From: mjs23x@gmail.com   
      
   Migraines And Gut Bacteria: A New Connection   
      
      
   In the United States, there are about 30 million people who experience   
   migraines. That’s approximately one in seven people. Migraines aren’t   
   simply bad headaches. They can often be intensely painful, debilitating, and   
   accompanied by nausea and vision    
   changes. For some migraine sufferers, the pain can last for many hours, if not   
   longer.   
      
      
      
       
   For those afflicted with migraines, completing the normal tasks of a given day   
   can be next to impossible when the condition strikes. This leaves people   
   searching for the best ways to prevent and control migraines so that they can   
   get back to their lives.    
   While migraines have been tied to many factors, recent research has revealed   
   the connection between migraines and gut bacteria.   
      
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   Your gut, also known as your microbiome, is the colony of bacteria living in   
   your intestinal tract. Some of these bacteria are beneficial, while others are   
   harmful. Maintaining a healthy balance of gut bacteria is essential to overall   
   health in a number    
   of ways (more on that later). Each person has a unique microbiome. It turns   
   out that the types of bacteria that colonize there may affect your chances of   
   developing migraines.   
      
   How your gut bacteria can affect migraines   
      
   Migraines and Nitrates   
      
   A new study was performed by researchers at the University of California, San   
   Diego and published in the journal mSystems. Researchers found that people who   
   experience migraines tend to have more of a certain type of nitrate-processing   
   bacteria in their    
   gut. This may make people more sensitive to particular foods that contain   
   nitrates.   
      
   On the idea behind the study, first author Antonio Gonzalez, a programmer   
   analyst at UC San Diego, explained:   
      
   “There is this idea out there that certain foods trigger migraines —   
   chocolate, wine and especially foods containing nitrates. We thought that   
   perhaps there are connections between what people are eating, their   
   microbiomes and their experiences with    
   migraines.”   
      
   Gonzalez, along with colleague Embriette Hyde, performed bacteria sequencing   
   on 172 oral bacteria samples and 1,996 fecal bacteria samples. The researchers   
   used public data provided by the crowdfunded American Gut Project, overseen by   
   the Knight    
   laboratory. Individuals who donated these samples were previously asked about   
   their experiences with migraines.     
      
   Results of the sequencing and analysis showed that in both types of samples   
   (oral and fecal), individuals who reported experiencing migraines had slightly   
   elevated levels of a type of gut bacteria which is linked to breaking down   
   nitrates in the body.   
      
   On these results, the study authors wrote:   
      
   “Nitrates, such as cardiac therapeutics and food additives, are common   
   headache triggers, with nitric oxide playing an important role. Facultative   
   anaerobic bacteria in the oral cavity may contribute migraine-triggering   
   levels of nitric oxide through    
   the salivary nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway. Using high-throughput   
   sequencing technologies, we detected observable and significantly higher   
   abundances of nitrate, nitrite, and nitric oxide reductase genes in   
   migraineurs versus non-migraineurs in    
   samples collected from the oral cavity and a slight but significant difference   
   in fecal samples.”   
      
   The role of nitrates   
      
   How could this type of gut bacteria, which allows nitrates to be broken down   
   more efficiently, lead to migraines? It has to do with the process that   
   nitrates undergo in the bloodstream. Nitrates are compounds found in healthy   
   foods such as leafy greens,    
   as well as unhealthy foods such as processed meats. When they hit the   
   bloodstream, they are broken down by bacteria which reside in both the mouth   
   and the gut. These bacteria convert the nitrates into nitric oxide. The nitric   
   oxide, in turn, dilates    
   blood vessels.   
      
   When the type of gut bacteria that quickly breaks down nitrates reacts with   
   these compounds, vessels in the brain quickly dilate. This rapid dilation may   
   lead to a migraine. Many cardiac patients who are prescribed medications   
   containing nitrates also    
   report the nasty side effect of severe headaches.   
      
   “We know for a fact that nitrate-reducing bacteria are found in the oral   
   cavity. We definitely think this pathway is advantageous to cardiovascular   
   health,” Hyde said. “Now we also have a potential connection to migraines,   
   though it remains to be    
   seen whether these bacteria are a cause or result of migraines, or are   
   indirectly linked in some other way.”   
      
   More research on the way   
      
   The next step for Gonzalez and Hyde is to perform a controlled diet study of   
   people who experience migraines, in order to link nitric oxide in the blood   
   with migraines. The planning for this experiment is currently underway. While   
   it is still unclear    
   whether these gut bacteria trigger the migraines when nitrates are consumed,   
   the results are interesting. And if they are confirmed, the results could lead   
   to new therapies targeting the gut.   
      
   According to Dr. Brendan Davis of the University Hospitals of North Midlands:   
      
   “There’s something called a hot dog headache, where nitrates are suspected   
   to be involved. This is interesting work, but would need to be confirmed.”   
      
   In the meantime, Gonzalez recommends that if people find they are experiencing   
   migraines after eating foods high in nitrates, it may be worthwhile to exclude   
   them from their diets to see if it helps. Some nitrate-containing foods, such   
   as hot dogs,    
   bologna and other processed meats, have no place in a healthy diet anyway. As   
   far as leafy greens, I wouldn’t take this as a signal not to eat them,   
   unless you’re experiencing migraine symptoms soon after consumption. Further   
   research will hopefully    
   be more telling.   
      
   Other potential migraine triggers   
      
   Migraines and Processed Food   
      
      
       
   Earlier this year, researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical   
   Center performed a study which suggested that certain vitamin deficiencies may   
   be linked to migraines in young people. The research, presented at the 58th   
   Annual Scientific    
   Meeting of the American Headache Society in San Diego, presented a link   
   between mild deficiencies in vitamin D, CoQ10 and riboflavin and migraines in   
   kids, teenagers and young adults.   
      
   While this research is preliminary, it does point to an interesting   
   association. Making sure we have enough vitamins and minerals in our diets   
   (the best source of which is the healthy food we eat) is essential for many   
   facets of health.   
      
      
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