The Mindful Migraine

I’m definitely no trend-setter, and most of the time I’m not even a trend-follower.  I’ve always tended to be my own person, even if it means I’m a bit of a misfit that ends up as a societal wallflower… so be it… that’s where you meet other interesting wallflowers, hanging out on the periphery.

There are, however, two trends which keep creeping into my peripheral vision, clambering for my attention.  One is the lovely and evocative phrase “rewilding” which always brings a smile to my face, and the other is “gut flora” which feels like a marketer’s creative attempt at making tummy troubles a more attractive subject… but which is also getting a lot of scientific traction for improving your overall health.

The two terms had me wondering: if I rewild my gut flora, will I reduce my migraines?

Before I write another word, it’s important I clarify something:

Disclaimer – I’m not a medical doctor or dietitian; this post is simply an exploration of subjects that make me curious – it is NOT attempting to offer personalized medical advice.  Please be sure to speak to your healthcare team before making any changes to your current lifestyle or dietary intake.

So then, what is “rewilding”? In its original form, it is ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and reversing human impact on a particular parcel of land – put another way, it is when you heal the land.

[A while ago in Australia I read about ‘rogue’ rewilders (here) who were releasing endangered species onto their bush properties without permission… whilst their intentions were good, the results were mixed… overpopulation, starvation, inbreeding, and biosecurity risks were all cited as problems. Google “guerilla gardening” and you’ll see people throwing “seed-bombs” into vacant strips – there’s lots of beauty sprouting up, but also some disruption to local pollinator-populations.]

And what is “gut flora”? It relates to the ecosystem that is your gut microbiota, and includes large quantities and varieties of bacteria that exist in our digestion system. There’s not a lot in our stomachs (due to the acidic nature of our tummies) but there are plenty closer to our colon. The diversity and quantity of your gut flora depends on your age, where you live, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, whether you are pregnant or not, how often you use antibiotics and… your diet. (For more information, visit Wikipedia.)

When I looked up the relationship between gut health and migraines, one peer-reviewed medical paper from 2023 (here) did a research overview which implied there was a shared etiology for migraine and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and concluded: “Support for an association between the gut-brain axis and migraine continues to prevail in recent literature; however, the relationship remains complex and not well elucidated.”

A more recent paper from last yere (here) came to similar conclusion: “…a potential microbial signature … may be associated with migraine risk or chronic progression. However, the mechanistic underpinnings of these associations remain unclear. This systemic review found that probiotic and synbiotic/probiotic combination therapies may be promising interventions for migraine management, offering significant reductions in migraine frequency and painkiller use.”

OK – so let’s assume good gut health is a good thing, whether you have migraines, or not.

What, pray tell, would “rewilding your gut flora” look like? 

Well, I made up the term by combining the two phrases I’ve been hearing everywhere, but it turns out it is (kind of) a real thing… I found lots of resources on how to restore your gut flora, and one blog page at EnviroMedica which actually referred to it as rewilding: “Rewilding your gut means taking steps to restore this lost diversity by reconnecting with nature’s original sources of microbial nourishment.”

The website suggests that our modern obsession with cleanliness means we are no longer exposed to ‘natural grot’ [my phrase not theirs.] To counter this unbalance, they recommend you aim to include “soil-based probiotics, wild prebiotic foods, and environmental microbial exposure” to “cultivate a microbiome that more closely resembles the robust gut ecosystems of our ancestors—promoting long-term health, vitality, and resilience.”

That’s probably a bit further out there than I was expecting to go, and my mind was spinning out with old stories from my Mother’s Group where a mum was happy that her toddler was munching on possum poo – but – it turns out the website was not advocating you abandon hygiene and lick dirt: “Simple practices like gardening, walking barefoot on natural terrain, spending time in forests, and even owning pets can help repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria.”

They also recommend you eat organic, preferably unwashed food, look for naturally fermented vegetables in the form of kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso, and food with naturally occurring prebiotics like wild berries, fibrous root vegetables, and wild greens. And – as so many sites do these days – they also sell vitamins and supplements.

LoneStar Neurology (here) adds more foods to the list to help you improve your gut health, and specifically to help you try to reduce migraines: they add yogurt and kefir to the foods that are rich in probiotics to diversify your microbiomes, help reduce inflammation and support brain health. In terms of prebiotics, they applaud fiber-rich foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Food with Omega-3 Fatty Acids should also be sought out and includes salmon, flaxseeds, and chia seeds. And don’t forget lots of WATER – you need to stay hydrated (read more on my blog here).

They also note that you should AVOID “artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and high-sugar foods [which] disrupt microbiome health and increase inflammation.”

If all of this is sounding irrelevant to you – here’s a post by a new blogger that reveals that (for some people) small changes in your diet can have big advantages: How Fiber Helped Me Overcome Hormonal Migraines Naturally

Fascinated, I did a quick search to see if there was science to back up their fiber-filled-success, and the results are thin on the ground, but in one of the science journal papers I read (here) the answer was YES – in a study that included nearly 13,000 patients they “revealed that for every 10 g/day increase in dietary fiber intake, the prevalence of severe headache or migraine decreased by 11%.” There were some exceptions, in terms of ethnicity and if you were overweight… but… as they conclude: “Increasing the intake of fiber-rich foods might protect from severe headache or migraine.”

Sounds to me like something I need to explore further!

[Disclaimer – again – talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet to ensure there is no impact on your prescribed medications.]

Eat healthy, feel healthy – and go wild!

Take care taking care (in there), Linda x