Headache Causes - Trigger Foods Headache Sufferers Should Avoid
HeadacheAs someone who suffers from recurring, painful headaches, you know that the one thing you want to avoid more than anything, is triggering a headache through your own actions.
Though it may seem a little cliche, "the more you know", the more you can make a conscious effort to avoid that miserable throbbing in your head.
Along with the standard triggers, like changes in the weather, or your normal sleep habits being disrupted, the foods and drinks you ingest can also be causes of your headache pain.
Chemical Triggers: Nitrates and Tyramine
Tyramin and nitrates are a 1-2 punch when it comes to setting off your headaches. Tyramine is the worse of the two offenders.
Both are found in many foods that are likely part of your daily life. Some of those foods include:
liver (well, it may not be part of your daily diet!)
red wine
chocolate
soy sauce
yogurt
sour cream
aged cheese
vinegar, including condiments that have vinegar as an ingredient
Food Additives: Monosodium Glutamate
MSG is a commonly used flavor enhancer. Experts estimate that over 20,000 tons of MSG are added to our foods each year. Most of us are familiar with the MSG found in Chinese food, but it's also present in:
roasted nuts
processed soups, sauces & dressings
mayonnaise
frozen foods
potato chips
Stomach discomfort is a common complaint of people that are sensitive to MSG--so much so that most Chinese food restaurants are either MSG-free, or they offer MSG-free options on their menu.
But for others, ingesting Monosodium Glutamate is a prescription for a splitting headache.
Bar-Hopping = Headaches
Another common trigger for headaches is alcohol. While in some cases this is due to the Tyramine, as discussed earlier, it's also because of the impact drinking alcohol has on your body. Alcohol, anything from champagne or wine, mixed drinks or hard liquor, dehydrates you, and dehydration can cause pretty serious headaches -- even in people that aren't regularly dealing with headache pain. The worst triggers, though, are brandy and red wine. I never drink red wine--a sip or two is enough to send me to bed for the night with a cold cloth on my forehead.
More Than the Usual Suspects
There are other foods that might trigger headaches, but there isn't really a good way to categorize them. Some of the usual suspects are:
milk and other dairy products
seafood
wheat- and soy-based products
foods high in fat
citrus fruits, like oranges or grapefruit
artificial sweeteners.
Even a high intake of vitamin supplements can give you a doozy of a headache, especially vitamins A and B. Just because they're good for you, doesn't mean they can't be bad for you.
Caffeine: Should it Stay or Should It Go
Caffeine is an interesting conundrum. While it can be a cause of headaches, it's also found in many headache remedies -- especially migraine-specific remedies like Excedrin Migraine.
Think of it as too much caffeine being the headache trigger. Drinking too much coffee or cola, or eating too much chocolate might cause your headache.
But... if you are a heavy coffee or cola drinker, and you try to cut back, or you go without your "fix" for too long, you can get a headache from caffeine withdrawal as well.
No Chocolate, No Coffee, No Chinese Food? No Fun!
After looking over the list of trigger foods, it certainly might seem like many of the foods you enjoy are on the list of things you have to avoid.
If you truly enjoy a food, just remember that it's likely to trigger a headache, and be prepared. Often knowing that the headache is coming makes it a little easier to deal with than if it comes out of no where.
If you make a conscious effort to avoid food triggers that you can live without, you may find that you have less headaches overall.
If you would like to learn more about the causes of headaches, click here!