HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR DIET?
When my migraines first started, this was the furthest thing from my mind. My eating habits had been the same, nothing had changed, except this vice grip on my head. It wasn't until one of my friends on facebook suggested that gluten could be the cause, that I started looking into "triggers" that could be in my everyday eating habits.
I had no food allergies that I knew of, which made identifying them more difficult. So I started with the recommended gluten and went from there. Following will be a list of my "triggers" and other very common ones.
GLUTEN
(Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat (wheatberries, durum, emmer, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, graham, KAMUT® khorasan wheat and einkorn), rye, barley and triticale – a cross between wheat and rye. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food together. Gluten can be found in many types of foods, even ones that would not be expected.) https://celiac.org/live-gluten-free/glutenfreediet/what-is-gluten/
This is a word, that in recent years, has become very common. It is majorly known for its role in celiac disease, where it does damage to the small intestine. However, it can also be a migraine trigger.
This was the first thing I eliminated from my diet, and my migraines slowly became less frequent. When I first started, removing this from my diet was very difficult. Eating out, was almost impossible. I would have to eat before we went out just to be safe. Eating at home though was almost as hard. You had to read labels on everything before you bought it, and you would be surprised at how much you normally eat contains it.
Now, restaurants are starting to label their menus to help those with this allergy. Some have separate menu lists, or have the lists on the new Ziosk. Grocery stores are starting to include a gluten-free section, and food companies are now labeling items that are gluten'free.
This would be one of my first suggestions for locating any migraine food triggers. (I will have more on gluten in the Daith Piercing part.)
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG)
I could write for a long time on what I have recently learned about this ingredient. (I might end up making a post just about this at some point, going over other health concerns this has.) This, however, is focused on migraines.
I only recently discovered and tried eliminating this ingredient. It has been about 6 months or so, and my frequency and severity have diminished over 50% so far. I am still getting unknown amounts of it in my diet though, as it has many other names its can go by. Almost all fast food has this in it, and chinese restaurants have become a huge no. I was already used to not being able to eat at those because of the gluten, but this was an even bigger issue, one I did not know about.
If I get a little bit of this, I can tell because I almost immediately get a short lasting headache. More then that, and I am guaranteed to be down for at least my regular 24 hours.
I do not know for sure, but I believe that if I can fully eliminate this I will be better by at least 75%. This would be my number one suggestion to try first. It won't be easy, but if it is one of your triggers, it will be worth it.
Here is a website with a list of its many names:
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
Aspartame and sucralose (Splenda), can cause migraines. It might not be a immediate thing, the more you drink and eat items with this, the more likely it could become a problem. Xylitol and sorbitol are two others that could eventually cause them. I haven't found any evidence yet of Stevia causing them.
It might be worth trying to eliminate these first, as they are some of the easiest to find alternatives to.
NITRITES
Nitrites are a preservative found in most processed lunch meats, and the American (and was my) favorite, Bacon. It is possible to find meat products without this ingredient. More options are being made available also, as more people continue to need an alternative.
This would be my fourth on my list to try eliminating.
THE 3 C's. CHEESE, CHOCOLATE, CAFFEINE
Cheese: This is another trigger that is fairly common. The more the cheese is aged the more likely it is to cause them. Phenylethylamine (an amino acid) is the primary cause.
Chocolate: This contains phenylethylamine, tyramine (amino acids), and caffeine. This is a fairly common trigger for some. I can't eat it, but I never liked it anyway.
Caffeine: Caffeine is included in OTC migraine medications, but for some it can cause them. If I do NOT have caffeine throughout the day, I will get a headache or migraine. I didn't realize it could be a trigger until I was researching them awhile ago. When I tried to eliminate it, I got sicker until I decided to give up trying.
OTHER COMMON TRIGGERS
- Nuts
- Sulfites
- Pickles
- Dairy products
- Alcohol
- Vinegar
(This is by no means a complete list. Yours could be the same or completely different. If you have a trigger that I haven't listed, please do so in the comment section. It could help someone else down the road.)
