通过饮食缓解偏头痛(中英文对照).docVIP

Eat to Minimize Your Migraines How what you eat can affect your headaches By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Expert Column The worst headache you could possibly imagine? That would be the description of a migraine. More than 45 million Americans get severe or chronic headaches, but the subgroup that specifically suffers from migraines is thought to be around 18 million. If you dont personally have migraines, odds are that you know someone who does. So can what and how you eat and drink really help to improve your migraines? Thankfully, yes. While stress is considered the No. 1 migraine trigger, food and beverages may be responsible for up to 30% of migraines, according to some estimates. If you consider that some other migraine triggers can have a connection to diet (things such as hormonal changes, stress, sleeping habits, and depression), its possible the percentage is actually higher. Your diet can affect your headache risk in two ways: Certain foods are thought to trigger headaches. Dietary habits, like skipping meals and not drinking enough fluids, may also play a role. What happens when migraine sufferers learn more about their food triggers and change their diets accordingly? In a recent study, headache patients were given one hour or more of diet counseling by a registered dietitian, who discussed things such as dietary triggers for headaches and label reading. The patients later reported a significant reduction in the number of migraines per week. At the same time, they reported they were consuming fewer migraine-trigger foods. A Complicated Relationship The more you learn about migraines and diet, the more you realize how complicated the relationship is. First off, a suspected food may not be a trigger 100% of the time, explains Frederick Freitag, MD, of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. Here are some of the complicating factors: Often, foods are triggers only when they are combined with other triggers. For example, they may ac