The Heal Your Headache Weight-reduction plan (HYH Weight-reduction plan)

The Heal Your Headache migraine food plan is endorsed by most of the high migraine medical doctors like Robert B. Daroff from the American Headache Society to Ronald J. Tusa from the Dizziness and Steadiness Middle at Emory College. It is used within the migraine clinic at John’s Hopkins, and is usually a first line remedy.

The migraine food plan appears to be particularly efficient for these with vestibular migraine, however was developed to help with all varieties of migraine. Nonetheless, it stays controversial as a result of largely many elements stay scientifically unproven.

My Journey with Heal Your Headache

After I first started researching migraine and the migraine food plan extra in depth in 2017, I discovered everybody stored recommending the Heal Your Headache migraine food plan from this e book, Heal Your Headache – The 123 Program for Taking over Your Ache.

I lastly learn it and located the entire e book to be 10x extra useful than nearly all of physician visits I had skilled that complete yr. Do not be confused on the title, this isn’t only a e book about complications.

Heal Your Headache is a radical overview of all varieties of migraine. It can present you the way to discover and keep away from your potential triggers, together with meals that set off migraine assaults.

Though the Heal Your Headache food plan is controversial, and we’ll deal with that, it was life altering for me. With my remedy plan, it took my vestibular migraine from 60% improved to 100% symptom-free days. I ate a assorted food plan even with the restrictions and had enjoyable cooking. Actually, cooking at house so typically introduced again a spark in me that continual migraine had stolen.

That is what I need for you if it is best for you! With my cookbook and this web site, you’ve over 500 migraine food plan recipes at your fingertips.

On Treatment Overuse

There are 3 sections to the e book. This primary is about the usual migraine “abortives” which might be broadly obtainable akin to triptans (Imitrex, Relpax, Zomig), caffeine containing analgesics (Excedrin), and opioids.

It discusses how these can create extra migraine assaults if used a number of instances a month, perpetuating the migraine cycle. Sadly this part is a bit outdated for today, however nonetheless useful at discussing remedy overuse headache.

That is vital as a result of if you’re in “rebound” or have remedy overuse headache, virtually no remedies might be efficient until you break the cycle – together with the migraine food plan.

The Migraine Threshold Idea

Understanding your migraine threshold is vital to treating this dysfunction. The brink is the spot the place your assault would happen. For somebody with continual migraine, that is in all probability decrease than somebody with episodic assaults.

When you can decrease the quantity of controllable triggers, whereas doing different issues that elevate your threshold for an assault, it would assist to calm you mind and scale back assaults.

“Decreasing Your Triggers” focuses on the Heal Your Headache, or HYH food plan, and the way eliminating sure set off meals may also help your threshold. By elevating your migraine threshold with the food plan, unavoidable migraine triggers akin to stress, vivid lights, loud noises, and climate adjustments could not all the time set off a migraine assault.

That is the part I’ll focus most on as a result of, as Dr. Buchholz states clearly, “In case your objective is to regulate your complications (or migraine assaults) – and take as little remedy as doable – the food plan is probably the most precious software you’ve”.

The HYH food plan is not essentially meant for use as an alternative choice to remedy. Some followers of mine do need to use pure migraine remedies as a substitute of medicines for numerous causes like being pregnant, remedy reactions, and so on.

I personally discover that the Heal Your Headache Weight-reduction plan works greatest as part of a complete remedy, mixed with medicines, dietary supplements, sleep schedules, stress discount, motion, and mindset.

Who Should not Do The HYH Weight-reduction plan?

The largest battle with the Heal Your Headache food plan that I see is the huge way of life adjustment that it might take. Some sufferers discover it to be overwhelming and traumatic, and that is not ideally suited for migraine both. You have to have a optimistic mindset and a wholesome relationship with meals earlier than starting any migraine elimination food plan.

If you do not have this however nonetheless need to do the food plan, I extremely suggest utilizing a registered dietitian to assist information you and ensure your meals are balanced. The worst factor you are able to do in your intestine well being and psychological well being is eat the identical meal on a regular basis.

