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Can skipping meals actually cause your migraines?
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Or could fasting be the key to fewer attacks?
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Let's break down the science
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and the ancient wisdom behind it.
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers
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who've seen countless doctors with no results.
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Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks
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without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
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Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme.
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I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine,
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even after suffering for up to 60 years.
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My mission in life?
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To bring this relief to a million people
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using a unique blend of Eastern medicine
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and Western science.
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In this episode, you will learn why fasting
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can both trigger and relieve migraines,
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depending on how it's done and what your body needs.
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The biological mechanisms behind fasting-induced headaches,
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including drop in blood sugar,
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dehydration, and stress hormones.
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And fasting in women, how fasting can disrupt
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or improve female hormonal balance,
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affecting negatively or positively menstruation,
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fertility, and therefore migraine patterns.
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Yesterday, I was on the Migraine Heroes group call.
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This is something new, but something I truly love,
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because this is where you see transformation happening.
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People come with their questions, their wins, their setbacks,
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and you get to witness their progress session after session.
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And so yesterday, a woman calling in from Vietnam
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shared how she had experimented with fasting,
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ketogenic diet, and vegetarianism all at the same time.
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On paper, each of those approaches sounded healthy
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back in time, but in practice,
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the combination completely disrupted her digestion
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and left her with daily migraines.
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Now, she's in the process of unlearning
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those sort of healthy habits for her body to heal.
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I cannot stress enough that what may suit a person
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may not suit another. And that did not suit
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that woman in Vietnam who's now battling
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with daily migraines.
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So let's make the right choices for you.
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So why do people choose to fast?
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Why would anyone willingly go without food
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for hours or even days?
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Let's look at the benefits of this old practice
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and why it's making such a strong comeback today.
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There are numerous.
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Fasting can help your body become more sensitive to insulin,
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which means your blood sugar is better regulated
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and your risk of type 2 diabetes goes down.
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During fasting, your cells have time to clean up
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and repair themselves through a process called autophagy.
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It's like hitting the reset button inside your body.
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Many people notice that inflammation goes down
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when they fast, which is important
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because chronic inflammation is linked
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to so many modern diseases.
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Cholesterol and triglyceride levels can improve
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with a regular fasting, supporting heart health.
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Mental clarity often increases.
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Your brain starts using ketones for fuel,
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which some people say gives them sharper, more focused mind.
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Over time, it can help regulate appetites
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by balancing hormones like ghrelin and leptin.
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So you're not just eating because the clock says it's time.
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Weight loss is also a common side effect,
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especially fat loss because your fasting shifts your body
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into a fat burning state.
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There's also early research into how fasting might help
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reduce the risk of certain cancers,
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possibly reducing oxidative stress
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and giving the body more time to heal.
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And for many people, fasting has a spiritual
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or a reflective component.
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It creates a space to slow down, check in with yourself
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and reconnect to what really matters.
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Now that all sounds like a dream, right?
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Who wouldn't want any of those benefits?
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But in this episode, what I want to do
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is I want to ask a deeper question.
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Yes, but under what circumstances?
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It's easy to list the upsides,
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but are they guaranteed for everyone all the time?
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So by the end of this episode,
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you will know exactly from my work
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if fasting is right for you.
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Let's take a closer look,
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especially at what research says
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about fasting and migraines.
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So several studies have explored the relationship
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between fasting and migraine.
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Two interesting studies have been conducted during Ramadan.
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Ramadan is a holy month where Muslims
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fast from sunrise to sunset.
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That's unusual, I will make a religious reference,
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and I want to make a really respectful reference here.
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It allows us to observe on large scale
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the effect of fasting on migraines.
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So the first study observed that the frequency
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of migraine attacks significantly increased in Ramadan
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compared to the preceding month,
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and that the number of attacks was reduced
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in the later stages of Ramadan
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compared to the first 10 days.
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The other study found that during Ramadan,
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patients experienced on average 9.4 migraine days
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compared to 3.7 in the control month,
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indicating a significant increase
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in migraine frequency during fasting periods.
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Another 2023 study indicated that approximately 61%
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of individuals practicing intermittent fasting
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experienced headaches.
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The headaches were attributed to factors
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such as hypoglycemia, dehydration, and caffeine withdrawal.
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And we're going to talk about these three in particular.
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To the point that there's a name for this.
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It's called fasting headache.
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Now what's a fasting headache?
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A fasting headache typically occurs
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after not eating for eight hours or more,
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and is characterized by mild to moderate non-throwing pain,
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often concentrated on the forehead.
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This type of headache is linked indeed
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to low blood sugar, dehydration, and caffeine withdrawal.
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And it can also, that's a very important point,
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trigger migraines in those predisposed.
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Now let's go into those few mechanisms.
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Fasting can indeed lead to several physiological changes
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that may trigger migraine.
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So we talked about low blood sugar levels, but
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those can cause or worsen migraines,
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often described as a dull, throbbing pain on the temples.
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And that's very similar to mechanisms
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that we see in migraine.
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Inadequate fluid intake during fasting
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can lead to dehydration,
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which is a known trigger for headaches.
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However, when you don't eat,
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your ability to keep the water in
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is also decreased, inducing more migraines.
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Sudden cessation in caffeine intake during fasting period
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can obviously lead to withdrawal headaches.
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And then an increase in cortisol level during fasting
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may contribute to headache onset.
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So let's go back to the positive for a minute.
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The benefits have to translate
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to some part of the migraine population, right?
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So when it comes to migraines,
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epilepsy seems to be the winner with fasting.
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Fasting, when it induces ketosis specifically,
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may offer benefits for people with epilepsy
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by reducing neuronal excitability,
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enhancing mitochondrial function,
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and increasing level of the inhibitory neurotransmitter,
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These effects can contribute to fewer seizures,
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similar to the ketogenic diet
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used in drug-resistant epilepsy.
