Cutting carbs has been shown to prevent migraines, perhaps by changing the type of fuel that enters the brain.
The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet that makes the body burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Aside from aiding weight loss, it also seems to ease neurological conditions like and in some people.
at the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Italy and his colleagues wondered if the diet might also help to prevent migraines. Previous studies have hinted that it does, but haven鈥檛 been able to figure out whether this is due to general weight loss or something specific about reducing carbs.
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To find out, the team compared the effects of two very low-calorie diets 鈥� one ketogenic and one non-ketogenic 鈥� in 35 overweight and obese men and women who experience migraines. Each volunteer was randomly assigned a diet that they followed聽for four weeks, before swapping to the other for the same duration.
The two diets comprised prepared meals, such as smoothies and soups, that looked identical. The meals had the same amounts of calories and fat but different ratios of carbohydrates and protein.
Weight loss was similar for the two regimes, but the ketogenic diet appeared to be far better at preventing migraines. About 74 per cent of participants had at least half as many migraine-affected days as normal while on the low-carb ketogenic diet, compared to 9 per cent on the high-carb non-ketogenic diet.
In comparison, the best migraine prevention drugs available, known as CGRP monoclonal antibodies, cut migraine-affected days in half or 聽more for about to of users.
The results are compelling, but larger and longer studies are needed before the ketogenic diet can be recommended for migraine prevention, says at the University of Melbourne in Australia. 鈥淭here are many migraine treatments that seem to work well initially but then are ultimately disappointing,鈥� she says.
Ketones the key?
Di Lorenzo thinks that forcing the body to burn fat rather than carbohydrates prevents migraines because the brain adapts by using ketone bodies 鈥撀燾ompounds produced when fatty acids are broken down聽鈥� instead of glucose for fuel. In animal studies, ketone bodies dampen brain inflammation and stop the spread of electrical waves associated with migraines, he says.
The diet might also work because lower carbohydrate intake reduces the production of insulin, a hormone , says Di Lorenzo.
Very low-calorie diets are usually only sustainable for about 12 weeks, meaning there is a risk that migraines could come back afterwards, he says. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e found that the longer the diet lasts, the greater the after-effects are.鈥�
The diet sounds gruelling, but migraine sufferers are often desperate for relief, says Sun-Edelstein. 鈥淚f it is shown to be effective and safe in larger studies, I think it鈥檚 something that many people would be willing to try,鈥� she says. Di Lorenzo and his colleagues are now planning to test whether the diet prevents migraines in people of a normal weight.
Nutrients
