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migraines and vegetarian diet

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Migraine Headache
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Posted 3/5/2010 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
Are there any other vegetarians out there who have been told not eating meat might be causing their headaches?
I find it tiresome, since I am not willing to eat it but wondered if anyone else has had any experience with this?
I compromised with the doctor and am now trying an amino acid called l- carnetine.
Posted 3/5/2010 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry to sound negative but I think your doctor is giving you a load of nonsense.

I suffered with migraines for a long time, then stopped eating meat and they disappeared for five years. Now I very rarely get them and they aren't as disabling as they were.

You might find this link interesting;

http://www.bhj.org/books/diets/chap9.htm

I can't guarantee it will work for everyone as I have known other vegetarians who still have bad migraine.

Migraine is a very complex illness and a lot of doctors or GPs don't know a lot about it. My own GP (who I don't have much faith in) also suggested I start eating meat again.

I've also read if you see a neurologist to try and get one who specialises in migraine.

Good Luck!

 

Posted 3/10/2010 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
This is a good article, and worth looking into if you are wanting to change your diet to help with migraines. Has anyone else had success with a vegetarian diet? How do you work that into your life when your husband is a meat-and-potatoes guy?
Posted 3/10/2010 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
I have met someone like me, who's migraine disappeared when they stopped eating meat and I've also read of one person in a magazine, years ago and another one on the internet.

As for your husband; I became vegetarian while I was still living at home with my father, who was also a meat and potatoes man. I tried to adapt everything as best as I could; made a nut loaf for myself or cooked a veggie cutlet or burger, while I did a roast or pork chop or hamburger for him, when I made spaghetti I fried some meat for him and added it to the sauce after I took my share, when I made pizza, I put meat on his half. As for lasagna, he was out of luck and had to eat a veggie one, lol. Yes it was a pain at times but I tried. I also cooked in bulk like making a few shepherds pies, both meat and veggie and freezing them.

Does your husband like the fake meat?

My husband doesn't mind the fake chicken or ground beef, but isn't keen on veggie burgers and sausages.

Posted 3/12/2010 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
I don't even think he would try the fake meat. i don't really love it myself---something about the texture, altho once I did eat a veggie burger that was made with mushrooms that I liked better than a regular Boca Burger. I am half-Chinese and love to make Chinese food, so I used to just make it as usual and not eat the meat myself, but there is a certain kind of dumpling that requires meat, and when i used a Boca Burger i still didn't like it. When i was a vegetarian before, I ate no poultry or red meat, but i did eat seafood, so i was able to make really good dumplings with cabbage, shrimp, and water chestnuts.

Our daughter is 12 and would like to experiment with vegetarian meals, so I might go back to it and use some of the same tricks you do. My weakness is bacon, however (!). But I've not changed my diet to se if it would affect the migraines; it would be interesting to find out.
Posted 3/15/2010 8:15 AM (GMT 0)
I have to say I also think it's nonsense that a vegetarian diet would cause migraines. If you eat a balanced diet, whether veg or not, and make sure you watch out for trigger foods (some of which are specifically meat products), you should easily be able to have a diet that can help you manage your migraines. I have never read or heard anything about lack of meat causing migraines. I think that's just another example of ignorance about both migraine and vegetarianism. I am vegetarian, so I'm sure have some bias here... but cutting out meat years ago had no impact on my migraines. That's just my personal experience though. The only thing you have to be careful of as a vegetarian (and generally this is for vegans only), is making sure you get enough B-12. Other than that, if you eat plenty of fruits and veggies and quality protein, this is a much healthier diet (in my opinion after reading a ton of literature about it) than the standard meat-eating diet of most Americans. The China Study is a great book if you're looking for any great research to back up your decision to go veg. I would maybe keep a food diary for a while and see if you can figure out any triggers in your veg diet if you do think your diet might be causing your migraines. I personally have trouble with raw onions... they trigger migraines for me. Dairy is a trigger for me too... so vegetarianism (almost veganism) has helped me in that area.
Best, Kelli :)
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