Table of contents:
- Unhealthy eating patterns can trigger migraines
- What types of foods cause migraines?
- Chocolate
- Cheese
- Fatty foods
- Processed meat
- Certain drinks can also be the cause of your migraines
Migraine can be defined as a strong headache that can make a person stop doing activities. However, until now there has been no research that has succeeded in finding out what causes migraines. This condition more often appears when a person is stressed, but eating several types of foods that contain certain substances is also thought to be the cause of migraines.
Unhealthy eating patterns can trigger migraines
The relationship between diet and the occurrence of migraines has a complex mechanism and everyone has their own vulnerabilities and substances that can trigger them. Migraine-causing foods can work in several ways, including:
- Food can trigger a migraine if there are other trigger factors - such as being consumed when you are experiencing hormonal changes during menstruation, experiencing stress or when you are depressed. In addition, the habit of skipping meals, experiencing an increase or decrease in blood sugar levels and dehydration conditions can also trigger migraines.
- The occurrence of a migraine is determined by how much food is consumed - Most migraine trigger foods are safe to eat in small amounts, but the effect can be different when consumed in larger portions.
- Migraines can start as a reaction to food intolerance - such as food allergic reactions that are often experienced in people with gluten and celiac allergies can trigger migraine symptoms. However, that does not mean that migraines are directly affected by these conditions, because basically changes in biological and physiological factors due to eating food can trigger migraines.
- It's not known exactly when food-induced migraines appear - this is because food is digested in various ways and in varying amounts, so it also makes it difficult for what food we consume can trigger migraines. However, the effects of food on migraines generally appear after 12-24 hours after consumption.
What types of foods cause migraines?
Some substances contained in food can trigger changes in the flow so that they have the potential to cause migraines to someone who is at risk of experiencing them, here are some types of foods that can trigger migraines:
Chocolate
Chocolate has several substances that are suspected of causing migraines such as phenylethylamine, flavonoids and tyramines. Unlike the other two substances, tyramine is an important migraine trigger substance because it can cause hormonal changes in the brain and affect blood flow.
Excess chocolate consumption is also more common when someone is stressed or having menstruation so it is likely that this can also trigger a migraine.
Cheese
Just like chocolate, cheese is a food ingredient that has tyramine and can trigger a migraine in someone who is sensitive to tyramine or tends to experience changes in blood flow.
Fatty foods
Migraines are more often experienced by someone with a high fat diet. This is because several types of fat found in food can trigger the production of the hormone prostaglandin, which causes blood vessels to widen, resulting in changes in blood flow that trigger migraines and headaches.
Processed meat
Processed meat is a type of food that is known to contain preservatives. One type of preservative used is a nitrate compound which has the same effect as other migraine-triggering substances, namely by widening the vessels of the blood vessels.
Processed meat is known as a migraine trigger dating back to the 1970s from a case study in which a person reported having migraines due to consumption of hot dogs. Until now, processed meat is considered a migraine trigger in individuals who are sensitive to nitrate compounds.
Certain drinks can also be the cause of your migraines
As a migraine trigger, tyramine can affect the balance of the brain hormone serotonin and dilate blood vessels.
Tiramine is not only found in food but also in several types of beverages such as red wine and other alcoholic beverages. In addition, several types of drinks can trigger headaches in several ways, such as:
- Contains artificial sweeteners - Aspartame is a common sweetener in food and beverages and can cause intolerance effects in individuals who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners.
- Trigger withdrawal symptoms- Alcohol and caffeine substances can trigger withdrawal symptoms such as migraines if they are not consumed for some time.
- The temperature is too cold - consuming cold food or drinks can trigger mild headache symptoms and in someone who is sensitive to temperature changes, eating ice cream, frozen yogurt and chewing ice cubes can cause migraines.
