The role of diets and specific foods in migraine prevention and treatment researchers from Denmark. They published the article in the journal Nutrients (1). Their findings suggest that different diets may exacerbate or alleviate migraine symptoms, reducing the need for medication and altering the duration, frequency, and severity of episodes.

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What is Migraine?

Migraines are one of the most common neurological illnesses, accounting for a major portion of impairment in adults under the age of fifty. Symptoms that influence vision, such as blind spots or seeing flashing lights, can indicate an impending migraine, however migraines without an aura can occur without warning. Studies have also shown that migraines have a major influence on quality of life, with frequent attacks resulting in social and vocational difficulties.

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What are the Symptoms of Migraine?

Migraines include strong, throbbing, one-sided headaches, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound, all of which can be exacerbated by physical exertion.

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Treatment of Migraines

Migraines are commonly treated by managing acute attacks and, if necessary, with preventive medication, but identifying and avoiding triggers may aid in their management without medication.

How Diet Influences Migraine

The brain-gut axis, which connects the enteric and central neurological systems via pathways and nerves, influences neuroendocrine processes associated with migraines. As a result, dietary changes may alter these interactions. The mechanisms underlying this are thought to include vagal nerve transmission, inflammation, and hormonal changes, which may be altered by dietary components.

Previous study suggests that foods such as alcohol, caffeine, fruits, and chocolate can cause migraines, but plant-based, ketogenic, or low-fat diets can help avoid migraines. Chocolate cravings, which are frequently cited as a trigger, may really be part of the early migraine phase rather than the cause. This intricacy emphasizes the intricate link between food desires and migraine onset.

Researchers gathered research to determine whether various diets can affect the intensity, duration, and frequency of migraine attacks. They searched medical databases using relevant keywords, with no constraints on publication year. Notably, papers with various techniques were selected, ranging from clinical crossover trials to controlled and pilot investigations, which increased the evidence base’s diversity.

Studies with adult participants receiving nutritional, dietary, or food interventions compared to a control group were considered, with a focus on the function of diet in treating or inducing migraines. Studies involving children or interventions with pharmaceuticals or supplements were omitted, as were studies with sample sizes of less than ten patients, data that was not available, and non-English papers.

Researchers scanned 669 records and reviewed 38 articles to find eight research that were relevant. Seven focused on migraine prevention through diet, while one investigated particular dietary triggers. The sample consisted of clinical crossover trials, controlled trials, and pilot research.

Migraine Prevention Through Ketogenic Diet

Two studies investigated the function of ketogenic diets, discovering that 3-week and 12-week diets lowered pain severity, medication use, and the duration and frequency of attacks. The ketogenic diet is thought to work by directing the brain’s energy source to ketone bodies, perhaps reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in brain cells. Low-carbohydrate diets did not differ significantly from ketogenic diets in terms of these results.

DASH Diet Helps Prevent Migraine

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diets appear to lessen pain severity, as well as the duration and frequency of episodes. This diet’s high potassium, calcium, and magnesium content, combined with a low sodium intake, may assist regulate brain function and reduce inflammation, thus protecting against migraines.

Gluten-Free Diet Can Help Migraine Patients

According to one study, a gluten-free diet helped migraine patients experience considerable improvements in pain intensity and frequency, particularly when compared to persons suffering from tension headaches. Gluten-free diets may be especially advantageous for people who have celiac disease, as gluten has been proven to trigger immunological responses that can aggravate migraines.

Do Elimination Diets Help in Reducing Migraines?

Three research on elimination diets yielded conflicting results. One study indicated that there was no effect on attack strength or length, however there was a reduction in medication use and attack frequency. Another reduction in medication usage, pain intensity, frequency, and duration of bouts.

Low-Fat Vegan Diets Can Reduce Migraine

The third study tracked individuals for 16 weeks and discovered that low-fat vegan diets lowered pain intensity, attack duration, and frequency, with stronger effects seen in those on tighter diets. Elimination diets, while promising, rely primarily on participants’ ability to identify and avoid trigger items, which can be subjective and susceptible to recollection bias.

The review’s findings suggest that specific diets, such as gluten-free, low-fat vegan, DASH, and ketogenic, may lower the severity, frequency, and duration of migraine attacks, as well as the usage of associated medications. Elimination diets that exclude certain foods may also be effective.

Researchers warn that many of the studies analyzed were short-term and used self-reported data, which raises the likelihood of recall bias and social desirability bias. The use of medication was permitted in many research but not consistently reported, and procedures for identifying excluded foods were not used systematically.

Furthermore, the small sample sizes and diverse study designs make translating these findings to clinical practice problematic. The research was also conducted over short periods of time and relied on self-reported data, which may be prone to recollection errors or a source of bias due to social desirability.

Thus, while there is some evidence that certain diets may benefit migraine patients, more rigorous research, particularly large, double-blind studies and randomized controlled clinical trials, is required to confirm the results. Future study should try to account for medication use, weight changes, and other factors that can affect migraine outcomes, such as the menstrual cycle.

References:

1. The Evidence for Diet as a Treatment in Migraine—A Review
   (Nguyen, K. V., & Schytz, H. W. (2023). The Evidence for Diet as a Treatment in Migraine—A Review. Nutrients, 16(19), 3415. DOI: 10.3390/nu16193415, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/19/3415)

Source-Medindia