It may be worth adopting a plant based diet, rich in dark green leafy vegetables, to ease the symptoms of chronic migraine, suggest doctors reporting on a case study.
Writing in BMJ Case Reports, the doctors’ recommendation comes after treating a man who suffered from migraines for 12 years and had tried medication, yoga and avoiding potential ‘trigger foods’ to no avail.
Over 1 billion people worldwide have migraines, characterised as one-sided, pulsating headaches lasting 4–72 hours, and often accompanied by sensitivity to noise and light and sometimes prodromal auras. While the condition may be treated and prevented with drugs, a growing body of evidence suggests that diet can be an effective treatment.
Six months before his clinic referral, the man’s migraines had become chronic, occurring on 18–24 days of every month. The pain was described as starting suddenly and intensely in the forehead and left temple. The pain was throbbing in nature, usually lasting 72 hours. His headaches were accompanied by sensitivity to light and sound, and nausea and vomiting. On a scale of 0–10, he scored the pain severity as 10–12 out of 10.
Blood tests showed little systemic inflammation and a normal level of beta-carotene (53 µg/dL). This is likely due to his daily sweet potato consumption, which, although high in beta-carotene, are relatively low in the nutrients responsible for the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of carotenoids, the authors pointed out. These are instead found in dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach. Systemic inflammation and oxidative stress are implicated in migraine.
The authors recommended that he follow the Low Inflammatory Foods Everyday (LIFE) diet, which is a nutrient dense, whole food, plant-based diet.
The LIFE diet includes eating at least five ounces (142g) of dark green leafy vegetables every day, drinking one 32-ounce (905g) daily green LIFE smoothie, and cutting back on whole grains, starchy vegetables, oils, and animal protein, particularly dairy and red meat.
After two months on the LIFE diet, the frequency of his migraine attacks had fallen to just 1 day a month; the length and severity of the attacks had also lessened. Blood tests showed a substantial rise in beta-carotene levels, from 53 µg/dL to 92 µg/dL.
He stopped his migraine meds and even when he tried certain ‘challenge’ foods which triggered headaches, they were less intense. At three months his migraines completely stopped, and they haven’t returned in 7.5 years.
The 60-year-old patient, whose identity was not disclosed, said: “Before I changed my diet, I was suffering six to eight debilitating migraines a month, each lasting up to 72 hours. Most days, I was either having a migraine or recovering from one.”
The man was allergic, which studies suggest contributes to migraines, and his allergies had disappeared. He was also HIV positive, also linked to migraine risk, so it is certainly possible that the man’s HIV status and antiretroviral drugs had contributed to his symptoms, the reports acknowledge, which they could not exclude.
Nevertheless they concluded: “This report suggests that a whole food plant-based diet may offer a safe, effective and permanent treatment for reversing chronic migraine.
“While this report describes one very adherent patient who had a remarkable response, the LIFE diet has reduced migraine frequency within three months in several additional patients (personal communication).”
Source: EurekAlert!
