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MSG and Headache – A Myth?

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Late last year, an article in Lifehacker caught my attention – Stop Being Afraid of MSG. People with headaches and migraine may either be relieved or shocked by the claims that follow:

If you’re still afraid of the seasoning MSG giving you headaches, you should know you’ve bought into a decades-old myth.

Photo courtesy Richard Masoner

Words like “afraid”, “bought into” and “myth” certainly make one feel like they should change their opinion immediately, and order a bottle of MSG (affiliate link conveniently provided in the above article).

But on the other hand, many headache sufferers swear that, every time they eat MSG, they get a headache.

So what’s the truth? First, in spite of the fact that MSG has sometimes pretty much been blamed for the imminent fall of civilization, it doesn’t seem to have an obvious, immediate effect on most people. And long term effects of that kind are extremely difficult to measure.

So the real question is, does it bother some people, perhaps those predisposed to migraine?

Almost anything bothers somebody, so we’re actually looking for something more widespread than 6 people in Berlin who get sick if they eat MSG.

So here’s what many of you really want to know. Yes, there are many people who feel that MSG gives them headaches. You will hear lots of stories. That doesn’t make it a fact, but it’s widespread enough that it seems to be more than a coincidence.

However, the clinical trials have not been conclusive. So why is that? Are the “right” people simply not in the trial?

Part of the challenge is that MSG is noticeable. That means placebo effect. So a well designed study is difficult to do with MSG, and trials in the past have often been poorly designed from a scientific point of view.

In 2016, a useful review of the studies of MSG was published in the Journal of Headache and Pain (Does monosodium glutamate really cause headache? : a systematic review of human studies). The study pointed out some of the problems with previous studies.

Falling short of claiming that MSG headaches are “myth”, the researchers concluded that the evidence was not strong enough from clinical trials to prove a direct causal relationship:

Because of the absence of proper blinding, and the inconsistency of the findings, we conclude that further studies are required to evaluate whether or not a causal relationship exists between MSG ingestion and headache.

Interestingly, the study actually interacted with the beta edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition (ICHD-3 beta), which listed monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced headache as one type of “Headache attributed to a substance or its withdrawal”. The cited studies were investigated more closely, and again, the studies did not seem robust enough to prove the relationship between MSG and headache.

The editors of ICHD-3 seemed to agree, dropping the mention of MSG altogether when the document came out of beta.

If someone gets a headache after eating foods with MSG, what does that mean? Is it possible that other issues (such as high salt content in general) could be causing the headache? In some cases, yet. It is easy for individuals to assume that one thing is causing their headache, when it’s something else altogether – and that’s something that happens frequently.

On the other hand, it would seem difficult to use these studies to “prove” that there is no causal relationship. So that leaves us with two practical issues.

First, you are the only one who is going to “test” the relationship on yourself. Keep an open mind, and if you’re convinced that MSG is a problem for you, stay away from it. If you’ve read the evidence and would like to give it another try, go ahead.

We should probably be a little cautious before we start labelling the MSG headache as a con or myth. And laughing at the silly woman who still lives in the bronze age and thinks that MSG causes her headache would seem to be counter-productive. We really don’t have the evidence to know if MSG bothers her or not. And when new research comes out, who knows if our minds will change.

MSG, Migraine, and New Treatments

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A new study is giving us further insight into the migraine-MSG connection, and may be another step to better migraine treatment in the future.

Recently we talked about a non-traditional migraine treatment – ketamine. Ketamine is a NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist, which means that it blocks a certain receptor that plays a part in the migraine chain-reaction. Memantine is another example.

Migraine is actually a complex web of cause and effect. So various treatments attack various parts of the migraine system.

MSG: Why does it trigger migraine attacks?What does all this have to do with MSG? MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a common additive to foods which seems to trigger migraine symptoms in some people. Researchers in Canada decided to investigate further. In a report published in Neuroscience in October, they explained that MSG given to rats actually activates peripheral NMDA receptors, leading to migraine symptoms.

This may be another bit of evidence telling us to avoid MSG, but it’s actually much more than that.

It further confirms what scientists have suspected for many years – the NMDA receptors can play a key role in migraine disease. And so it may be that NMDA receptor antagonists are worth more serious research.

While older drugs like ketamine may help some patients, the side effects put them a long way down the list for most people. But if we could develop a similar drug with fewer side effects, it could help a lot of people who, up to this point, have not found a good treatment.

For more interesting information about NMDA receptors, and the connection between epilepsy and migraine, see Common Pathophysiologic Mechanisms in Migraine and Epilepsy. For more on how to spot MSG in foods, see The 12 Top MSG Offenders.

Headache After Eating? Common Causes and Fixes

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It’s not uncommon to get a headache after eating, but it’s certainly not something you should ignore. The causes and the symptoms can be serious enough to affect your life in a big way.

These types of headaches can vary – pressure between the eyes, throbbing on one side of the head, a tight feeling … and each headache may have a different source.Headaches after a meal?

There is not always a simple cause and effect relationship. Eating can cause some complex changes in the body, depending on what you eat, how much, and when. Some researchers have called the gut a “second brain”, because of the somewhat independent and complex way that it sends signals to the rest of the body.

