Can Cutting Carbs Cure Migraine Misery?

Migraines affect over 10 million people in the UK alone. Most migraine sufferers may experience changes in their work capacity and social activities because of the debilitating nature of migraine headaches. Triggers vary from person to person and there is no clear way to avoid all triggers. One factor that influences migraine is diet.

Most often, nutritional interventions for migraines include taking supplements such as magnesium, riboflavin, coQ10, or natural herbs.

Research shows that one’s diet contributes to the overall risk of migraines. Experts are looking into diet modification for extreme migraine sufferers. Shifting to low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets have shown to reduce migraine headaches in several studies. Reducing carbohydrates have been used in treating children with epilepsy.

In Italy, experts tested volunteers on a low-carb, high-fat diet which forces the body to burn fats instead of carbohydrates. Within the first month of the change in diet, volunteers found that their migraine attacks were significantly reduced.

How does it happen?

Apparently, if you reduce carbs intake, your body produces ketone bodies for its fuel. These are water-soluble molecules that are less demanding and less inflammatory compared to the glucose that is normally produced. Experts believe that this could be the reason why there’s a significant reduction in migraines when you cut down carbs.

Ketogenic is a term used for low-carb diets. The main idea is to get more calories from protein and fat and less from carbohydrates. Most people who try ketogenic diets have almost zero carbs. They cut back on carbohydrates that are easy to digest such as soda, sugar, white bread, and pastries.

When you start a ketogenic diet and eat less than 50 grams of carbs per day, your body will run out of fuel (blood sugar) it can use quickly. You’ll start breaking down protein and fat for energy, which makes you effectively lose weight. This is called ketosis.

It is important to note that this type of diet is short-term and is focused on weight loss rather than pursuit of health benefits.

Other than weight loss, people use a ketogenic diet to manage certain medical conditions like heart disease, epilepsy, certain brain disease, and more. It may also help with other nervous system disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and sleep disorders. Scientists are baffled, but they believe that the ketones on the body when it breaks down fat for energy helps protect your brain cells from damage.

Should you try Ketogenic diet to help reduce migraine?

It is true to say that many conventional medical doctors and practitioners are not keen on the ketogenic diet - In fact they often suggest having smaller, more frequent meals. However, there are many commentators and experts who disagree and suggest that ketogenic diets are very helpful for not only migraines but other neurological conditions like epilepsy and Parkinson's Disease.

If you are struggling with your migraine headaches it may be worth examining the pros and cons of undertaking a ketogenic regime in order to try it out. It should be noted that most practitioners note that on ketogenic diets there are a few days of changing difficulty when beginning them because the body is not used to the massive change in the type of nutrition. This is often called “keto flu”. However, anecdotally supplements like glutamine can be taken to reduce any such side effects and the reader is advised to look at forums and other places to see whether the ketogenic diet can be helpful in your migraine therapy.

Along with some nutritional approaches, for example, taking riboflavin 400 mg has been shown scientifically to help reduce migraine frequency.

There are several versions of the Ketogenic diet, including:

• Standard ketogenic diet

• Cyclical ketogenic diet

• Targeted ketogenic diet

• High protein ketogenic diet

However, only the standard and high protein ketogenic diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes.

The information in this article mostly applies to the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), although many of the same principles also apply to the other versions.

Ketones may prevent migraine attacks

Ketone bodies provide your brain and body with more energy than glucose—which means the brain and the muscles are working more efficiently. People with migraines often experience energy shortage, that’s why ketones are very important for them.

We also know that migraine headaches are associated with inflammation. Based on studies, applying a ketogenic diet has shown anti-inflammatory effects on the body.