Foods to Avoid When Suffering From Migraines

What is a migraine and what causes them?

Migraines are posing a bigger threat to people than ever before, with the number of people suffering exploding in the recent years to reach up to 1 billion worldwide. But even with the multitude of afflicted people, migraines are still widely misunderstood and dismissed as nothing more than bad headaches, which could not be further from the truth. Everybody at some point in their life falls victim to a particularly bad headache. Migraines are a recurring condition that sufferers have for life, with attacks being categorised as chronic or episodic.

The physical effects of a migraine attack can be debilitating, and can include a severe headache, feelings of nausea, visual blurring and physical sickness. With all of this said, it should be clear to see that migraines are a little bit more extreme than a ‘bad headache’! Due to this, it is important to understand what can trigger an attack, which can even include the foods you eat!

What foods can trigger an attack?

It is generally agreed that brief changes in brain activity can have an impact on the blood vessels in the brain as well the nerve signals, which in turn plays a role in the onset of migraine attacks. So taking this into account, there are some foods that can be considered as trigger foods for migraine attacks. Some aged cheeses can bring on severe migraine attacks due to the naturally occurring compound tyramine, which studies have shown migraine sufferers are particularly sensitive to. In 2004 the professional soccer player Fredrik Ljungberg was sidelined for a number of games due to migraines believed to be caused by cheese, which led management to ban him from eating cheese and drinking red wine.

In addition to this, certain additives in food should also be avoided as these can act as triggers as well. Nitrates have been linked to the onset of migraines, as they can cause blood vessels to swell as previously discussed, briefly changing brain activity. One of the food types that it might be wise to avoid therefore are cured and processed meats like ham and bacon. Further to this, studies have also shown that another possible migraine trigger could be found in caffeinated drinks. Studies have suggested that people who drink at least three caffeinated drinks a day were more likely to experience a migraine attack either on that day or the following day, and people who rarely consumed caffeine were more likely to suffer an attack even after one or two caffeinated drinks.

How can we help?

At Chatfield Chiropractic, we are able to help with our chiropractic techniques designed to help alleviate the pain of a migraine. Gentle adjustments can assist with headache related pain, and we can look at holistic solutions to migraine attacks, rather than only dealing with the current symptoms. If we identify a solution that is not suitable to be carried out under chiropractic care, we will happily refer you to an appropriate healthcare specialist. Contact us at our Sunbury or Roxburgh Park Clinics to see what we can do for you.

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