Migraine and Keto: New Study

A study published last month in the journal Nutrients showed some positive results for migraine patients on keto. But it’s not that simple, so let’s take a closer look.

It’s tempting to come up with a headline such as “Keto Diet shown to fight Migraine Symptoms” – but we have to be careful here. It is notoriously difficult to do studies on diet, because diet is so complex. If a patient shows improvements, what part of the diet was really the “cause”? Or was it a combination of things? Or, in some studies, patients who eat a certain way also tend to do other things in life differently.

The other challenge here is that there is no “THE Keto Diet” – in spite of what promotions and labelling may make you think. Yes, “keto” does refer to a specific, measurable thing – it puts your body in a metabolic state called “ketosis”. But of course this can be done using very different diet plans. And the very vague “low-carb diet” may not be keto at all.

The authors of this study are well aware of these and other limitations. They’ve done their best to be very specific about the diets they used. You can read the study yourself using the link below, but let’s look at a quick summary.

The study used three very specific keto diets for at least three months. The specific ratios in the diets (e.g. calories, protein) were adjusted depending on body mass index and general physical activity.

Patients were then monitored for migraine frequency and intensity – but fatigue was also a very important part of the study. All three were measured with recognized metrics.

In the end, there was significant improvement in all three metrics. Migraine attacks were less frequent and less severe, and patients experienced less fatigue.

How all these things were related is difficult to say. Did less intense migraine attacks simply result in more energy in general? What part did weight loss play?

And importantly, what about other diets?

The study authors do look at how this study relates to other studies. This isn’t the first time, by any means, that keto has been indicated as a migraine-fighter, both from anecdotal evidence and scientific studies. So this study does seem to further confirm that keto can be a help. But as the authors note:

Snetselaar et al. conducted a systematic review examining 12 randomized trials evaluating the effectiveness of different types of diets in patients with multiple sclerosis. Eight dietary interventions were compared: low-fat, Mediterranean, ketogenic, anti-inflammatory, paleolithic, fasting, calorie restriction, and control (usual diet). Paleolithic, low-fat, and Mediterranean diets showed greater reductions in fatigue than the control. Considering these results, in the future, we could compare the effectiveness of the KD on curbing fatigue in migraine patients compared with other dietary regimens.

The Effect of Three Different Ketogenic Diet Protocols on Migraine and Fatigue in Chronic and High-Frequency Episodic Migraine: A Pilot Study

Sometimes “contradictory” diets all help fight migraine – perhaps because most tend to cut down on processed foods and sugar. But that doesn’t mean all diets are equal – we keep researching to find which may be the better migraine-fighter, and perhaps the real question is which is best for you. However, so far, some keto diets do seem to be on the top tier of diets to try.

You can read the details of the study here. Also, if you’re interested in a specific keto diet for migraine (quite different from many of the keto diets you’ll find online), consider Keto for Migraine: Keys to the Ketogenic Diet for Migraine Sufferers.