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When I cut soda/caffeine/coffee from my diet, I stopped having constant migraines. Now I mostly drink water during the day. No longer have hangovers as well.

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precisely! Binge eating fats (like nuts, chocolate, et al) tend to trigger migraines for me as well. However, if I do have a migraine, sometimes it helps when I thoroughly massage my neck and ingest 2 large cups of coffee. It opens up the blood veins and the migraine dissolves like snow in the sun.

Personal anecdotes have no value and are against the subs rules

And apparently people can't read the rules posted in this same thread by the automoderator; time for them to take a course in reading amd understanding

Not so much anymore, but when I was younger I would get awful heachaches just from eating flapjacks and stuff like that. Glad the science shows I am right.

For submissions not comments.

My link was being obese/diabetic and having migraines was CPAP use. Have NEVER had a migraine since getting on CPAP and now BiPAP. More than 15 years.

If overweight and snorer, consider some reasearch and talk with your doctor.

(Cured glaucoma, too!)

> which ultimately could lead to targeted treatments for patients

I need this.

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I can't tell from the article whether they think this is some universal trigger? I have migraines but no insulin resistance issues at all, have not found any food that causes migraines.

Relaxation after stress is a trigger, and menstrual periods were for sure. Though fasting is a slight (not always) trigger, it seems more related to dehydration not blood sugar, electrolytes in water do help prevent fasting migraine.

So I don't think this is the only or even most common migraine trigger, but I can't tell from the article if this is their claim.

Can we get it over the counter? Because that would be GREAT.

Relaxation after stress or fatigue is my biggest trigger.

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I get migraines. I also have (non-medical) issues with blood sugar - I get quite ill when my blood sugar gets low and this happens more easily compared with people I know. (However I don’t have symptoms of diabetes). Could this be part of the glycemic traits they’re referring to?

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So, from reading it's clear that they are only just scratching the surface of the genetic correlation.
You are absolutely correct in that migraines are caused by many different factors, the glyaecemic connection they found is just one of them.

I know for me drinking water pretty much all day (not excessive amounts, but just being sure I'm drinking it all day long) has had a massive impact on reducing my migraines.

So ya, the article is only really talking about this food/blood sugar connection, and this is simply more data that will help those who suffer from migraines with those types of triggers.

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Man nothing sucks worse than having a stressful week just looking forward to the weekend and then capping it off with a migraine on Saturday. I feel your pain.

So most of mine are preservative trigger nitrate/trites and more so sulfite/fates. Stimulation and fatigue are others. I made a correlation between seizures and migraines a decade ago but wasn’t sure how I came across it. Round 2018 anti seizure meds moved to 3rd in hierarchy for trial medication. Now including monoclonal antibodies that works on the seizure protein. CGRP

So what am I doing recently. Ketogenic diet, ya know, the real one developed for seizures. Since monoclonal treatment only offers a 33% reduction in frequency that’s all I have to beat. Still tracking in the long term at the moment but I have dodged at least 3 so far in the first month as I was slipping to ketosis.

I have hypoglycemia but I have never had a headache outside of a hangover.

Does this explain my insatiable caramel/sugar cravings in the days leading up to a migraine?

Oh I’ve never heard or made the connection that relaxation after stress can trigger a migraine. How interesting. Mine definitely can be triggered by stress but haven’t noticed the stress/relaxed connection for myself.

I have multiple causes too, back/neck, strong scents, bright lights, wine, stress too much information to absorb around me (information overload), hair tied back, oversleeping and intense dreams.

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Caffeine actually makes your blood vessels constrict, not relax. From what I know, migraines are an abnormal response to the blood vessels in your head relaxing, and normal headaches can be caused by dehydration too. Caffeine helps because it raises your blood pressure by making your blood vessels constrict. That's why some headache medications have caffeine in them. Drinking enough water also helps because it raises your blood pressure. I noticed my migraines became less frequent when I started drinking coffee regularly and making sure I drink enough water, along with avoiding other triggers.

If your migraines are neck pain related, then the relaxation/masaage can help too.

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Ketogenic diet doesn't fix everything - but it fixes so many things that it really ought to be the first intervention we try with chronic health issues.

It really, really depends on the patient. I was unable to fulfill my caloric needs and that triggered more migraines for me. Not enough food > blood sugar spikes for my migraine threshold.

Not sure, but related: Some migraineurs start to believe those foods they reach for in early prodrome are their triggers (such as chocolate), but really it's likely they're craving something they lack and the episode is already coming.

Nice. I have hemoplegiac migraines- aura + left side numbness and eventually throwing up. The only thing that stops it in its tracks is taking a goody powder, but bc of adhd, the caffeine in the goody powder knocks me unconscious for up to half the day. Luckily, mine are rare. God bless/good luck to those that have it worse.

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I'm not sure if they are saying all migraines are linked to blood sugar regulation genetically (?) But it's interesting to me as I used to have hypoglycemia (meaning my blood sugar levels were low) but now my blood sugar levels appear to be okay as long as I eat regularly every 4-6 hours (except at night). I discovered quickly that I can't fast as I quickly become agitated, moody, unfocused and I get a migraine from not eating. I don't have diabetes nor any symptoms of diabetes either. I was under a lot of stress, dealing with many migraines, uncontrolled hormone issues and not eating well/much at the time which my doctor thought was the cause.