When you’ve got a strict food plan already like vegan, dairy free, or a number of meals sensitivities. I like to recommend checking our my Mediterranean Migraine Weight-reduction plan e book – it is extra in regards to the meals you have to be consuming for mind well being versus eliminating meals.

The Science Behind a Migraine Weight-reduction plan

The Heal Your Headache food plan eliminates a number of the mostly mentioned meals triggers like caffeine, pink wine, and MSG, however a number of the meals could seem complicated – like lemons and nuts?!

The record was compiled primarily based on years of affected person suggestions from Dr. Buchholz’s time at Johns Hopkins. Frequent meals triggers include some type of tyramine (aged meals, soy sauce) or histamine (fermented meals, yogurt, citrus). Excessive tyramine and histamine meals have quite a lot of crossover.

Based on WebMD “tyramine may cause nerve cells in your mind to launch the chemical norepinephrine. Having greater ranges of tyramine in your system — together with an uncommon degree of mind chemical compounds — may cause adjustments within the mind that result in complications.”

Histamines, in line with MBG Well being,“trigger your blood vessels to swell, or dilate, in order that your white blood cells can rapidly discover and assault the an infection or drawback. The histamine buildup is what offers you a headache and leaves you feeling flushed, itchy and depressing. That is a part of the physique’s pure immune response, however in case you don’t break down histamine correctly, you would develop what we name histamine intolerance.” This is the reason some migraine sufferers may even expertise MCAS.

The HYH food plan additionally has you eradicate excessive glutamate objects like MSG and soy sauce, in addition to sulfites.

Analysis on many of those meals triggers is restricted – the strongest being with caffeine, tyramine-rich meals, and alcohol. I additionally discover these to be the most typical from suggestions of hundreds of followers during the last 8 years.

Migraine Meals to Keep away from Listing

It is vital to keep in mind that this doesn’t suggest all these meals might be a set off for you. This food plan is supposed to be a brief technique to enhance your migraine threshold, calm your mind, and uncover when you’ve got any meals triggers and what they could be.

Most sufferers discover when re-introducing meals that they will tolerate many of those!

• Caffeine – Any drink or meals that incorporates caffeine. Decaf espresso and tea must be averted as properly since most include chemical triggers and should not totally decaffeinated . The perfect substitute you will discover are naturally decaffeinated coffees and naturally caffeine-free teas that are assured to be 99.9% caffeine-free.
• Chocolate – Contains darkish chocolate and cacao. White chocolate is okay because the cocoa solids have been extracted.
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – Monosodium glutamate but additionally greater glutamate meals could current a difficulty – each processed and pure. Different elements that may act equally are hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, carrageenan, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate. See the chart for all of the names.

  Naturally excessive glutamate meals are tomatoes and mushrooms, in addition to parmesan cheese. Tomatoes and mushrooms are allowed on HYH for his or her well being advantages, however some individuals do discover they’re extra delicate to those meals. Collagen and different protein powders like whey protein, pea proteins, protein isolates, and so on. are additionally excessive glutamate meals.

