Many people with migraine use a combination of treatment options to improve their lives. One option is to examine your diet, as modifying what you eat may help reduce and alleviate attacks. Today, the ketogenic diet is gaining popularity for its potential health benefits. However, keto is not for everyone. Will it make your migraine symptoms worse, or could it offer relief? Understanding the risks and how it works can help you make a more informed decision and protect your health.
This guide will teach you all about the link between the ketogenic diet and migraine and offer tips for embarking on the diet yourself.
What is the keto diet?
The ketogenic diet — called keto diet for short — is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. It originally served as a therapeutic treatment for children with epilepsy but became less common as antiepileptic drugs emerged. The diet has since become a popular strategy for weight management.
But how exactly does it work? On the keto diet, you:
- Reduce carbs: The keto diet requires people to consume a very low amount of carbohydrates and replace them with fats and protein. Carbs exist in various healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. Your body turns them into glucose — the main energy source for cells, organs and tissues. Without enough carbs to fuel your body, it turns to fat for fuel.
- Increase fats: On the keto diet, people must eat mostly fats and some protein. A typical keto diet contains a lot of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and low-carb veggies. As the body has fewer carbs to burn, it starts breaking down fats in the liver to produce ketones. Ketones travel through the bloodstream to supply the brain and body with energy.
- Enter ketosis: As ketone levels rise in the blood, the body enters a state called ketosis. During ketosis, the body burns more fat, often resulting in weight loss.
Can keto be good for migraine?
If you have migraine, the keto diet may be an effective treatment strategy. Some studies show a potential link between the keto diet and experiencing fewer or less severe migraine attacks. For example, a small 2022 study on ketogenic diets for migraine prevention saw a reduction in monthly headaches along with weight loss.
However, most studies on the keto diet and migraine are limited and focus only on people who are overweight or obese. The existing studies also use inconsistent ketosis evaluation methods, making it difficult to draw associations between ketosis and migraine. More research is needed to confirm whether the keto diet is beneficial for migraine and what the link is.
With that said, three main theories exist for why some researchers believe the keto diet improves migraine:
1. Altered brain chemistry
Ketones are an effective energy source that can pass through the blood-brain barrier to provide energy to the brain. Increasing brain energy is essential for people with migraine, as they often have brain energy deficits between attacks. Evidence also suggests that brain inflammation can worsen migraine. Ketosis helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress throughout the body.
2. Weight loss
By causing the body to go into a state of ketosis, the keto diet can effectively reduce body fat and induce weight loss in some people. The risk of migraine increases with weight, and people with obesity are five times more likely to develop chronic migraine compared to healthy-weight individuals.
The reason for this connection is that overweight people often have higher levels of inflammation in the body. Along with the anti-inflammatory properties of ketones, losing weight may reduce the risk factor for migraine. Researchers aren’t sure whether ketosis or weight loss is the primary reason behind the keto diet migraine benefits.
3. Dietary changes
No diet can stop migraine attacks, but changing your eating habits may help reduce migraine frequency and severity. Most diets usually encourage people to cut back on unhealthy foods and drinks like alcohol, chocolate, baked goods and sweets. Many of these are known to trigger migraine, so by avoiding them as the keto diet suggests, some people may see their migraine symptoms improve.
Some foods that are commonplace in keto diets may also be helpful for people with migraine, such as dark leafy greens, avocado and fish. However, every person has a different experience with migraine. Some foods may be more or less triggering for each person, while others find that diet isn’t a trigger at all. Keeping a food diary can help you determine what foods worsen your migraine. You can also use the CeCe Migraine Management app to help log your known triggers. The app syncs with your CEFALY device, which is a noninvasive, drug-free option for migraine management.
Can the keto diet cause migraine for some people?
While the keto diet may help some people with migraine, it may worsen it for others. Headaches are a known symptom of the keto diet. The two main reasons for this are low blood sugar and dehydration. By eating fewer carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels will naturally decrease. Low blood sugar can trigger and worsen migraine attacks. As your body adapts to the new diet and ketone levels, you may also need to urinate more. Increased urination can lead to dehydration, which is a common migraine trigger.
Tips for following a keto diet as a person living with migraine
The keto diet can be helpful for some people who live with migraine. However, it comes with various risks and requires careful management. Before using keto for migraine, take note of the following:
- Consult with a professional: You must consult with a healthcare professional before beginning the keto diet to ensure it’s safe for you, as it shouldn’t be followed by people with certain preexisting conditions. The diet can also cause nutritional deficiencies, low blood pressure and digestive issues and increase the risk of heart disease and kidney stones. Proper management can mitigate these risks.
- Try for a short while: Most healthcare professionals recommend the keto diet for a short time, as long-term use can have negative health implications. Additionally, the diet is hard to follow for long because of its restrictive nature. You may want to try the keto diet for a while and then go back to eating a regular diet.
- Stay hydrated: Drinking lots of water can help prevent dehydration from triggering migraine on keto. The ideal water intake varies per person, so focus on drinking as much water as is appropriate for your body weight and lifestyle. Carry a water bottle with you, and opt for water over other beverages. You can add a slice of lemon or lime to make the water taste better.
- Avoid intense workouts: While on the keto diet, avoid intense workout sessions, especially in the early stages. You may not have enough energy to fuel your body, leading to stress and increased migraine attacks. Sweating may also worsen dehydration.
Try CEFALY for migraine relief
CEFALY is an FDA-cleared migraine treatment device, backed by over 20 years of research, that helps you target your migraine symptoms at the source and get back to your life. How? CEFALY uses neuromodulation therapy to desensitize the trigeminal nerve, the main pathway for migraine pain.
The device has two modes — ACUTE for relieving symptoms as they occur and PREVENT for reducing the frequency of migraine attacks. In just one hour of ACUTE treatment, 79% of study participants saw a significant reduction in headache pain. Plus, you don’t need a prescription for CEFALY, and it has no serious adverse side effects.
Try a CEFALY device at home today to see the benefits for yourself. All our devices come with a 90-day money-back guarantee, so you can return it for a full refund if you’re unsatisfied with the results.
