125. Food as Medicine: The Nutrition Migraine Revolution
🔍 What This Episode Covers
If you’re struggling with migraines or treating patients who do, this episode is your nutritional roadmap. Dr. Anna breaks down the research from Dr. Margaret Slavin’s team on food-based strategies to reduce headache frequency, severity, and duration. Link to their abstract here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31603554/
🧠 Key Topics Covered:
✅ High Omega-3, Low Omega-6 Diets
• Reduce inflammation and migraine frequency
• Why Americans are at a 20:1 ratio—and what to do about it
✅ The Risks of Skipping Meals
• How meal timing, macronutrients, and nutrient density matter
✅ Hydration & Electrolytes
• How much water you really need daily
• Why some individuals with migraines need 90–120 oz/day
✅ Gut Health + Microbiome
• The connection between PPIs, gut inflammation, and migraines
• Probiotic strains that may help
✅ Micronutrient Deficiencies
• Common deficits: magnesium, riboflavin, folate, B12, selenium, zinc
• Why severe migraine sufferers often lack essential nutrients
✅ Food Triggers & Elimination Diets
• Are food cravings a symptom—not a cause—of migraines?
• When elimination diets help (and when they harm)
✅ Caffeine, Alcohol & Processed Foods
• How to spot hidden migraine irritants like MSG and “natural flavors”
• Why restrictive eating can backfire
🧑⚕️ Who Should Listen?
• People with chronic migraines looking for root-cause solutions
• Parents of kids with headaches
• Physicians and providers looking to integrate nutrition into headache care
💡 Learn More
Explore Dr. Anna’s Pediatric Headache Course → https://doctorannamd.com/pedhacourse
Dr. Anna Esparham, MD
Quadruple Board-Certified in Pediatrics, Integrative Medicine, Acupuncture & ONMM
🌐 www.doctorannamd.com | 📧 doctorannamd@gmail.com
Links:
iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doctor-anna-md/id1514465027
Spotify:
Instagram: