How Migraines Led Me Back: a Return to Real Food.

After years of migraines, I finally learned the problem wasn’t my body. It was my food!

Maybe you’re like me. At some point in my 20s I realized my migraines weren’t just going to disappear & neither were my kid’s ear infections.

They were happening more often. They were getting worse. And the doctor I scraped the money together for couldn’t help me find the cause. 

All she could offer were medications with an endless list of side effects. 

I knew something had to change. I couldn't keep spending days in bed under the covers, and I definitely couldn't let my children keep suffering from ear infections that kept them up all night crying in pain.

I started researching on my own. I kept a food journal. It took time, but patterns eventually emerged—and my effort paid off.

The hard part? The problem wasn’t just what we were eating. It was the food system itself.

If I wanted healing, I'd have to change not only what we ate, but how it was grown. Food can’t give your body nutrients it wasn’t given.

I'd already learned it: most grocery store food is controlled by a handful of corporations focused on profit, not nourishment.

So I started a garden, bought compost, built raised beds. We planted seeds in the ground. And honestly? That part wasn’t too hard.

With that win under my belt, I looked at producing more food—protein. I figured “How hard could it be?”

That’s exactly where I started 15 years ago. I’d grown up around chickens and figured I could teach myself the rest on YouTube.

I watched videos, took notes, and tried to decide what was essential—and what I could make do without.

Then processing day crept closer, and reality hit.

Over 30 chickens and no plucker.

If you’re new here, I don’t do small-scale. I only know much, many, and more!

While chatting at a gas station (Howland’s Express, if you’re local), I mentioned our predicament to a friend’s uncle. He offered to let us use his homemade plucker—and even stayed to help.

I’m still incredibly grateful.

Having someone there, showing us the ropes and sharing real, hands-on knowledge, made all the difference.

In the days that followed, I cooked those chickens for my family. And wow.

The flavor alone was shocking. Those homegrown birds were nothing like store-bought—hardly the same animal.

And the way we felt after eating them? Even better.

As we shifted our diet to mirror how earlier generations ate, my migraines slowly faded. My family noticed clearer minds, more energy, and even a complete disappearance of ear infections.

Those are side effects I’ll happily take.

That experience changed the way I think about food, and it’s why I’m so passionate about sharing my knowledge with others! 

Thanks for joining us on this journey. I’d love to hear from you or answer any questions you might have about how real food changes our lives. Feel free to call or text me!

Brianne

Iron Oaks Farmstead

386-209-6150

info@IronOaksFarmstead.com

P.S.  Real food changed everything for us. If you want to try it yourself but don’t want to wait on the chickens to grow, we have a few pasture-raised chickens available! 

Message me before they’re gone.