Migraine is one of the largest causes of disability in the world. Existing treatments are often not enough to offer full relief for patients. A new study published in The BMJdemonstrates an additional option patient can use in their effort to experience fewer migraines and headaches - a change in diet.
"Our ancestors ate very different amounts and types of fats compared to our modern diets," said co-first author Daisy Zamora, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine. "Polyunsaturated fatty acids, which our bodies do not produce, have increased substantially in our diet due to the addition of oils such as corn, soybean, and cottonseed to many processed foods like chips, crackers, and granola." The classes of polyunsaturated fatty acids examined in this study are omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3). Both have important functions within our body but need to be in balance, as n-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease inflammation and some derivatives of n-6 have been shown to promote pain. However, due to the amount of processed food consumed today, most people in the U.S. are eating substantially more n-6 and fewer n-3 fatty acids.
To see whether the amount of these fatty acids in a person's diet could impact pain from headaches, 182 patients currently diagnosed with and seeking treatment for migraines were enrolled in this randomized, controlled trial, led by Doug Mann, MD, professor of Neurology and Internal Medicine in the UNC School of Medicine. In addition to their current treatments, patients adhered to one of three diets for 16 weeks: a control diet that maintained the average amount of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids that a person living in the U.S. consumes, a diet that increased n-3 and maintained n-6 fatty acids, and a diet that increased n-3 and decreased n-6 fatty acids. Participants were provided with 2/3 of their daily food requirements and were also given an electronic diary to record how many hours each day they had headache pain.