Different Migraines Allergy Facts
MIGRAINES
Migraine headaches vary in intensity from mild to disabling. They're usually pounding, one-sided, and accompanied by nausea. Classic migraine attacks are preceded by auras—strange sensations of sounds, smells, and/or visual distortions. Common migraines are more prevalent, milder, and have no aura, but may occur more frequently.
More common in women than men, migraines are associated with both food allergies and intolerances. They can also be triggered by physical agents such as sunlight, heat, and cold, and by stress, fatigue, or a viral infection.
Foods, however, are fairly easy to control. Avoid prolonged fasting, skipping meals, or eating large amounts of carbohydrates at one sitting.
Migraine-sufferers are often sensitive to one or more of these substances:
• Caffeine—found in coffee, colas, some headache pills
• Ethanol—found in alcoholic beverages; beer, champagne, and red wine are particular offenders
• Nitrites, MSG, sulfites, tartrazine—found in processed foods, beverages, medication
• Phenylethylamine—found in chocolate
• Tyramine—found in aged or sharp cheese, anchovies, avocados, bacon, bananas, broad beans, canned figs, caviar, chicken liver, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, pickled herring, yogurt
Other possible migraine triggers are aspartame, beef, cane sugar, citrus fruits (mainly oranges), corn, eggs, deep-fried foods, milk, nuts, onions, peanuts, pork, products containing yeast, raisins, seafood, tea, and wheat.
These foods are not likely to cause migraines:
• Cottage cheese and cream cheese
• Desserts sweetened with other than cane sugar
• Fruit: apples, apricots, berries, cherries, grapes, peaches, pears
• Meat: chicken, duck, lamb, turkey, veal
• Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes, sprouts
HINT: The three Cs: coffee, cheese, and chocolate—are the main migraine suspects.
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