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How is polenta carb-free?

Heather, I would consider talking to a nutritionist. Both low carb and vegan diets are difficult to balance; I couldn't imagine having to combine them!

Good luck!

I don't think I would consider a drastic switch in an already limited diet until speaking with a professional. It sounds preachy, I know, but such a change may have unintended consequences. I'm with lillies: talk to a nutritionist and your doctor before making changes.

Perhaps your dr meant cutting out simple carbs (ie, processed foods). This would mean cutting back on things like pasta but wouldn't mean that you'd have to give up veggies, fruits, or legumes. Can you ask for clarification?

I don't think you'll find any vegan recipes that are also carbohydrate free, for all plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, etc.) contain carbohydrates.

I second the above posts; I'd speak to a doctor and go through a round of blood tests to ensure you don't have a mineral or vitamin deficiency. Low hemoglobin, for instance, can cause migraines.

Getting insufficient carbohydrates can be very bad for you, so definitely talk to a registered dietician (not a nutritionist, anyone can call themselves that, an RD must have honest to goodness credentials). Your school might have one on staff that you could talk to. Your doc would be another good person to bring this up with.

Heather, do you mean carb free or gluten free? Other than that, I echo the above posters about talking to a doctor, an RD, and perhaps an expert on Eastern medicine if the migraines won't stop (acupuncture can work wonders for migraines in many cases).

First things first: low carb is NOT "carb free." All vegetables are a source of carbs, and hey guess what? Most non-starchy vegetables are both low carb and good for you.

And yeah, polenta is a carb bomb - not low carb at all :)

I am a low carb success story - I gave up ALL refined foods as well as most grains in 2003 and have gone from WEEKLY migraines (since age 7!) to maybe one a year. However, I had to go from vegetarian to omnivore to do this.

Sometimes, your body has to come first, even before your beliefs. This was a tough realization for me, but one that was worth it in the end.

What I eat: most veggies, eggs, fish, meat, chicken, nuts, berries, and cheese. What I don't eat: most grains, wheat, soy, sugar, starchy veggies, and fruits other than berries. As you can see, it would be impossible to do this vegan.

The reason this works for migraine prevention is that unstable blood sugar is a trigger for some migraineurs. Eating low on the carb chain keeps blood sugar more stable. If your migraines are caused by something else, I can't say whether or not this will work for you, but for me, it's been a dream.

Good luck to you!

I eat reduced carb for type 1 diabetes, and I'm vegan. I think a ketogenic vegan diet would be hard to do without eating too much soy.

If you're just looking for level blood sugar and not really a ketogenic diet, then I think that's very doable. Lots of non-starchy vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds, and some low-gi fruits and whole grains. Look up a glycemic index and try to stick to the foods that are low on it, try to get a nice mix of protein and fat at every meal, and be sure not to skip meals.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

http://www.atkins.com/Science/ScienceArticlesLibrary/ArticleDetail355/The-%E2%80%9CEco-Atkins%E2%80%9D-Diet.aspx

I saw this a few weeks ago maybe it can help! Good Luck!

I'm not sure how cutting all carbs would reduce migraines. I know for some people with insulin issues, going low carb can be helpful, but even the lowest carb diets (i.e. Atkins which forces your body into processing energy in an entirely different way) contain some carbs.

Maybe just try cutting down on sugar until you can get to the doctor. That's a lot easier, and much more compatible with a vegan diet. Maybe it'll make you feel better, maybe it won't. But going vegan and low carb without nutritional supervision is going to be tough, as a lot of vegan protein sources like beans are combinations of protein and carbs. I think it'd be putting you at risk of malnutrition (and over-dependence on one or two foods) to make such a drastic change. If your doctor thinks it may be a problem, you can revisit it then.

I have to agree with the posters who've said there's really no way to eat no carbohydrates (and, like fat, I believe carbs are something that we do need to eat if not necessarily in the quantities that we do), although it's possible to eat low-carb and to switch to carb-foods with a low glycemic index. Definitely talk to a doctor before you make any drastic dietary changes.

