| Doctors have identified dozens of headache | | | | beer have less amount of tyramine and make a |
| triggers which include obvious factors such as | | | | better choice but any alcoholic beverages can be |
| stress, pollution and changes in the weather. But | | | | a headache trigger. |
| one trigger that you may not even consider is | | | | Artificial Sweeteners |
| your diet. | | | | NutraSweet (aspartame) is a trigger for some |
| Everyone is different. Some people have a single | | | | people. Test results vary and the NutraSweet |
| food trigger while others may have a combination | | | | Company website states that overwhelming |
| of food trigger such as consuming too much | | | | evidence exists that it does not cause headaches. |
| caffeine: a cup of coffee in the morning followed | | | | Bull squeeze! |
| by a cola with a snack mid-morning. The best | | | | I can attest personally to this as products that |
| way to assess what triggers affect you and your | | | | contain NutraSweet products give me headaches. |
| headaches is to keep a food diary that includes | | | | Every time I consumed a diet beverage when it |
| what you eat on what days along with notes | | | | first came out, headache! A bad one too... So I |
| regarding extenuating circumstances. These could | | | | avoided NutraSweet and all its derivatives like the |
| include a note about a stressful sales meeting or | | | | plague. Until... |
| the day it rained all day. | | | | Recently, I began eating a high-fiber cereal for |
| Things that Should be Avoided | | | | breakfast to help with some weight loss and to |
| Caffeine - This is the most common headache | | | | increase my fiber intake. I also started writing and |
| trigger. Funny, it can be too much or a lack of | | | | spent a lot of hours at the computer. Every day |
| caffeine that brings on a headache. If you find | | | | around lunch, I would begin to suffer with a |
| that consuming caffeine triggers headaches, it is | | | | pounding headache. I just attributed it to stress |
| advised to gradually reduce the amount of | | | | and muscle tension since I was at the computer |
| caffeine you consume until you can quit | | | | for 10 hours a day. I just pounded down pain |
| completely to avoid what is called a 'bounce-back' | | | | relief and struggled daily to get my work done. |
| headache from occurring when you limit your | | | | Then one morning, my daughter was pouring a |
| consumption too much when your body is used | | | | bowl of the same cereal and was looking at the |
| to it. | | | | nutrition label when she looked over at me eating |
| High Fat Foods | | | | my bowl of cereal and said, "Dad, you know that |
| Reducing the amount of high fat foods has been | | | | this stuff has NutraSweet, right?" |
| found to reduce the intensity and frequency of | | | | What? |
| headaches. Try and keep fat intake to twenty | | | | I looked at the label and sure enough - "Contains |
| percent or less of the total calories consumed. | | | | Aspartame". I never saw it and frankly, I never |
| Tyramine | | | | even considered that I needed to look for it - it's |
| Foods that are aged or fermented contain this | | | | a health food after all! I tossed the bowl of cereal |
| natural by-product of tyrosine. Foods that are on | | | | in the garbage and ate a fiber bar with a glass of |
| this list include red wine, aged cheeses, processed | | | | milk instead. Got a headache later in the day (I |
| deli-style meats, and bananas that have become | | | | had consumed about half a bowl). |
| over-ripened. Light cheese like mozzarella, cottage | | | | That was 5 weeks ago. I have not had a |
| and ricotta are a better choice. White wine and | | | | headache since. |