Do you suffer from the odd headache that is very annoying but you can continue to do things at work or at home?

Have you ever had a headache so bad that you think you are going to throw up or vomit? Does your head hurt so much that you can’t even open your eyes?

I have good news for you if you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions.

Has your doctor ever told you that there might be food triggers for your headaches? I went to many different doctors over a number of years before someone mentioned to me that I might be having a reaction to the food I was eating. Interestingly, food was one of the biggest triggers for my migraines!

It seemed so simple, eliminate these foods from my diet for 6 weeks. At the end of the six weeks, add one food per week to my diet. I could do that, and I did. When there is a time limit, most of us can do almost anything for 6 weeks. (As a side note, dairy takes at least 30 days to get out of your system.)

At the end of the six weeks, I found that tomatoes were a huge migraine trigger and dairy kept me off the weight, my body didn’t know how to process it.

This was almost 10 years ago, for me the food trigger list is still the same. Over the years, I’ve learned ways to deal with migraines that have dwindled into an annoying type of headache, and I hardly ever get them anymore.

Some common food triggers for migraines and headaches are:

–dairy products*

–chocolate

–eggs

–citric fruits

–meat**

–wheat (bread, pasta, etc.)

–nuts and peanuts

–Tomatoes

–onions

–corn

–apples

–bananas

* Includes skimmed or whole cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

** Includes beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.

Certain beverages and additives are also among the worst triggers, including alcoholic beverages (especially red wine), caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, and cola), monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame (NutraSweet), and nitrites (in hot dogs and luncheon meats and wines).

This is just one of the first steps in the process of discovering the cause of migraines and treating them. You can search for migraine food triggers on almost any search engine online.

In the meantime, if you want to stop taking pain medication and try a more natural route to dealing with pain, you can treat your migraine without using your prescription. It takes a little longer and you may need help the first few times you do it, but using water to soothe your head can ease the pain a bit. Sounds a bit strange right? Well, we know there’s a swelling in your head that’s causing you so much pain. The idea is to cause inflammation elsewhere to reduce the level of the headache.

Will need:

— a pot or bucket of very warm/hot water

— ice pack or bag of frozen peas

— Dry towel

— cotton socks, soaked in cold water (later put in the fridge)

— wool socks

— a warm and cozy bed (preferably close)

At the start of a migraine, it really stops you dead in your tracks and you can’t do anything but try really hard to get rid of the pain! He’ll probably want to lie down and sleep, especially that’s what he’s done in the past with pain relievers. Actually, when you have a migraine or even a tension headache, it doesn’t go away even after 6-7 hours of sleep. This is a simple foot bath hydrotherapy treatment, which you will find soothing and helpful while trying to stay away from prescription pain relievers.

1. Soak your feet in very warm water, approximately 15 min. more or less, or until the water cools.

2. Place the ice pack on your head or the back of your neck. (sometimes these first 2 steps are all you need)

3. Have someone bring you the cold, wet socks from the refrigerator.

4. Take off the ice pack.

5. Take your feet out of the hot water one at a time, towel dry, then put on a cool wet sock, then the wool sock over the wet sock. Do the same with the opposite foot.

6. Get into your warm and cozy bed for the night. The socks will be dry in the morning and the headache should ease or disappear.

In the future, for the prevention of migraines, because that is where we really have to look, it is in prevention. You’ll want to investigate which foods, like the above, trigger your headaches. After which situations are you most likely to get a headache? i.e. a dark movie theater in the middle of the day, then going out into the bright sun, after eating ice cream, Chinese or Mexican food, etc.

Think about the nutrients that you may be missing from your daily diet. Are you deficient in vitamins and minerals? Are you taking any supplements? Are the supplements right for your body? Do you eat enough fat? Fats help with inflammatory and anti-inflammatory processes in blood cells. You may not be drinking enough water. Take care? Or do others come before taking care of you? When you feel a little down, do you continue with your commitments instead of resting? I cover a lot of this information on my website, so stop by and take a look. You can also call me for a free 20-minute nutritional assessment consultation to see if the information I have might help you. Take prevention into your own hands, your doctor can give you pain medication, only you can make the decision to live a healthy life.