I have heard that cutting intake of *refined sugar* can help with migraines, but that's not the same as cutting carbohydrates altogether.

When I went gluten free to treat serious intestinal problems, my migraines and headaches went away. I have virtually no problems with migraines, just an occassional sinus cold headache. Wheat products seemed to be the major triggers for my headaches.

Hey everyone, this was my question. I flubbed in saying "carb free"; I should have said low carb. Thank you for the responses! All of these comments have really helped.

My doctor didn't specify whether she meant simple carbs or not. I'll ask! I've tried low carb options for the past few days and it seems to be working. Even so, I'm definitely going to go to a dietitian this week. Veganism is manageable on its own, but making it low carb is a whole new ballgame.

I'm hoping that this works!

Each person may have different foods that set off migraines. For my grandmother, that was chocolate, red wine, raspberries, citrus, soy, aged cheeses, onions, garlic, cured meats with nitrates, ripe bananas, (just to name a few). This is a typical list of foods to avoid if you suffer from migraines. For a while her doctor also put her on a no wheat diet thinking she was allergic, but that did not help them.

I personally have had severe migraines when I let myself become dehydrated.

spaghetti squash! it isn't carb-free, but it is low carb, and delicious at that!

Hi Heather - I also had migraines really badly in college (like Class 4 drugs bad) and out of desperation went gluten free, dairy free, and reduced lycopene for over 6 months. My migraines went away instantly! After a while, I slowly reintroduced those foods over a period of another six months to see if they would trigger again. They did, but much less often. I suffer from migraines only occasionally now, but try not to eat too much of those food groups if I can help it.

I can't imagine going low-carb on top of veganism can be good for you in the long-run, but I definitely think you should start by cutting out gluten first. If that works, then you can stick to that easy! Things like brown rice and quinoa worked fine for me. I also enjoyed Ezekiel bread because the sprouted grains didn't bother me.

Good luck!

Much of what I would've said has already been covered. But for me, finding some nice, healthy, fatty proteins is important to feeling full, especially if you're veg/vegan and going low-carb. That and finding really flavorful sauces! Think Tahini sauce, walnut sauce (Georgian cuisine has a wonderful one), mole sauces made with veg stock, avocado dressing for green salads and veggie salads, Asian pesto (cilantro, peanuts or pistachios, ginger, garlic, lime juice, chiles, sesame and olive oil), and other herb pestos made without cheese (sage/parsley/walnut; parsley/arugula/pinenut/lemon).

Also, keep in mind that when going low-carb (at least for diabetes), while low-glycemic foods are advised, they won't be helpful unless you count overall grams of carbs. For example, my mom (pre-diabetic) can blow all of her carbs for one day on a bowl of healthy Irish oats with fruit if that's she wants and she keeps her other meals without carbs and stays within her overall advised grams of carbs per day.

Good luck!

I'm vegan and suffered from migraines for years, so I understand how frustrated and challenged you feel. I hope you're already keeping a food diary since you suspect that the migraines are diet-related (if not, it's a good idea to), so I'm curious as to what happened in July. If your diet did not substantially change, did your environment? When I went from omnivore to vegan and substantially changed my diet, I consumed soy every day and experienced migraine-like pain, nausea, dizziness, and pressure, which was later diagnosed as an allergy to soy caused by sudden overexposure. My doctor had no idea what was going on and prescribed everything from a CT scan to physical therapy. I kept a food diary and eventually, by going on an elimination diet, figured out that soy was my trigger, and haven't had any trouble since.

I guess my point is that unless your doctor has some specific training in nutrition and understands the benefits and basics of a vegan diet - and most do not - don't be so quick to jump on the low-carbohydrate thing. Like others have said, consider the quality of carbohydrates and their sources, i.e. eliminate refined sugars and processed foods (MSG is a huge migraine trigger and is often produced by fermented soy products without being labeled as such), and consume plenty of fresh vegetables and legumes, some fruits and whole grains, while keeping soy products and meat substitutes to a bare minimum. If you're already doing this, then perhaps explore other possibilities - the sudden onset of such frequent migraines is pretty troubling and may not be diet-related at all.