• Processed Meats and Fish- Canned, aged, cured, fermented, smoked, tenderized, marinated meats and fish. Most include nitrates or nitrites as preservatives. These embrace sizzling canine, ham, jerky, sausage, pepperoni, most deli meats, smoked or pickled fish, bacon, and anchovies. Beef or hen livers additionally include a excessive quantity of tyramine.
• Aged Cheese and Fermented Dairy Merchandise – “The extra aged, the more serious” in line with Buchholz. This consists of gouda, parmesan, cheddar, brie, manchego, swiss, blue cheese – something aged over about 3-4 months. Yogurt, buttermilk, in addition to kefir, creme fraiche and bitter cream are all elimination interval meals.
• Nuts – Walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, and macadamia nuts. This consists of nut milks, non-dairy yogurt, and so on. Pine nuts fall into this class, however I do not actually hear of them being a standard set off just like the others.
• Peanuts – Peanuts and peanut butter.
• All Vinegar (besides distilled white) – Wine vinegars, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, balsalmic. Something however distilled white vinegar.
• Alcohol – “Particularly pink wine, champagne, and darkish or heavy liquors” says Buchholz. I all the time assume it is a good suggestion to eradicate alcohol in case your assaults are frequent, though there are some higher tolerated varieties of alcohol for migraine if you’re celebrating a special day.
• Sure Fruits – Citrus fruit akin to lemons, limes, grapefruit, and oranges. Bananas, pineapple, raspberries, pink plums, papaya, ardour fruit, figs, dates, and avocados are all elimination meals. Additionally raisins and dried fruits with sulfites, which might be labeled within the elements.
• Onions, Pea Pods, and Sure Beans – Broad Italian, lima, fava, navy, and lentils are elimination meals.
• Sure Fermented merchandise – Sauerkraut and kimchi, in addition to kombucha. Kombucha is a large set off that I see typically.
• Contemporary Baked Yeast Breads inside 24 hours – Baked breads with yeast, bagels, donuts, pizza dough, and pretzels. You possibly can bake or purchase them and wait a day to eat, or freeze them. This rule by no means made quite a lot of sense to me, however I’ve a number of followers who swear it helps. Normally packaged breads with yeast are greater than a day outdated, so effective to devour instantly.
• Aspartame (Nutrasweet)– Saccharin (Candy N Low) can generally set off. Sucralose (splenda) and stevia (Truvia) should not elimination meals, however would keep away from in case you can within the elimination interval. I do get stories these generally are triggers.
• Soy merchandise – Miso, tempeh, soy protein isolate, soy sauce. Soy milk and flour are much less dangerous. Soybean oil is allowed on the food plan.
• Leftovers previous 3 days – This one relies on the construct up of tyramine that may happen in “allowed” meals over time. Usually this can occur in meals that spoils simply – like hen, dairy merchandise, beef, and fish. It is much less more likely to happen as rapidly in shelf-stable meals. I discover that that is extremely particular to the person.

  When you do have leftovers, it is a good suggestion to freeze them and thaw as wanted. My commonplace suggestion is to not let ones that spoil simply go previous 2-3 days throughout elimination.

Different potential triggers embrace tomatoes and mushrooms…or various different issues which might be fully particular person! Don’t keep away from this stuff instantly since they’re wholesome meals, however see how you are feeling as time goes on or do a trial in case you discover points. These two meals are excessive in pure glutamate, so individuals delicate to glutamate could discover them difficulty.

Some followers of mine begin to discover points with spinach, strawberries, cinnamon and different “allowed” meals on the food plan. This is able to level to a histamine sensitivity.

Gluten and Dairy

I typically get suggestions that every one gluten and dairy are frequent triggers, however they’re really not. Having a gluten or dairy difficulty factors to an allergy or sensitivity to that exact meals, which then could make it a migraine set off for that particular person.

Entire grains and good high quality dairy are wholesome meals that must be included until they’re a private sensitivity for you. I often don’t suggest people who find themselves dairy free to do the Heal Your Headache food plan with out a dietitian’s assist.

For recipes, please learn throughout the posts to see in case you can edit for gluten and dairy free. I discover gluten free to be fairly simple to do on this food plan with out being restrictive.

Reintroducing Meals

The Heal Your Headache food plan is supposed to be a brief food plan, and due to this fact re-introduction of meals is vital. That is the way you uncover what particular person meals triggers you might have. This is my information for the way to reintroduce meals on an elimination food plan.

The usual time individuals often do is that this between 3-4 months, however I all the time suggest to examine in together with your physique and see the way it feels. When you’re feeling so significantly better inside 2 months, it might be a good time to reintroduce meals.

For myself, I used to be noticing slight adjustments at 4 months, however waited to reintroduce meals until 6 months. They further two months gave me a bit extra time to go from day by day dizziness to symptom-free days. After I had symptom-free days, it was a lot simpler to inform what was really a meals set off.

