Theron Randolph Talked About Allergies

Back in the 1950s when Dr. Theron Randolph did his work, the words “food allergy” and food sensitivity” were used interchangeably. Since then, we have learned that a food can cause problems without necessarily triggering an allergic reaction. For that reason, it took a long time for the concept of food sensitivity to be recognized.

Early Studies on Food Sensitivity and Migraine Headaches

The connection between food and migraine headaches is not a new idea. In a 1979 study published in The Lancet, 60 migraine patients were placed on a very restricted diet and then challenged with individual foods. Wheat, oranges, eggs, coffee, tea, milk, chocolate and other foods triggered headaches in some of the patients. When problem foods were avoided, headache frequency dropped dramatically in many of the patients.[1]

Other early studies produced similar results. Some patients improved when placed on elimination diets, and headaches could sometimes be triggered again when individual foods were reintroduced. Interestingly, conventional allergy testing did not necessarily identify the foods causing the problem.

This distinction may be important. A 2003 review of diet and migraine in children and adolescents concluded that IgE-mediated food allergy is an uncommon cause of migraine. The authors pointed to other possible mechanisms involving substances such as histamine, tyramine, phenylethylamine, nitrites and sulfites. They recommended keeping a headache and diet diary and selectively avoiding foods suspected of triggering attacks.[2]

More recent research continues to suggest that food elimination may help some migraine sufferers. In a randomized crossover study, an elimination diet based on food-specific IgG testing reduced headache days from 10.5 to 7.5 and migraine attacks from 9.0 to 6.2 during the six-week elimination period.[3] Another randomized trial found a significant benefit after four weeks, although the difference between the elimination and control diets was no longer statistically significant after 12 weeks.[4]

Clearly, food is not responsible for every migraine. But for some patients, identifying and avoiding individual food triggers may substantially reduce the number of headaches.

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References

  1. Grant EC. Food allergies and migraine. Lancet. 1979;1(8123):966-969. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(79)91735-5.
  2. Millichap JG, Yee MM. The diet factor in pediatric and adolescent migraine. Pediatr Neurol. 2003;28(1):9-15. doi:10.1016/S0887-8994(02)00466-6.
  3. Alpay K, Ertaş M, Orhan EK, Üstay DK, Lieners C, Baykan B. Diet restriction in migraine, based on IgG against foods: a clinical double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial. Cephalalgia. 2010;30(7):829-837. doi:10.1177/0333102410361404.
  4. Mitchell N, Hewitt CE, Jayakody S, et al. Randomised controlled trial of food elimination diet based on IgG antibodies for the prevention of migraine like headaches. Nutr J. 2011;10:85. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-10-85.