An article recently appeared in the journal Headache, under the title, “Expert Opinions: Gluten-free diet and migraine.”¹ The article presented a case report of a woman with migraines and alternating constipation and diarrhea. Testing for celiac disease was negative, and the woman was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. After reading about gluten and migraines on social media, she went on a gluten-free diet (GFD) and reported that her migraines were less frequent. The article went on to pose several questions to a panel of “experts”: Is there an association between celiac disease and migraine? Does migraine improve after going on a GFD? Does a GFD improve migraine in people who do not have celiac disease? Is there any harm to a GFD? Two of the four experts are neurologists and the directors of headache clinics. Another expert is also a neurologist specializing in headaches, and the fourth expert is a research coordinator.

These experts cited literature demonstrating that migraine is more frequent in patients with celiac disease than in controls, and that migraines usually improve in celiac patients after they go on a GFD. With regard to migraine patients who do not have celiac disease, they stated that there is little research on the subject, and that it is unclear whether a GFD is beneficial. In the “Conclusion” section of the article, they were somewhat more negative, stating that . . . “a GFD is only significantly beneficial to patients diagnosed with CD [celiac disease].” They further argued that a GFD is potentially harmful because it can lead to weight gain, which may exacerbate migraines and increase the risk of various diseases associated with obesity.