A new study reveals that a diet higher in fatty fish can help reduce migraine. A team of researchers from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), parts of the National Institutes of Health, and the University of North Carolina (UNC) conducted a study that showed that a diet high in fatty fish helped frequent migraine sufferers reduce their monthly number of headaches and intensity of pain.
Omega-3s Can Reduce Migraines?
This study of 182 adults with frequent migraines expanded on the team’s previous work on the impact of linoleic acid and chronic pain. Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid commonly derived in the American diet from corn, soybean, and other similar oils, as well as some nuts and seeds. The team found that a diet lower in linoleic acid and higher in levels of omega-3 fatty acids (like those found in fish and shellfish) could soothe this inflamed pain pathway.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three healthy diet plans. Group One received meals that had high levels of fatty fish or oils from fatty fish and lowered linoleic acid. Group Two received meals that had high levels of fatty fish and higher linoleic acid. Group Three received meals with high linoleic acid and lower levels of fatty fish.
Participants monitored their number of migraine days, duration, and intensity, along with how their headaches affected their abilities to function at work, school, and in their social lives, and how often they needed to take pain medications. When the study began, participants averaged more than 16 headache days per month, over five hours of migraine pain per headache day, and had baseline scores showing a severe impact on quality of life despite using multiple headache medications.
Group One, with the diet lower in vegetable oil and higher in fatty fish, produced between 30% and 40% reductions in total headache hours per day, severe headache hours per day, and overall headache days per month compared to the control group. However, despite the reduction in headache frequency and pain, these same participants reported only minor improvements in migraine-related overall quality of life compared to other groups in the study.
Migraine: A Common Cause of Chronic Pain
Migraine, a neurological disease, ranks among the most common causes of chronic pain, lost work time, and lowered quality of life. More than 4 million people worldwide have chronic migraine (at least 15 migraine days per month) and over 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during an attack, which can last anywhere from four hours to three days. Women between the ages of 18 and 44 are especially prone to migraines, and an estimated 18% of all American women are affected. Current medications for migraine usually offer only partial relief and can have negative side effects, including sedation, and the possibility of dependence or addiction.
This research found intriguing evidence that dietary changes have the potential to improve a very debilitating chronic pain condition like migraine without the related downsides of often prescribed medications. Changes in diet could offer some relief for the millions of Americans who suffer from migraine pain. It’s further evidence that the foods we eat can influence everyday pain. These findings serve as validation that diet-based interventions that increase omega-3 fats while reducing linoleic acid sources shows promise to reduce migraine symptoms and minimize the impact of headache days, thereby lessening the need for pain medications. They hope to continue to expand this work to study the effects of diet on other chronic pain conditions.
Source: NIH/National Institute on Aging
