The elimination diet: Discover your migraine triggers

.  This is normal in the detoxification process, however after this initial phase, you actually begin to feel much better.  Migraines may still occur during week two, but the attacks should be less intense and respond more easily to medication (if required).

After the detoxification, you may confirm the suspected trigger by eating foods containing the eliminated ingredient for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while observing any reactions.  These may include fatigue, mental fog, sleepiness, and headaches that may not seem like the typical migraine.  After a period of elimination, these symptoms often occur immediately upon ingestion of the culprit food or within the first 24 hours.

An elimination diet is a valuable tool that can make the particular trigger much more obvious.  However, not all triggers are so easy to identify and it is sometimes useful to have a food sensitivity blood test, which checks for IgG antibody reactions to specific foods.  This is a simple blood test that is done at your doctor’s office.

Referencing the blood results, the foods with the strongest reactions should be eliminated from the diet as described above.  This may seem like a long process, but for someone suffering from chronic migraines, it can offer new hope for controlling these cumbersome headaches.

Vincent Pedre, M.D. is an integrative, Holistic General Practitioner and Board-Certified Internist in private practice in New York City.

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