When you’re not noticing any adjustments after 3 months (even slight adjustments are optimistic), then it is okay to cease the food plan. It is probably not the suitable match for you, you might not have meals triggers, or it’s worthwhile to revisit your remedy plan together with your neurologist.

It is vital to not blame meals for each symptom. As we have mentioned, set off stacking can convey us above the migraine threshold. Meals is only one a part of the entire image.

So at some point you might be able to tolerate pink wine, however in case you’re harassed, did not sleep properly, or are dehydrated, that pink wine could be the tipping level for an assault.

As an alternative of by no means making an attempt that meals once more, make a remark of how you are feeling and what else was occurring that day. While you add up these notes, you might begin to see patterns. As an example, my food plan will be extra relaxed more often than not, however close to the start of my cycle, I’ve to be a bit extra cautious.

Meals Allowed on the Heal Your Headache Weight-reduction plan

What is going to enable you to efficiently do that migraine food plan is to deal with all of the meals you’ll be able to eat – and there’s a lot. Belief me, if I could make over 500 recipes and nonetheless not run out of concepts, this food plan is not really that limiting until you are including on different meals sensitivities.

These embrace issues like:

• Seeds – These make a tremendous substitute for nuts and there are nice seed butters on the market now.
• Berries – Darkish berries like blueberries and strawberries will be particularly good for mind well being.
• Contemporary fish and meat – Contemporary salmon, hen, and beef are all nice choices.
• Naan bread – I really like to make use of naan bread with out yogurt as pizza crusts!
• Beans – Black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, cannellini beans.
• Contemporary cheese – Goat cheese/chevre, Boursin, cream cheese, cottage cheese, American cheese, and contemporary mozzarella are just some. Additionally dairy milk is allowed too.
• Greens – Leafy greens, corn, potatoes of all types, celery, zucchini, shallots, inexperienced onions, all types of squash and peppers are allowed.
• Entire grains and pseudocereals – This additionally consists of farro, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, cassava, and extra.

There’s really much more than this and you will discover this in my cookbook, The Dizzy Cook dinner or within the meals allowed on Heal Your Headache part. There’s really fairly a bit!

Analysis on a Migraine Weight-reduction plan

Generally the Heal Your Headache food plan can elicit sturdy opinions, many saying it isn’t based in science. Whereas this is not really true from what we learn about tyramine and histamine, in addition to caffeine and alcohol’s have an effect on on our mind, the proof is restricted to show this specific food plan is an efficient remedy.

As for anecdotal proof? It has tons. High migraine clinics on this planet would not suggest it to sufferers if it did not work. It is questionable if I’d have gotten to migraine-free days with out realizing the meals I used to be consuming day by day, like yogurt, have been one in every of my high extreme triggers.

I additionally get a number of messages every day that it has been life altering for followers.

This is what we do know:

• Caffeine has an influence on migraine, particularly these with vestibular migraine.
• A food plan excessive in omega 3’s and low in omega 6 helps to decrease the frequency and severity of assaults.
• Chocolate is controversial – for some it might be a craving earlier than an assault as a substitute of an precise set off. Nonetheless, there are different properties of chocolate that may have an impact like caffeine, tyramine, phenylalanine, and naturally occurring nitrates. Plus the quantities of components, colorings, sugar and flavorings inside chocolate could be a issue.
• Low glycemic and keto diets could also be useful.
• Intestine well being is vital. Consuming the identical factor on a regular basis, being harassed about our sickness, and taking plenty of completely different medicines or NSAID’s can all have a damaging impact on our intestine well being.
• Migraine meals triggers are extremely particular person. This makes it extremely tough to show this food plan is efficient in research. When you get a bunch of individuals in a room to check if chocolate is a set off, perhaps 15% report that it’s. For these 15%, eradicating it might be extremely useful to their migraine administration. So we won’t simply say chocolate is not a meals set off, it simply is not for the opposite 75% of the individuals in that room.

