Chocolate
A lot of people, not just women, find chocolate a comforting food. But did you know that if you tend to get headaches a lot, chocolate may have a different effect? It’s said to be due to tyramine or phenylethylamine, two amino acids found in chocolate that is triggering the headache.
Alcoholic Drinks
Whether you’re a habitual drinker or not, you’re probably aware of how much of a pain hungover can be. But you don’t even have to be that drunk or have a hungover to experience the headache from alcoholic drinks. Since alcohol in any drink causes increased blood flow to your brain and can also result in dehydration, both of which might be headache triggers.
Coffee
The high or energy boost that coffee can give you can also cause headaches, especially after the effect of the caffeine has worn off. But this depends on how often you drink it. Moderate consumption may help relieve pain since it gives that sense of alertness. But daily intake, especially if you have more than a cup in a day, makes your brain develop a tolerance for it. So the effectiveness becomes weaker and your body expect an additional dose right away which when unmet the withdrawal syndrome which includes headaches kicks in.
Cheese
Substance called tyramine that forms as the proteins in cheese break down over time. And the longer the cheese ages, the more tyramine it contains which is a known headache causing element. So if you’re a fan of cheese and you add it in anything that you eat, you may wanna start cutting back on that and see if your headache improves.
Foods Containing Soy Sauce And MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is found in soy sauce and as a food additive in many other foods, has been found to cause cramps, diarrhea, and a horrible headache in 10 to 15 percent of people who get migraine headaches. This is possibly due to the saltiness which can lead to dehydration that we know leads to headaches too.
Ice Cream
Drinking or eating something cold very quickly can cause what we call brain freeze which basically is headache due to the cold. Therefore, it’s actually not the ice cream itself that’s causing the pain. You can still enjoy it, just eat it slowly no matter how much you love it or have been craving for it for days!
Banana
Shocker, I know. Banana is hardly found in any not-to-eat-food list because of how nutritious it is. But apparently, headache or migraine sufferers have found that banana triggers the pain for them. This is because banana also contain tyramine which if you’re sensitive to it, headache takes over!
Processed Meat
Nitrites used as preservatives in hot dogs, bacon, and lunch meats may dilate blood vessels and trigger headaches after eating in some people. There may not be a solid study that can back this up but we know that too much processed foods in your body is not good because of all the preservatives added in them. If you can’t eliminate them in your diet altogether, you should at least limit your consumption of them.
Eliminating or even just limiting these food items from your diet may help, but probably the safest, surest way to headache relief is to seek chiropractic care. Because it’s a great alternative treatment that doesn’t involve drugs or surgery to eliminate the pain but is effective in improving your overall health. Aside from that, it’s best to work with your primary care physician, neurologist, or headache specialist too. With some trial and error, you may find a treatment that finally relieves your pain.