I can’t seem to nail down any 100% triggers but when I’m really stressing about something, particularly at work is when I generally will get them.

Migraineurs ( I’m also a migraineur) muck more sensitive to many things, smells, light, stressors, hormones, lack of sleep, food, water etc. homeostasis is our best friend. It’s like a door for us that stays open but never closes and we get a migraine attack, which can be moments after or days later making it difficult to pinpoint the triggers.

>Caffeine actually makes your blood vessels constrict

caffeine is a vasodilator. However, dependency (or going cold turkey) on it causes the vasoconstriction

There is no barrier to calories on a ketogenic diet, provided you're willing to go for higher fat cuts of meat. It is harder for vegetarians though.

Weird. I'd just been suffering from 18 months worth of horrendous cyclical migraines. (Almost daily in end) cut out booze 2.5 years ago as knew that was major trigger.

Still got em just less frequently. I substituted booze with coke and chocolate. 6 months ago they got way worse... forgot at same time substituted reg coke for coke zero.

3 weeks ago cut out chocolate and coke zero almost cold turkey after nightmare migraine that lasted 3 days and culminated in the only thing that i felt like eating being chocolate. Really felt like chocolate for 24 hours after that. Coke zero was the hardest thing to ditch wanted that like crazy round lunchtimes as had become a 'habit'.

Since then no chronic migraines.... odd mild headache treated with ibuprofin/ paracetomol.

Had a few false dawns with migraine fixes but so far ditching aspartame and sweets seems to be a game changer as migraine stopped over night... also oddly memory has improved. Dont 'crave' food anymore (appitite massivly reduced).

Tldr. Aspartame causes sugar cravings sugar low seems to cause my migraines.

I these too.

As a migraine sufferer, I stopped going anywhere near aspartame like 15 years ago. That stuff gave me the worst migraines.

You did well to pick it up so early.

Oddly sugar free chewing gums the thing i miss most now.

Unless you have a history of food restrictions and/or eating disorder. It really is not a panacea when you take into account mental as well as physical health.

Yeah this is really interesting, I also don't have diabetes or anything but if I haven't eaten in a while I get hangry, then I start to shake and feel faint. I'm also super prone to bad headaches if I'm slightly tired or dehydrated. Never thought about it possibly being linked

I used to get migraines all the time until I graduated I use to think it was the super strong painkillers i took that stoppped them but maybe I just regulated my blood sugar better later on

This sounds like non-diabetic hypoglycemia.

As a youth I used to get hunger migraines quite frequently. They could also be triggered by extreme stress, but that was much rarer. I would be in gym class mid-morning starving having only eaten cereal for breakfast. Then the scintillating scotoma would start, and I would end up with a migraine later in the day. Usually, they were extremely painful and confined me to bed but that was it.

As an adult, they became more infrequent but more severe. The scintillating scotoma stopped but if I went too long without eating I could "tell" I was going to get a migraine by what I craved after fasting (e.g., ice cream) and how I felt after I ate. The extreme pain would set in several hours later, followed by vomiting resulting in a vicious pain-vomit-pain cycle.

Thankfully I haven't had one in 20 years. Whenever I visit the doctor my bloodwork comes back normal. A1C, blood glucose, triglycerides, etc. I suspect it was/is metabolism related (with me anyway), specifically low blood sugar. Something that's become more regular and predictable as I've gotten older.

Glad they're getting to the bottom of it. Migraines run in my family but that didn't deter high school science teachers from telling me that I was lying about getting migraines because "only women get them."

For me they are kinda rare but when I do get them they aren’t the mean ones, usually I’ll end up in a sorta euphoria and will have an odd compulsion to eat snacks the sweeter the better and as much as I can as fast as I can, kinda like the munchies.

The first couple times it happened I thought it had something to do with diabetes because both of my grandfathers had it but nope the doctors weren’t sure.

I wonder if migraines could also be linked to high salt intake. As I have had two migraines in a short span of time in my life. Both were after having quite salty meals.

I've reduced the salt in my food since then, no more migraines have occurred.

That’s really interesting. After I relax on Saturday, I sometimes get one Sunday afternoons. I wasn’t drinking caffeine on Saturday and sleeping in, I always assumed it was that it was triggered by 36 hours of caffeine withdrawal. But I wonder if it actually isn’t.

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Really? Am I really wrong about this? Would you please enlighten me, if you could?

It acts as a vasoconstrictor to the blood vessels in the head, it produces cerebral vasoconstriction by antagonizing adenosine receptors

Ok I'll take your word for it. But do you have any idea why drinking coffee or taking caffeine tablets completely removes my migraine? I mean in the moment when I experience the onset of a migraine, I just consume caffeine and it disappears!

I get the worst ones couple of hours after having too much fun at the gym. My body loves to punish me for heavy exercise.

