June 7-13, 2009 is National Headache Awareness Week
Do you remember a famous saying by Hartman Jule: “Sometimes a headache is all in your head. Relax.” ? It can help us explain the main triggers of our Headaches and Migraines.
If you do research for main factors that trigger headaches, you will come up with a familiar list:
Anger = stress + emotions +diet 
Noise = environmental stress
Anxiety = stress + emotions + diet
Sleep disruption = stress +diet
Chemicals + medications= environmental stress
Hormone fluctuations = stress + diet + emotions
Hunger = diet + dehydration + stress
Lifestyle = sleep + stress + diet + physical activity level
Diet = dehydration + stress + diet
Hormones = stress + diet+ physical activity level
Sex = hormones + stress
Weight = hormones + diet + stress
As you can see, stress, stress and stress is #1 cause of most all headaches and migraines.
If we have frequent headaches we suffer from
Insomnia
Irritability
Impatience
Inability to concentrate
Anxiety
Depression
Sounds familiar? All these symptoms can be caused by low level of tryptophan (amino acid our body cannot produce).
Studies indicate that people with low level of tryptophan suffer from seasonal depression, fatigue and insomnia. You know why? Because tryptophan needs for production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the body regulate appetite, sleep patterns, and mood, in other words deal with stress.
Can you see the connection? If you take care of stress and get rid of depression, anxiety, irritability, impatience, impulsiveness, insomnia, you might be able to control your headache triggers and prevent actual headaches and migraines.
Food sources that help boost your serotonin level are foods rich in
Tryptophan:
Spirulina, spinach, soy foods, salmon, bananas, potatoes, almonds and other nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, avocados, beans and legumes, dates, cheese, eggs; (if you eat meat: turkey, beef chicken, pork);
If you eat healthy but have poor absorption, your healthy diet doesn’t do any good. We always have to remember about absorption of what we eat. To increase your tryptophan absorption we need to incorporate more healthy carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds.
To increase our serotonin level we also need foods rich in B vitamins, Calcium, Magnesium and Omega-3 -essential fatty acids.
B- vitamins:
fish, peanuts, peas, broccoli, prunes, raisins, oatmeal, avocados, asparagus, bananas, spinach, walnuts, sunflower seeds, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, mushrooms, brown rice, cabbage, cantaloupe, salmon, seafood, sea vegetables, yogurt, whole grains and nuts.
Magnesium:
almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, brown rice, garlic, leafy vegetables, grapefruit, cantaloupe, sesame seeds, spinach, salmon.
Calcium:
dark green leafy vegetables (collard greens, mustard greens, arugula, dandelion greens, Romaine lettuce, spinach);
cruciferous vegetables ( broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, collard greens, bok choy, radish , daikon, wasabi, horseradish;
fish with bones, almonds, sunflower seeds, tofu.
Omega-3 -essential fatty acids: salmon, fish oil, flax seed, walnuts
How do we know if need more tryptophan rich foods?
Weight gain, overeating, carbohydrate cravings are some of the signs of low level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps our body control appetite, keep us in a better mood and deal with insomnia.
Numerous studies show that the less serotonin we have in the body the more chances that we might suffer from headaches.
So let us be serotonin smart to get rid of headaches and migraines, shall we?
Don’t forget to take a piece of chocolate (to boost your serotonin level) and them breathe, smile and be happy to get rid of headaches and migraines.
© Irina Wardas, HHC
Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert
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