More than 1 in 10 Americans—and a shocking 18% of U.S. women—suffer from migraines,reports the Migraine Research Foundation (MRF). And it’s often not just a passing thing; most migraine-sufferers experience them at least once or twice per month, and 4 million of the 39 million Americans with migraines have at least 15 migraine days per month, the MRF adds.
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Many individuals with migraines simply rest until it’s over or turn to medications to try to ease the aches. But what if we could shift our menu to trigger less migraines in the first place?
Doctors at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) believe this might be possible, so they gathered to research the topic. Their fascinating findings, just released inThe BMJreveal some fascinating—and very doable—diet suggestions to help frequent migraine sufferers reduce the number of monthly headaches and the intensity of the pain. To score all of thesemigraine-reducingbenefits, aim toeat more fatty fish and fewer vegetable-based fats and oils.
“This research found intriguing evidence that dietary changes have potential for improving a very debilitating chronic pain condition such as migraine without the related downsides of often prescribed medications,” saysLuigi Ferrucci, M.D., Ph.D., the scientific director of NIA, in abrief about the study.
To determine this, the researchers tracked 182 adults with frequent migraines over 16 weeks. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three healthy diet plans and were given meal kits to match their program. All meal plans featured fish, vegetables, hummus, salads and breakfast staples, and then were broken down into:
During the intervention, the individuals tracked their number of migraine days, plus how long and intense their migraines were, if they needed to take medication, and if the migraines impacted their ability to participate in normal daily tasks at work, school or socially. As a baseline, pre-study, the participants had about 16 headache days each month, 5 hours of migraine pain on those days and noted a severe impact on quality of life and the need for multiple headache meds to tame the pain.
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After digesting the data from the 4-month study, the scientists found that those who consumed less vegetable oils and more fatty fish experienced between 30% and 40% fewer total headache hours daily, severe headache hours per day and overall headache days per month, compared to the baseline average U.S. healthy diet group. Blood samples also proved this high-fish, low-vegetable oil group had lower levels of pain-related lipids.
“Changes in diet could offer some relief for the millions of Americans who suffer from migraine pain,” saysChris Ramsden, a clinical investigator in the NIA and NIAAA intramural research programs, and a UNC adjunct faculty member who led this research. “It’s further evidence that the foods we eat can influence pain pathways.”
They note that adjusting diet appears to “show better promise for helping people with migraines” than popping fish oil-based capsules, so it’s better to stock up on salmon than supplements.
In the future, the team hopes to dive into how this dietary shift may impact other chronic pain conditions. In the meantime, try thesehealthy omega-3 recipesand study up on thebest and worst foods to eat if you have a migraine.
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