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What if your slice of bread or your favorite pasta were secretly triggering your next migraine attack?
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers who've seen countless doctors with no
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results. Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
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Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine, even after
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suffering for up to 60 years. My mission in life? To bring this relief to a million people
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using a unique blend of eastern medicine and western science.
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In this episode, you will learn why gluten may be fueling your migraines, even if you're not
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celiac. The exact mechanisms scientists believe link gluten to neurological inflammation.
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How traditional Chinese medicine views gluten, and what you can do today to reduce your symptoms
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naturally. Did you know the word gluten actually comes from Latin? It literally means glue, and
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that makes sense because gluten is the protein in wheat that gives dough its stretchy, elastic
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texture. It's what holds everything together, kind of like glue. So when you bite into soft
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chewy bread, you're tasting the specialness of gluten doing its job. About 1 in 100 people
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worldwide, so 1%, have what is called celiac disease. And being celiac means your body sees
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gluten as the enemy. When someone with celiac disease eats gluten, their immune system attacks
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the small intestine. It's not just a food sensitivity, it's a serious autoimmune condition.
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And celiac disease, just like migraine, is genetic. So let me tell you a story. Back in 2019, I
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welcomed into my home a woman named Dorothy. And Dorothy had been living with migraines for 40
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years. That is four decades of pain, four decades of antidepressants, and four decades of antiviral
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medication for herpes. And this part still takes my breath away. She was taking six triptans a
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day, five days a week. When I met her, my heart melt and broke. I had never heard in my life
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a story like hers. I was devastated. It was devastating. And yet strangely, I felt a sense
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of hope. I just knew I was going to be able to help her, and many women like her. And it was kind
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of a calling for me. Dorothy, she told me a lot. And one of the first things she shared with me
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blew my mind. In some rare cases, like celiac disease, which she had, you can actually see the
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effects of migraines on an MRI. Specifically, there can be something called occipital calcification,
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which means calcium deposits form in the part of the brain responsible for vision. It's incredibly
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rare. But it's one of those few times where migraines leave actually a visible trace, a
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visible footprint on the brain. Dorothy taught me many more things. And it's thanks to her,
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and thanks to so many people after her, that the Migraine Heroes app is what it is today.
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And it's about to be even more amazing in our upcoming release. I'm really excited and proud
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about it. For the first time, it's actually exceeding my expectations and not behind.
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Now, back to celiac. If you have it, chances are you know. But if you're unsure and wondering
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whether this might be you, testing is actually available. That being said, there's something
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important you should know about testing. To get accurate results, you usually need to reintroduce
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gluten into your diet daily for several weeks before testing, which can fuel more frequent
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and more intense migraine attacks. So if you're considering testing, it's really important to
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weigh the pros and the cons. Now, for 99 out of 100 of you, chances are you do not have celiac perse,
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but you are well intolerant to gluten. How would you know? If you're gluten intolerant
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and you eat gluten, you might get bloated, feel tired, feel like your brain is foggy,
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have stomach pain, or have a migraine attack. Not because of an autoimmune response like in celiac,
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but just because your body just doesn't handle gluten well. And here's where it gets interesting.
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Individuals with gluten sensitivity report a significantly higher frequency of migraines
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compared to those without it. In a 2011 study published in Neurology, a leading expert on
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gluten-related neurological disorders discovered that antibodies, so not autoimmune markers like
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in celiac disease, but rather antibodies like in intolerance against gluten, were more common in
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migraine sufferers than in the general population. So according to the West, how might gluten trigger
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your migraines? There's a few theories. Gluten can increase the permeability of the gut lining,
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known as leaky gut, allowing inflammatory compounds to enter the bloodstream and eventually
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the brain. So theory number one is about neuroinflammation. Even without full-blown celiac
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disease, the body may treat gluten as an invader, launching an immune attack that leads to inflammation
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in the nervous system. So theory number two is about immune response. And theory number three
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is about serotonin pathways. Gluten may interfere with serotonin regulation, which is already known
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to be linked to migraine onset. In short, if you don't have celiac disease, gluten could be playing
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a very pervasive role in your migraine frequency and severity. Now, here's the catch. Gluten intolerance
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doesn't always show up early in life. In fact, many people start noticing issues with gluten later on,
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especially during perimenopause. That is because hormonal changes can affect gut lining, immune
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response, and how well you digest certain foods. So if gluten suddenly starts making you feel bloated,
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foggy, or tired in midlife, you're not imagining it. Your body really can become more sensitive
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over time. In the East, the approach to health is not reactive, but it's proactive. In traditional
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Chinese medicine, the health of the gut and digestion is considered central to the health of
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the entire body. You pay a doctor while you're well, so you stay well, and you stop paying them
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while your migraines get out of control. So how is gluten viewed in the East? In traditional Chinese
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medicine, wheat, and by extension gluten, is seen as sweet and cooling. It nourishes the heart,
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calms the Shen, the spirit, and can help ease restlessness, irritability, or insomnia, especially
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when tied to yin deficiency. In its gluten form, it is thought to be building and grounding,
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great for those needing to strengthen qi and blood, if their digestion can handle it.
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And so, but, and it's a big but, if you have a weak stomach spleen, which governs digestion in
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traditional Chinese medicine, or signs of dampness, like bloating, fogginess, or fatigue, gluten can
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become a burden. So in traditional Chinese medicine, it's not about gluten being good or bad,
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it's about you as an individual. Now what's more, in traditional Chinese medicine, the function of
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the stomach spleen tends to weaken over time. Now let's move back to the West for a minute,
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because Western medicine, without knowing it, actually proves that. See those little bumps on
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your tongue? They're called papilla, and they're packed with taste buds, the tiny sensors that help
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you recognize sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and pungent foods. They're your body's first food
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critics, announcing to the brain what's for dinner tonight, and what gastric juices to get ready.
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And here's the trick, we're actually born with more taste buds than what we keep. Kids have around
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10,000 taste buds, and as we age, that number gradually drops. Adults typically have closer to
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5,000 to 7,000 taste buds, and elderly less than 5,000. So as a result, as you age, your ability
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to digest and tolerate gluten gets lowered, and now gluten is officially on your migraine trigger list.
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Now what's the answer? What to do with all of that? Strengthen the spleen and dry the dampness.
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So let me teach you that simple for you in your home today, regardless of who you are. Enemy number
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one for your stomach spleen, ice cream. It's a triple whammy, the object of another podcast.
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Enemy number two for your stomach spleen, carbohydrate drinks and even sparkling water,
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again the object of another podcast. Enemy number three of your stomach spleen, uncooked raw foods.
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All of these will accelerate aging of your stomach spleen and decrease your ability to digest gluten.
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Now how to dry the dampness without creating more damage to your brain? Add algae to your diet.
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So think vegetables from the sea, seaweed, wakame, kelp, nori, microalgae. Great for those
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with hypothyroid as well. Please avoid if you have hyperthyroid. And remember, every small step
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you take moves you closer to freedom. You are powerful, you are resilient, and you are never alone.
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Keep rising, Migraine Hero.
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Found this episode helpful? Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode with the powerful insights
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and practical tips for real migraine relief.
