A lesser known migraine trigger
The idea that oranges are considered a possible migraine trigger has surprised many of us, since orange juice is often considered beneficial in our diet.
Not if you are sensitive to citrus. The citrus food group, which includes fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit, is a known allergen. Also, a lot of commercial orange juice is squeezed with the peel, which subsequently bruises it and releases synephrine, a vasoconstrictor.
There have been links between migraines and synephrine, as well as related vasoconstrictors, so it makes sense that this could be a trigger. Many patients found that fresh-squeezed, homemade orange juice did not cause any problems.
A 2004 study found that: “In migraineurs, plasma levels of octopamine and synephrine were higher compared to controls, although in migraine with aura, the difference was not significant.”(1)
Synephrine is a stimulant that raises blood pressure, which can also cause migraines. The theory is that migraine sufferers with a citrus allergy can get relief with a low dose of daily blood pressure medication.
Citrus fruits also cause magnesium deficiency in some patients, and magnesium deficiency has been linked to migraine without aura. In a study where thirty migraineurs were treated with magnesium versus ten treated with placebo, the number of patients experiencing relief was so high that the chance of the test results matching was less than 1 in 1000. (2) The Magnesium was administered as a magnesium citrate supplement, 600 mg per day, orally. Patients were evaluated by computed tomography before and after the three-month treatment period.
Citrus fruits also contain histamine, another suspect in food allergies. A study from Texas Tech in El Paso TX found a correlation between high histamine levels and migraine attacks in susceptible people. Antihistamines seem like a logical choice for treatment! (3)
An unhappy relationship between hypoglycemia and migraine can be intensified by drinking orange juice, lemonade, or other citrus juice in an attempt to raise blood sugar; orange juice can actually increase migraine pain, and blood sugar is blamed instead. This justifies the importance of keeping a food diary and testing for food allergies.(4)
One woman recounted how she had taken migraine medication every day for years, washing it down with an 8-ounce glass of orange juice each morning. Finally, when her children were diagnosed, it became clear that by giving them juice every day, she had simply been stimulating the migraine cycle. By the way, orange-flavored drinks like Tang and Sunny D also contain migraine triggers similar to natural fruits, so if citrus is a problem for you, avoid those too!
Eliminating citrus is much simpler than many other migraine trigger foods, and it’s relatively easy to live without it. For people who suffered from severe migraines due to food intolerance, living without orange juice, lemonade and key lime pie was a minor exclusion from their diet.
Sources:
(1) pubmed15159465.do, Cure Hunter, 05/25/2004
(2) Magnesium Research 2008 Jun;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, Oct 1990.
(4) Leira R, RodrÃguez R, Journal of Neurology 1996 May;24(129):534-8
Grace Alexander Research