"Goodbye to Migraines!"
 I
started having migraine headaches when I was four years old. My
mom called them "hungry headaches," and every time I got one she
fed me. I quickly learned to associate food with easing my pain.
The problem, though, was that eating never made my headaches go
away. I would continue to cry in pain, which only made things
worse.
While growing up in Michigan, my dad struggled throughout
most of my childhood to find work to provide for our family of
seven. My mom was always a loving person, and giving and serving
is how she showed her love to us kids. Since we didn't have
money for the things other kids had, my mom gave to us by baking
and cooking. She was really good at it, and I was really good at
eating whatever she made. If we said we didn't like something or
if we said we were full, you could see the pain on her face. So
I ate everything.
I can remember my mom's can of fat on the back of the stove.
She would save the drippings from the meats she cooked for the
evening meal (hamburgers, bacon, pork chops) and would use it
the next day to fry the eggs for breakfast. Thursdays were
baking day, and all that fat on the stove would go into mom's
cookies, cakes, breads and pies.
Although my mom did what she could to serve her family, she
spent much of my childhood in bed. It seems like her head hurt
all the time. I can remember she would often ask me to bring her
a handful of aspirin—literally a handful. While the other kids
in the neighborhood were running and playing outdoors, I, like
my mom, was often lying in a dark room with an icepack on my
head. Each of my migraines ended with violent vomiting and then
several hours of exhausted sleep.
When I was twelve years old I contracted meningitis, the
symptoms of which were very similar to what I experienced during
my headaches. My parents didn't realize I was sick because they
were so used to me being in pain from the headaches. By the time
my dad decided to take me to the emergency room, I almost died.
I spent a week in the hospital suffering from severe pain,
dehydration and hallucinations.
Alone with the pain
In school, even though I was academically advanced, my
teachers often accused me of using headaches to get out of doing
my work and to avoid participation in gym class. The truth is, I
loved to run and play, it was just so hard to do with an almost
constant headache. My siblings accused me in the same way,
saying it was convenient for me to have a headache whenever it
was time for chores (although, I have to admit, I liked getting
out of chores).
By 10th grade my headaches were a daily event. I was taking
prescription narcotics and had to have my teachers' permission
to be in their classes. It didn't matter that I pulled straight
A's, the school secretary would still roll her eyes every time I
asked to go home because of a headache. In college my migraines
grew even worse. While the campus doctor told me that "some
people are just prone to headaches"—a very discouraging
comment—some of my professors were worried that there might be
something else wrong besides "just migraines," as if that's not
enough.
My heart was broken, and I lost hope of ever being normal.
From this point I started a long trip down the road of
depression. I didn't want to get out of bed for class. I didn't
want to participate in campus activities. I didn't even want to
live. And by now, it wasn't just the migraine pain that was out
of control, so was my eating.
After college, when I started my career as a Worship Pastor,
I decided it was time to take control of my migraine pain. After
dozens of doctor visits, tests and drugs, I still had migraines
at least three times a week. I also developed gastro-intestinal
issues, such as constipation, diarrhea and acid reflux, which
were thought to be the result of all the medications over so
many years. My doctor also suggested I was allergic to tomatoes,
wheat and garlic, so I cut these things out of my diet, plus
sugar and caffeine. But I still continued to have migraines.
On two separate occasions I was in a serious dating
relationship that was headed toward marriage. Both men, however,
felt that they couldn't commit to someone who may or may not
ever be free of the migraine pain. By this time my depression
was affecting my work and it was suggested that I seek
counseling, which I did. My migraines improved somewhat but I
still had one or two a week. If you've ever had a migraine
headache you know that even one is too many.
I eventually got a job as a counselor in that same office.
But I hated that clients were counting on me to help them with
their problems; meanwhile I would often have to cancel
appointments because my head hurt so much. At this point, it was
clear that migraines controlled my life, not me. I spent a lot
of money going in for shots to help relieve the pain when I just
couldn't bear it any longer. But generally I resigned myself to
the pain and decided not to fight it so hard anymore.
Finally, relief
In addition to living with migraines, I also wanted to lose
some weight. One day while talking to a friend about how I
wanted to eat healthier in order to shed some pounds, she
recommended The McDougall Program and gave me The McDougall
Quick and Easy Cookbook. After reading the book and some other
information from the McDougall website, I decided it was not
going to work because everyone else out there (the media, other
health authorities and authors, etc.) was saying that
carbohydrates are bad. I figured I would just get fatter.
But I started following the program anyway because my friend
had been so nice to give me the book. I kept telling myself,
"It's only 12 days—if it doesn't work I can stop." The funny
thing is, my migraines disappeared! I also began to lose weight,
especially after reading The McDougall Program for Maximum
Weight Loss.
Within a week, because my blood pressure was so low (in other
words it was now normal), I had to stop taking the beta blocker
my doctor had prescribed as a migraine preventative. My
migraines became fewer and farther between. They appeared once a
week, once a month, once in a while, and then they completely
disappeared. The last time I had a migraine headache was October
2006 when I was 31 years old. GI problems became a thing of the
past, and I was able to eat tomatoes and wheat (although garlic
still disagrees with me).
On and off the wagon
In November 2007 my mom died unexpectedly from Coronary
Artery Atherosclerosis. At this time I had gotten away from
eating McDougall style for various reasons and was starting to
see a return of the headaches, although they were not yet
migraines. My mom was only 64. Sitting at her funeral I realized
that if I continued in my mom's footsteps, at 32 years old I
have already lived half of my life. That was a sobering thought.
