Study: A diet high in omega 3 fat can reduce migraine headaches

Food can be triggered MigraineHowever, new studies have found that certain dietary changes can reduce the frequency and severity of headaches in migraine patients.

People on a diet High in omega 3 fatty acidsReported shorter, milder headaches, especially compared to those who ate a typical American diet, while reducing their intake of omega-6 fats.The cuts were big and “strong,” researchers reported this month. At the BMJ..

The findings bring hope to one billion people around the world. 12% of Americans — Those who are suffering from migraines and are looking for dietary options that can provide relief, experts said.

“The reduction in the number of days of headaches we saw per month was impressive. It’s very exciting, similar to what we see with some of the drugs used as migraine prophylaxis.” Daisy Samora, a co-author of the study, a researcher at the National Institute of Aging, and an assistant professor of psychiatry at UNC School of Medicine, said today. ..

Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are a type of healthy fat that humans must ingest from food. However, they are out of balance in the average US diet.

Americans now eat at least twice as much omega-6 as our ancestors ate, Samora said. Linoleic acid — The predominant omega-6 in the Western diet — Because it is found in vegetable oils such as corn, safflower, and soybean oil, it is abundant in pastries, crackers, snacks, and other processed foods.

The molecules that the body makes when it digests omega-6 fats are involved in the pain process and are known to cause pain, Zamora said.

Omega 3 fatty acidsOn the other hand, it has an anti-inflammatory effect. The best sauces include cold-water fat fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines. Plant-based sauces include walnuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds.

In this study, researchers enrolled 182 people with migraine headaches 5 to 20 days a month. Two-thirds of the participants met the criteria for chronic migraine.

It was then randomly assigned to follow one of the three meals for 16 weeks.

High omega 3 diet: This plan includes a lot of fatty fish (salmon and tuna) daily and increases the intake of certain omega 3 fats (known as EPA and DHA) to 1.5 grams per day. I will. The average American eats only a small portion of that amount, According to the National Institute of Health..

High Omega 3 + Low Omega 6 Diet: Similar to the original plan, but at the same time reduced omega-6 intake to less than a quarter of the typical US diet. People in this group cooked with macadamia nut oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or butter instead of typical vegetable oils and ate snacks low in linoleic acid.

Average US diet: This was a contrasting diet. It contained typical levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that are eaten by Americans.

Each participant monitored migraine headaches and kept a diary to record the frequency and intensity of headaches and how they affected their lives.

At the start of the study, participants averaged about 16 headache days a month and about five and a half hours a day, even though each took several medications to combat the pain. ..

After 4 months of diet, the high omega 3 + low omega 6 diet had total headache time per day, severe headache time per day, and overall per month compared to the control group. Reduced the number of headache days from 30% to 40%. , NIH said..

Increasing omega-3 fat without reducing omega-6 had some benefits, but it wasn’t powerful enough to make both changes.

so Editorials associated with research, Subtitle “Finally an optimistic rationale among those seeking dietary options,” Dr. Rebecca Birch, a headache medicine expert and assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said the findings were “notable.” “.

“These results support the recommendation of a high-omega 3 diet for patients in clinical practice,” Burch wrote.

“(They) are one step closer to the long-sought goal of headache patients and their caregivers: a migraine diet backed by strong clinical trial results.”

This study says nothing about the benefits of supplementSaid Samora. She added that it is preferable to increase omega 3 intake by eating food rather than pills.

Diet has been tested as an addition to the drug, not as a replacement for the drug. Patients with migraine should ask their doctor if they need to add it to the treatment they are already receiving.

A diet with lots of fish on the menu every day is “feasible,” but it can be difficult for some to follow, Samora said. Future studies will find it important to know how difficult it is for patients to eat a high-omega 3 diet at home, Burch said.

Despite having less headaches, shorter and less serious, participants did not feel that the changes had significantly improved their quality of life. It is in line with the reality of migraine headaches and how debilitating they are, Samora said.

“If a person has 16 days (headaches) in a month and can reduce it to 12 days, that’s a huge reduction. Another 4 days are painless,” she said. It was.

“But if you ask them at the end of the month,’Did your pain have a big impact on your life?’ The 12th of the month still has a big impact, so the answer is still yes.”