Testing a Low-Glutamate Diet for Adults with Migraine
Tests whether a low-glutamate diet can ease migraine symptoms in adults with migraine.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- American University
- Where
- Washington D.C., United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Dietary Intervention for Migraine Relief
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 40 people, planned
- Started
- 2 Mar 2026
- Expected to end
- May 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Dietary training
- Record updated
- 30 October 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults aged 18-75 with migraine. It tests whether a low-glutamate diet reduces migraine days and attacks.
- Age
- 18 to 75 years
- Sex
- All sexes
- Disease stage
- Chronic or episodic migraine diagnosed for at least 6 months (ICHD-III criteria): 8 headache days per month and 4 migraine days per month. Migraine began before age 50.
- Earlier treatment
- Must be on a stable medication regimen for at least 1 month before joining, and willing to keep medications stable during the study. Must be willing to stop supplements during the study.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Current pregnancy, plans to become pregnant during the study, or current breastfeeding
- Current use of medications affecting glutamatergic or GABA neurotransmission (unless stopped under a doctor's guidance)
- Current use of quarterly injectable migraine preventive medications
- Unwilling to change diet or to stop alcohol and marijuana use during the study
- Substance use disorder in the past year, diagnosed seizure disorder, or severe asthma that needed hospitalization
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 15 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Men and women of all races and ethnicities
- Age 18-75 years
- Documented diagnosis of chronic or episodic migraine for at least 6 months, based on International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-III) criteria, defined as:; 8 headache days per month, and; 4 migraine days per month
- Migraine onset before age 50
- On a stable medication regimen for at least 1 month prior to enrollment
- Willing to maintain stable medications throughout the study
- Willing to discontinue supplements during the study period
- Women of childbearing potential must be willing to use birth control during the study timeframe
Who cannot take part
- Current use of medications affecting glutamatergic or gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) neurotransmission (unless discontinued under physician guidance)
- Current use of quarterly injectable migraine preventive medications
- Substance use disorder within the past year
- Diagnosed seizure disorder
- Current pregnancy, plans to become pregnant during the study timeframe, or current breastfeeding
- Unwillingness to modify dietary intake or to stop alcohol and marijuana use during the study
- Severe asthma requiring past hospitalization
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 75 years old?
Where in United States
- American UniversityWashington D.C., United StatesContact: Houra TaheriTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a low-glutamate diet can improve migraine symptoms in adults with migraine and to explore possible biological changes associated with dietary improvement. The study focuses on whether reducing dietary glutamate intake may influence processes involved in migraine, such as brain excitation, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
Read full original descriptionShow less
The main questions this study aims to answer are:
Does following a low-glutamate diet reduce the number of migraine days and the severity and duration of migraine attacks, and improve quality of life?
Are improvements in migraine symptoms associated with changes in blood-based biological markers related to migraine activity?
Researchers will compare participants assigned to the low-glutamate diet with participants assigned to a wait-list control group to evaluate differences in migraine outcomes and related biological measures.
Participants will:
Complete a baseline run-in period while tracking headaches using a daily migraine diary
Either follow a low-glutamate dietary intervention or continue their usual diet as part of a wait-list control
Complete standardized questionnaires related to migraine symptoms and quality of life
Provide blood samples for laboratory analyses
Undergo neuroimaging assessments (for a subset of participants)
The 2 groups in the trial
- Diet groupExisting treatment, for comparison
Treatment: Dietary training
- Control groupNo study treatment, for comparison
This group will follow their own diet without any intervention. However after this period, they will given the chance of receiving intervention as well.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Diet-Based Treatment for Migraine Relief
- Plain-language title
- Testing a Low-Glutamate Diet for Adults with MigraineGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 13 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07360405, who can take part
- Record updated
- 30 October 2026