Summary:
Migraine is a common neurological disorder that can cause significant pain and often occurs alongside gastrointestinal problems, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances. Food sensitivity is also commonly reported as a migraine trigger, while inflammation is thought to contribute to migraine development. Food-specific IgG antibodies have been proposed as a possible marker of immune responses to foods, although their role in migraine remains uncertain. This sham-controlled randomized trial investigated whether eliminating foods associated with positive food-specific IgG antibodies could improve migraine and related symptoms. The study included 98 adults with migraine who had at least one positive food-specific IgG result. Participants were randomly assigned to either exclude their IgG-positive foods or follow a sham diet that excluded IgG-negative foods for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, the IgG-based elimination group showed greater improvements in migraine symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms and sleep quality compared with the sham-diet group. They also had lower levels of food-specific IgG antibodies, inflammatory markers and CGRP which is a molecule involved in migraine pathways. The difference in migraine days between the groups was reduced, suggesting that changes in inflammation may have contributed to the observed effects. Overall, this study found that an elimination diet based on food-specific IgG results was associated with improvements in migraine and some related symptoms, alongside changes in inflammatory and migraine-related biomarkers. Further research is needed to determine whether IgG testing can reliably be used to guide dietary treatment for migraine.
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Abstract:
Background: Food-specific IgG antibodies have been proposed to be biomarkers to identify food that triggers an inflammation response. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a food-specific IgG-based elimination diet by assessing the changes in the symptoms of migraine and its comorbidities, inflammatory cytokines, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters, and their correlation. Methods: This was a sham-controlled randomized trial. A total of 98 patients with migraine who had at least one positive food-specific IgG antibody were randomly assigned to either the true diet group (IgG-positive foods were excluded, n = 52) or the sham diet group (alternative IgG-negative foods were excluded, n = 46). At baseline and at the end of 12 weeks, seven questionnaires were administered regarding the symptoms of migraine, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality. Fourteen food-specific IgG antibodies, such as IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, 5-HT, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), in serum were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: At the end of 12 weeks, the true diet group had a larger reduction in questionnaires of migraine (except for MSQ), gastrointestinal symptoms, and poor sleeping, as well as food-specific positive IgG, IL-6, TNF-α, and CGRP in the serum. The difference in the change of “days with migraine in past 4 weeks” between the sham and true diet groups was significantly attenuated after adjusting for IL-6 and TNF-α. Conclusion: An IgG-positive food elimination diet improved migraine and its comorbidities and reduced IL-6, TNF-α, and CGRP, which might be associated with the alleviated systemic chronic inflammation and downregulation of the sensitivity of trigeminal nerve endings.
Article Publication Date: 15/12/2025
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1720389
