The development of a classic migraine is one of the top researched agendas for neurologists dealing with migraine-study. It has been established that allergic reactions may play a fairly important part in the development of an episode, although each specific allergic response may cause a migraine episode through completely different mechanisms. One of the clearest correlations between allergy reaction and an onset of a migraine is caused by an often undiagnosed celiac condition.
Celiac individuals are allergic to the gluten in wheat, rye and barley. Some children have highly adverse reactions to a gluten diet and are diagnosed early on, but many individuals suffer the symptoms of a gluten allergy with no idea of what the background cause may be.
One study found that migraine sufferers were ten times more likely than the general population to have celiac disease, and that a gluten-free diet eliminated or reduced migraines in these patients.
A study done in Italy in 2003 suggested that 4% of migraineurs also had celiac disease. Until recently, doctors considered it to be extremely rare, but now there is reason to believe that the number of people in the US who have some form of intolerance to gluten is 1 in 133, or about 3 million. Over 90% of these people do not know of their gluten sensitivity.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is essentially the glue component in the makeup of those grains. Gluten is also used in many other food products from soups and salad dressings to soy sauce and beer for flavour, texture and consistency. Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune disease which, if left untreated, will eventually destroy the villi in the small intestine, leading to a severe malabsorption of minerals and nutrients. There are serious implications from malabsorption including osteoporosis, certain cancers and a host of other disorders. Some of the symptoms noted in celiac literature: fatigue, anemia, migraine, eczema, psoriasis, mineral deficiencies, as well as gastrointestinal complaints such as bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea. It is most likely the combination of an extremely aggravated body system which is starved for proper mineral and vitamin supplementation and the overaggressive immune response which cause the onset of a migraine episode.
Another study of 10 patients with a long history of chronic headaches that had recently worsened or were resistant to treatment found that all 10 tested patients were sensitive to gluten in some form. MRI scans determined that each had inflammation in their central nervous systems caused by gluten-sensitivity. Seven out of nine of these patients that went on a gluten-free diet stopped having headaches completely.
Personal accounts from individuals who begin a gluten-free dietary lifestyle to avoid the onset of migraines, report either the total disappearance of migraine, or overall fewer and less severe attacks. If you suspect that you may have gluten sensitivity, request that your health professional check you for this (and other) allergic reactions. It should be noted that sometimes the sensitivity does not show up in allergy tests and you may have to determine on your own whether to try the gluten-free lifestyle. Celiac patients report that the disappearance of symptoms may take months after the dietary changes have been applied, but this is most likely due to the fact that the body requires a longer time to repair itself. A more in-depth article concerning celiac disease and its effects on the system will soon be available on this blog.
