Ketogenic Diet and Migraines: Do Ketones help?

Migraines suck.
Not only do they ruin the day they happen, but they can also kill brain cells. That is not an exaggeration. When a severe, throbbing pain lasts for several hours, listen.

The Ketogenic Diet Helps Reduce Migraines
Stop. Pay attention. Why is this migraine happening? This intense pain is a deep, primal signal from your brain screaming for help.

Brain scans allow us to look at what happens to the brain during a migraine. We can see what happens on the brain scan as the patient experiences a migraine.  The brain area “under attack” swells the longer the pain continues.  

GKI [GLUCOSE KETONE INDEX] explained = Glucose divided by 18 : Ketones

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Most common questions I get ...
1) "Doc, what BLOOD KETONE METER do you recommend?"
It's accurate and takes only ONE test-strip to get results. YES!!
2) "Doc, what can I have while fasting?"
Salt + water are best.
Sounds weird but it's strangely satisfying.
Black coffee - I prefer cold brew coffee.
Fasting tea. My favorite = Pique Tea Instant Crystals:
Pique Teas have great flavor and the highest antioxidants possible. They
freeze dry their tea into crystals. Pique Tea acts like instant tea ... with
GREAT TASTE. Not bitter. Not moldy.
Ketones-In-A-Can is also a nice option during a fast. If you have to have
something, use ketones to strengthen your metabolism during your fast.
3) "Doc, how do you know if you're eating the right fat?"
Measure it. Your Red Blood Cells keep track of the fat you eat. The "skin"
of your red blood cells show the answer. Order the test and do it at
home. Mail it in for your results. No doctor's order needed.

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*This content is strictly the opinion of Annette Bosworth, MD. Our content informs and educates viewers. Medical advice is not given on this channel. Your personal physician gives the medical advice and treatment specific to your situation. Dr Boz channel only educates. Consult your doctor or qualified health professional regarding specific health questions. Neither Dr. Bosworth nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person(s) receiving this educational content. Ask your health advisors before beginning any nutritional supplement or lifestyle program.

[AcroZeek]

Ketogenic diet cured my migraines and cluster headaches but it took a solid three months before the migraines disappeared completely. Stick with it! It works! Cluster headaches still emerge, but are now only 2/10 on the painscale.

[annachino]

I just started with keto 4 weeks ago and I haven't had a migraine since, which is saying a lot for me. I don't think I will ever go back to the "normal" diet. It is soooo ridiculously easy to replace sugar with a tiny bit of Stevia or Erythrol and keto doesn't at all mean I am missing out. I love it. I am come back to this channel for some advice every now and then, but I am so much happier eversince I stopped eating white flour products and regular sugar. The funny thing is that I have always always always craved the foods that make up a ketogenic diet, it's insane when I think about it. So! Sticking to this, loving it and thank you for all your videos! :-D and how funny is it that my name is also Annett (just spelled better :-D :-D)

[margolitapnina]

On keto my migranes and headaches stopped completely! Also i became so strong against temperature changes, AC and so. I was very sensitive before

[marydd]

Finally information on keto diet and migraines. One other YouTube channel is saying that people who have migraines should not fast, something about the cortisol levels, so glad I found your YouTube channel! Magnesium helps my migraines as a preventative. Mine include auras and scotomas.

[acfarm]

My migraines lessened on keto diet (keto for 9 months) but really stopped on carnivore diet immediately (carnivore for last 5-6 weeks)! Before carnivore I had stopped all alcohol which is definitely a big trigger, but was still getting some milder migraines. Evidently there is some plant food that is a trigger. I don't even want to try adding any plants back in because I don't want ANY headaches.

[Alainfr]

Having chronic migraines for the last 22 years, your advice works for me as an improvement. I guess that one should also avoid foods with histamine to reduce inflammation further. What do you think about it?

[markmooney]

Even more concerned about my ocular migraines now...didn't have them when i was younger and thinner...hoping the keto will work.
have them weekly but I can get rid of it quickly with a soluble aspirin.
I'll be glad when they stop.
Gilly wife of Mark

I have noticed that if I put couple of days of fasting then.. going without food for 36 hours isn't problematic post that fast. Similarly if I fast for 36 hours going without food for 24 hours isn't problematic either. The higher the fasting peak the more comfortable is in the lower part.

[babaraba]

My migraines are caused by low serotonin levels/ low reuptake levels. I could eat pasta and other high carb foods to increase serotonin but i now take a triptan. Keto makes it worse. Serotonin is also linked to my dopamine and explains the depression and anxiety.

[Shekmalawat]

Keto has been shown to be unhealthy in numerous studies, especially without doctor supervision. The *Agoge diet* was the only diet that helped me lose that stubborn fat without punishing my body.

[gins]

Interesting. I get cluster headaches (unilateral) that make me think of a hot poker slicing into my brain. I also have frequent ocular and olfactory migraine aura without pain or nausea. The cluster headaches seem to be seasonally affected. The auras are more random and are a daily occurrence for months on end. Keto has not ever seemed to help. It is truly unsettling to know that permanent damage is occurring with each and every episode. Hopefully making keto a lifestyle will make a difference.

[tonguepetals]

No one told me about cellular death. I have 28 migraine days a month. Just started keto today. My doctor has been pushing me to try it because medication isn't working. I've already had two hemiplegic migraines and I guess more are on the way. Soooo Keto it is.

[areejh]

I take Topamax 50 mg daily to prevent migraine headache, can I do Keto diet?

[e]

I suffer from migranes. and i tried keto for 6 days, the first 3 days i was fine, the following 3 days i had a punding migrane all day long. At night before going to sleep is when the pain would start to go away, but the migrane pain would wake me up the following moring. On the 7th day i ate some carbs and my migrane was completly gone in 20 minutes. Any suggestions? Or opinions? Should i try it onces more to see it happens again?

[tulio]

forgot aura before the migrain, i get them .

[JessicaAndTheMussel]

Thank you for this video. I've been on a Keto diet for about 5 months now and am actually experiencing more migraines with aura all of a sudden (the only other time they occured was when I was taking a birth control pill) as well as a heavier/irregular cycle. Could this be due to hormonal shifts/imbalances from the diet or from losing weight, or am I doing something wrong? Any info on this would be very greatly appreciated! I love you and your videos and want to thank you for your dedication to this topic, keto has helped me dramatically!

[raeni]

My migraines shifted pattern about 4 months ago, for about 9 years I would get one migraine with aura roughly every other month, then about 4 months ago I started getting a one week span with usually 3-5 migraines every month and it doesn’t correlate with any specific time in my cycle either, I have been eating a ketogenic diet for several weeks and I got hit with another migraine cycle this week, yesterday and today and the recent change in my patterns along with the change in aura is really scaring me, it used to start on my right side and fade in from the peripherals and now it starts on my left side and looks like I am looking through a straw until I am completely blind in both eyes, if anyone has any tips or any ideas please let me know, I am a nurse already and I have seen a doctor who told me that he would only be worried if I had never had migraines before and this happened. Has anyone done experiments with low carb over ketogenic? I feel like small amounts of carbs make my aura go away but not the migraine itself, I will take any advice anyone has. Thanks

[andyspark]

can you talk about recent study and what they did wrong ?
Study
Cell Metabolism
Available online 12 July 2018
Article
Dietary Fat, but Not Protein or Carbohydrate, Regulates Energy Intake and Causes Adiposity in Mice
on the webpage
sciencedirect