Migraines and hair loss

[itsALLgood]

Greetings everyone!

So glad to have found this forum. I was introduced to Ray Peat by Danny Roddy after reading Hair Like a Fox. I had been looking into nutrition for migraines and (more recently) hair loss for a few years now. Just like many of you, I've tried various diets to try and find (in vain) a solution to my ailments. Low-carb, gluten-free, paleo...

I've been avoiding refined sugar and soy ever since I noticed a correlation with my migraines which started at the age of 12 (I'm 24). Eating low-carb, basically like a diabetic has helped the migraines but I still get them at a frequency of about 2 a week. Totally debilitating, muscle pain, vomiting, etc. I've tried pretty much all the migraine meds and alternative medicine practices at this point and nothing seems to work. I've always been told that I'm in great health by my doc which bothered me because migraines and hair loss indicated to me that something was obviously off with my body. Apparently I have high cholesterol as of two years ago. But otherwise everything else is normal. I was really glad to discover that my temperature was low (95-97) and that it was something that I could try and work on to see concrete results. Whether it's better sleep, less migraines, halting hair loss, even just knowing that my metabolism is working better and understanding how that has definite benefits on health is a blessing.

So I want to work on that. Hydration is huge for migraines. Dr Angela Stanton (PhD) wrote a book called "fighting the migraine epidemic" and explains the importance of maintaining a balance of sodium-potassium ratio (I recommend reading it if you suffer from migraines). Consuming more sodium seems to have helped my migraines since I started 3 weeks ago. Eating regularly is also really important. I have always been quite thin and need to eat lots of calories frequently to feel good. I find that protein and fat are much more satiating than carbs. People with migraines report that a Ketogenic diet has been very beneficial to them as well (another book called "Migraine miracle" written by an MD talks about that). However, a ketogenic diet hinges on the idea that your body will function better if you burn fat instead of carbs. From what I understand about Ray Peat, that's not compatible with his philosophy at all. Matt Stone in "Hypoglycemia: What It Is, What It Isn't, and How to Fix the Root Problem" explains how low carb/high protein diets will usually help symptoms for people with alleged hypoglycemia (often associated with migraines) for a while but that it doesn't address the root issue which, according to him, is a sluggish metabolism due to a faulty thyroid and that it's bound to backfire eventually.

So it seems to explain why I've been feeling better migraine-wise eating high fat + high protein +low carb. It also explains why I started losing my hair two years ago, because my thyroid kept getting more and more neglected. If Matt Stone is correct, I should start eating a lot more carbs to burn that instead of fat and address my low temp. and get thyroid running properly. Migraines haven't really improved significantly enough to a point where I can live a normal life, so I need to try something different. Plus my hair falling out is a definite sign that I need to address certain things from a different angle.

What are people's thoughts on all of this? How can I reintroduce carbs in a way that won't exacerbate my migraines too much? I'm quite sensitive to sugar these days, since I have eaten it so rarely for most of my life. It doesn't trigger a migraine instantly, and often not at all (depending on the amount I consume) but it makes me feel weird. It's hard to describe. But I feel the surge in energy, and the crash a little later when I consume sprite or ice cream. Chocolate is also a trigger, and I've been avoiding caffeine for a long time as well. How can I get around that?

Thank you so much for your help. I truly appreciate it. Reading this forum over the past few days has really inspired confidence in me that I will find a solution to my health concerns, or at the very least find something that helps.

 

[Blossom]

it'sALLgood!

 

[tara]

it'sALLgood!

I'm also do migraines often enough for it to mess up my life badly.
I'm trying various tactics, and haven't exhausted al the possibilities yet. I'm hoping that improving overall metabolism will eventually help reduce or end them.
Still working on it - not solved yet. I'll try to post more thoughts when I have more time.

 

[Tom]

Egg yolks seems to be the only thing that works for me. 2 per day keeps it away, but if I get it, I may need 5-10 yolks to get rid of it, may take 2-6 hours. It isn´t fully migraines only very bad headaches with pain also throughout the body, and some nausea, something in between regular headaches and migraines, I suppose.

I think it´s related to my liver function, maybe too much fats or sugars relative to choline (and betaine) and protein, and too much or too little calories relative to activity/stress level.

It may also possibly happen as a result of not eating enough food whereby the bodys fat reserves are mobilized, then goes to the liver to be burned, but without the needed nutrients, it will clog the liver further. This is sometimes reported when people are water fasting also, they get terrible headaches, nausea etc.

