Should You Be Drinking Salt Water for Migraine?

Salt, whether at high or low levels, could be connected to migraine. Read on to find out more, including all the details on this trending social media tip.

The internet is full of so-called miracle migraine cures and hacks, and it can be tempting to try them all when you’re facing another attack.

You may have recently seen advice to drink salt water for migraine prevention or to stop an attack in its tracks. But is this a helpful hack or a questionable cure?

In reality the relationship between salt (sodium) and migraine isn’t straightforward. Researchers and doctors are still working to understand how salt intake may influence migraine.

Here’s what we know about whether drinking salt water can help migraine, whether too much or too little salt can trigger migraine, plus some tips for adapting your diet to your needs.

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Can drinking salt water help migraine?

What is with this salty social media migraine tip? Some suggest drinking salt water daily for migraine prevention. Others say to take the concoction for acute relief at the first signs of a migraine attack.

Among the suggestions are varying salt quantities (sometimes a pinch, sometimes a teaspoon) and salt types (sometimes table salt, sometimes pink Himalayan salt or Celtic Sea salt).

But does downing a salty beverage really help migraine? In this case, the science doesn’t support the hype. That means that chugging a glass of salt water, whether for migraine prevention or symptom relief, appears unlikely to be effective.

Eating salty food during an attack may sometimes help ease symptoms for some, and hydration is an important part of migraine prevention, in part because it helps regulate sodium levels (more on both of these later).

But researchers caution against using salt, whether in food or drinks, to treat migraine.

Treating migraine with additional salt may not be safe, particularly in the long term. Too much salt can lead to additional health concerns. High sodium intake — that is, ingesting a lot of salty food or drinks — increases the risk of conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage.

For migraine prevention and symptom relief during attacks, following your doctor-prescribed treatment plan is likely more effective and safer than salt water.

Can salt trigger migraine?

How exactly do salt and migraine interact with one another? The short answer is that we’re not sure yet.

There may be a relationship between the two, but the medical community is still working to understand it. Studies have produced varying findings about the impacts of high versus low salt intake on migraine.

Here’s what the research shows.

Too much salt

Some research suggests that too much salt could play a role in headaches and migraine.

A 2021 study explored sodium and migraine and excluded people with high blood pressure. It found that higher sodium levels in urine were associated with longer and more severe migraine attacks — meaning eating more salt may worsen attacks.

That study doesn’t, however, prove a link between a high sodium diet and migraine.

In a 2016 analysis of a study on people with high blood pressure, for example, those with low salt intake had fewer headaches. Since the study only examined headache, though, the data doesn’t show whether this association also applies to salt and migraine.

Plus, eating less salt lowers blood pressure. This could have contributed to the lower headache rate among the low sodium participants, since high blood pressure may be related to headaches and to migraine attacks.

While more research is needed to understand the impact of sodium as compared to other minerals and chemicals (like histamine and tyramine), migraine sensitivity to salty foods may not be out of the question.

Too little salt

On the flip side, other research suggests that too little salt may have something to do with headaches and migraine.

A 2016 study of over 8,800 adults found that people who ate less salt had higher rates of migraine than those who ate more salt. But the correlation could be straightforward: as a preventive measure, people with migraine may limit how much salty food they eat.

Many people with migraine have food triggers, and some of those triggers (like cheese, processed meats, and fermented foods) also have high sodium levels.

A 2021 study suggests that migraine could be a symptom of salt withdrawal. If your diet is high in sodium (like the average American diet) and you suddenly eat less salt, the abrupt change could trigger migraine.

This could also partly explain why some people crave salt right before or during a migraine attack. Your body could be telling you that you need more salt. In turn, as the study reports, eating salty foods may sometimes help relieve migraine symptoms.

More research into a potential low sodium, high migraine relationship is needed.

Sodium, dehydration, and migraine

Dehydration could also play a role in the relationship between salt and migraine — related to both too little and too much salt.

Sodium is an electrolyte that helps regulate the amount of water in your body. You may become dehydrated when sodium levels are too high (hypernatremia) and when sodium levels are too low (hyponatremia).

Whether low or high sodium is the culprit, dehydration can trigger migraine.

Drinking water or sports drinks can help replenish sodium and other electrolytes, hydrate your body, and prevent migraine.

How to adapt your diet to your needs

Since the relationship between salt and migraine isn’t straightforward, it’s unclear whether eating less salt is an effective measure for migraine prevention.

Some research holds that low sodium diets may help reduce migraine frequency and severity. Other research reports that eating less salt may not have any impact on headaches.

Again, more studies are needed to better understand the relationship between how much salt you eat and migraine.

In the meantime, how do you know how much salt is right for your needs?

You can try slowly changing your diet. Keeping track of how these changes impact migraine frequency, severity, and symptoms will help you understand your migraine triggers and adapt your sodium intake.

It’s important to consult with your doctor, migraine specialist, or nutrition expert as you build your unique migraine-supportive diet. That way, you can be sure that your diet is safe for your body and lifestyle.

Takeaway

Drinking salt water to prevent or relieve migraine appears to be neither an effective nor safe strategy.

But the relationship between salt and migraine isn’t that clear-cut. Some research links high sodium to migraine, while other findings suggest low sodium may be related.

More research is needed to understand how salt influences migraine — and the implications for how much salt you should eat.

If you’re interested in cutting back on sodium or building your migraine-supportive diet, consider talking with your doctor for help.