Food Allergies the cause of Migraine?

No, the best way to do this is keep a diary and find out when your headaches are cooresponding with something you are eating or doing. It is not easy but well worth it.

Hi - I've had the blood tests for food allergies and after a lot of experimenting with eliminating things I've found that cow's milk congests me and leads to sinus infections. And then when I have a sinus infection, I am more prone to migraine (getting both at once is a doozy!). I've never heard from a medical source that the food allergy is a direct cause of migraine, though I have a client in my business who gets migraines when she eats/drinks dairy, and not at all otherwise. I wish it was that simple for me! But I think the more you know, the better off you are. As Sara, said, keeping a diary is really important and helps to narrow down what helps and what hurts - otherwise it's all so confusing!

- Megan

Megan, what blood tests have you gotten? And did they identify the dairy as an allergy? So it's really not nessesary? I have also noticed less congestion with the decrease of dairy.

Ben, if you don't mind me asking, why do you call the book "Heal Your Headache" controversial. I've read it twice and really thought it made a lot of sense. I'm just curious, cause I don't want to be nieve to all the information.

Thanks, Mother2

While you are thinking of food allergies, don't forget to consider chemical allergies. I use to have headaches non-stop with periodic classical migraines and tremendous fatigue (never formally dx as CFS but never-the-less). This onset happened shortly after the company I worked for installed new carpeting. (It was in one of those high rise buildings with no way to open the windows to out gas anything.) Anyway, I found that a lot of the things I was using for cleaning and personal care products were adding to my difficulty. I quit using anything that had fragerance first, then I started looking at my cleaning supplies. I got rid of ammonia, bleach, candles, scented lotion, cologne, scented deoderant and a big one for me was my laundry products. At the time, it felt like I got rid of everything! Of course, I replaced it with more natural products.... At first, baking soda and vinegar for cleaning, then I went to the health food store. Years later, I eventually discovered Melaleuca products which helped ease the expense of the pricey health food store stuff. There are a lot of options out there. Seventh Generation is one I use to like and a good brand to consider if you're going the health food store route (and I'm sure someone could guide you to many other good brands for different needs.) Anyway, I also started using an air purifier with a carbon filter in my bedroofm. I tried to make my room my "haven" where there wouldn't be any offending smells. Molds can also be a big contributing factor. So... there are some things to consider and some easy changes that might not just help your son but help the whole family feel better and breathe easier.

Many people have mentioned dairy as an allergy, though not a direct trigger for migraines. The top two food allergies for ppl in the US are dairy and wheat.  Allergic reactions can entail migraines. It is true allergies and migraine triggers are two separate things, but also true that both can cause migraines. Most doctors I have talked to suggest a restrictive diet, in which suspected triggers (or allergens) are removed from the diet and as the migraines substantially decrease (you have to be patient for this. the time it takes for your body to rid itself of all the toxins, and then take in the benefits of the new nutrition can be several months to a year...it is different for every person) one food at a time can be added back in to see if it is a migraine trigger.

Just a side note, I've found it interesting that the longer I"m on a restrictive diet, and the more my migraines clear up I find myself susceptible to things I wasn't before.  For instance, chemical smells didn't seem to be migraine triggers before, but now I use all natural cleaning supplies because the smell of chemical cleaning supplies gives me a migraine. My neurologist said this is normal, and may continue to happen.