For a extra research-backed strategy, you’ll love the Mediterranean Migraine Weight-reduction plan. I’ll say, it would not appear to work as rapidly because the Heal Your Headache food plan and is extra of a long-term strategy.

Heal Your Headache Weight-reduction plan Edits

The Heal Your Headache e book is a superb place to begin, however there are a couple of edits I like to recommend from private expertise and from speaking to individuals during the last 8 years.

Please notice, none of that is research-based – simply observations from speaking to hundreds of followers doing the food plan.

• Coconut is on the keep away from record, however I discover that many individuals are capable of tolerate it and it is not often a meals set off. It is actually useful to incorporate, particularly these which might be dairy free.
• Coconut aminos make an excellent substitute for soy sauce and should not from a coconut, however the sap of a coconut blossom. Some manufacturers are fermented and a few should not, however I actually do not discover this to make an enormous distinction. Most individuals tolerate it properly.
• Pine nuts and macadamia nuts, together with cashews, are usually the perfect tolerated of all of the nuts. Walnuts and almonds appear to trigger probably the most points, particularly in massive portions like milk.
• Caffeine appears to be a extra frequent meals set off for these with vestibular points. It could possibly generally be an efficient abortive for these with head ache. The trick to maintaining caffeine in appears to be one 8oz cup a day on the similar time on a regular basis – migraine brains like routine.
• If I might replace the HYH food plan, I might embrace different protein powders on the keep away from record. Particularly whey, pea, and collagen. They’re frequent triggers, particularly when used day by day.
• MSG remains to be an element. Research on the market are conflicting, and whereas it might not trigger complications for the common individual, it appears to be extra of an element for individuals dwelling with neurological problems. This is the reason it is vital to strive an elimination interval in case you really feel it might be a difficulty for you. You’ll find extra information in regards to the MSG controversy on Migraine Once more.
• Lentils I do not discover to be an enormous difficulty for individuals total, and so they can really be good for mind well being so I often suggest people who find themselves vegetarian depart this in in the course of the elimination interval until they discover a difficulty.
• Tofu – Once more for vegetarians I like to recommend leaving this in only for one other protein choice. It additionally would not appear to trigger an enormous difficulty for many.
• Sugar isn’t an elimination meals, however I discover consuming carbs and sugar alone with out pairing with a wholesome fats and protein could be a set off for some individuals. They find yourself blaming sugar, however it might really be blood sugar fluctuations. Honey and maple syrup are nonetheless sugar despite the fact that they’re offered as more healthy substitutes.
• Protein is vital – For breakfast, having solely a muffin and low will not set you up for fulfillment. Pairing the muffin with some protein, whether or not it is a cottage cheese with fruit bowl or eggs will be extremely useful.

Incessantly Requested Questions

Closing Ideas

As I stated earlier than, I feel the best elements of the Heal Your Headache food plan would not have something to do with eliminating set off meals, however is extra about studying labels, understanding what’s in your meals, and cooking extra at house.

If individuals make these three adjustments alone, it would undoubtedly profit your total well being. However sadly cooking is extraordinarily arduous on migraine days and generally it is the very last thing you are feeling like doing.

I came upon that if I simply began, placed on some good music, and took out all my elements, it allowed me to measure every thing out so I might use a stool if I wanted to take a seat and work. With the ability to prepare dinner extra at house and be answerable for my well being actually gave me again some energy I felt like I had misplaced.

For followers, I all the time wish to remind them that these three issues are superb takeaways that the food plan will educate you. Even in case you do not see instant or enormous outcomes, you might takeaway a brand new meal you like making or a product that makes you are feeling nice. And that alone is a large win.

Migraine Weight-reduction plan Info

For extra Heal Your Headache food plan data, see these posts and in addition take a look at The Dizzy Cook dinner Cookbook.

I additionally extremely suggest buying the Heal Your Headache e book earlier than you start which actually dives into the main points. 

This publish was written December 7, 2017 and has been up to date September 2024 with ceaselessly requested questions and new data.