Not our cup of joe: Study says coffee could be causing migraines

Oh dear. None of us want to hear the following life-altering news: Coffee may not the ambrosia of the gods after all… Especially for those who suffer from migraines.

Coffee makes life a little easier for those with busy schedules. Be it a steaming hot cup first thing in the morning (well, lukewarm at best) or a speedy shot as you play taxi-driver, zipping from activity to activity- coffee is not a luxury for most adults. It’s a necessity.

However, this discovery might put a spanner in the works for coffee lovers worldwide.

A study carried out by the department of epidemiology at Harvard University was published in the American Journal Of Medicine. The research showed a link between the consumption of coffee and the occurrence of migraines.

In the study, 98 adults who suffered from episodic migraines kept electronic diaries for six weeks. They recorded how many caffeinated beverages they had each day as well as the characteristics and timings of their migraines. The study concluded that there was a "statistically significant nonlinear association between the number of caffeinated beverages and the odds of migraine headache occurrence on that day”. In other words, it suggests that migraines can be triggered a high consumption of caffeinated beverages on a given day.

However, Elizabeth Mostofsky who lead the study, reassured readers of Healthline that one or two cups isn’t too bad. Mostofsky stated that she was “pleasantly surprised to see one to two servings was not associated with the odds of having a migraine headache and it was three or more servings that lead to a migraine on that day or on the following day”.

I don’t know about you, but this makes a lot of sense to me. As someone who suffers from migraines and drinks an average of three cups of coffee per day- along with a half-pot of tea- this research resonates. It’s time to rethink our coffee consumption.

One question though… how bad would it be to use wine as a replacement?