Barbara Lantin, Electronic
Telegraph
Many migraine sufferers have
long believed that their headaches are triggered by certain foods, with
chocolate, cheese, citrus and red wine being among the usual suspects. A recent
survey not only suggests that these sufferers may be right but also offers new
hope for controlling the condition without drugs.
In the first study of its kind,
61 people with moderate to severe migraines were given a food intolerance test.
Only one patient had no
intolerances at all and the average participant had 5.3. Of those who
eliminated the named foods from their diets, 80 per cent reported some
improvement in their migraines and more than a third reported significant
relief. More
than 60 per cent of patients who reintroduced the suspect foods into their
diets reported the return of their migraine symptoms.
"This
piece of work gives some scientific validity to what people are doing
already," says Ann Turner, the director of the Migraine Action
Association, which part-funded the research. "Previously, people
eliminated various foods from their diet and reintroduced them slowly, noting
the reaction. It was a long process that was difficult for people with busy
lives."
The
most common intolerances that cropped up in the survey were, in order, cow's
milk, yeast, egg white, egg yolk, wheat, gluten, corn, cashew nuts, seafood,
Brazil nuts, cranberry and garlic. "Triggers vary from person to person,
so there is really no point in cutting out a food unless you know it is a
problem for you personally," says Turner. One woman who had avoided
chocolate for years found that she was actually intolerant to milk and could safely
eat plain chocolate.
Nicola
Adam's discovery that she is intolerant to eggs, milk, lentils, peas and
coconut has changed her life. The 25-year-old from Reading has suffered from
migraines since she was five, like her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
"Sometimes, I would have one a week, but in a bad spell, the minute I
recovered from one, the next would hit me," she says. "At university,
that could mean up to 10 hours of continuous vomiting at a time.
"It
was hard to plan anything, because the migraines would come on very suddenly
and I would be unable to look after myself or get home. I took some drugs every
day and others when I had an attack, but nothing worked for long."
Nicola
had tried eliminating the well-known migraine triggers from her diet, but to no
effect. Two years ago, she took a Yorktest food allergy indicator and since
then has avoided the foods to which she showed a sensitivity. "Now I might
get one migraine a month," she says.
"About
twice a year, I get a full-blown attack and that is usually because of
something I have eaten. Peas, lentils and coconut are easy to avoid, but eggs
and milk are in so many things. I would never have discovered this combination
of foods if I had not taken the test."
Food
intolerance is only one possible cause of migraine and, even when it is
implicated, may not be the only factor. Stress, exercise, travel and the
menstrual cycle can also play a part.
"Testing
is not a cure-all," says Turner. "But because it is believed that
migraine is triggered by an accumulation of factors—a kind of points system—if
you can avoid your potential food triggers, you are less likely to accumulate
enough points from other sources to trigger an attack."
