Pathophysiology of the condition

The truth is that scientists are unclear about the precise cause of migraine headaches. However, most of them are sure that a key element is blood flow changes in the brain. The most famous theory is theory which explains these blood flow changes and also certain biochemical changes that may be involved in the headache process. According to this theory, the nervous system responds to some triggers by causing a spasm of the nerve-rich arteries at the base of the brain. The spasm constricts several arteries supplying blood to the brain, including the scalp artery and the carotid or neck arteries. As these arteries constrict, the flow of blood to the brain is reduced and at the same time, blood-clotting particles clump together. Some believe that all this is regulated by a substance called serotonin. It is logical to assume that reduced blood flow decreases the brain's supply of oxygen which is causing several neurological symptoms such as a headache, distorted vision or speech impairment similar to symptoms of a stroke.
The next part is well studied. When the oxygen supply is reduced, arteries in the brain open wider to meet the brain's energy needs. That’s the key point because the dilation of these arteries triggers the release of pain-producing substances called prostaglandins from various tissues and blood cells.

The most common migraine triggers

What exactly is a migraine trigger? A migraine trigger is any factor that leads to the development of an acute migraine headache.

Triggers may be categorized as:

• behavioral
• environmental
• infectious
• dietary
• chemical
• hormonal

The  triggers that are the most commonly reported include stress, over-illumination or glare, alcohol, foods, too much or too little sleep, and weather.
The good thing is that migraine patients can identify personal headache triggers and then try to avoid headache by avoiding factors they identify as triggers.

Food

Many studies have discovered that alcohol, caffeine withdrawal, and missing meals are the most important dietary migraine precipitants. Most of the people are not aware that the experts found little or no evidence that notorious suspected triggers such as chocolate and cheese, or specific substances such as nitrites which are normally present in foods as well as histamine or tyramine trigger headaches.

On the other hand, most of the experts recommend eliminating the following common headache triggers from the diet:

• Aged Cheese,
• Monosodium Glutamate,
• Processed fish and
• Meats containing nitrates,
• Dark chocolate,
• Aspartame,
• Certain alcoholic beverages (red wine),
• Citrus fruits
• Caffeine

Weather

Several studies have found that migraines can be triggered by the changes in weather.  Most likely to trigger a migraine were, in the following order:

• Temperature mixed with humidity. High humidity plus high or low temperature was the biggest cause.
• Significant changes in weather
• Changes in barometric pressure

Winds were also a topic of interest for many studies. The number of people reporting migraine episodes during the winds was much higher then in winds-free days.