Why Eating Can Be a Pain: Foods that Cause Headaches

If you've been having frequent headaches or migraines lately, it may be due to more than stress or lack of sleep. The foods you're eating could have an effect on the amount of headaches you've been having, as well as how long your discomfort lasts. Some of these foods are actually healthy for you, but too much of them could cause problems. Here is a list of some common foods that may be making your day a little more stressful, as well as some suggestions for how you can make your head clearer in the future.

Nuts (especially cashews or almonds). While nuts provide the 'good' type of fat, as well as protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for healthy skin and memory retention, too much of these nuts, which people usually consume in trail mix or in salads, could cause pressure in the temples due to protein or fat overload in the body. In order to reduce your chances of getting headaches, try to consume about a handful of nuts every day or every other day, depending on your diet.

Eggs. Eggs can give people who already have adequate protein in their diets headaches, and the sulfur in eggs can cause pain and pressure as well. Sulfur and protein can improve the health of your skin, and sulfur has antibiotic properties that can help to cure acne, but if you're on a vegetarian diet, or if you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, eggs can give you a headache almost as soon as you eat them. In order to reduce headaches, you may want to egg substitute, or products like Egg Beaters, which can only have the fat of eggs. Also, baked goods that contain eggs and yeast could cause discomfort, especially if you eat a lot of them, so try to avoid things like bagels, fresh baked breads, and baked desserts, or reduce them from your diet significantly.

Chocolate. This comes as bad news to a lot of people, but eating too much chocolate could be the cause of your headaches. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, and too much of this substance affects your concentration and adds pressure to various points in the head, which is why too much chocolate could lead to migraines.

Fruits. Red-skinned apples and pears an cause headaches, due to the pigmentation, and too much apple juice can cause headaches as well, since there is lots of fiber and pectin and apples and their juice, so making sure you're eating a balanced diet could make your head feel better. Citrus fruits have been known to give headaches as well, since they make the body highly acidic which can throw your pH balance off. And, while grapes are pretty safe, red wine can create headaches or migraines due to the chemical tyramine; some people confuse this with a hangover, but cutting down your wine intake could keep you from getting a headaches after dinner or your social gathering.

In order to get over your headaches, you can rub a bit of peppermint oil on the temples to relieve pressure, or you can take feverfew a few times a day as an alternative treatment to use instead of aspirin for headache relief.