A ketogenic or keto diet is a diet that consists of high fats, low carbs, and a moderate amount of proteins. The Keto diet is used to treat a brain disorder that often leads to seizures, named epilepsy.
Although the keto diet has therapeutic effects on patients with epilepsy but is also advised to use because it presents other brain disorders such as migraine, some evidence suggests that if you are using the keto diet in the migraine, it will reduce inflammation in your brain.
People with cluster headaches or migraines can take advantage of the keto diet. Some people have also said that their migraine headaches‘ intensity was reduced after using a keto diet.
Keto Diet And Migraine
Keto is a diet that contains less than 50 grams of fats and few carbs. The average adult of America consumes 200 to 250 grams of carbs daily. You can find carbs in many foods such as pasta, fruits, milk, cereals and bread.
Carb is present in other dairy products and some starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. Your body breaks down the carbs into glucose normally from these foods to supply energy to the body cells.
When you don’t include carbs in your diet for 3 to 4 days, your body may search for another fuel source to match its energy level. In this way, your body breaks down the liver’s fats to produce ketones for it. Your brain and body can easily use ketones as a source of energy.
When the level of blood ketones becomes high, then your body reaches a stage named ketosis. It has been said that ketones exert a positive effect on patients with migraines. In migraines, headaches lead to seer pulsing pain or throbbing.
Migranal pain usually starts from one side of your brain. Other symptoms such as light or sound sensitivity and nausea can accompany migraine pain. But still, the exact causes are unclear.
A Keto diet can restore the metabolism of energy and excitability of your brain. In this way, it can counteract the inflammation of the brain in patients with migraine.
Ketones May Help You Prevent Migraine Attacks
Early researchers have reported that keto diet may be advantageous for treating and preventing the symptoms of migraine. The first report was provided in 1928.
In this report, medical literature justified that the frequency and severity of migraine symptoms were reduced in the 39% of people who had taken the keto diet. Another study was conducted in 1930.
This study reported that people who had followed a keto diet did not experience any migraine attack. They had not suffered migraine attacks up to 4 months after entering into the condition named ketosis. Another 25% of people reported low or less severe migraine attacks.
Interest in managing the symptoms of migraine with the keto diet’s help has been decreasing because of the strict nature of the diet and the development of medicines that can counter the diet effect. Medications can now manage the condition of migraine.
An observational study was conducted in 2015 , which reported that the migraine frequency was redacted in the women who took a keto diet with low calories for one month compared to a standard low-calorie diet.
This study has regained the trust of people about using the keto diet for migraine treatment. Women who followed a keto diet properly also lost weight. It is also suggested that weight loss may be linked with the frequency of migraine compared to the keto diet itself.
A study reported that people experienced significant reductions in the frequency, severity, and migraine duration after using the keto diet for one month.
All these results suggest that the keto diet can reduce the frequency of migraines, but it does not prevent this condition completely. There is much more to know about the keto diet before recommending it for daily use.
For example, it is unknown whether people should maintain a condition of ketosis continuously or not to get its protective effects against severe migraine symptoms.
Moreover, all of the studies have been reported the benefits of the keto diet in treating the migraine. Some studies are underway also to know about the keto diet’s role in preventing symptoms of migraine.
