The Nutritionist's Take on: Headaches

So many of us (both husbands AND wives!) take headaches for granted as a fact of life. We feel them coming on and just struggle on through … not really present, definitely not enjoying whatever we're doing, but believing that everybody gets them.

In fact, headaches are NOT normal - pain one of our body's signals that something is wrong! Today we look at what nutritionists have to say about headaches … and how you could start truly enjoying your life, headache-free, from now on.

How headaches and nutrition are linked

Nutrition is rarely a direct cause of headaches (although there are exceptions to this rule). However, in many ways headaches and nutrition are inextricably linked. Here are some of the ways they go together like birds and bees:

• Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can lead to arterial spasms: If you eat too many high GI foods or skip a meal, the change in blood sugar levels can sometimes lead to a spasming of the artery walls. This will cause pounding, horrible headaches. This is one reason that you can't simply take whole food multivitamins on top of a diet completely devoid of fruit and veg.
• Caffeine withdrawals can cause headaches: Here is one of the direct nutritional links.
• Poor nutrition can exacerbate stress: Stress alone can be a major headache … simply trying to battle with your thoughts not to fall into a depressive or angry spiral is enough to give you a headache. However stress can also nullify the effects of painkillers, reduce your natural endorphin levels, and lower your tolerance to pain.
• Hormones can affect headaches: And your nutrition is well known to affect your hormones. This is particularly relevant for women, for whom a lack of estrogen can exacerbate headaches.
• Infections: If your body's natural resistance to infection is impaired by poor nutrition, you will be more prone to headaches related to infection in your ear nose and throat, all of which can cause related headaches.
• Nerve damage: Vitamin deficiencies can sometimes cause nerve damage, which would then cause you to develop recurrent headaches.
• Diabetes and headaches: Poor nutrition is a prime cause of type 2 diabetes - a diet that includes frequent peaks and troughs in blood sugar often increases the body's resistance to insulin. And diabetes itself, as well as the drugs used to treat it, are prime causes of headaches.
• Dehydration: Don't forget the liquid component of your diet! Nutritionists will tell you that water is an incredibly important part of your diet … become dehydrated, and it isn’t only your head that is suffering. Every cell of your body starts crumpling and not working properly.

In many of these cases, whole food multivitamins will help support your body through times when you just don't have the time to make salads for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, you need to have a good underlying diet as well … there is no substitute for the real thing, in the long term. Whole food supplements can help, too.