Headaches are a pounding and uncomfortable situation, and if it occurs regularly, your body is probably trying to tell you that something’s just not right.
You can take Advil and constantly “push” this pain away but in order for it to really disappear, you have to tackle the underlying problems in your body.
What to do?
According to Carolee Bateson-Koch, the author of Allergies: Diseases in Disguise, in many cases headaches are linked to allergies. Allergies do not always show their most prominent symptoms in the place they come in contact with the body.
Blood allows symptoms to travel to other parts of the body. Interestingly, many of our favourite foods are those to which we develop allergic reactions.
Getting rid of headaches can also be done more naturally by listening to your body. Some things naturalnutrition.ca recommends is watching your stress (more easily said than done that’s for sure!), and practicing breathing because it allows more oxygen to flow to your brain.
Lavender and peppermint essential oils can also provide quick relief if you rub them over your headache areas.
If your body is overloaded and working too hard it won’t be able to properly deal with stressors in your life, making headaches more likely to occur.
Make sure you’re hydrated enough by drinking at least two liters of water a day but also try and stay away from foods heavy in tyramine and phenylalanine. Making sure you get some protein at each meal is key to ensure you keep your blood sugar levels up.
What foods should we be wary of?
Some of the foods containing tyramine include alcohol, bananas, cheese, chicken, chocolate, peanuts, pork, vinegar and wine. Foods containing phenylalanine are anything with high levels of MSG and foods preserved with nitrates including cold cuts and hot dogs.
According to Carolee Bateson-Koch, if you are prone to headaches stay away from peanuts, pork, eggs, milk, chocolate, and coffee. But you simply can’t do avoid it all, so moderation is key…Besides, we’re students, we need our coffee.