Have you ever given breakfast a miss to make the train, only to find yourself nursing a pounding headache by midmorning? For
some people, a skipped meal can prove a potent migraine trigger in much the same way.
“This could be due to the drop in blood-glucose levels, which causes a stress response,” says Stark. “Next, adrenaline levels rise, resulting in a cascade of other hormonal events, such as a change in the body’s levels of natural steroids, which may also contribute to migraine episodes.”
According to Mohamed, the big issue is that the brain relies on glucose for 90 per cent of its energy. “When you skip meals and fast for hours, your body can release ketones, chemicals that alter the brain’s acid balance. Although minor, this change can be enough to trigger the release of other chemicals that bring on migraine,” he explains.
“Even a slight change in the pH level or acidity of brain fluid could affect, for example, the way the body metabolises and uses calcium, which may contribute to migraine in some individuals; however, scientists have not yet studied this relationship to migraine.”
The take-home message? If you suffer from headaches, migraines in particular, enjoy regular meals, preferably those that contain high-fibre foods, as these help stabilise the body’s blood-glucose levels.
