I sometimes get perplexed reactions when I tell patients that their migraines or headaches can be caused by the foods that they are eating. Of course, there are other causes as well, but today we'll focus on the food aspect. I invariably get an answer like this "my doctor/GP says there's no correlation between migraines/headaches and the food you eat".
Luckily for me, new research published in Cephalalgia, An International Journal of Headache, has found that there is indeed a correlation. The researchers performed an IgG food antibody testing on 30 migraine sufferers. This is the first study of its kind showing that "diet[ary] restriction based on IgG antibodies is an effective strategy in reducing the frequency of migraine attacks."
I routinely perform this kind of testing on my patients as I have found that a number of symptoms - not just migraines - can be alleviated by eliminating or restricting foods that show up as highly reactive in the tests. If you know someone who has migraines, this test may help to reduce the frequency or even the severity of the attacks.
You can read the whole study here.
Yours in health,
Ian Koo, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Essentials Health Centre
"The care you want, the health you need"
Showing posts with label Migraines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Migraines. Show all posts
Migraines: Pain pills make them worse!
Migraine suffers beware. How many of you reach for the advil or even stronger pain killers when you're experiencing a migraine? Like most of my patients, probably all of you. Little do people realize that this habit may be making your migraines worse. It's a little phenomena called rebound headaches and I learned about this way back in first year university psychology.
Essentially what happens is that a person reaches for the pain killer upon the start of the migraine, which helps, but if you're a chronic sufferer, your body habituates to the drug. For those of you who watch "House, MD" on tv, you'll notice his addiction to Vicodin. Migraine sufferers will find that they need more and more of the painkillers as the headaches come more frequently and with greater intensity. Rebound headaches can even arise the next day for some unlucky few. For some this leads to a state called chronic migraine, where these sufferers are in pain more days than not. Can't be fun!
What can be done?
Lack of sleep, food triggers and stress all play a role. Qualified health care practitioners can help you determine if any foods are the culprit. Everyone's different so it's not a cookie cutter approach like the general recommendations made to avoid tyramine containing foods. Herbs, acupuncture and general naturopathic health guidelines will help as well.
Ian Koo, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Essentials Health Centre
"The care you want, the health you need"
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