Tomatoes

Tomatoes get a bad rap, mainly because of what foods they accompany, or what additives are put in tomato sauce. Yes, tomatoes can be a trigger for some due to high amounts of free glutamate (not to be confused with an aversion to wheat gluten), but for most migraine sufferers tomatoes are perfectly fine, by themselves. Tomatoes are extremely healthy and may even help aid in weight loss! So, don't knock them before you give them a fair chance. Tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce usually has onion powder added to it, and possibly other additives, which may trigger a migraine. Pizza dough has fresh-risen yeast which contains tyramine, and pizza toppings contain nitrates and possibly MSG. If you make your own italian food at home (which contains tomatoes), and you haven't added any onion powder or onions to the sauce, maybe it's the salad dressing (fermentation) which has triggered your headache. And remember, it could possibly be something you ate from the day before. So, before you blame your headache on tomatoes, which many tolerate well, be sure it isn't something else causing you havoc. After you have removed every migraine trigger from your diet for quite some time, if you still suspect tomatoes, then eliminate them for two to four weeks. If you notice no difference, add them back in. Happy eating!

Migraine and Fibromyalgia

While obtaining my music education degree, I went through a period of time where my muscles became so much like cement that I was in a severe amount of pain. At one point, my left arm and hand would barely move, and I couldn't play my violin for a period of weeks. As a music major, this was not the best situation to be in. I had a senior recital coming up that I couldn't practice for! I saw six doctors, some of them specialists (a physical therapist, feldenkrais instructor, bio-feedback specialist, and others) to help my muscles relax. I was able to play again, but I never did get to full recovery stage. I also had headaches during this time. The pain was centered around my neck, back, arms, and even somewhat in my hips and legs. After finding Dr. Buchholz's book and following his diet, my pain and muscle/fascia tension dropped dramatically. I still have a little bit of muscle pain and tension, especially when a storm rolls in, but not near to the degree that I had back then. I have migraine. For a long time I was diagnosed as having allergies, which I don't have. I was diagnosed at one time with having lactose intolerance, which I don't have. I do have migraine trigger intolerance though, which produces the same symptoms. My point is, sometimes people are diagnosed with fibromyalgia who don't actually have it. It produces many of the same symptoms. If your pain is centered mainly around your neck, shoulders and back, then maybe you have migraine. Do all people diagnosed with fibromyalgia actually have migraine? That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm just saying that both conditions are fairly new to the medical world and hard to understand. Do you have headaches along with your muscle pain? Where is the pain centralized? Is it time to re-evaluate? If not and your method is working for you, that is great! If your method isn't working, and this post has helped you in some way, then I am happy. That was my only goal in posting it.

Happiness and Inspiration

Pain can sometimes be depressing. For that matter, so can life. Everyone has problems and situations in this world, no matter who the person is. I personally think speed bumps along the way make us grow and teach us lessons in life. Think about all the lessons you've learned from hard times. Have you learned as many from good times? However, it is the happy times that keep us going and give us inspiration. What do you do for inspiration? Do you often dwell on migraines and the pain they cause, or do you allow yourself to enjoy what life gives you? If chronic pain has caused you to crawl into a hole, first of all, it is time to begin to heal. Also, it's time to remember the joys in life again. I'm not talking about picking up hobbies again, although maybe that would be great! I'm talking about viewing conversations with people differently. When you enter a room with new faces, do you wonder if people are going to like you, or do you just assume they will because you are a likable person? Do you have faith that situations are going to work out for you, or do you believe that you just have the worst luck? When a negative thought enters your mind, push it out and replace it with a positive one. If a big presentation or meeting is coming up, have faith that it will go well, not the opposite. Whatever it takes for you to begin thinking this way, start it today. I personally get my inspiration by watching Joel Osteen every Sunday. His telecast puts me in a great mood that lasts all week long. I also make sure to spend plenty of quality time with friends and family. They are the people who really care.

Migraine-Friendly Fast Food?

There really isn't any migraine-free fast food. However, Chipotle is not nearly as bad as a burger and fries or chicken nuggets with dipping sauce. Even a grilled chicken sandwich at a fast food restaurant can be an MSG bomb. Chipotle makes everything from scratch with high quality meat, and everything is free of additives or preservatives. It's true! Check their website. The meat is marinated in a chipotle pepper adobo, which probably contains citrus and vinegar. Remember, though, that some of that is cooked out again when the meat is grilled, and it is still MSG-free. What you have to be careful with are the toppings. Sour cream and avocado contain tyramine by nature, and the salsas have a lot of onions and vinegar in them. The refried beans are cooked with bacon, so that is a definite NO! Even the corn has onions in it. I encourage you to check the Chipotle website to find out what is in every food they serve, then order accordingly. I wouldn't eat Chipotle very often, and especially not in the beginning stages of the diet. Remember, the diet must be strictly adhered to in the beginning for it to work, so chipotle adobo marinade isn't going to help you. However, later on as a special treat, or when you are in a real pinch and don't have any food with you, Chipotle may be a suitable fast food option. The best option is to make your own food.

Common Diet Mistakes:

Not Avoiding Processed and Aged Foods:
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make on this diet is forgetting to avoid processed and aged foods. Remember, even though a food may only contain a few ingredients which seem harmless, if that food is highly processed, our body will not know what to do with it. Fast food burgers are a great example of this. In their ingredients, they may only contain salt, meat, and a preservative (within the burger itself). However, the burgers are highly processed which by nature means they contain MSG. Burgers and burger substitutes bought at the supermarket pose the same problem.

Fermenting fruits and vegetables, and even meats, starts a process which creates more tyramine within that food. On the other hand, canning (without fermenting), freezing, and drying these items slows the aging process down. So, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables (as long as they aren't on the avoid list) should be fine as long as they are not flavored or fermented.

