Weather patterns, bad sleep, hormonal changes, stress, medications and some foods and drinks have all been blamed for triggering an attack – but coffee isn’t one of them, or at least not the first two cups, researchers reckon.
But three or more cups a day can increase the risk of a migraine attack, say researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who tracked the lifestyle and diets of 98 migraine sufferers for six weeks, and noted what they had consumed just before a migraine attack.
Even though all the usual suspects – such as alcohol, stress, menstrual cycles and poor sleep – were monitored, only coffee, and specifically three or more cups a day, seemed to be linked to an attack. Those who drank only one or two cups of coffee a day didn’t seem to suffer an attack afterwards.
Only those who weren’t used to coffee were likely to suffer an attack, even after drinking just one cup.
(Source: American Journal of Medicine, 2019; doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.02.015)
