| sandiv2001
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COMMON FOOD TRIGGERS:
High Caffeine Content Items:
Chocolate
Coffee
Sodas
(however, some people NEED caffeine)
Acidic Foods:
Spinach
Onions
Beans
Cabbage
Tomatoes etc...
Citrus Fruits:
Some people also react to bananas plums and prunes.
Licorice
In any form
Nuts:
Avacados
Alcohol:
Dairy Products:
All - but especially cheddar cheese
Eggs
*Red Meats Intensify Any Pain
Fatty Fried Foods
Pork especially
Seafood
Chicken
This is rare but has been noted to be a trigger for some.
Bread: Home - made fresh bread which has not been allowed to rise sufficiently- may cause an attack if eaten up to 24 hours after baking.
Pastry & Pasta
It is thought that the flour is the problem.
Sodium Nitrate
Mostly found as a preservative in cold/cured meats, especially weiners.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG):
Sold commercially as 'Accent'. to be found in many packaged, canned foods - check label. As it is used by many chinese restaurants, it accounts for 'Chinese Food Symdrome'.
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RULE OF THUMB:
Don't just "avoid" all of these foods - test it and see which ones are your trigger. To test your triggers (others as well as food triggers) do the following:
KEEP A JOURNAL:
It is best to start the first full day without a headache.
Make sure it is accurate and complete.
LIST:
The amount of sleep you got.
Any stress factors present.
The foods you ate and at which times.
If it is your menstrual cycle, as this alone can cause it in some patients.
If you smoke, keep track of how many you smoked (to watch for increased amounts).
If you do not smoke, if you were around second hand smoke this day.
If you got any physical exercise that day.
if you have any illnesss or seem to be coming down with one.
When you get a headache, go back "18" hours.
Therein will lie your cause(S).
(It has been noted a headache can come as long as 36 hrs after a trigger - but in most cases - only 18).
When you get your first headache, mark when it started, how long it lasted and then start again.
KEEP TRACK OF THE SAME ITEMS.
When your headache reoccurs, mark it -
Then go back 18 hours again, and note if there are any common items listed in both headache journal one and two.
Usually you will find some food triggers as well as a few others.
(Remember: The reason will lie in the previous 18 hours.)
Keep this journal for the cycle of 6-8 headaches to get an accurate list of most of your common triggers, which are the things you need to stay away from. Then try to avoid these items that you find are common in your journal. After implemeting this, I found most of my migraines now center around menstrual cycles or high stress times only. I hope it works as well for you.
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Remember:
One wrong thing ate, or one night of lack of sleep, will not a headache make.
Visualize it as a bathtub. each wrong thing ate or done is a marble or bag of marbles (depending on how strong of a factor it is.) When you have added enough marbles to fill this tub, it overflows into a migraine.
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Migraine, especially food triggered attacks etc. is NOT an allergy (in most cases). Migraine is defined as an inherited bio-chemical and bio-hormonal imbalance, which simply put means that there is a substance or substances in certain foods or beverages which if consumed by the migraineur (and after passing thru the gastrointestinal tract) may produce a chemical chain reaction which can result in a migrain attack. :oops: |
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Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:02 pm |
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