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Results of food elimination diet research
Posted 27/01/10
In the April 2008 issue of our newsletter we highlighted that The York Trials Unit at the University of York were seeking volunteers to participate in a randomised controlled trial. Thank you to all members who got in contact as a result.
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a blood test, the YorkTest ELISA (enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay) test, in identifying foods to which people with migraine are sensitive - and to find out what were the number of headache days reported over the 12 weeks of diet elimination.
The study was conducted on volunteers aged 18-65 years with a diagnosis of migraine for at least 12 months, had no evidence of any other significant co-existing illnesses and who had frequent migraine attacks in the previous four-week period.
167 people were eligible for the study and were randomly allocated to one of two groups - a 'true' group or 'sham' diet group.
Those who took part were sent a pin prick test which they returned for blood analysis. The ELISA test then aimed to identify whether and to which foods the volunteer appeared to be sensitive. Based on ELISA test results, participants were given dietary advice. They were then asked to eliminate all foods on their diet sheet for a period of 12 weeks. During the study, participants completed questionnaires at various time points and completed a daily diary. At the end of the 12 weeks all participants were asked to re-introduce the eliminated foods and carry on with them unless they had any migraine symptoms. At the end of the study all participants were told which diet group they were allocated to and those in the 'sham' group were provided with their true diet sheet.
The researchers have now analysed the returned questionnaires. They found that eliminating foods based on the test did not reduce the disability or impact of migraines on daily life or the number of migraines significantly after 12 weeks (15%) but say that it did statistically significantly reduce the number of migraines after 4 weeks (23%).
The researchers suggest that further research is now needed to look at why there was a lower benefit after 4 weeks and the reasons for any changes.
You can download more information on the study results on our website by visiting www.migraine.org.uk/research or clicking here.