Non-medical therapies of headache- dietary habits and nutrition

The question whether dietary habits and lifestyle have influence on headache is still a matter of debate. According to the current evidences, Ketogenic diet and modified Atkins diet are thought to play a role in neuroprotection, improving mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, compensating serotoninergic dysfunction, decreasing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) level and suppressing neuro-inflammation. It can also be speculated that prescription of low glycemic diet may be promising in headache/migraine control through attenuating the inflammatory state. Moreover, obesity and headaches including migraine could be attributed to each other through mechanisms like inflammation, and irregular hypothalamic function. Thereby, applying dietary strategies for weight loss may also ameliorate headache/migraine. Another important dietary intervention that might be effective in headache/migraine improvement is related to balance between the intake of essential fatty acids, omega-6 and omega-3 which also affect inflammatory responses, platelet function and regulation of vascular tone. Regarding elimination diets, it appears that targeted these diets in migraine patients with food sensitivities could be effective in headache/migraine prevention. Also, evidences pointed to the role of different vitamins and minerals in amelioration of headache symptoms. For instance, riboflavin can prevent migraine by influencing mitochondrial dysfunction. Homocysteine catalyzation requires the presence of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, which can decrease the severity of migraine. Vitamin D, can affect migraine severity through ameliorating neuro-inflammation. So, adequate intake of different vitamins and minerals are also important in controlling headache/migraine symptoms. Dietary intake also affects the composition of commensal gut microbiota. The role of gut-CNS-Axis in headache/migraine control has become a matter of special interest in recent years and probiotic supplementation has been mentioned in managing migraine headache. Taken together, dietary approaches could be considered as effective strategies in headache/migraine prophylaxis.