Migraine: if you suffer with these intense headaches, all I need to do is mention the word to put you in defensive mode.
They often even let you know when they are coming. It’s like the headache is sending you a text message to let you know it is on its way. But, then again it might just pop up in your head unannounced.
Researchers have described migraine as “a common, multifactorial, disabling, recurrent, hereditary neurovascular headache disorder” (1). That’s quite a mouthful! It strikes women more often than men and it becomes more frequent as we age.
Before the debilitating pain arrives, you may experience some signs that it is on its way. It could be anything from feeling excessively tired and yawning a lot, to having fluctuating or extreme moods, to having food cravings, a stiff neck, or abnormal sensitivity to light, sound or smell (1).
Some people go on to have an aura phase. The symptoms that are experienced during the aura phase are related to the central nervous system. Most commonly the aura is a visual disturbance. But it may also be sensory, such as pins and needles, or speech related (2).
And it doesn't end there. Once the pain has lifted, the migraine sufferer has to deal with the after effects of the migraine, sometimes referred to as the migraine hangover. The most common symptoms in this phase are tiredness, finding it difficult to concentrate, and a stiff neck (3).
Migraine headaches are no laughing matter. Those who suffer from them will go to extreme lengths to stop them in their tracks.
Causes of migraine
A variety of factors can bring on a migraine. The cause of a migraine differs from one migraine sufferer to the next. Some of the migraine triggers that are often mentioned are hormonal imbalance, emotions, stress, physical problems, diet, environment and medication (4).
Interestingly, migraine triggers can also be related to histamine and histamine intolerance. Scientists have been looking at the connection between histamine and headaches for almost one hundred years. More recently, they have developed a better understanding of histamine and the effects it has in the body and are revisiting the idea that migraines may possibly be treated with certain antihistamine drugs (5).
If that is the case, then it is equally important to look at the high histamine foods, drinks and medicines that may increase a person’s histamine levels. This is even more important if you have histamine intolerance and suffer from migraines. You can click below to review a list of high histamine foods and drinks, and other sources of histamine that you can avoid if you experience migraine headaches:
Histamine intolerance and migraine headaches
Histamine is released by the mast cells in various locations throughout the body in response to a perceived threat such as a foreign substance. Diamine oxidase (DAO) enzymes are typically responsible for quickly degrading histamine, therefore reducing overall histamine levels.
When you don’t have enough DAO or it doesn’t work as efficiently as it should, the histamine levels in your blood continue to rise. You would now be considered to have histamine intolerance. And with that comes a whole host of histamine intolerance symptoms (6).
Everything we swallow has the potential to raise our histamine levels - some things more than others. Certain foods and drinks contain high levels of histamine. Others indirectly raise histamine by resulting in the release of histamine from our own mast cells.
Some medications can have the same effect. When you have histamine intolerance and you consume these foods, beverages and drugs, your histamine levels become very high. You are constantly living on the threshold of a histamine attack (7).
If you are prone to migraines, sitting at this threshold means that any little thing could trigger an attack. It might be the banana you had for breakfast, or the shellfish you had at lunchtime, or the glass of wine you had with your dinner.
These issues with consuming histamine-containing or histamine-releasing foods are exactly why it's so important to focus on a low histamine diet if you suspect histamine to be a source of your migraine headache symptoms. Additionally, if you have been unable to figure out why you're having migraine headaches, you could try a low histamine diet and see if these symptoms improve in 1-2 weeks, which will indicate that histamine is likely a problem for you. Click below to try out the free low histamine diet and observe if your symptoms quickly improve:
Diet and migraine have been the subject of many research studies. Researchers have found that a migraine is not always triggered by the food the patient has previously identified as a problem. This makes it very difficult to identify where the problem might lie. With this in mind, an elimination diet may truly be the best route to take to figure out what is going on (8).
Although there may be other dietary factors at play in place of or addition to histamine issues, if you have found your way to this article, I am guessing that you may already suspect that histamine may be your trigger. If that is indeed the case, then a low histamine diet may just be the answer you are looking for. As mentioned above, when trying a low histamine diet, improvements are seen within 1-2 weeks if histamine is indeed an issue. So, it is certainly worth a try as it's free to do from your own home and doesn't take very long to experience potential improvement.
Low histamine diet for migraine
If you suffer from these debilitating headaches that affect your whole body, you are most likely constantly on the lookout for the possible causes of your pain. If you regularly suffer from symptoms as a result of a histamine reaction such as a runny nose, itching, fatigue, flushing, and the list goes on, you might consider histamine as a cause for your migraines.
Since so many foods either contain histamine or cause the release of histamine, avoiding such foods may result in banishing your suffering, or at the very least making it less frequent.
It is always a good idea to get some professional guidance when it comes to trying any kind of elimination diet. You need to implement it responsibly to avoid eliminating too many foods as this may result in nutritional deficiencies and be sure to look to those who have an appropriate background in the topic.
As a first step, you can start my free low histamine diet which eliminates both high histamine foods and histamine-releasing foods, while also providing nutritious recipes and tips to make the diet successful that go above and beyond your typical foods list. Click below to start the free diet and find out if histamine has been an issue behind your migraine headaches.
Histamine diet for migraine headaches
References
- Burstein R, Noseda R, Borsook D. Migraine: Multiple Processes, Complex Pathophysiology. Journal of Neuroscience. 2015;35(17):6619-6629.
- Golden L. Peters B. Migraine Overview and Summary of Current and Emerging Treatment Options [Internet]. AJMC. 2021 [cited 2 June 2021]. Available from: https://www.ajmc.com/view/migraine-overview-and-summary--of-current-and-emerging-treatment-options
- Goadsby P, Holland P, Martins-Oliveira M, Hoffmann J, Schankin C, Akerman S. Pathophysiology of Migraine: A Disorder of Sensory Processing. Physiological Reviews. 2017;97(2):553-622.
- Migraine - Causes [Internet]. nhs.uk. 2021 [cited 2 June 2021]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/migraine/causes/
- Worm J, Falkenberg K, Olesen J. Histamine and migraine revisited: mechanisms and possible drug targets. The Journal of Headache and Pain. 2019;20(1).
- Kovacova-Hanuskova E, Buday T, Gavliakova S, Plevkova J. Histamine, histamine intoxication and intolerance. Allergologia et Immunopathologia. 2015;43(5):498-506.
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués M, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou M. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content?. Nutrients. 2021;13(5):1395.
- Gazerani P. Migraine and Diet. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1658.
Anita Tee
My name is Anita Tee. I'm a nutritional scientist specializing in histamine intolerance. I hold a Master of Science in Personalized Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Psychology.
For the past ten years, I have used my experience in nutritional and medical health sciences to create a scientifically backed, natural approach to healthcare that relies 100% on evidence-based research.
As I previously suffered from - and overcame - histamine intolerance, my focus is to increase recognition and expand the available resources and protocols for resolving the disorder. To date, I have helped over 4,000 individuals fully resolve or better manage their histamine intolerance symptoms.
