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The role of food in altering the clinical features of migraine is often overlooked. A recent Scientific Reports The study aimed to study the correlation between migraine severity and the adoption of unhealthy eating habits. It also sought to identify specific foods that could trigger particular subtypes of migraine.
Background
Migraine has challenged medicine for many years and is one of the most common human experiences worldwide. The global prevalence of migraine is currently 14% and in Egypt, the one-year prevalence rate is 17.3%. The exact mechanisms governing migraine are unclear, although gastrointestinal disorders have been shown to influence it.
Some of the factors driving the association between diet and migraine are gut microbiota, inflammatory mediators, stress hormones, serotonin pathway, neuropeptides, and nutritional substances. New potential therapeutic targets for headache disorders could be developed if we gain a better understanding of the gut-brain-immune (GBI) axis. In fact, food may affect migraine because of the direct connection between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system.
About the study
The dietary patterns of four migraine subtypes were compared and analyzes were performed to find whether increased consumption of certain foods differed by aura status and migraine status. Overconsumption was analyzed to see if eating specific foods increased the intensity, frequency, and duration of migraine attacks.
The present study also assessed whether a higher degree of migraine-based disability was due to the adoption of poor dietary habits. This was a cross-sectional study in 124 adults with migraine between January and June 2020. Pregnant women and patients with memory problems, medication overuse, other neurological diseases, and coexisting tension headaches were excluded. The Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) was used to assess migraine severity.
Study findings
The main dietary triggers of migraine in study participants were beans, falafel, ice cream, processed meats, citrus fruits, chocolates and aged cheese. Foods such as processed meats, hydrogenated ghee, aged cheese, fried meat, honey, sweets, and fried chicken were associated with chronic migraine (CM). Similar results have also been documented in other studies.
Hydrogenated ghee, pickles, and smoked herring were significantly associated with aura symptoms. Other researchers found that wine, dairy products, and processed meats correlated with the frequency of “migraine with aura.” CM was associated with foods such as fried meat and hydrogenated ghee due to their omega-6 content, which reduces the amount of free fatty acids. The presence of free fatty acids causes a higher level of serotonin in the blood, which occurs during migraine attacks.
Episodic migraine (EM) was associated with egg consumption, while CM was associated with nuts, low-fat cheese, and yogurt. This could be due to food intolerances that cause migraines with a “brain-gut connection.” This could also be due to allergic reactions to food antigens, which activate the immune system. The presence of antibodies can cause cerebral vasodilation and, consequently, migraines.
The frequency, severity and duration of migraines were associated with excessive consumption of soft drinks, chocolate, tea and coffee. Foods that have been associated with CM are those that have a high concentration of biogenic amines such as tyramine, histamine, putrescine and cadaverine. These are basically food antigens that the immune system attacks with antibodies. In the process, gastrointestinal alterations occur that cause migraines through the brain-gut connection. This mechanism was also observed in participants in the current study.
CM was also observed in participants who consumed foods stored in the refrigerator for many days. This could be due to the accumulation of biogenic amines in foods, due to the enzymatic degradation of sine tyro-308. However, this theory needs to be investigated more empirically. Higher consumption of smoked herring was observed to be potentially associated with (CM) due to the content of carcinogenic compounds, such as benzopyrene.
Conclusions
In summary, this study demonstrated that, compared with MS, people with CM were more likely to have had unhealthy eating habits. The foods that were significantly associated with the development of CM were tea, coffee, soft drinks, whole cheese, citrus fruits, beans, falafel, aged cheese, processed meats, fried meat, fried chicken , chocolate, canned foods, nuts, pickles, ice cream, kippers, sauces and foods stored in the refrigerator for many days. Margarine, pickles, and smoked herring were found to be significantly associated with migraine with aura (MA) compared to migraine without aura (MO).