I have had a few emails recently from people suffering from headaches. It is important that is a headache persists for more than a day or two that you consult a doctor as there could be a number of underlying health issues that could be the cause, including high blood pressure.
Headaches have been the subject of many jokes by comedians over the years mainly related to women and sex. However, headaches are no joke and men are just as likely to suffer from them. If you have a balanced and healthy diet with at least 30 minutes brisk exercise a day it is unlikely that you will be making a good effort to stay fit.
Additionally the vast majority of headaches are simply a reaction to a passing event. It could be dietary, hormonal, a pulled muscle in the neck, the result of a little too much alcohol the night before or lack of fluids.
It used to be that it also indicated that you had high blood pressure but the thinking on that has changed recently although having experienced blood pressure problems when I was morbidly obese I do believe headaches are associated with the condition. However, it can also be a combination of all of the above including high blood pressure. One of the reasons for this is stress.
First some of the common causes:-
Dehydration.
Many experts will now tell you that it is a myth that you need to drink 2 litres of fluid a day. I am afraid I am not one of them. I have seen the devastating effects on both very young babies and the elderly who are very vulnerable to dehydration. If you have a child that is irritable and fractious at certain times of the day then they are probably dehydrated. If an elderly person is snappy and has very dry skin then they are dehydrated. The elderly get stuck in a routine of a cup of tea four times a day and that is it. Keep a close eye on this if you are caring for an elderly relative.
It is not just the elderly who fall into this habit. A lot of people will tell you that they are drinking 6 cups of tea and coffee a day and that is all the fluid they need. Well, too much caffeine in tea and coffee may relieve a headache in moderation but too much can cause a headache and if you suddenly stop both, you can get one because of withdrawal.
We don’t just lose fluid through peeing – we also lose moisture through our skin and through breathing. If you are a man with an active job, or you in an overheated office and only drink coffee and tea throughout the day, you will become dehydrated and prone to headaches.
The headaches being the symptom that you are most likely to notice.
The truth is that if you do not stay hydrated your blood will thicken and every organ in your body will begin to dry out causing the following symptoms.
Dry mouth, dry eyes, muscle cramps, palpitations, nausea and vomiting, light-headedness, decreased urine output. And as the thickened blood fails to reach your major organs, coma and death.
So – at the first sign of a headache and before you reach for a couple of painkillers, review your fluids for the last 24 hours.
If you think you might be dehydrated drink a glass of water every half hour for two hours. If you usually have a coffee every morning at 10.00 and have missed your cup today, it may be a sign of a slight withdrawal. By all means have a coffee then, but you need to review your overall fluid intake to ensure that you are indeed properly hydrated.
My suggestion is that you have the following daily.
- Hot water and lemon juice first thing to stimulate your digestive system and rehydrate.
- Drink teas and coffees but also a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal and 90 minutes afterwards.(the reason for drinking fluids 90 minutes after a meal is so that you don’t dilute the gastric juices in your stomach as they process the food you have just eaten. Particularly as we get older.)
- If you have an active job or are in an overheated environment have a litre bottle of fluid on your desk and sip from it throughout the day.
- For every 45 minutes of intense exercise increase your fluid intake by a litre. –
You can overdo fluids, particularly if you are not very active. I suggest that you monitor your intake and if you are drinking over 3 litres a day, including teas and coffees you might consider reducing. If you take in too much fluid without the exercise to sweat it out, salt and other electrolytes in your blood become too diluted and if this happens quickly it can be fatal.
Taking pain medication.
Although one or two over the counter pain killers taken occasionally are effective, taking them long term can result in headaches. It is estimated that at least half of migraines and around 30% of ordinary headaches are due to overuse of pain medication.
With chronic pain we tend to take our two tablets every four hours over an extended period. The body gradually builds up resistance to that particular medication and we then move to a stronger analgesic such as codeine. However, we begin to suffer withdrawal symptoms as the drug wears off after two or three hours and one of those symptoms is a headache.
The problem is that most of us do not get an accurate diagnosis of the headache – as I have mentioned there could be any number of reasons for the pain – and taking pain medication will not help if the problem is caused by a food trigger or dehydration. If you do not resolve the cause of the headache they will continue, and you will build up the resistance to pain medication.
If you are on long term pain medication and you are experiencing frequent headaches, consult your doctor and see if an alternative might be more tolerable.
Irregular food intake.