Probably because your migraines are due to vasodilation, caffeine will antagonize that and restore a pain free vascular state. For what it's worth, I experience if not the same a similar situation as yours

I think there's a bunch of triggers for migraines and it can be pretty personal. Myself, I get migraines with aura but they seem to be caused by stress, mostly. I can eat a bunch of salty food and be fine, but say, work is stressful and I get them. Others have listed chocolate or cheese as migraine triggers.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if salt is a trigger for you then I'm glad you figured that out and have been able to avoid these awful headaches! But that might not be the same for everyone

My migraines practically disappeared once I started taking magnesium and complex B supplements. This happened after I went to see a neurologist and he questioned caffeine intake and mentioned off hand some success with magnesium and B supplements before recommending botox injections into my neck... Went with the supplements and now migraines are rare, often more triggered by weather patterns/pressure. Had success with Bio-Kult Migrea but not just take magnesium and complex B as part of different supplement routine.

I was definitely abnormally stressed at the time and the first migrane was accompanied by an aura, I was getting those rainbow colours and flashes in my vision with a worsening headache on one side of my head. It got so bad that I vomited. The second one I didn't have any auras but the pain was just as bad.

The reason I correlate the migraines with salt is because since then despite being stressed I haven't had any migraines. I think the salt combined with the stress resulting in higher blood pressure might have been the catalyst.

I feel for anyone who gets them on a semi-regular basis, migraines are debilitating.

This is exactly how I am too. I just had blood work done to see if there was any underlying condition for the migraines, but no

I used to get headaches alllll the time, only some migraines. When I was 20ish, I looked back at my life and during high school I figured I had a headache about 75% of the time. College was pretty stressful but I personally believe the hedaches/migraines became far less frequent because I was out of my abusive home environment.

At this point I very rarely get headaches at all and migraines are maybe a few times a year. They're more frequent when work is so stressful I'm afraid of losing my job. So I believe mine are directly correlated from stress/abuse. I have not been formally diagnosed with migraines, but one of my siblings has. They still get semi frequent migraines and have medication for them.

I'm just glad research is being done on migraines. They're an interesting (when not debilitating) thing as there's apparently a neurological component unlike tension headaches.

My fiancee had this quite badly, and would get migraines quite badly almost every day. She went on a keto diet, which completely eliminated her migraines, but it took her almost a month of feeling terrible to get adapted on keto (much longer than most people). It's been a few years, but now she only gets migraines if she has a cheat day.

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Yeah I've looked it up and that seems to be it, not much to do about it except eat little and often - I just keep snacks in my bag and my family & friends know when I get grumpy they need to track down some food! For the headaches I just try and make sure I get enough sleep, don't sleep in, and constantly drink water through the day. It's not too bad, I just wish I didn't have to always keep it in mind

Does anyone else experience sugar headaches? For example, if you consume a lot of sugar (especially white cake or sugar cookies - things like that), and then get a headache almost immediately when feeling the sugar in your body?

Everyone I speak to and everything I research says it’s not a thing. But it happens.

That’s a lot like my experience. Keto knocked migraines down by 75%. Largely I think as just a correlation to fresh baked carbs being a major trigger. Which also contributed to ibs. There’s just something wrong w American farm goods. Luckily also found a great effective med for migraines Nurtec.

Could be both or either. Caffeine withdrawal feels more painful in the crown area, bit different from right side migraines imo

I personally feel a lot better when I'm eating more potatoes and no rice, only a handful of beans at a time. I did feel my best on keto but it's so difficult to maintain long-term and going back into ketosis once or twice a month so painful. Enjovy was the best migraine treatment for me. My migraine pain is constant rear tension and sensitive touch anywhere on the head.

Yes I think gum was actually the first thing that made me realize it was a problem. But aspartame ain’t good for you anyway. Probably better off in the long run.

Thankfully her and I are both on keto; it makes it much easier for both of us. I've been on it for 9+ years now, so it's just normal for me now.

Wow, yeah that's super helpful. I could do it when my husband was on it and by myself when my kid was very little. But it felt impossible once our kid needed constant attention and at-hand snacks. I was so tired so much that I started eating fast food for the first time in my life in my mid-30s.

I quit caffeine to try to manage mine, and once past the withdrawal, ended up 3lb heavier and twice as many migraines. Could not tell any benefit only worsening. One of my daughters had good results quitting caffeine though, fewer migraines for her.

Staying hydrated definitely helps though. As someone above noted, homeostasis, steady as you go, is key.

The call them let-down migraines, when your cortisol drops drastically and triggers a migraine. I use to get them every weekend so my doctor made me schedule mildly stressful activities to do on my days off which worked surprisingly well.

The key is eating your protein in small amounts through the day. That's what gets converted best to blood glucose and lasts the longest in your system. It can be dairy, nuts, slim jims, peanut butter, jerky, etc.

There's no need to eat more that the daily amount of protein, of course. Just, as you say, spread it out during the day over five meals instead of the usual three.

Ya, I find it easier to not have a kid too. ;)

Biggest mistake that I don't regret :)

So you're saying I can keep my pockets full of babybels and call it medicinal? Awesome

That would work. :)

Hmmm, I'm the same

How many of you also have GERD or reflux. Thinking that could play in as well.