Why do some dietary migraine patients claim they get headaches from placebos?
GROUND: In six double-blind studies involving 182 tests of dietary migraine patients sensitive to tyramine and beta-phenylethylamine, 18% reported headaches from placebos which were all concealed in gelatin capsules. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to test a hypothesis: gelatin is partially hydrolysed animal protein; (partially) hydrolysed vegetable protein (PHVP) is known to cause migraine; perhaps the gelatin caused some of the headaches. METHOD: The author tested this hypothesis on himself because he suffers from dietary migraine. He proved this in a double-blind test with tyramine hydrochloride (TYH). The amount required for the test was so small (1 mg) that it was tasteless and capsules were unnecessary. The author then undertook tests with a capsule, PHVP, monosodium glutamate (MSG) aspartame (a dipeptide) and TYH, adjusting quantities to give a moderate headache. Samples were mixed with foods to simulate normal eating: the capsule with potato chips, aspartame with or
