Skipping meals, for some people, is a sure way to get a migraine headache. Even those who do not suffer from migraines can get a headache from not eating breakfast and lunch. However, fasting has remained popular for the treatment of various conditions. Migraine sufferers who suspect that some foods may be triggering their headaches are sometime advised to try an elimination diet. This diet often begins with a fast and then one type of food is introduced at a time to see if it triggers a negative reaction. Anecdotal reports describe relief of migraine headaches with fasting for periods of up to five days. Some programs recommend five-day fasts twice a year, while others are advocating five days each month. A 5:2 diet involves eating a normal amount of calories for five days and the following two days eating 1/4 of that amount. The problem is that some people will have worsening of their headaches in the first day or two. However, most patient reports that after having headaches for a day or two the head becomes very clear.

It is not clear if fasting helps various medical conditions, if indeed it does, which remains an open question. One potential mechanism may involve stem cells. Recent studies suggest that fasting causes proliferation of stem cells. The study was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The research was done in mice and showed that prolonged fasting protects against immune system damage and induce immune system regeneration. The researchers speculated that fasting induces stem cells from a dormant state to a state of proliferation.

One of the authors of the study said that “We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system. When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged. What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. ”

Fasting and induction of stem cells seems to reduce an enzyme which has been linked to aging, tumor progression and cancer. Fasting also protected against toxicity in a small human trial where patients fasted for 72 hours prior to chemotherapy.

“Chemotherapy causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy.”

So, how long do you need to fast to induce your stem cells and to get beneficial results? Some advocate suggest one or two days a week. Others promote twice yearly five-day fasts. The bottom line, we have no research on this topic.

Fasting may help protect against brain disease. Researchers at the National Institute on Aging have found evidence that fasting for one or two days a week can prevent the effects of Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease. Research also found that cutting the daily intake to 500 calories a day for two days out of the seven can show clear beneficial effects for the brain. It is possible that fasting helps by inducing proliferation of stem cells in the brain.

Fasting cuts your risk of heart disease and diabetes:
Regularly going a day without food reduces your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Studies show that fasting releases a significant surge in human growth hormone, which is associated with speeding up metabolism and burning off fat. Shedding fat is known to cut the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Doctors are even starting to consider fasting as a treatment.

3. Fasting effectively treats cancer in human cells:
A study from the journal of aging found that cancer patients who included fasting into their therapy perceived fewer side effects from chemotherapy. All tests conducted so far show that fasting improves survival, slow tumor growth and limit the spread of tumors. The National Institute on Aging has also studied one type of breast cancer in detail to further understand the effects of fasting on cancer. As a result of fasting, the cancer cells tried to make new proteins and took other steps to keep growing and dividing. As a result of these steps, which in turn led to a number of other steps, damaging free radical molecules were created which broke down the cancer cells own DNA and caused their destruction! It’s cellular suicide, the cancer cell is trying to replace all of the stuff missing in the bloodstream that it needs to survive after a period of fasting, but can’t. In turn, it tries to create them and this leads to its own destruction.

This post contains direct quotes from collective-evolution.com

Stress is considered to be one of the main migraine triggers. However, a study just published in the journal Neurology suggests that it is the period after stress when people are more likely to develop a migraine.

A group of doctors at the Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx led by Dr. Richard Lipton enrolled 22 participants, of whom 17 completed their diaries. These migraine sufferers made 2,011 diary entries including 110 migraine attacks eligible for statistical analysis. Level of stress was not generally associated with migraine occurrence. However, decline in stress from one evening diary to the next was associated with an increased chance of migraine over the subsequent 6 to 18 hours. The authors concluded that the reduction in stress from one day to the next is associated with migraine onset the next day. They said that “The decline in stress may be a warning sign for an impending migraine attack and may create opportunities for preemptive drug or behavioral interventions.”

What they meant is that people could try meditation and other relaxation techniques or, if that is ineffective, they could take a medication ahead of time. Taking medication before headache starts is often more effective and requires milder and fewer drugs than if a migraine is already in full bloom.

Many migraine sufferers know that changes in sleep, meal intake, weather, and stress can trigger an attack. So, it is important to keep your life stable as much as possible. Biofeedback, meditation and other relaxation techniques, as well as regular aerobic exercise, magnesium and other supplements, all could improve the resistance against migraine attacks.

The accompanying editorial in Neurology mentioned that migraine is the single biggest source of neurologic disability in the world and any practical finding that helps people avoid migraines can have a major impact on lives of millions of people.