Migraine headaches are a whole dimension beyond regular headaches, which are content to do their dirty work above your neck. Migraines start in your head, but a blistering attack wages war on your whole body, causing severe throbbing head pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, cold hands, tremors and sensitivity to light and sound. They can hang on for a few hours but often last more than a day. Like a nuclear missile, some migraine headaches send out a “red alert” warning signal before they launch their attack. It’s called an aura. Some experience this aura as flashing lights, multiple small dots, zigzagging lines or areas of total darkness and tingling or numbness in an arm or leg. Other symptoms include strange odors, restlessness, hallucinations, confusion and speech impairment. Migraines are largely hereditary, so you’re more susceptible if your mom or dad had them. And you’re also more likely to get them if you’re a woman, since women are three times more susceptible than men. For the migraine-prone, lots of things can set off an attack—changing hormone levels prior to menstruation or during ovulation, poor eating or sleeping habits, stress, chemicals in food (including additives and preservatives) or low blood sugar. Even changes in the weather or moving to a higher altitude can prompt the onset of migraine. What causes that initial spasm is still a mystery, but the reaction seems to be related to a brain chemical. “We know that the neurotransmitter serotonin plays a large role in triggering migraines,” says Alan Rapoport, MD, co-founder and co-director of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, and assistant clinical professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. “In fact, most of the newer migraine medications work primarily by stimulating the brain’s serotonin receptors.”
Fingers Off The Triggers
Although people who experience frequent attacks may have to take preventive medications, others can waylay migraine attacks by making lifestyle changes, especially in their diet, say experts. To head off migraines, you should fill up on whole, natural, unprocessed foods, especially vegetables and grains, they say. “You can prevent migraine headaches at least 40 percent of the time just by making dietary changes,” says Frederick Freitag, DO, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. But to do that, you have to avoid food triggers as well as eat healthfully. Some foods that are known to trigger migraines are wine, cheese, onions, tomatoes and nuts. While it’s not known why some of these foods trigger migraines in some people, chemical culprits have been found in others. Among the chief troublemakers are substances called vasoactive amines.
Avoid Amines
For some, a hot fudge sundae studded with walnuts is a midsummer night’s dream. For migraine sufferers, however, this mouthwatering treat can be a nightmare. Chocolate, along with many other common foods, contains an amine called phenylethylamine, which can cause your blood vessels to constrict, then dilate, triggering a headache. Scientists believe that the worst of the amines is tyramine, an amino acid found predominantly in strong, aged cheeses and foods like pickled herring and liver. If you get migraines, you’ll also have to watch out for homemade yeast breads and alcoholic beverages like wine and beer, say headache experts. All of these foods–as well as the pods of lima beans and snow peas—contain the dreaded amines. “Alcohol is actually at the very top of the list of food factors that affect the most people with migraine,” says Dr. Rapoport. “It is a vasodilator, meaning that it expands blood vessels, which can trigger migraine. Chocolate may be the second biggest offender.” Surprisingly, even citrus fruits and juices can trigger migraines in people who are particularly sensitive to a food factor in citrus known as synephrine.
Nix the Nasty Nitrites
Many cured meats contain nitrites, chemicals that are added to salt when curing meats. Unfortunately, nitrites also cause your blood vessels to dilate, setting the stage for a migraine. Head pounders caused by nitrites are commonly called hot dog headaches, because the worst offenders are meat and meat products like hot dogs, bacon, ham and salami. But remember, these head-thumping chemicals are found in many other preserved meats as well. If you want to lower your risk of an onslaught of migraine, doctors agree that you should go for fresh meat instead of preserved products.
Brew Some Relief
Ah, Saturday! A day to thumb your nose at the alarm clock, curl up, sleep in and awaken with an eye-popping headache! At least, that seems to be the story for many of the people who are prone to migraines. Noticing that a certain segment of such people got most of their attacks on their days off, researchers investigated their caffeine-drinking habits. Sure enough, they found that those who had headaches on their days off consumed more than twice as much caffeine daily and slept in later on weekends than those who didn’t have weekend headaches. By sleeping in, the migraine group delayed their first caffeine fix of the day by a couple of hours. But that delay alone was enough to trigger a withdrawal headache. “If it isn’t a migraine, it acts and feels just like one,” says Dr. Freitag. Actually, caffeine has different effects on migraine, depending upon how much you’re used to: Excessive caffeine—more than one or two cups a day for those who get migraines—can trigger headaches. But if you’re not a regular caffeine consumer, one cup can go a long way toward providing migraine relief. “Caffeine constricts the dilated blood vessels around your temples,” says Dr. Rapoport. “It also increases the efficacy of pain medication. That’s why it’s in most headache medications.”
Just Say No to MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) may bring out all those wonderful subtle and spicy flavors in wonton soup, but if you’re one of the many people who are sensitive to this flavor enhancer, it might also bring on a whopping headache. Like other headache triggers, MSG launches its attack by dilating blood vessels and exciting certain nerves in the brain. Often people who get headaches from MSG have other symptoms as well, such as feelings of pressure in the neck and face, sweating, tingling in the fingers and abdominal cramps. These symptoms are so common that they’ve been dubbed the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” If you get headaches and other symptoms from this aggravating additive, ask for your food to be prepared without MSG or seasoning salt (which contains MSG) the next time you’re ordering Chinese. Although it can cause headache in anyone, MSG also can trigger migraine, says Dr. Rapoport. “We think MSG is toxic to the brain and actually triggers the electrical dysfunction in the brain that starts the migraine process.”
Mineralize Your Migraine
For some people, low-magnesium levels may trigger a head-pounding bomb. In one study, researchers found low-magnesium levels in a full 4% of 60 migraine sufferers. While experts expect that such shortages are just one component of migraines, they see no harm in upping your intake of magnesium rich foods, such as whole grains and seafood, as a preventive measure. MORE: How To Decode Your Headache
