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16 January 2009

maintain a healthy weight!

Of course there are myriad benefits to staying in good shape. Now here's a press release about the link between unhealthy weight and migraine! (And more encouragement for me to gain a bit more weight and keep exercising!)

Check out the article here.

3 comments:

Jasmine said...

What's interesting is my Migraines transformed into daily pain when I was at my healthiest.

Is it possible that now that obesity is on the rise many are simply concluding that being overweight must contribute to Migraines?

In no way am I saying don't try to get healthy if someone's overweight. I'm just afraid this might become a new reason for doctors and society to place blame on Migraineurs.

themigrainegirl said...

Jasmine, I can see where you're coming from: we migraineurs don't need people to read this press release and decide that migraineurs somehow "deserve" their headaches for being in unhealthy shape.

I guess my take on this is more broad: if you're over- or underweight, that's a sign that your body's probably not working to its fullest potential. (Yes, people with healthy weight can be unhealthy, too, of course!) Having an unhealthy weight puts more strain on your body, indicates you might not be getting as much exercise or nutritive foods as you should be, etc. It makes sense that there's a higher incidence of migraine in people whose body-mass indexes aren't optimal.

I think there's been such a greater recognition of migraine as a "real" illness lately--I'm happy about this. The more we get the word about concerning the seriousness of migraine and the impact it has on people's lives, the more attention the subject will get. The more attention Migraine disease gets, the more of an opportunity we have to dispel rumors (i.e., "fat people deserve headaches") and tell the truth.

beckiwithani said...

Thanks for the article, and thanks for stopping by my blog.

I am one of those people whose weight drops when I'm busy. And with the drop in weight always comes lots of migraines and viruses. I just seem susceptible to everything. I literally have seemed to have an exact threshold weight, and if I go below, all hell breaks loose!

The vegan(ish) diet has the potential to make me lose more weight, but I've been making sure I eat lots of healthy fats in the form of nuts, beans, etc. And I feel so much healthier when I just put good food in my body, even though I'm still naturally thin. I think the great nutrition I'm getting by eating so many whole grains, veggies, etc. is just balancing me out.

I do not think that any diet will cure my migraines - you are right in your above comment when you say that this is a neurological disease. It is highly represented in my immediate and extended family. But I do think that lifestyle can make us have more migraines than we need have ... it's more about reduction than a cure.

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