Migraines and the vegan diet...update

If you have glanced at my profile, you might have noticed that one of the main driving reasons to our family joining the vegan world was to try and alleviate my husbands relentless migraines. In the past we had tried multiple remedies, ranging from conventional medications (totally ineffective) to chiropractic care (a wonderful addition to our lives and one we still regularly use but not a remedy for the migraines), natural supplements (ineffective), taking Juice Plus+ (whole food supplement - in short, fruits and veggies in a capsule --- effective in reducing them and greatly improving overall health but not effective in eliminating the migraines)...nothing worked totally and completely. Over the years, we have been able to pinpoint his main triggers - dehydration, consumption of foods containing nitrates/nitrites (a preservative found in preparred meats such as bacon, smoked sausage, lunch meat etc), lack of sleep, overexertion (during workouts mainly), and stress. For the most part, we were able to stay on top of these triggers but the migraines continued. Sooo - we converted to a mainly vegan diet. As we continued eating vegan, the migraines faded almost completely. Most times my husband would eat meat (as a treat), a migraine would emmerge. Time progressed and the pattern continued - when he would enjoy a meal containing meat while at work or at someone else's house, he would get a migraine. Every once in a while, a migraine would be caused by one of his other triggers unavoidably (lack of sleep or high stress). The connection has been amazing. My husband agreed to try the "vegan thing" for a week - we are now on month 6! He is vitually migraine-free and we are loving the vegan lifestyle. I am learning more and more how to make things that our family loves and we are all enjoying good health. Though diet can be a challenging area to change, it is integral in every health condition! Every health challenge will be affected positively by the way one eats - it may not cure the problem but it will improve it to some extent. More on this in a later post! AND for those who don't believe a change in diet is possible, my husband is living proof that even meat-eaters can learn to love this way of eating. He comes from a family of meat-lovers and he has always loved meat too. He now eats meat as a treat a couple times a month but loves eating vegan the rest of the time...I never thought I would say that! For now, suffice it to say, our diet transformation has been more than worth it!