Should You Go Gluten-Free For Your Migraines?

If you’re among the 1 cardinal radical connected the satellite who person migraines, you’ve astir apt tried astir everything to consciousness better. You debar known triggers similar chocolate, MSG, reddish wine, citrus fruit, and aged cheese.

You mightiness adjacent person chopped retired gluten, a macromolecule chiefly recovered successful wheat, barley, and rye. But does skipping sourdough breadstuff assistance easiness your symptoms?

Migraine and Celiac Disease

A batch of patients inquire that question, says Lauren Natbony, MD, an adjunct objective prof of neurology specializing successful headache medicine astatine Mount Sinai successful New York City.

There’s a wide connection, she says, betwixt migraine and GI disorders -- including celiac disease.

“Patients with diagnosed celiac illness who power to a gluten-free fare thin to person less and little terrible migraine attacks.”

In celiac disease, gluten triggers the immune strategy to onslaught the body, damaging the tiny intestine. But if you person psoriasis but not celiac disease, skipping glutens won’t assistance you.

What if You’re Gluten-Sensitive?

Your doc mightiness telephone you “gluten-sensitive” if you don’t person celiac illness but inactive respond to gluten. It’s unclear however galore radical autumn successful this category.

Natbony says she’s seen a fistful of non-celiac patients whose headaches got amended aft quitting gluten. She adds that these bully effects don’t look to last, and patients tin person occupation sticking to the diet.

Still, she says, gluten mightiness trigger gut inflammation that leads to migraines successful gluten-sensitive people.

Maria Vazquez-Roque, MD, a gastroenterologist astatine Mayo Clinic successful Jacksonville, FL, says immoderate radical who look gluten-sensitive whitethorn really beryllium delicate to FODMAPS (short for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols).

These are carbs recovered successful galore steadfast foods that immoderate radical can’t digest, starring to bloating, diarrhea, and headaches. She suggests radical with migraine who trial antagonistic for celiac illness enactment with a dietitian to effort a low-FODMAP fare for a period oregon two.

Gluten-Free?

Natbony doesn’t trial each migraine diligent for celiac disease. She does surface for gluten sensitivity symptoms, similar diarrhea, smelly stools, and more-than-normal gas. She usually doesn’t urge a gluten-free fare to radical who don’t request it.

“Gluten-free products thin to beryllium higher successful fat, carbohydrates, and sodium, and they tin beryllium expensive,” she says.

Plus, it’s hard to debar gluten completely. It’s not lone successful evident foods similar bread, pasta, and cake. It lurks successful hundreds of products you’d ne'er deliberation of, including soy sauce, canned soup, and crockery dressings -- adjacent toothpaste.

Still, she says fare changes are an important portion of treatment. People tin marque tons of changes connected their own, specified arsenic avoiding known nutrient triggers similar caffeine, nitrates successful cured meat, and aspartame.

Natbony says chasing down headache triggers tin beryllium stressful, which successful crook tin origin migraine, too. Here’s what she suggests:

• Keep a headache diary and a nutrient diary to spot if there’s immoderate transportation betwixt what you devour and a migraine attack. A food-related migraine tin hap close aft you devour oregon up to 48 hours later.
• If determination seems to beryllium a link, chopped that nutrient retired of your fare for astir 4 weeks and spot if you consciousness better.
• Slowly adhd the nutrient backmost successful -- not excessively overmuch astatine first. If it triggers a migraine oregon you person much headaches, it’s champion to halt eating it completely.