"Fad" Diet Review - The Migraine Diet

The Migraine Diet

According to the National Institute of Health’s Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a migraine is a very painful type of headache, characterized by a pulsing or throbbing in the head.  Some migraine sufferers also experience sensitivity to light and sound, as well as nausea and vomiting, flashing lights or zig-zag lights in their vision, and in some cases, temporary vision loss also occurs.  Some doctors tell their migraine patients to avoid foods which could be triggers for such debilitating headaches, and provide a list of such foods (“Migraine”).

One such list, which my father received from his doctor a few years ago, is somewhat detailed, but far from exhaustive.  It includes both foods that are unlikely to be migraine triggers, as well as foods to avoid, from categories such as beverages, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, fruit, and many more (“Migraine Diet”).  According to Doctors Merle L. Diamond and Dawn A. Marcus, however, eliminating all possible trigger foods is not likely to be helpful, since “too much concern about avoiding foods may be another stress, as well as decrease [migraine sufferers’] enjoyment of mealtime” (Diamond and Marcus).

Instead, Drs. Diamond and Marcus suggest keeping track of all possible migraine triggers, including food (or fasting), stress, weather, and hormone changes in a diary, and finding out which combinations trigger headaches.  To do this with food, they suggest eliminating one possible trigger—which means that a headache occurs within 12 or 24 hours of consumption—for a period of four weeks, noting whether or not headache frequency and severity decreases during that period, and what other factors were present at the time of the headache (Diamond and Marcus).

These doctors do not recommend that pregnant women and children attempt to eliminate possible trigger foods from their diets, for various reasons.  In the case of pregnant women such a diet “may prevent adequate nutrition for both mother and fetus because of the reduced consumption of calcium-rich and vitamin-rich foods” (Diamond and Marcus).  For children, their reasoning is similar, but with an added social component.  Children, Diamond and Marcus say, are likely to experience “significant social disruption” from a restrictive diet, since “prohibiting the child from sharing a chocolate Easter basket with his siblings or the teenager from attending a pizza party can significantly add to the social stigma of having headaches” (Diamond and Marcus).

Due to the variable nature of each migraine sufferer’s possible triggers, there is no real way to write a sample menu for this diet.  However, it is recommended that patients keep track of what and when they eat (or do not eat), as well as their stress levels, the weather, and hormonal changes—such as menstrual cycles in women—both before and during their headaches.  If a particular food is consumed either within twenty-four hours of, or directly before a headache, then that food is a possible trigger.  One exception to this may be chocolate, since Doctors Diamond and Marcus believe that, instead of a trigger, the craving for chocolate may actually be “part of a pre-headache warning or prodrome (the first stage of the attack, before an aura or headache)” (Diamond and Marcus).  When the patient satisfies their craving for chocolate, the main event—the migraine—comes, and they blame the chocolate for the headache (Diamond and Marcus).

There are good things to recommend about the Migraine Diet, especially the fact that many migraine sufferers learn more about healthy eating while attempting to figure out which foods trigger their headaches and which do not.  Migraine sufferers are also encouraged to eat regular meals, since fasting is a possible headache trigger (Diamind and Marcus).  I know that when I have not eaten at my normal meal times, I start to get nauseous and light-headed.  If I continue to fast, then a headache slowly develops, and I have to eat something.  But by that time eating is not enough to make the headache go away, so I need to use a pain reliever.  I have learned not to put off my meals so long lately, and the frequency of my headaches has been reduced as a result, although I still get headaches from the everyday stress of my job and school work.

Despite the long time it takes to sort out various foods as either triggers or non-triggers (about a month per possible trigger food)—one of the few down sides to the migraine diet—I would readily recommend this diet to anyone suffering from migraines.  I would not, however, just hand them a list of foods to include and avoid in their diet as my father’s doctor did for him, since that does not help, and can have a deleterious effect on the patient’s overall nutrition.

Works Cited

Diamond, M.D., Merle L., and Dawn A. Marcus, M.D. "Controversies in Headache Medicine: Migraine Prevention Diets." A.C.H.E. The Fred Sheftell, MD Education Center. American Headache Society, 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. .

"Migraine." MedlinePlus. National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. .

Migraine Diet. 27 Jan. 2011. Raw data. MigraineDiet.pdf.

Teacher Comments and Grade: This is another assignment I turned in online, so the comments have been lost, but I know I got full marks, and the teacher was eager to read my review.