If you have been a regular visitor to the blog you will know that I don’t advocate crash dieting where calories and more importantly nutrients are drastically reduced during the day.
Well, of course, food is not quite as essential as fluids, as it can be about 6 weeks rather than 6 days before we succumb.
However, we need to have a steady supply of energy and by not eating the right foods and supplying our bodies with the ingredients to make the fuel mix we require, our blood sugar levels drop. When they drop we can get a headache.
If you regularly develop a headache around 11.00 in the morning or mid-afternoon you may be suffering from this type of headache. Especially if you have an active job where your requirement for energy is higher.
Whilst I am a fan of intermittant fasting and don’t usually have anything to eat before 10.00 in the morning. I am not getting up and rushing around for an hour getting a family ready to go to school and myself off to work.
Exercising is best on an empty stomach but it is important to make sure you are hydrated before you go out for a run first thing in the morning. Then make sure you have breakfast when you return.
If you off to an energetic start every morning then I do recommend you have breakfast and it is important to have a mixture of both slow burning carbohydrate and protein as this will help maintain a balanced blood sugar level. Then maintain your energy levels throughout the day with a combination of food and fluid.
For example:-
- A bowl of porridge with a handful of raisins and milk, followed by an egg, boiled, poached etc. on a piece of toast. –
- Have a mid-morning snack – banana with a handful of nuts.
- Lunch – whole grain bread and tuna or egg sandwiches and a piece of fruit.
- Mid-afternoon – a hard-boiled egg – wholemeal crackers.
- If you have had an active day then you can get away with having brown rice or pasta in moderation in the evening with meat, fish or poultry.
- At the same time drinking fluids regularly during the day.
Food Triggers.
There are certain foods that can trigger a headache or the more debilitating migraine.
Nitrates tend to be the biggest culprit found in cured meats. The amino acid tyramine found in mature cheeses, cured meats and some beers can also trigger an episode.
Generally though the problem is a bit like that with the painkillers. We like a food so we eat it regularly. Over an extended period of time the toxic part of the food builds up in our liver or system until it causes a number of symptoms including a headache.
It is unlikely that if you drink alcohol that at some point you have not experienced a hangover and the headache that goes with that.
Congeners are chemicals in distilled drinks and the darker the drink as a rule of thumb, the more congeners. So Brandy, whisky, rum with Vodka having the least. Red wine has more than white. Some beers depending on the brewing process. So if you drink every night and you have a persistent headache first thing in the morning it could well be connected.
I am one of those who cannot tolerate monosodium glutamate (MSG) and I love Chinese food but have to always ask them to take out the MSG. Unfortunately it is also in some salty foods as well and vegetarian prepared dishes.
For some people the wonderful taste of warm fresh bread can trigger a headache as can some other yeast products. Usually when still warm so let cool completely before eating.
For some it may not be the taste of food that triggers a migraine but just the smell of certain foods or chemicals. These might range from powerful detergents to hair colour.
Finally aspartame in fizzy drinks and used in other ‘diet’ products can effect pain receptors and cause a headache.
Keeping a Food Diary
I suggest that if you are getting headaches regularly but at different times of the day and they are not continuous then you keep a food diary for a week and record everything that you eat and drink.
Look for the food or foods that you eat or drink every day and if it is one of the usual suspects such as cheese, fermented dairy products, chocolate, red wine, peanuts, bacon, ham etc., then you should try going without for five days and then introducing again one at a time.
The body is designed to remove moderate toxicity efficiently but it can be a five day cycle so this is why it is a good idea to eat these foods occasionally if you are reacting to them.
Stress
We all experience stress in different ways and there are two types that most of us experience at one time or another. Acute Stress and Chronic Stress, and both have very distinctive patterns.
Acute Stress is a short-term response by the body’s sympathetic nervous system and the response may only last for a few minutes or a few weeks. How many times have you said that your heart stopped or your stomach lurched during a moment of intense stress such as an accident? We have all heard stories of mothers and fathers who have been suddenly infused with superhuman strength and able to lift cars and other heavy objects off their trapped children. They are empowered to do this by the actions of their body in a moment of crisis.
Blood sugar levels rise and additional red blood cells are released to carry strength giving oxygen levels a boost. The pulse quickens, blood pressure rises and the digestive process stops to enable the focus to be entirely on regaining safety.
