Are Bananas a Trigger for Migraines?

By: Sandra Kim Leong
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:20:38
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There can be a number of factors that trigger the onset of your migraines. One such factor is diet related. The food items trigger your migraines as they contain some chemical compounds. One of these chemical substances is known as tyramine. As tyramine is a predominant composition in bananas, this has led many to wonder: Are bananas a trigger to migraine headaches?

It is important to first have some understanding about what happens during a migraine, in order to explain how tyramine may set off your headaches. Migraine headaches tend to follow a characteristic pattern – from prodrome to postdrome – and the symptoms may differ from person to person. However, in most cases, the patient may experience a throbbing pain in any one side of the head (sometimes it spreads to both sides as well), and the condition is usually accompanied by phonophobia, photophobia and nausea or sometimes vomiting.

The exact cause of migraine is still under contention. Still there is some consensus by experts that migraines are caused by a reduction in blood flow to the brain cells. This in turn springs from the constriction of arteries, which is triggered by certain external factors.

It is also widely believed that an excess concentration of tyramine in a migraine patient’s blood can cause vasoconstriction of the blood vessels in the brain. In addition, it appears that people with migraines caused by dietary factors appear to be deficient in enzymes needed to break down tyramine. Some drugs used to treat depression (such as Nardil, Marplan and Parnate) also interfere with the process of breaking down tyramine.

The best form of treatment for migraines due to food triggers is prevention. Upon determining that you get severe migraine attacks due to sensitivity to a particular food, it is advisable to exclude it from your diet. Once set in, migraine can be very painful and can be difficult to treat. Consuming drugs for pain relief is not an option that you would like to use too often as you may get rebound headaches (a consequence of taking too much medication).

Thus, closely monitoring your diet can be helpful in preventing migraine headaches. It is not an easy exercise to precisely determine what your food intolerances or allergies are. You may need to seek the help of a qualified professional for this process. However, if you are successful in determining any potential food triggers, you will get immense relief from reducing the frequency and severity of your migraine headaches. Eliminating banana pancakes from your diet will not be such a bad idea after all!

Overconsumption of drugs for headache relief can result in rebound headaches and worsening migraines. Get more information on natural headache remedy or remedies here on this site at http://www.naturalheadacheremedies.com

Article source: Expert Articles

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