I was watching some videos about the fatty liver disease in the case of cats. The problem arised because the cat became obese as a result of eating too much of the human junk food, like leftover sugar, pasta, vegetable oils etc. Then if the cat for some reason lost appetite and stopped eating, the already fat liver became even worse, so it was kind of a vicious cycle. The suggestion by the veterinarian was to force feed the cat a nutritious diet with adequate calories, which would then prevent the situation of fat stores being mobilized to go to the liver.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6klmYULDQ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqi8ibxYrYY


The obvious situation in nature would be that there´s time of plenty where fat is stored up maybe in liver and other places, then followed by times of lean where the only available food is very lean meat and organ meats, some vegetable foods, but usually low in sugars (like leaves instead of fruits or honey), and the caloric intake would be lower than usual. The organ meats would be rich in the phosopholipids (choline), needed to burn off the fat stores. Muscle meat is not a great source of choline. Eggs can be a substitute for organ meats, being rich in similar nutrients like choline.

My thinking is that something in line with these principles could be the ideal approach for weight loss and to potentially treat many diseases (including perhaps migraine). Several small trials with a paleolithic type diet, have already proved this. However the paleolithic diet in these trials was in most cases low in fat and calories, it is not the type of high fat "paleo diet" that so many people adhere to these days. Actually we have no idea what the paleo diet really was, but the trials are there and one can use them as a guideline for a certain type of diet that appears to work better for certain conditions than any other diet.

 

[SQu]

Low carb caused migraines in me, and peating healed them, it's been nearly a year since I last had one, and they had been almost weekly.

Take care with reintroducing carbs though. Aside from migraine relief, I got a lot worse in many other ways on reintroduction of carbs. This may have been at least somewhat avoidable. Recently haidut (search his recent posts) has pondered healing from low carb, and the problem of metabolizing sugars for some ex low carbers.

PS Agree about the liver relationship - my experience too. The liver seems to be key.

 

[aguilaroja]

Low temperature, high cholesterol, hair loss, diffuse muscle pain, headache and symptom improvement with salt are are consistent with low thyroid symptoms. It would be good to check thyroid function three-fold, through resting temperature & pulse, symptom inventory, and blood tests. Get the precise numbers of thyroid lab tests, not a doctor's "interpretation".

(for example)
http://thyroid.about.com/b/2008/08/14/t ... nfused.htm

It is suggested to read Dr. Peat's articles about thyroid, and browse the forum and other resources. It has, for instance, largely been forgotten in health care that good thyroid function is necessary for retaining sodium (even at times with good salt intake), and that high cholesterol can be a hallmark of low thyroid function.

viewforum.php?f=18
http://www.toxinless.com/peat/marshmallow

If you are female especially, excess estrogen is a major factor in many migraine states. There is overlap between low thyroid, high estrogen and other kinds of decline. It is likely that if thyroid function is low, there will be other hypothyroid symptoms happening that were not mentioned.

Thyroid function is largely representative of overall metabolism, though only one aspect. However, to be blunt, some parts of the RP forum over-emphasize perfecting diet in place of repleting other basic supportive factors.

 

[Tom]

It is also my experience that many migraine sufferers have low thyroid function. However is this the cause or is it an association/symptom? If the liver isn´t functioning optimally then there´s going to be problems with metabolism. See http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/95/9/559

 

[aguilaroja]

...many migraine sufferers have low thyroid function. However is this the cause or is it an association/symptom?

Yes, the processes of decline or of improvement tend to move together. Improving one part may help all functions.

When liver function is sluggish, elimination of estrogen is slowed and conversion of thyroid hormone to "active" T3 form may be reduced. Similarly, high estrogen or low thyroid function may hinder liver function. Lactic acid, high serotonin, lack of protein or other nutrients, polyunsaturated oils, etc. may impair many domains.

My experience is that In some situations, any of several single restorative factors may bring major improvement. In other cases, emphasizing a major factor helps speed improvement. Inventorying symptoms may help select priorities.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/na ... gens.shtml
"For over fifty years, it has been known that the liver excretes estrogens and other toxins from the body, and that when (because of liver inertia) estrogen isn't excreted by the liver and kidneys, it is retained in the body. This process was observed in both animals and humans decades ago, and it is also well established that estrogen itself suppresses the detoxifying systems, causing fewer carcinogens to be excreted in the urine. "

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/pr ... ries.shtml
"A very common cause of an estrogen excess is a dietary protein deficiency--the liver simply cannot detoxify estrogen when it is under-nourished.

With a diet high in protein (e.g., at least 70-100 grams per day, including eggs) and vitamin A (not carotene), I have found that the dose of progesterone can be reduced each month. Using thyroid will usually reduce the amount of progesterone needed. "

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/hy ... dism.shtml
"Many things, including the liver and the senses, regulate the function of the thyroid system, and the pituitary is just one of the factors affecting the synthesis and secretion of the thyroid hormones."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/ti ... ogen.shtml

"The healthy liver inactivates practically all the estrogen that reaches it, mostly by combining it with the “sugar acid,” glucuronic acid. This makes the estrogen water soluble, and it is quickly eliminated in the urine. But when it passes through inflamed tissue, these tissues contain large amounts of beta-glucuronidase, which will remove the glucuronic acid, leaving the pure estrogen to accumulate in the tissue.