Chronic Stress is when this acute stress response is repeated on a continuous basis. Whilst the body, after a hundred thousand years, is well able to handle the occasional stress response and in fact uses it positively, if the response becomes a normal way of life, other parts of the brain and body become involved leading to long term damage.
For example, on-going stress causes the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which are the master controllers for the body, to release a chemical called ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) which stimulates the adrenal gland to produce and release cortisol which disrupts sleep patterns leading to increased levels of stress. Our bodies are simply not designed to live at high alert for sustained periods of time; it just wears it down leading to illness. Headaches is one of the side effects of this chronic stress and it is therefore very important to pay attention to what is essentially a warning shot across your bow.
There are various forms of chronic stress from relationships, financial, work etc. But the most common is too much time at the computer which causes eye strain and also poor posture leading to tension headaches. Make sure that apart from keeping hydrated that you get up every 40 minutes or so and have a walk around. Better for your circulation in general as it will increase blood flow around the body as well as to your brain.
If the stress is on-going, you are going to need to find some methods of reducing the burden on your system. This may require you to seek professional help. Although exercise, eating well and taking in fluids are essential at all times, a constant level of mental or emotional stress does need to be dealt with. Over time chronic stress can lead to cardiovascular disease and other health issues.
Stress can also lead to High Blood Pressure
If you have a blood pressure around the 120/80 mark then it is considered normal. If you are above 140/90 it is considered to be high blood pressure. There are certain conditions where it is important to keep the blood pressure lower than this, such as with diabetics, or people with kidney disease, whose blood pressure should be below 130/80.
Usually a doctor will take your blood pressure over a period of time to determine if it is continuously high or just elevated for a specific reason before prescribing medication.
When your blood pressure is high it means that the heart and the blood-vessels are working too hard, and if left untreated it can lead to heart attacks and strokes. This is particularly the case if blood pressure measures more than 160/95 all the time.
As we get older our blood vessels suffer from wear and tear like the rest of our bodies. And particular after menopause for women when our body loses the protection of our hormones.
One of the common symptoms of high blood pressure is a headache and if you also find yourself being short-tempered and agitated then it would be a very good idea to get your BP checked. I have written a number of posts on how diet and exercise can support and may reduce your blood pressure so please email me on sally.cronin@moyhill.com and I will send you the links.
Other dangerous headaches.
If you are suffering from headaches all day, every day for more than two days you should consult your doctor. You can also focus on your environment to ensure you are not putting yourself at risk.
One of the first places to check is your kitchen. Not for a food trigger but for carbon monoxide poisoning. If you have gas cooking or central heating you should have a censor in the room and also check with other family members.
I got caught when looking after my mother in her house; I used the kitchen as my living room and spent a great deal of time in there. I had a headache for three days with nausea and developing respiratory problems. I thought I was starting the flu but it was only after being rushed to hospital in agony that we got the gas board in to test for Carbon Monoxide levels. Which were dangerously high. I was lucky but many others have not been so. Get a censor immediately and if you feel that you have any of those symptoms and stomach cramps or vomiting seek medical attention immediately.
A stroke.
If you suddenly experience a blinding pain in your head, or a headache which feels like it is about to take the top or your head off or it is accompanied by the following symptoms you need to get immediate medical assistance.
Confusion, confused speech, stiff neck, blurred vision, dizziness and unable to walk, inability to raise arms above your head.
If you do not have someone with you try to attract attention, if you cannot reach a phone but someone is in the house try to knock over some ornaments or piece of furniture (provided it will not hit you).
Do not make assumptions about constant and severe headaches. It is better to take the time to get an expert opinion than wait until something as drastic as a stroke takes place or rarely the result of a brain tumour. The earlier you are treated the better the outcome.
©Sally Cronin 2022
About Sally Cronin
I am a qualified nutritional therapist with twenty-four years experience working with clients in Ireland and the UK as well as being a health consultant on radio in Spain.
Although I write a lot of fiction, I actually wrote my first two books on health, the first one, Size Matters, a weight loss programme 21 years ago, based on my own weight loss of 154lbs. My first clinic was in Ireland, the Cronin Diet Advisory Centre and my second book, Just Food for Health was written as my client’s workbook. Since then I have written a men’s health manual, and anti-aging programme, articles for magazines, radio programmes and posts here on Smorgasbord.
You can buy my books from: Amazon US – and: Amazon UK – Follow me :Goodreads – Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin
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