Good luck, and definitely go see an RD who is supportive of and knowledgeable about a vegan diet.

Hey there, I've got migraines. My doctor taught me that simple carbs make your blood sugar crash more and that is a migraine trigger. You might need a higher protein diet.

Also, something else I learned; eating a bowl of cereal before bed, even with soy milk, is a migraine trigger. Too many carbs that just sit around my body for hours, not enough protein. I'd wake up with a migraine and not know why. Trial and error (and my doc) taught me this.

Good luck, I know how much suffering the migraines cause, hope you can figure out the triggers and stay vegan!

I have migraines, and I went off wheat and gluten. The next couple of days I had the worst migraines I've ever had, basically a terrible terrible hangover, apparently a sign that what I was doing was good... I'm not carb free, but gluten free, and with limited lactose intake (though I eat other dairy). Lots less migraines, now only when I have my periods, and even then less...

In my experience you don't need to cut it off totally (like for example coeliacs do), but limit intake.

good luck!

Talk to a nutritionist but ... I do not think this is possible. Your body can only make use of three energy sources, carbohydrates, fat and protein. As a vegan your only protein and fat sources are plant based, such as legumes, nuts and grains. Legumes, nuts and grains all have carbohydrates. Fruits are mostly carbohydrates. I'm not sure what you would eat. Lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers are not enough to sustain health.

My sister has gone to a raw vegan diet (80% raw) and has found that this has helped her control a variety of health issues (gastric, skin, and mental) but this is also another drastic diet change. Your physician should refer you to a nutritionist in order to responsibly track your diet and its affect on your health.

You're ridiculous. Give it up. Meat and carbs are heaven. Don't miss out on some of the best things in life.

It varies from person to person, I went low carb and got WORSE headaches from it, in the end I decided that while it was great to live off medication I could no longer do this. I'm now taking medication for my headaches and enjoying being migraine free.

Before you start messing around with your diet - especially if you're already limiting the foods you eat - go to a doctor who specializes in migraines. GPs are so often just guessing when they try to treat migraines because they're really so tricky. My ten years of migraines virtually disappeared after getting help from a specialist.

i'm not entirely sure why everyone seems so gung ho about not changing her diet. Diet can be a major contributor to migraines. i've had severe chronic migraines all my life and one of the first things my neurologist told me to do was start journaling all of the things i ate on the days that i would get migraines, whether i was stressed or running on too little sleep, etc. it made a huge difference. That being said, going carb-free (especially when you're a vegan) leaves you with little options and would probably result in more headaches from too few calories.

You can't seriously mean NO carbs. You must mean refined carbs. NO carbs would mean no quick fuel for your body, and that's just silly and quite bad for you health, IF you were able to stick to such a regimen. I agree with all who said see a nutritionist. And as for the migraine's, I always thought they were related to constricted blood vessels that fail to unconstrict. I really don't think diet alone causes migraines.

Hi Heather, sounds like you already suspect your migraines are diet related, but have you looked into any other remedies? I had horrible migraines throughout college as well and tried a lot of solutions. last year I started seeing a chiropractor and its helped soooo much! I know chiropracty can be controversial but if diet is something difficult for you to control this might be an option worth exploring. Good luck, migraines suck.

That sounds like a very boring diet.

heather, did you have migraines before you became a vegan? sometimes headaches can be triggered by iron deficiency..it might be worth asking your doctor to run bloodtests and trying an iron supplement (there are vegan options out there) before making any drastic diet changes....just a thought. good luck!

a little late to the game here, but i doubt it's the carbs... i had migraines nearly weekly and about 3 months ago started taking a b12 supplement because my mom gave me a bottle. havent had a migraine since. and since youre vegan, i'd look into it.