Many kinds of liver impairment decrease its ability to excrete estrogen, and estrogen contributes to a variety of liver diseases. The work of the Biskinds in the 1940s showed that a dietary protein deficiency prevented the liver from detoxifying estrogen. Hypothyroidism prevents the liver from attaching glucuronic acid to estrogen, and so increases the body’s retention of estrogen, which in turn impairs the thyroid gland’s ability to secrete thyroid hormone." (emphasis added)

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/th ... ties.shtml
"Excessive serotonin is a major factor in kidney and heart failure, liver and lung disease, stroke, pituitary abnormalities, inflammatory diseases, practically every kind of sickness, at the beginning, middle, and end of life. "

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/fa ... tion.shtml

"The liver eliminates lactic acid and ammonia, the adrenals and gonads provide stabilizing steroids, and the brain alters activity and behavior, in ways that can reverse most of the effects of fatigue.

"But, when the tissues contain large amounts of polyunsaturated fats, every episode of fatigue and prolonged excitation leaves a residue of oxidative damage, and the adaptive mechanisms become progressively less effective. When the most powerful adaptive mechanisms, such as the timely synthesis of progesterone, pregnenolone, DHEA, T3, and the inhibitory transmitters, GABA and glycine, fail, then some of the primitive defense mechanisms will become chronically activated, and even sleep may fail to restore normal cellular water and metabolism. "

 

[Blossom]

 

[Gl;itch.e]

Cant speak to migraines, but for me headaches seem linked to gut issues/endotoxin. I find (like Ray does) that if I have a headache a large carrot does the trick pretty quickly. So looking into endotoxin reduction might be a key in helping migraines too.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the detailed and clarifying explanation, aguillaroja. Didn´t Peat mention in a radio show the importance of fiber/carrot/charcoal to help soak up the excess estrogen that the liver dumps (and thus prevents its reabsorption)? Could this help if the liver function is not optimal?

 

[aguilaroja]

...Didn´t Peat mention in a radio show the importance of fiber/carrot/charcoal to help soak up the excess estrogen that the liver dumps (and thus prevents its reabsorption)? Could this help if the liver function is not optimal?

I am not sure I have heard the program mentioned, but it sounds consistent with Dr. Peat's views.

Fiber (carrot & bamboo shoots, rather than bran) and charcoal are also recommended by Dr. Peat to lower gut endotoxin. One of Dr. Peat's many keen insights is the relation of gut endotoxin to estrogen.

So, offhand, it may be that in addition to direct absorption of estrogen, carrot/bamboo shoot fiber & charcoal reduce endotoxin, reduce bowel inflammation, and help eliminate other chemical toxins, all of which also support liver function. Fiber & charcoal action reducing intestinal inflammation and leakiness is another way to lower re-absorption of estrogen.

There are many fine accounts of beneficial fiber/charcoal experiences on the RP forum. I think some KMUD Peat programs mention liver support, including the herbalist-hosts' experiences, but cannot cite them at present.

http://raypeat.com/articles/nutrition/carrageenan.shtml

"The premenstrual estrogen-dominance usually leads progressively to higher prolactin and lower thyroid function. Estrogen is closely associated with endotoxinemia, and with histamine and nitric oxide formation, and with the whole range of inflammatory and “autoimmune” diseases. Anything that irritates the bowel, leading to increased endotoxin absorption, contributes to the same cluster of metabolic consequences."

"Charcoal, besides binding and removing toxins, is also a powerful catalyst for the oxidative destruction of many toxic chemicals. In a sense, it anticipates the action of the protective enzymes of the intestinal wall and the liver."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/menopause.shtml

"Chronic constipation, and anxiety which decreases blood circulation in the intestine, can increase the liver's exposure to endotoxin. Endotoxin (like intense physical activity) causes the estrogen concentration of the blood to rise. Diets that speed intestinal peristalsis might be expected to postpone menopause. Penicillin treatment, probably by lowering endotoxin production, is known to decrease estrogen and cortisone, while increasing progesterone. The same effect can be achieved by eating raw carrots (especially with coconut oil/olive oil dressing) every day, to reduce the amount of bacterial toxins absorbed, and to help in the excretion of estrogen."

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/th ... ties.shtml

"Stress and shock tend to increase our absorption of bacterial endotoxin from the intestine, and endotoxin causes the release of serotonin from platelets in the blood."

"Antibiotics, for example, lower endotoxin formation in the intestine, protect against the induction by endotoxin of serotonin, histamine, estrogen, and cortisol."

 

[Tom]

Thanks. I have had problems with both carrot and the charcoal, maybe it´s just a temporary reaction or something, itching, uneasiness, restlessness, sleeping problems etc.