Not Eating Meals Prepared at Home:

I see many people try this diet who continue to eat out all the time. You may continue to eat out if you wish, but you have to be particular in what foods you order and what restaurants you choose. This can make the diet quite limiting. You cannot continue to eat fast food for sure, and many restaurants are not much better. Sauces and gravies are not prepared from scratch, but rather from a base containing MSG, and forget about soups or casseroles. While eating out, you are limited to simply prepared meals with no sauces or gravies, and very limited seasonings if any at all. So, your mouth may get bored. Plus, it's not easy to tell what is in your food, so you may not always know what you are getting. It's better to make a lifestyle change and learn to cook at home. You can make your own gravies, sauces, seasonings and spices, casseroles, burgers, condiments, etcetera, and it is not as difficult or time consuming as you may think. Another plus to eating at home is that it is much less expensive.

Not Following Step 1 of the Program:

For this program to work, all steps must be followed. Step 1 of Dr. Buchholz's program involves eliminating rebound causing medication. Every diet and every preventive measure and medicine in the world won't help you if rebound is still getting in the way. It's only painful for a short while. Yes, I went through it too, so I do know the pain involved. It was well worth it, believe me. I'm much happier now than I was when I was dependent on caffeine and medication. I hear people say to me often "I get headaches every day, so it can't be rebound." If you are taking medication to abort your headache every time or nearly every time you get one, and they are happening often, you probably have rebound headaches.

Not Avoiding Caffeine:

Caffeine can help a headache in process, but it is a rebound causing medication. That's right, caffeine is a drug. That's why many headache medicines on the drug market (prescription and non-prescription) contain caffeine. Caffeine not only makes effective headache medications work faster, but it constricts dilated blood vessels, which is what is causing your painful headache in the first place (there are other factors involved as well). However, once the caffeine wears off, your blood vessels dilate back to a degree greater than they were previously. This is, essentially, rebound headache. You've heard people talk about caffeine headaches, or needing caffeine early in the morning in order to get rid of the stuffy, full, or groggy feeling in their head. It takes more and more caffeine to keep the blood vessels constricted to a comfortable degree. So, to assume that caffeine is not a trigger for you, may not be completely accurate.

Trying to Avoid Gluten:

While following a gluten-free diet can be helpful for many people, it is not the best diet for migraine sufferers. If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, then the gluten-free diet is the one you should be following. If not, then by following a gluten-free diet you are eliminating some unnecessary foods which can provide you needed nutrients, and you are not eliminating foods which should be eliminated. A great example of this is tyramine. Tyramine can be found in citrus fruits, nuts, onions, and other foods which are perfectly fine on a gluten-free diet. It also allows for chocolate, which is a well-known migraine trigger because it contains caffeine, theobromine, phenylethylamine, and possibly tyramine as well. You may find some relief by following a gluten-free diet, and some people will have full relief, because by following the diet you are essentially eliminating many sources of MSG. However, for those of you with more triggers, the migraine-free diet is the better one to follow. You'll be eliminating all possible headache triggers at once, then adding them back in later one by one to find your personal triggers, which I'll talk about more below.

Free glutamate (not the same as gluten from wheat protein), found in tomatoes, mushrooms and peas can be a trigger for some, but it is not high on the trigger list. Feel free to leave these in your diet unless you strongly suspect them. If so, eliminate them for two to four weeks. Then, if you see no improvement, add them back in. Remember, pre-made tomato sauces contain onion and/or onion powder and possibly other triggers which can start a headache. It is best to make these from scratch in your own kitchen.

True, Not Every Trigger is a Problem for Everyone, But...

Did you start a food diary to keep track of everything you were eating, but nothing seemed to add up? Part of the reason for this may be due to rebound headache, as mentioned above. The more likely reason, though, is that triggers are extremely hard to pinpoint. Triggers do not have to cause a headache every time they are eaten. It's possible that you can eat chocolate one day and be just fine, but on another day there is a huge storm brewing overhead, you're stressed at school or work, and you have other dietary triggers stacked up in your system as well, causing the chocolate to be the last straw. It all depends on how many triggers and what amount of those triggers are causing you problems at once. Also, a trigger does not have to cause a headache the same day it is eaten. It can wait to strike for up to two days later. So, with the many unavoidable triggers constantly around you, including lack of sleep as well, dietary triggers are extremely hard to pinpoint. All triggers must be eliminated at once, then added back in one at a time for several days at full force to find out if the trigger is a culprit. Nothing can be added back in, though, until you feel fully healed. By eliminating dietary triggers, you are lowering the trigger level in your body which makes unavoidable triggers (even hormones) less likely to cause a headache for you.


Some of this information comes from information I have learned through the process of writing my cookbook entitled Migraine-Free Cooking!, and some of it comes from Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain by David Buchholz, M.D.

Do you miss cinnamon rolls?

There is a simple cinnamon roll substitute that has been popular in homes of the mid-west for years. Fresh cinnamon rolls contain tyramine due to the fresh risen yeast and may also contain other triggers in the dough. If you make them yourself at home and wait 24 hours to eat them, then you are okay. However, if you want a quick cinnamon roll substitute that is a little bit more healthy, here is a simple trick.

Cinnamon-Sugar Toast

4 pieces bread, trigger-free (100% whole wheat or whole grain is healthier)
butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon plus 2 teaspoons sugar or Splenda granular, mixed

Toast the bread and immediately spread a very thin layer of butter over the top. Shake the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the butter, then shake off the excess. Enjoy!

My cookbook is now available!

Please see a preview of my cookbook here. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.