The idea that oranges are considered a possible trigger for a migraine surprised many of us, because orange juice is usually considered beneficial in our diet.
Not if you are sensitive to citrus. The citrus group of foods, including fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit, is a known allergen. In addition, a lot of commercial orange juice is squeezed with the peel, causing it to hurt and release synephrine, a vasoconstrictor.
There were connections between migraine headaches and synephrine, as well as concomitant vasoconstrictors, so it makes sense that this could be a trigger. Many patients found that freshly squeezed orange juice, made at home, did not cause them any problems.
A study in 2004 showed that: “In patients with migraine, plasma octopamine and synephrine levels were higher compared with controls, although the difference was insignificant with migraines with aura” (1)
Synephrine is a stimulant that increases blood pressure, which can also cause migraines. The theory is that migraine sufferers, cirrhosis can get relief from a low dose of daily blood pressure treatment.
Citrus fruits also cause magnesium deficiency in some patients, and magnesium deficiency is associated with migraine without aura. In a study in which thirty patients with migraine were treated with magnesium against ten patients receiving placebo, the number of patients experiencing relief was so high that the probability of coincidence of test results was less than the probability of 1 in 1000. (2) was administered as an additive magnesium citrate, 600 mg per day, orally. Patients were evaluated by computed tomography before and after a three-month treatment period.
Citrus fruits also contain histamine, another suspect in food allergies. A Texas Tech study in El Paso TX revealed a correlation between high histamine levels and migraines in susceptible individuals. Antihistamines seem like a logical choice for treatment! (3)
The distressing relationship between hypoglycemia and migraine can be enhanced by drinking orange juice, lemonade or other citrus juice in an attempt to raise blood sugar levels — orange juice can actually increase the pain of migraine, and the blood sugar level decreases instead. This justifies the importance of keeping a food diary and testing food allergies. (4)
One woman talked about how she took migraine drugs every day for many years, and wash her every day with a glass of 8-ounce orange juice. Finally, when her sons were diagnosed, it became obvious that, by giving them juice every day, she simply stimulated the migraine cycle. By the way, orange flavored drinks, such as Tang and Sunny D, also contain substances that cause migraines, similar to natural fruits, so if citrus problems for you, avoid them!
Citrus eradication is much easier than many other trigger migraines, and it is relatively easy to live without them. For people suffering from severe migraine, food intolerance, living without orange juice, lemonade and key lime pie were a minor exception to their diet.
Sources:
(1) pubmed15159465.do, Cure Hunter, 05/25/2004
(2) Magnesium Investigation, June 2008, 21 (2): 101-8. PMID: 18705538, by Koseoglu E, Talaslioglu A, Gonul AS, Kula M. Erciyes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Kayseri, Turkey
(3) Mansfield LE, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 86 (4 Pt 2): 673-6, 1990 Oct.
(4) Leira R., Rodriguez R., Revista de Neurology 1996 May, 24 (129): 534-8
Grace Alexander Study
