Migraines are a complex and often misunderstood condition, causing huge disruption and misery to the individual. Migraines symptoms can be unique to each individual and working to understand your own triggers and drivers I find is essential to your root causes. (I know this only to well and you can read my full story in my blog).
Migraines are a neurological condition that can be triggered by a variety of factors & often very multi factorial. Migraine triggers can vary widely from person to person and may involve a combination of factors, including genetic, environmental, hormonal, dietary, lifestyle, and other individual triggers.
Some potential triggers could include:
o Food sensitivities: Certain foods or food additives may trigger migraines in susceptible individuals. Common trigger foods may include processed foods, aged cheeses, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, MSG (monosodium glutamate), and artificial sweeteners. Identifying triggers foods can be tricky and methods such as elimination diets or functional testing can be really helpful here. It is important to note some triggers may take up to 5 days to present so it is often tricky to detect via a food diary alone and this is where functional testing can be helpful. Also understanding an individuals tolerance levels is also important as these may well change depending on factors such as illness, stress, sleep, hormonal or menopause for example.
o Environmental triggers: These may include exposure to certain chemicals, pollutants, allergens, strong odours, bright lights, loud noises, and changes in weather or altitude. Identifying and minimising exposure to environmental triggers may be recommended as part of a naturopathic approach.
o Hormonal imbalances: Hormonal imbalances are potential triggers for migraines, particularly in women. Fluctuations in oestrogen levels during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, or menopause may trigger migraines in some women. Hormonal balancing techniques, such as herbal supplements, lifestyle changes, or other natural approaches to help regulate hormonal levels to support migraine symptoms and can often be drivers for migraine.
o Nutritional deficiencies: Nutritional deficiencies, such as deficiencies in magnesium, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and coenzyme Q10, as potential triggers for migraines. Addressing dietary changes or supplements to address these deficiencies or looking deeper at nutrigenomics testing maybe beneficial.
o Stress and lifestyle factors: Stress, poor sleep, lack of physical activity, and other lifestyle factors as potential triggers for migraines. Stress management techniques, relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene, and lifestyle modifications may be recommended as part of a naturopathic approach to managing migraines. am a Nutritional Therapist offering one-to-one, in-person, or online consultations.
o Other factors: For many exercise can become a trigger, or blood pressure changes therefore understanding the mechanisms the body may face can be important in migraine individuals.
Nutritional and naturopathic strategies have been shown to help reduce migraine occurrence and severity and increase the quality of life for many sufferers. As a migraine nutritionist, we will work together, with an aim of understanding your individual triggers and drivers, both within food and lifestyle.
Each migraine sufferer will be unique in presentation, and therefore unique in their treatment plan. I know this only to well with my own life changing experience of migraine associated vertigo. I am only too aware of how migraines can be totally disabling and the struggles you may be facing. For me, diet and lifestyle was an area that was never really discussed in a medical treatment plan. I have myself discovered how powerful a personalised migraine diet plan, optimal nutrition and lifestyle management can be to any migraine sufferer.
Working with my clients on an individual basis gives me the opportunity to understand not only them as a person but also their medical history and understand their wider picture, such as genetics, lifestyle, hormonal, dietary and whole body snapshot which can be so important and often overlooked when looking to treat migraines. Understanding where the root causes can be coming from is very important to managing migraines.
We will work together, providing you with a plan, in which we will continue to build upon, week by week, to support you to understand your migraine triggers and drivers. My aim is to education and empower you to manage and raise your migraine threshold. Your plan will include diet and nutrition advice, including recipe, product and shopping advice, through to areas requiring support such as hormonal, endocrine health, sleep, environmental and stress management advice. Recommendation on supplementation and other tools are provided. Where needed, functional medicine testing such as hormonal, stool, blood and genetic testing can be beneficial to understand your wider migraine picture.
You may wish to read further information regarding migraines in my blog posts, as well as read my story, where I talk further into the role of nutrition, gut health, hormonal health and nutrigenomics for example.
I am a Nutritional Therapist offering one-to-one, in-person, or online consultations.
My Specialist areas include:
🥦 Menopause & Perimenopause
🍎 Female Hormonal Health
🥑 Migraines & Headaches
🫐 Digestive & Gut Health
🍋 Food Sensitivities & Special Diets
🍉 Energy & Vitality (including fibromyalgia & chronic conditions)
Naturopathic Nutrition's holistic approach to health & wellness recognises the interconnection between diet, nutrition, lifestyle & overall wellbeing to support the body's natural healing processes & provide necessary nutrients to help you optimise your health, & feel your best!
If you would like to find out more, book a free discovery call to find out how I can help you optimise your nutrition and help you feel your best.
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