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However, fasting can pose also serious risks, right?
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That may itself trigger seizures.
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So it has to be done with medical supervision.
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If this is for you or for one of your children,
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please discuss with your doctor
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and see if you can find medical support
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to start such a fast.
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Now, I want to go into women in fasting.
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You know, a vast majority of people
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who suffer from migraines are women.
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So is fasting good for women?
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The female endocrine system
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is highly responsive to energy availability.
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Studies show that extended calorie restriction
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or long fasting windows
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can disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis,
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which regulates reproductive hormones.
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This disruption may lead to menstrual irregularities,
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anovulation, which is no ovulation,
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or amenorrhea, which is loss of menstruation,
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especially in women with low body fat or high stress level.
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And so needless to say,
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those will impact migraine patterns.
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A 2021 review in Nutrients
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highlights that intermittent fasting
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may affect the LH and estrogen levels,
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potentially impacting fertility,
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which is confirmed in animal studies.
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Now, I want to share a story,
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a French woman living here in New Zealand.
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She had very severe endometriosis.
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She wanted to get pregnant.
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She had no menstruation.
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I accepted and we worked together.
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And after four months,
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for the first time, she got her menstruation back
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after years of not having them.
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Then in WhatsApp, at the time,
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it was before the Migraine Heals Chat,
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she texts me and she tells me that she's made up her mind
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and she's going to go on a full fast.
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And luckily it was WhatsApp.
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I was able to call her immediately.
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And I spent literally, I'm not making this up,
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one hour on the phone to explain to her
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that that would be a huge mistake
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because her body was trusting her
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for the first time with the menstruation again,
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and that she would undo all of that beautiful work.
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In the end, she accepted not to fast.
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And that month, that month, she was pregnant.
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Basically, her body was telling her,
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I'm ready to give it a go.
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And so she was ready.
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And so I got to meet her daughter
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and I got to meet her husband,
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who really thanked me for that miracle child.
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Here again, there are some women
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that will benefit from fasting,
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in particular women with PCOS,
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what is called polycystic ovary syndrome.
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If you have PCOS, there's a good chance
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you're dealing with some level of insulin resistance.
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And this is where intermittent fasting comes in.
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It's going to help your body become more insulin sensitive,
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which means better blood sugar control.
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And that can lead to a drop in testosterone
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and fewer of those super frustrating symptoms
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like acne, hair loss, or irregular period.
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Over time, fasting may even support
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more regular ovulation and hormonal balance.
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It has also an impact on inflammation and body composition.
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Many women with PCOS struggle with weight
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around the midsection and fasting,
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especially when combined with an anti-inflammatory diet
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can help reduce that visceral fat.
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You might also notice better sleep and improve gut health,
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especially if you stop eating earlier in the evening.
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But here's the thing, even here within PCOS,
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it is not one size fits all.
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If your body is already under a lot of stress,
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or if you are on the leaner side, quite thin,
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fasting may do more harm than good.
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It can spike cortisol and in some case,
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mess with your cycle even more.
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This is especially important
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if you're actively trying to get pregnant like Micah.
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For many women, gentler approaches
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like a 12 to 14 hour overnight fast
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can still offer big benefits
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without disrupting your hormones,
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especially if you keep the breakfast
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and have a lighter dinner.
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So if you're thinking about using fasting
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as part of your PCOS toolkit, start slow.
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Tune into your cycle, your energy, your stress level.
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The goal isn't to restrict,
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it's to realign your body with its natural rhythm.
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Now, from the five years of working
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to create the app of Migraine Heroes, what it is today,
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and solving migraines across continents
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with all sorts of female and hormonal complications,
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we've been able to refine further
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who fasting is good for and not so good for.
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And so it is beneficial if you lead
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or have led a life of excess,
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if you've been drinking alcohol for years,
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consuming drugs for people who are a bit overweight,
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then fasting is a very good tool.
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Now, the reality is for most completely different.
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A lot of people, the majority of people coming to see us
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are saints when it comes to food, habits and lifestyle,
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They are not the excess type.
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They put a lot of effort, conscious effort
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in choosing the right foods
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and being respectful in their environment,
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raising their children well and leading really nice homes.
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For those, yes, there are some excesses,
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but these are mainly medication excesses
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and fasting will not remove those excesses,
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but rather exacerbate them.
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Moreover, skipping meals is a real migraine trigger
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and for most, if not all people.
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The single most damaging thing I see in women
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who for bloating reasons, skip breakfast
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and over time make their bloating and migraine worse.
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So I'll dedicate a full podcast episodes
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to that specific topic in context of perimenopause as well.
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So I'm gonna make this short and pragmatic.
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You can trust our experience.
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We have a library of it.
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Fasting is not good for you if you experience
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migraines with aura, dizziness, vertigo,
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scanty sort of light pink menstruation.
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If you experience migraines after your menstruation,
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which is a sign of deficiency,
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if you experience migraines mid-afternoon,
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if you experience migraines in the evening,
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if you experience migraines when not eating on time,
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if you are thirsty often
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or if you're trying to conceive.
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Fasting is to be considered for you.
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If you have PCOS coupled with excess weight,
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if you have epilepsy,
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please do that with a qualified health practitioner.
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If you have years long of alcohol behind you,
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I hope it helps you make the right choices for you.
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Those are critical for your brain health.
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And remember, every small step you take
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moves you closer to freedom.
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You are powerful, you are resilient,
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and you are never alone.
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Keep rising, migraine hero.
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Found this episode helpful?
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Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode
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with the powerful insights and practical tips
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