Changing your diet can help manage your migraines.
What's the relationship between diet and migraine headaches?
Estimates suggest that about 50% of the global population has experienced a headache at least once within the past year. Headaches affect between 50% and 75% of adults aged between 18-65. Among those individuals, 30% have reported migraine. Because of hormonal influences, migraines tend to be more common in women.
source 1
There's good news though! Recent research may suggest a surprising link between food and migraines. In other words, you may be able to minimize the strength of migraines, lower the frequency of migraine attacks, or even prevent migraines altogether by making changes to your diet.
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Dairy products and eggs may be some of the worst headache triggers. Consider removing them from your diet to help prevent migraines.
How do you know if you're having a migraine?
Most of us have at least experienced a headache at some point in our lives, and we know they are painful. A migraine attack usually includes:
- a moderate or severe headache that may feel as if the pain pulsates and may be on one side of your head
- nausea
- light sensitivity
- noise sensitivity
Migraine attacks are traditionally recurrent, usually occurring between once a year and once a week. Each attack may last for as short as an hour to as long as three days. Just prior to a migraine attack, some people see flashes of light, experience tingling in their arms and/or legs, or crave specific foods. Depressed mood and irritability may also be present in people about to experience a migraine attack.
What are the best at preventing migraines?
What foods are the worst triggers for migraines?
What are other triggers of migraines?
Summary
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Source 1: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/headache-disorders
Source 2: https://www.pcrm.org/health-topics/migraines
Source 3: https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/
Source 4: Bunner, A. E., Agarwal, U., Gonzales, J. F., Valente, F., & Barnard, N. D. (2014). Nutrition intervention for migraine: a randomized crossover trial. The journal of headache and pain, 15(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.1186/1129-2377-15-69
