologna

• breadfruit

• brown sugar

• bulgar wheat

• butter

• butternut squash

• cantaloupe

• caraway

• caraway seed

• cardamon

• carp

• carrots

• celery

• celery seed

• cherry

• cinnamon

• cloves

• coconut dried/fresh – “There is no significant amount of thiol precursors or thiols in coconut. However some coconut products are sulfited to keep them white colored. Read the label.” [Source: Andy Cutler]

• coriander (cilantro) – though low in thiols, this is a chelator and is likely to cause problems since it cannot be properly dosed e.g. its half life is unknown. Rather avoid.

• corn

• corn (sweet)

• cottonseed oil

• cucumber

• dates

• dill

• dill seed

• dill weed

• eggplant (all forms e.g. japanese, aubergine)

• elderberry

• fennel seed

• figs

• fruit (all fruits other than papaya and pineapple are low thiol)

• gelatin

• ginger

• ginger spice

• grapefruit

• grapefruit juice squeezed

• guava

• ham

• herbs fresh – basil thyme, rosemary

• honey

• honeydew melon

• kiwi

• kumquats

• lavender

• lemongrass

• lemons

• lemon peel, lemon zest and lemon oil

• lettuce

• limes

• lime leaf

• mace spice

• mahi mahi

• maize

• mint

• mushrooms

• non-frozen lemon juice

• nutmeg

• oats

• olives (green or black)

• orange peel, orange zest

• oregano

• paprika

• parsley

• parsnips

• pasilla chile

• peaches

• pears

• peppermint

• peppers

• pepper white

• pepperoni (sometimes contains added ingredients such as garlic)

• plum

• poppy seed

• pomegranate

• potatoes

• red chad

• red pepper

• rice

• rice milk – made from rice gluten

• rosemary leaves

• saffron

• sage

• salt

• seeds – sunflower, linseeds, pumpkinseeds, flax

• sesame oil , but sesame seeds are high in thiol sulfur

• soybean oil

• spaghetti squash

• spearmint

• star ainise

• squashes - acorn, butternut, spaghetti, summer, winter, yellow crooked neck, zucchini

• sweet potato

• tapioca

• thai basi

• thyme

• tomatillos

• tomatoes

• vanilla extract, bean

• venison

• vinegar (white)

• water chestnuts

• watermelon

• wheat

• white pepper

• white sugar

• whole-wheat flower

• winter squash

• Worcestershire sauce

• yams

• yellow crooked neck squash

• zucchini