Coffee and migraine: critical dose determined
'16.09.2019'
Source: Zdravoe.com
According to The American Journal of Medicine, one or two cups of coffee a day are safe for people with migraines, but three or more can already trigger a headache attack.
The role of caffeine in the development of migraine is quite ambiguous: this substance can not only cause a headache attack, but also provide an analgesic effect. Thus, it is required to find out how much and the frequency of caffeine can cause migraines, writes Zdravoe.com.
Researchers at Harvard University were able to calculate how many cups of coffee a day can cause migraines in people prone to headaches of this type. They determined how daily caffeine intake is associated with migraine attacks and how many drinks with this substance can cause it.
To do this, the experts studied information about almost 100 adults who have previously been diagnosed with episodic migraines - attacks occurred in them at least 2 once a month, but not more than 15 once a month.
For 6 weeks, participants filled out a questionnaire twice a day, indicating the number of cups of coffee, tea, soda or energy drinks they consumed (they may also contain caffeine), and whether they had a headache on the same day or not.
On the subject: Migraine or headache? How to distinguish and how to live with it
On average, participants reported eight migraine attacks throughout the study period. All of them at least once consumed caffeinated drinks, on average about eight cups of caffeinated drinks per week. Afterwards, the researchers compared data on migraine attacks in patients on the days when they consumed caffeinated drinks with reports of headache on the days when they did not drink such drinks.
It turned out that most often migraine occurred when the participant consumed three or more cups of caffeinated drinks, as well as the next day. However, the authors of the work did not notice such an effect from one or two drunk cups of such drinks.
