I have written extensively about Migraine headaches and one topic that is hard to ignore is the effect of diet on food. I’ve also written about certain foods to avoid but recent research into food toxins and their affect on health in general really produced some interesting results.
While certain research will tell you that the foods to avoid (Aged cheese, citrus fruits, chocolate, nuts, cured meats, fatty foods, fried foods, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, pork, seafood, seafood, alcohol -especially red wine, food additives such as MSG, asparatame, and caffeine) are to be avoided as triggers, still other research indicates that these items are toxic to the system for certain people.
This can be confusing since there is such thing as toxic headache. While considered a type of vascular headache (headaches which involve an abnormality of the arteries in the brain in which they constrict and dilate rapidly and pain is the result) like migraine headache, its cause can be conclusively traced to some type of food poisoning whether a bacterial infection or an environmental toxin (e.g., pesticide, breathing car fumes).
This type of headache is not by definition a migraine (it usually involves a fever), many of the symptoms are the same including nausea, vomiting and headache. With migraine, however, the headache is unilateral (one side) and throbbing.
Additional symptoms typically unique to food poisoning and not migraine include abdominal cramping, diarrhea and muscle pain. Symptoms can appear between a few hours of ingesting the toxin but may take up to three days.
It may seem like it would be easy to distinguish between food poisoning and migraine headache would be easy, this is not always the case. Yes, one could say that the odds are against eating the same food over and over and developing food poisoning; however, what if your food preparation habits need examining (e.g., consistently undercooking certain fish or poultry, or you work in an environment where you are consistently breathing in the same toxic fumes?
Additionally concerning is the fact that food poisoning causing toxins can be especially harmful to one’s health if that person already has a medical condition affecting one of the major organs, an already weakened immune system or if that person travels frequently to areas where contamination to food is more likely to occur.
In order to avoid certain food toxins (especially if you are susceptible to food poisoning) make sure you are thoroughly rinsing your fruits and vegetables (even bagged lettuce). This will help eliminate fertilizers or pesticides which likely haven’t been cleaned before packaging. Additionally, keep in mind that eating out, even in “nice” restaurants has its risks. Even though I love to go out to eat either with my wife or with friends, I know that I cannot completely trust the hygiene or health of the person preparing my food.
If, migraine or tension headache is the cause of your distress, I highly encourage you to try my Migraine and Headache program. The results are amazing and it will help no matter what’s the cause of your headache.
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