So I explored other diet programs that allowed for the
consumption of meat and dairy (I missed them) and, once again,
daily headaches became routine. But I kept going because, after
all, they weren't migraines. In May 2008 I had my first migraine
headache in almost two years. It scared me enough to bring me
back to eating McDougall style. Within two weeks I was once
again free of migraines. So what if I miss meat and dairy; it's
better than returning to a life of migraine pain.
I now take no cholesterol meds, no blood pressure meds and,
most importantly, no headache meds! Now I can hike, bike, walk,
travel, work, read and go to the movies. All of the things that
used to trigger migraines are the things I now enjoy the most.
My advice to others who are looking for change is to just try
the McDougall diet for 12 days; even if you have to tell
yourself the same thing I did: "It's only 12 days—if it doesn't
work I can stop." But once the 12 days are up you will probably
not want to stop.
Don't worry if you fall off the wagon, you'll eventually get
sick of feeling sick and won't care about missing the taste of
meat and dairy foods. You will discover a host of new fruits,
vegetables, grains and spices while still being able to enjoy
healthier and delicious versions of your old favorite dishes,
such as spaghetti and baked potatoes.
Before, on the standard American diet, I never felt full
until I was so stuffed I felt sick. But on the McDougall diet I
finally know what satisfied feels like, and it feels good!
Beth Burns
Saranac, Michigan
June 2008
Dr. McDougall's Comments
Beth's headaches ruled her life. We can only guess how
different her childhood and early adult years would have been if
she had, instead, lived pain-free. After searching and
experimenting she has found a way to cure her migraines and
improve her overall health—and it is a cost-free and
side-effect-free method.
About 28 million Americans suffer from disabling headaches.
When the pain is very severe, they are often called
migraines—whether or not they truly are. Classically this kind
of headache is preceded by characteristic symptoms called an
aura. The aura is commonly visual disturbances, described as
zig-zag lines and impairment of vision, but numbness and
tingling of the face and arms, and speech disturbances also
occur. These symptoms develop over a few minutes, usually last
for less than 1 hour, and disappear before the headache begins.
The headache pain is intense and throbbing and usually
restricted to one side of the head—and lasting from minutes to
days. The brain tissue has no pain fibers, but the blood vessels
to the brain do have these sensory nerves. The migraine aura is
believed to be caused by constriction of the blood vessels in
the brain (cerebral vasoconstriction) and the headache by the
dilation of the blood vessels that follows (reactive
vasodilatation).
Worldwide, migraine headaches are reported more commonly in
countries where people consume the Western diet.1
Obesity is also associated with the frequency and severity of
migraines.2 These
observations have led to the idea that rich foods play an
important role in migraine headaches. As with many Western
diseases (type-2 diabetes, heart disease, etc.), the large
amount of fat people consume is suspect, and for good reason.
Saturated fat (animal fat) causes blood-clotting elements called
platelets to aggregate, and causes the activation of tiny
hormones called prostaglandins. These fat-induced changes
constrict and dilate the blood vessels.
A low-fat diet treatment used at Loma Linda University has
been found to be highly effective for migraine sufferers. In
their published study, 54 patients were taught a diet containing
20 grams of fat.3 There
was no calorie restriction and the diet was primarily made of
fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, in other words, a
low-fat, vegan, diet. Their daily fat intake actually decreased
among participants from an average of 66 grams to 28 grams
daily. The results reported after 4 weeks on the diet were
statistically significant decreases in headache frequency,
intensity, duration, and medication use.
In addition to changes in fat content, there are other
reasons a plant-based diet, like the McDougall diet, may help
people with migraine headaches. Since 1913, allergic reactions
have been found to cause migraine headaches in children and
adults. Treatments with simple diets that avoid foods known to
commonly cause allergies, such as dairy, wheat, and corn, have
been highly effective at providing relief.4-6
(If the basic McDougall diet without wheat and corn fails to
give relief then a highly effective elimination diet, found in
my December 2002 newsletter, should be tried before food is
discounted.)
Most people suffer from pain in the head area, but rarely do
they make a connection between their headache and their
food—other than the well-recognized sufferings that result from
too much alcohol and caffeine withdrawal. Since diet has such a
profound effect on every part of the body, food should be
carefully looked at early on when the cause of headaches is
being investigated. The benefits of a change in diet are not
limited to migraine patients. I usually see complete relief of
headaches of most kinds—even those with no name or identified
cause—within days after a change in diet. So as Beth says, "just
try the McDougall diet for 12 days."
1) Morillo LE. Migraine headache. Am Fam Physician. 2002 May
1;65(9):1871-3.
2) Bigal ME, Liberman JN, Lipton RB. Obesity and migraine: a
population study. Neurology. 2006 Feb 28;66(4):545-50.
3) Bic Z, Blix GG, Hopp HP, Leslie FM, Schell MJ. The
influence of a low-fat diet on incidence and severity of
migraine headaches. J Womens Health Gend Based Med. 1999
Jun;8(5):623-30.
4) Egger J, Carter CH, Soothill JF, Wilson J. Effect of diet
treatment on enuresis in children with migraine or hyperkinetic
behavior. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1992 May;31(5):302-7.
5) Egger J, Carter CM, Wilson J, Turner MW, Soothill JF. Is
migraine food allergy? A double-blind controlled trial of
oligoantigenic diet treatment. Lancet. 1983 Oct
15;2(8355):865-9.
6) Monro J, Carini C, Brostoff J. Migraine is a food-allergic
disease. Lancet. 1984 Sep 29;2(8405):719-21.
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