Contents:
- Medical Video: Migraine Headaches : Foods Causing Migraines
- An unhealthy diet can trigger migraines
- What types of food are the causes of migraines?
- Chocolate
- Cheese
- Fatty food
- Processed meat
- Certain drinks can also be the cause of your migraine
Medical Video: Migraine Headaches : Foods Causing Migraines
Migraine can be defined as a strong headache that can make a person stop doing activities. But until now no study has succeeded in finding out what caused migraines. This condition more often arises when a person experiences stress, but consuming certain types of foods that contain certain substances is also thought to trigger migraines.
An unhealthy diet can trigger migraines
The relationship between eating patterns and the occurrence of migraines has a complicated mechanism and everyone has vulnerabilities and substances that can trigger them. Foods that cause migraines can work in several ways, including:
- Food can trigger migraines if there are other trigger factors - such as being consumed when experiencing hormonal changes during menstruation, experiencing stress or when being depressed. In addition, the habit of skipping meals, increasing or decreasing blood sugar levels and dehydration can also trigger migraines.
- The occurrence of migraines is determined by how much food is consumed - Most migraine-trigger foods are safe for consumption in small amounts, but the effect can be different when consumed in more portions.
- Migraines can start with a food intolerance reaction - such as food allergic reactions often experienced by people with gluten and celiac allergy can trigger migraine symptoms. But that does not mean that migraines are directly affected by these conditions, because basically changes in biological factors and body physiology due to eating food can trigger migraines.
- It is not known for certain when food-triggered migraines appear - this is because food is digested in various ways and quantities, so it is also difficult for what foods we consume can trigger migraines. However the effects of food on migraines generally appear after 12-24 hours after consumption.
What types of food are the causes of migraines?
Some of the substances contained in the diet can trigger changes in flow so that it can potentially cause migraines in someone who is at risk of experiencing it, along with some types of foods that can trigger migraines:
Chocolate
Chocolate has several substances that are suspected of causing migraines such as phenylethylamine, flavonoids and tiramin. Unlike the other two substances, tyramine is a migraine trigger substance that is important because it can cause changes in brain hormones and affect blood flow. Excessive consumption of chocolate is also more common when someone is stressed or menstruating so it is likely that this can also trigger migraines.
Cheese
Just like chocolate, cheese is a food that has tiramin and can trigger migraines in someone who is sensitive to tiramin or tends to experience changes in the blood flow.
Fatty food
Migraines are more often experienced by someone with a menu of high fat foods. This is because some types of fat found in food can trigger the production of the hormone prostaglandin which causes blood vessels to dilate resulting in changes in the blood flow that trigger migraines and headaches.
Processed meat
Processed meat is one type of food known to contain preservatives. One type of preservative used is a nitrate compound which has the same effect as other migraine trigger substances, namely by dilating blood vessel channels. Processed meat is known to trigger migraines starting in 1970 from a case study study where someone is reported to have migraines due to consumption of hot dogs. Until now processed meat is considered as a migraine trigger in individuals who are sensitive to nitrate compounds.
Certain drinks can also be the cause of your migraine
As a migraine trigger, tyramine can affect the balance of brain serotonin and blood vessel dilation. Tiramin is not only found in food but also in certain types of drinks such as red wine and other alcoholic beverages. In addition some types of drinks can trigger headaches in several ways, such as:
- Contains artificial sweeteners - Aspartame is a sweetening agent that is common in food and beverages and can have an intolerant effect on individuals who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners.
- Triggering symptoms of sakau- the substance of alcohol and caffeine can trigger symptoms of withdrawal such as migraines if you do not consume the substance for some time.
- The temperature is too cold - eating cold food or drinks can trigger mild headaches and in someone who is sensitive to temperature changes, eating ice cream, frozen yogurt and chewing ice cubes can be a cause of migraines.
