Hey Migraine Mentees 👋 

Today’s newsletter takes another 5 minutes to read—so if you’ve only got 60 seconds, here’s what you need to know:

• Estrogen levels drop right before most women experience their period, which often triggers a neurological and hormonal cascade, priming the brain for a migraine attack…

• Hormones influence each other, which is why there’s never a “one-size-fits-all” approach that works for everyone…

• Dietary and lifestyle habits can facilitate proper hormone levels…

• Your hormones are not your destiny, but they are a pivotal part of how your brain and body function…

❄️ It’s snowed 5 inches in the last 6 hours here in Minnesota, so we hope it’s warmer wherever you are…

🧠 The Migraine Mentors

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👉️ In This Week’s Edition…

• 📰 Nerdy Migraine News & Research

  • The Latest Updates in the Migraine/Health & Wellness Community…

• 🥡 Weekly “Take-Meme-Out”

  • The Ultimate Creep…

• 🎧️ The Migraine Mentors Minicast - Podcast Series

  • The Connection Between Migraine and Hormones

• 🗒️ Read This Now!

  • Managing Migraine by Balancing Hormones

• 🍴 Migraine-Friendly Recipe of the Week

  • Fresh Steel-Cut Oats with Blueberries, Pear & Maple Syrup

📰 NEWS AND RESEARCH

Hot Off The Press…

• 🌊 The brain’s sewage system (known as the glymphatic system) plays a vital role in migraine attacks. Recent studies have shown that this system could both contribute to migraine symptoms and be altered because of them…

• 💊 Can medication side effects outweigh their benefits? Topiramate, one of the most widely used migraine medications, may be beneficial for preventing migraines, but in 3% of users (possibly more), it can cause severe ocular and visual-threatening problems.

• 🌪️ Not all migraines are created equally, especially for those who struggle with vestibular migraines. Vestibular migraine symptoms are far more than just dizziness and vertigo, which is why it’s so important to know the differences.

• 🥗 Food choices matter far more than we’ve been led to believe! It’s well-known that foods can trigger migraine symptoms, but new evidence is finding that gut microbiome and specific diets can improve the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraine attacks in adults. ​

🥡 WEEKLY TAKE-OUT

Meme of The Week…

🎧 MIGRAINE MENTORS MINICAST

The Connection Between Migraine and Hormones

⚡️ If your migraine attacks ramp up around your period, this one’s for you!

Estrogen swings can prime the brain for migraines, so when those levels fluctuate before, during, and after a period, the brain becomes primed for an attack.

🧠 In this week’s Migraine Mentors Minicast, we cover:

• The late-luteal estrogen “withdrawal” window…

• How progesterone balances the system…

• Simple nutrition levers (cruciferous veggies, fiber, hydration)…

• Omega-3s > omega-6s for calmer brains…

• Daily magnesium to steady the nerves…

• When to try perimenstrual mini-prophylaxis with your clinician…

🎧 Wherever you are in your migraine journey, you’ll leave with clear, doable next steps.

👇 Tap below to listen now! 👇

🗒️ READ THIS NOW!

Managing Migraine by Balancing Hormones

Hormonal health plays a crucial role in overall well-being, especially for women navigating migraine symptoms tied to their menstrual cycle. If migraines flare up around your period, this one’s for you!

The rapid drop in estrogen during your period can trigger attacks in many people, but estrogen levels have other impacts on the brain and body that warrant a discussion…

And understanding the impacts of hormones will give you levers to pull, not a jail sentence.

🧬 Why Hormones Matter

Both estrogen and progesterone influence pain signaling, serotonin, and the trigeminovascular system. The well-described “estrogen-withdrawal” window (the late luteal phase) raises attack risks, and early studies suggested that stabilizing that swing can help.

With that said, small trials of peri-menstrual estradiol (estrogen) have shown mixed results, underscoring that responses are individual.

So what can you do to manage estrogen levels…?

🪜 3 Key Steps For Optimizing Estrogen Levels

1. Nourish the liver’s estrogen clearance mechanisms 🥦 

• Consume healthy amounts of cruciferous veggies (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.), fiber, and plenty of water, making sure to avoid alcohol and ultra-processed foods. These habits support healthy estrogen metabolism and overall inflammatory tone, which are key for hormonally sensitive brains.

• Consider discussing DIM or other targeted nutritional supports with your clinician if labs suggest estrogen dominance. DUTCH testing is often the best way to assess hormones over a long period of time…

2. Healthy Fats (Omega-3) > Bad Fats (Omega-6) 💧 

• Dietary clinical trials show that increasing healthy fats like EPA/DHA (and often reducing unhealthy omega-6 fats like canola, sunflower, and corn oils) reduces headache days and pain intensity in migraine.

  • If eating more fish and eggs isn’t your thing, ask your provider about a quality fish-oil supplement…

3. Take Magnesium on A Daily Basis 💊 

• Magnesium supports neuronal stability and can lower attack frequency and intensity when used on a daily basis. With the supervision of your provider, we suggest taking magnesium citrate, glycinate, and threonate in combination to get the gut and brain benefits together.

🩺 When to Involve a Clinician

If attacks cluster around menses despite these dietary and lifestyle changes, it’s always best to ask about peri-menstrual strategies (e.g., short “mini-prophylaxis” with NSAIDs or triptans, or potential hormonal approaches to smooth estrogen swings).

Tracking your cycles and symptoms for 2–3 months makes these visits far more productive and can also provide pivotal data for your providers to help you make better decisions together.

💪 Your Hormones Are NOT Your Destiny…

Based on our collective 15+ years of clinical experience, we can confidently tell you that your hormones aren’t your destiny.

Could hormone therapy be a potential solution at some point? Possibly!

But that will never be a long-term solution if you’re consistently putting your hormones out of balance via poor dietary and lifestyle choices….

By supporting proper estrogen metabolism, rebalancing dietary fats, using magnesium wisely, and tracking your menstrual cycle, many of our patients (and readers) see fewer and gentler attacks, even before adding prescription medications…

It’s always best to start small, track what changes, and bring your notes to your next visit so your care team can help you tailor the rest.

🧠 The Migraine Mentors

🍴MIGRAINE-FRIENDLY RECIPE

✨ Fresh Steel-Cut Oats with Blueberries, Pear & Maple Syrup

✅ Ingredients (1–2 servings)

• ½ cup steel-cut oats

• 1½ cups water (or tolerated milk alternative)

• ½ cup fresh blueberries

• ½ ripe pear, diced

• 1–2 tsp pure maple syrup

• Pinch of cinnamon (optional, if tolerated)

📖 Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot.

2. Add steel-cut oats, reduce heat, and simmer 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally until creamy.

3. Spoon into a bowl.

4. Top with fresh blueberries, diced pear, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

5. Serve immediately (avoid storing for long periods if you are histamine-sensitive).