If you’re experiencing headache after eating, here are a few things to investigate:

  • Headache Triggers: It is possible that certain foods are triggering neurological changes in your body which lead to migraine attacks. Migraine may or may not involve a headache, and the headache may vary in severity. However, if the pain is throbbing and you’re sensitive to light and/or sound, it’s very likely that migraine is involved. Talk to a doctor about your symptoms, and start keeping a diary including symptoms and foods you have eaten.
  • Sugar Levels: Changes in sugar levels may be triggering migraine attacks or they may also lead to other types of headache (see Sugar and Migraines?). Symptoms may also include anxiety, weakness, and lightheadedness. In many cases, extreme highs and lows in sugar levels can be avoided by eating regularly throughout the day, eating balanced meals and avoiding refined sugars and flours. However, if the headaches persist, your doctor can run some tests and try to track down the problem. This may be more common in people who are underweight.
  • Food Allergies or Intolerance?: There is a generally accepted definition of a food allergy, which is an immune reaction that occurs soon after you eat, often involving itching or hives, headache, nausea, and/or trouble breathing. Things get more controversial, however, when we start talking about food intolerance and “delayed” food allergies. Skin or blood tests are sometimes used for allergies, but they may not show other types of intolerance. Common substances that may trigger headache (including, but not necessarily, a headache from migraine disease): alcohol, MSG and related additives, and artificial sweeteners.

There are certain things that are unlikely to cause headache after eating, such as hypertension. This is a belief that has been circulated on the internet, but a headache from high blood pressure is extremely rare, and is a medical emergency.

However, this is not to say that blood pressure is in no way related to headache, and it is not to say that salt may not be involved.

Many of us do eat too much salt, and there is a correlation with more headaches. In many cases, salty foods are also laced with MSG (see above).

So what can I do about these headaches? Here are the top suggestions:

  1. See your doctor: It is not normal to get a headache after eating. See your doctor and explain your symptoms to her, before relying on painkiller which may only make the problem worse and are unlikely to address the underlying cause.
  2. A healthy diet: For most of the causes of this type of headache, a healthy diet is actually the answer. Watch out for refined foods, especially sugars and artificial sweeteners, refined flours, and additives. Eat regularly, and don’t consume a lot of sugary or alcoholic drinks without eating something healthy at the same time.
  3. Stay hydrated: You can actually overdo this one. However, you should be drinking liquids throughout the day and during/after meals. Sugary drinks (including juices) should be rare. Water is your friend.
  4. Elimination diets: There are a number of diseases and conditions which could trigger headache after eating. Depending on what your doctor suspects from your symptoms and medical history (you’ve been to see your doctor, right), she may suggest eliminating gluten, or aged foods (many cheeses), nuts, caffeine, or other common suspects. Again, keeping track of what you eat is key here.
  5. Check the environment! Sometimes the cause is something you would never think of. The lighting or air circulation in the place you always go to eat, for example. Heating foods up in plastic containers. Think about the environment and things that are always there when/before the headache strikes.

We all want a simple solution, but in this case the solution may take some time to track down. Do make sure your doctor takes your headache seriously, be patient, and in most cases you can cut down on or eliminate the headaches with some trial and error.

Do you experience vertigo or dizziness during a migraine attack?

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Answering our recent poll, the overwhelming majority said that at some time they had experiences vertigo or dizziness during a migraine attack.  Here’s what the results looked like:

Vertigo or Dizziness during a Migraine Attack?

The 34% that said it’s a usual symptom of their attacks fits well with the statistic we usually see – that 25-35% of migraineurs experience vertigo.  Dizziness or vertigo is more common in migraine with brainstem aura, and headaches from altitude or MSG.

Vertigo is also a common symptom when there has been a head injury.

However, it does often show up in other types of migraine.  If you’re experiencing vertigo or dizziness, there are a number of things that can cause it.  Be sure to see a doctor and include this in your list of symptoms.

Be sure to take part in our next poll, found at Headache and Migraine News on the right sidebar.  “Once you started experiencing headache symptoms, how long was it before you got a correct diagnosis?”

Do Hotdogs trigger Migraine Headache?

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Hotdogs and Migraine Headache

Hotdogs may trigger migraine headache and other migraine symptoms.

Why?

  1. Nitrites:  An almost universal wiener ingredient, even when the label says “no nitrite added”.  A “hot dog headache” usually refers to headache from nitrites.
  2. MSG:  A common migraine trigger, along with related ingredients such as autolized yeast or hydrolyzed protein – may be listed as “flavors”).
  3. Other wiener ingredients could trigger attacks – e.g. soy products and aged meats.
  4. Toppings:  Common toppings could trigger migraine attacks – e.g. onions and sauerkraut.
  5. White flour:  that bun leads to a sugar spike which can trigger an attack.

For some, an occasional hotdog is fine.  For others, a hotdog or two could be a migraine attack just waiting to happen.

For more, read:  Is there such a thing as a migraine diet? and What’s in Your Wiener? Hot Dog Ingredients Explained

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Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of each article, and to point you to further sources of information. However, this site is for informational purposes only and should never replace a visit to your doctor.