Avoiding Certain Foods to Avoid Headaches

Most of us know what it’s like to suffer occasional headaches.  Some of us even know what it’s like to experience frequent headaches or even migraines.  Headaches, big or small, are painful, and can be disruptive to your day.  Did you know that by simply avoiding certain types of food can help you reduce the chances you will develop headaches?  Today, I will be discussing the types of food most associated with headaches and sharing with you the foods you can avoid to reduce the chances you have of getting a headache. 

One theory of how we develop headaches suggests certain individuals are predisposed to headaches by genetics.  If you are headache prone, or have a high predisposition to developing headaches, it may not take many environmental stimuli to trigger headaches for you.  Some headache triggers include bright lights, noise, certain foods, and stress.  Typically, it takes more than one trigger to start a headache.  For instance, if you are stressed, eat chocolate, and are working in a brightly lit room, you are more likely to developing a headache than someone who is just working in the brightly lit room. 

Amines

Some foods contain certain chemicals, known as amines, which are known to cause headaches.  Tyramine is one type of amine in particular that is especially notorious for causing headache pain, and foods containing tyramine should be avoided if possible by those who tend to get headaches often.  Some foods containing tyramine include: processed or cured meat, cereal, herring, dates, nuts, figs, bread, fresh cake, red wine, yogurt, other alcoholic beverages, raisins, sour cream, and aged cheese. 

Chocolate

Although many people find chocolate a tasty treat, it is known to lead to headaches.  For instance, one British study contained 20 individuals who experienced regular migraines.  Twelve of the participants were given a 14 ounce chocolate bar to eat while the remaining 8 participants ate a fake chocolate bar or placebo.  The researchers found that 40% of participants who ate the chocolate bar noticed symptoms of a migraine within an average time of 22 hours while none of those who ate the fake chocolate had any migraine symptoms. 

Processed and Cured Meats

Some meats are cured with sodium nitrite and nitrate, which are known to lead to headaches, so it is a good idea to avoid such meats.  Examples of meats cured with nitrite or nitrate include ham, bacon, hot dogs, and salami.

Aspartame

There has been debate on whether aspartame leads to headaches or not.  However, research studies seem to indicate aspartame is associated with headache.  A study conducted at the University of Florida is one such study.  In the study, some participants were instructed to take 4 doses of 300mg pills of aspartame each day for four weeks while other participants were given placebo pills to take. 

The researchers discovered that those who took aspartame had more than double the amount of headaches than those who took placebo pills did.  Additionally, more than half of the participants who took aspartame experienced more headaches than usual.  Finally, those who took aspartame had headaches that lasted longer.  In addition, those who took aspartame experienced some odd symptoms with their headaches including shakiness, decreased vision, and dizziness. 

These are just a few of the most common foods that lead to headaches.  If you experience a lot of headaches, you may want to consider avoiding these foods and substances whenever you can. 

Source:

Food Your Miracle Medicine: How Food Can Prevent And Cure Over 100 Symptoms And Problems by Jean Carper
 

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