Can Diet Change Migraine Headaches?

There are always promises of new and improved treatment options for any form of disease. Commercials come on television all the time promising to be the new miracle “pill” or therapy in order to allow a person to remove all their symptoms from many different forms of diseases or conditions. But these “miracle” options don’t often work, and many times they can cause more harm than good when negative side effects are caused. However, when it comes to migraine headaches there are options that can help to reduce these migraine headaches as well as the symptoms that are caused by migraine headaches. One such option is the use of alteration of the diet in order to reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches and their symtpoms. The old saying goes “you are what you eat”, while not to be taken literally (because whose really going to become a chicken when they eat a nugget?) diet does in fact play a huge role in the overall health of individuals and how symptoms of certain diseases or conditions (like migraine headaches) affect these individuals.

The Approach
The approach of changing the diet in order to reduce the symptoms and occurrences of migraine headaches is a simple idea. There have been many scientific studies that have shown that diet does in fact affect migraine headaches, either positively or negatively. Certain foods are known to exacerbate symptoms of migraine headaches or worse become triggers that start migraine headaches. These foods include items such as aged cheeses, chocolates, dairy products, food additives (such as preservatives or additives like nitrates or sulphates), as well as alcohol and Tyramine containing foods. There is a whole list of other foods which are thought to trigger migraine headaches including peanuts, pizza, potato chips, smoked or dried fish, soups made from extracts or bouillon, fresh baked yeast goods, and many more. The idea is to study these research projects which have found the foods that can be triggers to migraine headaches and then decide if any of them are in fact personal triggers to each individual sufferer of migraine headaches. This can be found through keeping a journal or diary of the events, foods, and environmental aspects that occurs before, during and after an occurrence of migraine headaches.

Understanding the Symptoms of Food Induced Migraine Headaches
Food induced migraine headaches usually begin anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes after consuming the specific foods (or additives) which are a personal trigger for the migraine sufferer. Initial symptoms can include abdominal discomfort, dizziness, facial flushing, burning sensations in the chest, neck or shoulders, as well as pressure in the chest or tightening or pressure in the face. All of these initial symptoms are then followed by extreme head pain and the beginning of migraine headaches. Being able to recognize these symptoms and learning to identify the foods or additives which trigger migraine headaches on a personal basis can forever change the course of the severity and frequency of migraine headaches that a person would experience in the future.

Options for Treating Migraine Headaches with Diet
• Elimination – Of course the first step is to find out which foods or additives are triggers to the migraine headaches. This can be accomplished be ruling out foods and additives that don’t cause problems. All of the items listed are “common” food or additive triggers, however they will not affect every individual sufferer of migraine headaches. Each migraine sufferer is different and will experience different warning signs, triggers, and even sets of symptoms that occur with their migraine headaches. One suggestion that many physicians make is to eliminate all of the possible triggers and then slowly re-introduce them one at a time to see which of them causes triggers in the person who sufferers from migraine headaches.
• Addition – Another option is to add items to the diet like supplements or herbal remedies. Certain supplements have been proven by studies and research to help reduce the symptoms, frequency, and severity of migraine headaches. Supplements and herbal remedies that are commonly known to help with migraine headaches include Ginko Biloba, Vitamin B6, Butterbur, Riboflavin, Coenzyme Q10, Feverfew, and Ginger, Valerian, as well as Magnesium and 5-Hydroxytryptophan. Each of these supplements or herbal remedies have been proven to help individuals who suffer from migraine headaches on different levels, there are also combination formulas which have been created that combine several of the supplements or herbal remedies into one easy to use formula, an example would be the Migraine Support Formula.

Tags: headaches, migraine attacks, migraine treatment, Migraines, side effects, symptoms, treating migraines, vascular headachce