It was not headache that ruined your mood, it was food!

Food is more than just fuel for some people, right? And for everyone, there’s some food at least that’s something they live for! From different cuisines to everyday foods, people have an unending list when it comes to favorite foods. But did you know that foods can also trigger headaches? Yes, although it varies from person to person some foods do trigger headaches/migraines. Some of these foods include:

Cheese
Alcohol, particularly beer and red wine
Chocolate
Meat
Food preservatives
Yeast extract

But avoiding food can also lead to headaches. Prolonged hunger and insufficient eating can also prove as a trigger for headaches. This leads to low blood sugar levels that eventually lead to severe headaches

How is food responsible for headaches?

It's tough to identify the food that trigger a reaction. Because in some people it might be an immediate reaction, while others may not react until 24 hours after eating it. The best we can do is guess that a particular food may have caused the headache. Test it by removing that potential trigger food from the diet and see if headache still occurs. For instance, an individual should avoid all the foods/drink that contains red wine for a week, to see the results. The method can not only help you identify the trigger food but also keeps you from indulging yourself unnecessarily.

Foods contain many ingredients including chemicals. Chemicals such as nitrates/nitrites, phenylethylamine, sulfites, tannins, tyramine, salicylates, aspartate, added sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, glutamate and capsaicin can all react in one way or the other depending on person to person. On the other hand, various other factors can also lead to severe headaches apart from consumed foods, drinks and ingredients/chemicals. These other factors can also complicate the process of identifying the true trigger of your headache.

Also, a combination of triggers can lead to a severe headache. For instance, an individual might miss a meal and have an insufficient sleep which may lead to a headache.

Headache Medicine

Making dietary changes is not the only option for treating headaches. There are some OTC headache medicines available in the market. Combiflam Plus for headache is one such medicine that gives you relief from an unbearable discomfort. There are also some home remedies that can help you deal with headaches, these may include:

Staying hydrated
Getting adequate sleep
Avoiding alcohol
Avoiding histamine-rich foods- aged cheese, red wine, fermented foods
Some other treatments include peppermint or ginger tea to calm a headache

All the tips mentioned above can be used to relieve a headache. Although if you are experiencing recurrent headaches, then please consult a doctor/medical professional for the proper diagnosis of the condition

Reference: https://www.everydayhealth.com/headache-pictures/8-foods-that-trigger-headaches.aspx
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/headache-remedies#5.-Avoid-Foods-High-in-Histamine

MAT-IN-2000225 06-2020