Tuesday, February 26, 2008

How To Prevent Migraines and Headaches

How To Prevent Migraines and Headaches
Many foods, additives, and other nutritional components can
cause migraines, but the triggers vary a lot from one
person to another.

Here's a list that covers the common ones.

Aged cheeses, sour cream, and certain other milk products.

Fresh yeast, sourdough, and other yeasty breads.

Fermented foods, including pickles, soy sauce and miso.

Some legumes, especially dried beans, lentils and soy
products.

Nuts, seeds, and peanut butter.

Chocolate and cocoa.

Organ meats and meats that are salted, dries cured, smoked,
or contain nitrites.

Sardines, anchovies, and pickled herring.

Fruits, including avocados, bananas, citrus fruits, figs,
grapes, papayas, passion fruits, plantains, pineapples,
raspberries, red plums, and raisins.

Alcohol, especially red wine.

Chicken livers.

Seasonings and flavor enhancers, especially artificial
sweeteners, ginger, and molasses.

Sulfites used as preservatives in wine and dried fruits.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Each year 70 percent of adults in North America alone seek
medical help. Most headaches are brief and happen because
of tension or a temporary condition, like a cold or the
flu, but some reflect a serious problem.

When you see your doctor about your headaches b sure to
bring a detailed written description of your headaches. To
make it detailed make sure you cover some of these
questions. How severe are they? How often? How long?
Which areas hurt?

Migraine Headaches

More than 20 million North Americans suffer from migraines.
Migraines are severe throbbing or pulsating feeling that
occurs on one side of your head. They're often accompanied
by sensitivities from light and sound, as well as with
nausea and vomiting.

Migraines are also called vascular headaches, because they
typically involve a spasm of the arteries in your head,
which results in a pulsating pain. The headaches may last
from a few hours to several days or even longer.

Most importantly migraines affect women about three times
more often as men. They usually start between the ages of
18 and 44. Many doctors think migraines are triggered from
different factors such as dietary, hormonal, environmental,
emotional, and other factors that cause your blood vessels
in your brain to constrict and then relax. These distorted
blood vessels quickly cause the nerve endings to send out
pain signals.

A good way to get rid of migraines is to try relaxation
techniques. In addition to taking different courses or
classes in using relaxation techniques you can also try
biofeedback. Biofeedback is a course in which you learn
how to raise the temperature in your hands to divert some
of the blood flow from your head to another part of your
body.

Migraine Triggers

Environmental Triggers: Glare, bright lights, loud noises,
strong odors, cigarette smoke changes in temperature,
weather or altitude.

Hormonal Triggers (usually women): Menstrual cycle,
estrogen supplements, and high-estrogen oral contraceptives.

Activity Triggers: Irregular or no exercise, inadequate or
excessive sleep, eyestrain, motion sickness.

Emotional Triggers: (tend to be negative ones): Anger,
resentment, depression, fatigue, anxiety, and stress.

Dietary Triggers: Keep a food diary and see what you've
eaten. Once you feel a migraine come on, you'll be able to
track and see what food has caused it.


----------------------------------------------------
Marci Lall is a Womens Weight Loss & Body Sculpting
Specialist. visit his website to get his FREE report "16
tips on how to get maximum weight loss and fitness results
in minimum time" --> http://www.lallpt.com

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