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Migraine is one of those conditions that can totally ruin your plans for the day. It gives you that pounding headache, sometimes even accompanied by sensitivity to light, nausea, vomiting, and even vertigo. Thankfully, a migraine chiropractor in Draper Utah can help you relieve this condition by managing your symptoms through a safe and gentle technique.
There are many triggers to migraine: hormonal, environmental, behavioral, and dietary. Today, we focus on the link between migraine and diet and natural care for migraines through upper cervical adjustments.
Avoid These Foods That Trigger or Worsen Migraines
Your diet plays a significant role in the onset of your migraine symptoms, so it pays to know what to avoid. Watch out for these food products that can trigger and even worsen your migraines:
Cured meats
Cured and preserved meat products such as bacon, hotdogs, and hams have nitrates and nitrites, which cause your blood vessels to swell, prompting a headache. These chemicals added to meat extend its shelf life. Cured meats also contain lots of salt, leading to dehydration.
Alcohol
You can find sulfites as one of the main ingredients used to make wines and beer. They help prevent the growth of the bacteria, and most of these products have extra sulfites added, which can bring migraine headaches. Alcohol is also dehydrating and can further trigger migraines.
Monosodium glutamate or MSG
MSG is a very common flavor enhancer often found in Asian foods and soy sauce. You will also find them in processed foods and instant noodles. You must be aware how sometimes MSG is listed as “all-natural preservatives” or “hydrolyzed protein” on a product’s ingredients list. Some claim that it could trigger migraine symptoms within 20 minutes of ingesting, so you must watch for this possible trigger to avoid total inconvenience.
Cheese
Tyramine triggers migraines and is usually found in many kinds of cheese. Blue cheese, brie, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella, muenster, parmesan, and swiss cheeses are high in tyramine. If you can, it’s best to avoid these types and the food products that contain them as ingredients. If you love cheese so much, look for safer alternatives such as those made from pasteurized milk, as they have lower levels of tyramines than aged cheeses.
Avocados and bananas
These well-loved fruits are rich in tyramine, a type of amino acid that regulates blood pressure; however, this can constrict or expand the blood vessels, resulting in migraine. Therefore, if you notice the onset of migraine symptoms when you consume these two fruits, it is recommended to stop eating them.
Soy sauce
There is a high amount of MSG found in soy sauces, and they also contain a high amount of sodium. These two common additives can trigger migraines and headaches. You can explore healthier soy sauce alternatives such as coconut aminos which are gluten-free, non-GMO, organic, soy-free, and MSG-free, or you can also try tamari. There can be other alternatives that may suit your taste; you just have to find them.
Artificial sweeteners
Aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener, should be consumed in moderation. They trigger dizziness and headaches linked to migraine. We recommend you steer clear of these artificial sweeteners to keep your migraine attacks at bay. Make sure you also read the ingredients list of “diet-friendly” products, as it is common for manufacturers to use artificial sweeteners for these kinds of products.
Eat These Foods That Relieve Migraines
So they say there are two sides to every story, which goes for food linked to migraine. While some trigger migraines, other food items can help ease its unpleasant symptoms. You might want to keep a handy list of these food products that can help manage your migraines:
Cucumber
This vegetable is 97% water and can keep you hydrated; as you may know by now, dehydration is a big migraine trigger, and consuming foods rich in water may help you more than you think!
Sesame seeds
This teeny-tiny seed is packed with vitamin E that helps maintain the estrogen at the proper level that can help avoid menstrual migraines. Sesame seeds also contain the amino acid L-arginine, which can relieve migraine symptoms if taken with Ibuprofen.
Brown rice and oatmeal
A low-carb diet may be the culprit of your daily headaches. Without enough carbohydrates, your blood sugar can drop drastically, prompting headaches. Consume healthy and carb-rich foods such as brown rice, oatmeal, apples, carrots, and pears to avoid nasty headaches.
Fortified whole-grain cereal
Foods with high amounts of Vitamin B12, aka riboflavin, can help prevent headaches from migraine. All-Bran, Wheaties, and Fiber One are excellent sources, or if you have other options in mind, just make sure you read the nutrition facts and ingredients list.
Cherries
They taste good and can also stop you from getting a migraine attack. Cherries have compounds that convert to nitric oxide to protect you from migraines and headaches. Alternatively, you can take beetroot and beetroot juice which give the same effect.
Pumpkin seeds
Magnesium helps calm down the blood vessels in the brain and is abundant in pumpkin seeds, almonds, and brazil nuts. It also contains zinc which helps digest food properly, preventing food sensitivities and regulating hormones when a woman is in her ovulation or menstrual cycle, which can help prevent migraine attacks.
Hot peppers
Spice-lovers rejoice! Hot peppers like habaneros and jalapenos can relieve migraine and sinus headaches. This is due to the chemical making peppers hot called capsaicin, which numbs the brain’s trigeminal nerve, which causes the onset of migraines and headaches.
Coffee or tea
Headaches may follow if you drink coffee or tea daily and suddenly stop. Now, this may be confusing, as caffeine can trigger migraine, but an adequate dose of coffee may just be good for you. Our blood vessels expand when a migraine episode is about to happen, and caffeine can help these blood vessels to narrow and limit blood flow to reduce migraine symptoms. Balance intake is vital, it helps to be mindful of your triggers, and through consistent observation, you’ll eventually find the right amount for you.
Consult with Our Migraine Chiropractor in Draper Utah
More than avoiding triggers and finding food remedies to ease your symptoms, it is crucial to find the root cause of your migraines to stop them from happening again. If you still get migraines after trying known remedies, a consultation with our migraine chiropractor in Draper Utah might be your next best step. For example, a misalignment in your upper cervical spine could be the reason behind your migraines.
Book a complimentary consultation with Dr. John Cheney. He can give you an overview of the benefits of upper cervical chiropractic to manage your migraine and can help map out the best course of remedy that works best for you. You may set your appointment by calling 385-237-3110 or accomplishing this form.
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Cheney, call our Draper office at 385-331-7035. You can also click one of the buttons below.
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