One of the most underrated and yet powerful therapy that can help heal a person suffering from headaches or migraines is food. For me, it is a bit surprising that there are people who believe they are following a healthy daily diet only to find out that for the most part, what they eat has extremely low nutritional content. Much of the food we eat today actually causes inflammation in the body.
Gabriel Cousens M.D. in his book, “There is a Cure for Diabetes” states that out of the seven stages of illness, inflammation is the fourth. Migraines and headaches are manifestations of inflammation within the head. You have foods that exacerbate the problem and cause inflammation and foods that will make you better. Chinese nutritional therapy is a very sensible and simple treatment that utilizes food as a tool to truly help a person heal.
Foods that can bring about migraines and headaches:
Eggs: If your digestive system is weak or if your stomach does not contain enough hydrochloric acid, consuming eggs can increase the amount of ammonia in your stomach, which can irritate and saturate your CNS or central nervous system. Therefore, you may need to completely refrain from eating eggs.
Dairy: This type of food produces mucus in the body adding pressure to the lymphatic system, and eventually increases pressure on the CNS. Refrain from eating all dairy products.
Meat (chicken, beef, and pork): Dense proteins can increase the production of ammonia in the body when your digestive system is weak and when you don’t have enough hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Again too much ammonia in your stomach can irritate and saturate your CNS.
Gluten (rye, wheat, spelt, barley). Gluten increases the histamines in your body and disrupts the function of your immune system, both of which can trigger migraines. Eliminate gluten in your diet.
Salt: Refrain from using table salt. Pick Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt if you need to use salt.
Fermented Foods (kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut, ketchup): vinegar-based and fermented food make your body acidic by lowering the pH in your intestinal tract, which then can result in migraines.
Additives (Splenda, Asparatame, MSG): These products are neurotoxins and can easily trigger migraine headaches.
Oils: The oils causing inflammation include canola, cottonseed, corn and palm oil, which when non-organic or heated can be extremely inflammatory. Coconut oil that has been cold pressed and not been heated is the best oil for migraine sufferers.
Chocolate: To the CNS, chocolate can be extremely aggressive and overstimulating. It is actually categorized as a neurotoxin that can activate migraines. Some individuals believe that caffeine and chocolate can actually relieve migraines. They’ve felt that effect because caffeine can activate the adrenals to produce large amounts of adrenalin that flood the body and this acts as a temporary halt of the inflammation helping prevent migraine symptoms. After a while though, the effect of caffeine weakens which can lead to negative consequences.
Alcohol: This substance injures the liver and is extremely dehydrating.
Healing Foods for migraines and headaches:
Foods commonly eaten that promote blood and yin in the body:
Asparagus
Watermelon
Basil
Tomatoes
Beets
Swiss chard
Bok choy
Spinach
Celery (one of the best)
Romaine lettuce
Cherries
Raspberries
Cilantro
Pomegranate
Collard greens
Parsley
Goji berries
Mustard greens
Kale
All leafy green vegetables
Many of those abovementioned foods are cold by nature, which is good since the body needs to be cooled down when you have migraine or headache. Most fruits and veggies are naturally thermally cold besides flooding the body with essential nutrients, they can help alleviate inflammation in your body as well.
I would recommend for migraine and headache sufferers to undergo a thirty-day detoxification program where you eat nothing but fruits (25 percent) and veggies (75 percent). You may need to adapt to the program if you’ve been eating meat all your life. Since vegetables and fruits contain protein in them, you’ll eventually learn to adjust. The initial seven days may be very difficult than most people but after just a week of eating this alone, you’ll be able to feel your headaches and migraines significantly decreasing in magnitude and frequency.
Chinese nutritional therapy has proven to be a powerful but simple way to guide you on the path to healing from migraines and headaches.
Emily Farish Acupuncture
400 S. Jefferson, Suite 203
Spokane, WA 99204
Phone: 509-217-9262
https://emilyfarishacupuncture.com/