Seventeen percent of the population will experience migraine headaches at some point in their life. These debilitating headaches can last for days and are often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
About three times more common in women than in men, these headaches are generally described as unilateral, however this is only true in six out of ten cases.
It is important to know what your migraine triggers are, as this can help mitigate the frequency and intensity of the attacks.
Triggers are different for everyone but can include:
- Weather - Some people say they can predict a change in the weather by the onset of a migraine headache. Barometric pressure changes are a powerful trigger for some.
- Missing a meal or a change in your eating pattern.
- Alcohol - Most likely due to dehydration from drinking and the sulphites in wine.
- Certain foods - Anything containing chocolate or foods preserved with nitrates.
- Menstrual cycle - About 50 percent of migraine sufferers report that their menstrual cycle will trigger a migraine.
These intense headaches can be disabling and the possible triggers are elusive, causing migraine sufferers to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Many just give up trying to keep track and resign themselves to a life of unpredictable headaches. Some feel that the only option for controlling them is medication, which may have side-effects.
Elimination diet
An elimination diet can be a powerful tool to help discover hidden migraine triggers. It was once thought consuming chocolate, wine, or caffeine would trigger a migraine within minutes or hours.
However, elimination diets have shown that, certain foods, when eaten regularly, can increase the propensity for migraines and may even influence the frequency and severity of the attacks. Often, these foods are not the traditional ones that your doctor may be telling you about.
Wheat and dairy
At the top of the list are two major culprits, which are common in the American diet – wheat and dairy. These two foods account for numerous sensitivities and their regular consumption can result in other food sensitivities. In this respect, an elimination diet can be quite simple. All foods containing these ingredients are removed from the diet for at least four to six weeks.
It is not uncommon to feel worse during the first week and to experience more intense headaches. This is normal in the detoxification process, however after this initial phase, you actually begin to feel much better. Migraines may still occur during week two, but the attacks should be less intense and respond more easily to medication (if required).
After the detoxification, you may confirm the suspected trigger by eating foods containing the eliminated ingredient for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while observing any reactions. These may include fatigue, mental fog, sleepiness, and headaches that may not seem like the typical migraine. After a period of elimination, these symptoms often occur immediately upon ingestion of the culprit food or within the first 24 hours.
An elimination diet is a valuable tool that can make the particular trigger much more obvious. However, not all triggers are so easy to identify and it is sometimes useful to have a food sensitivity blood test, which checks for IgG antibody reactions to specific foods. This is a simple blood test that is done at your doctor’s office.
Referencing the blood results, the foods with the strongest reactions should be eliminated from the diet as described above. This may seem like a long process, but for someone suffering from chronic migraines, it can offer new hope for controlling these cumbersome headaches.
Vincent Pedre, M.D. is an integrative, Holistic General Practitioner and Board-Certified Internist in private practice in New York City.
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Elizabeth O'Halloran
said on September 07, 2010