If you bite it, write it. Keeping a record of what you eat and drink is the first step in identifying connections between your diet and your health.
Weight management researchers with the National Weight Control Registry report that this type of daily self-monitoring — whether notes on paper or a file in your smartphone — is one of the best ways to boost your chances of losing weight and keeping it off.
Keeping a diet diary may be one of the best habits for migraine headache sufferers to adopt as well because certain foods and beverages contain ingredients associated with causing migraines.
“It’s important that they track what they eat and drink because food triggers vary from person to person,” says registered dietitian Keri Gans, author of “The Small Change Diet.”
Possible culinary culprits include aged cheeses, soy sauce, red wine, monosodium glutamate and citrus. Gans says not everyone reacts to all of the migraine triggers on the list, and “That’s why it’s important to journal, so you can play detective and identify foods you can cross off your watch list.”
She suggests writing down details on what you eat, portion size, preparation method, time of day and any headaches or other symptoms.
When dining out, ask about ingredients used in preparation. Migraines may not occur until many hours or even days after consuming an offending food or drink. Gans is a spokeswoman for the mobile phone app called My Migraine Triggers, which helps track diet details.
Migraines are serious pain
More than one in 10 Americans, including one in six women, has migraines. June is National Migraine Awareness Month, dedicated to getting the word out about these debilitating bouts of pain often lasting up to 72 hours and accompanied by nausea, blurred vision and sensitivity to light and sound.
More complex than a regular headache, migraines can be triggered by emotional stress, too much or too little sleep and compounds in the diet. On the substances to avoid list: tannins in skins of fruit, tea and citrus fruit and tyramine, an amino acid found naturally in wine, tofu and aged cheeses. The list is actually pretty long, including many otherwise healthy choices such as fruit and cheese, but Gans says that doesn’t mean migraine headache sufferers have to miss out on needed nutrients: “There are enough fruits and vegetables to add variety to the diet, and non-aged cheeses such as ricotta can provide dairy nutrition.”
What about common headaches?
Headaches are a common complaint, but often it's what you're not consuming that can cause the problem. "A regular headache is often caused simply by dehydration," Gans says. "Don't wait until you're thirsty."
In the summer, enjoy cold soups, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and add flavor to water with mint or even watermelon so it tastes better and helps you drink more.
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