A billion people in the world suffer from migraine headaches. New hints are emerging that can help remedy that.
Migraines can be triggered by a number of factors. Many of them, it turns out, are associated with mitochondrial function. And several nutrients that have been suggested to protect against migraine are involved in mitochondrial function.
This well-designed study set out to see if getting enough of those nutrients could play a role in the prevention of migraines.
The study followed 202,656 people who did not suffer from migraines for an average of 13.25 years. Over that time, 0.9% of them were now diagnosed with migraine.
The study measured dietary intake of 7 nutrients associated with mitochondrial function: magnesium, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and folate.
The people who developed migraine had lower dietary levels of all 7 nutrients and, especially, of niacin and B12.
This study suggests that getting more of these nutrients, perhaps especially magnesium and, most importantly, B3 and B12, may help prevent migraine headaches.
J Headache Pain. 2025 Nov 11;26(1):250.