Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Blog Fest: Women’s Health & Migraines

By Anthony J Sepe

http://www.medicalnutritiontherapyservices.com/

http://fromadietitiansperspective.blogspot.com/

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Studies suggest that up to 20% of women suffer with migraine headaches. Migraine headaches can, of course, affect anyone, but usually women are 3 times more likely than men to suffer from them. Many times, certain foods are the culprit, but seldom is their any type of agreement of consensus between foods and headaches.

There is often severe head pain, plus a multitude of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light, and sometimes—certain odors. Sometimes not every symptom is experienced, yet, a severe migraine attack can last many hours, but more often than not, a person suffering with a migraine will find themselves in a dark room, void of incoming light, and with drapes drawn. And sometimes, the precious screaming little darlings that we love so much—can trigger a severe migraine too!

Clearly, the causes of migraines are complicated at best, but not well understood, either. It is known that certain compounds in food have been suspected, but not proven to be causes of headaches in some. Tyromine in aged cheeses and chocolate, may be the catalyst.

It is often recommended that a journal be kept in place, if you experience chronic headaches. If your physician has given a diagnosis and you are someone susceptible to food triggers, see your registered dietitian who can help!

Please visit colleague RD bloggers below too:

  1. Angela White at Blisstree’s Breastfeeding 1-2-3 – Helpful Skills of Breastfeeding Counselors
  2. Angie Tillman, RD, LDN, CDE – You Are Beautiful Today
  3. Ashley Colpaart – Women's health through women
  4. Charisse McElwaine – Spending too much time on the "throne?
  5. Danielle Omar – Yoga, Mindful Eating and Food Confidence
  6. Diane Preves M.S.,R.D – Balance for Health
  7. Joan Sather A Woman's Healthy Choices Affect More Than Herself
  8. Laura Wittke – Fibro Study Recruits Participants
  9. Liz Marr, MS, RD – Reflecting on Family Food Ways and Women's Work
  10. Marjorie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT – Healthy Women, Healthy Business: How Your Health Impacts a Powerful Business
  11. Marsha Hudnall – Breakfast Protein Helps Light Eaters Feel Full
  12. Michelle Loy, MPH, MS, RD – A Nutritionista’s Super Foods for Super Skin
  13. Monika Woolsey, MS, RD - http://incyst.blogspot.com/2009/07/to-effectively-work-with-pcos-is-to.html
  14. Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog – How breastfeeding helps you, too
    Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RD, LD – Four Keys to Wellness, Just for Women
  15. Renata Mangrum, MPH, RD – The busy busy woman
  16. Robin Plotkin, RD, LD – Feeding the Appetites of the Culinary, Epicurious and Nutrition Worlds-One Bite at a Time
  17. Sharon Salomon, MS, RD – Calories, longevity and do I care
  18. Terri L Mozingo, RD, CDN & D. Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, CDN of One Source Nutrition, LLC – Crossing the Line: From Health to Hurt
  19. Wendy Jo Peterson, RD – Watch Your Garden Grow

Thanks for reading!

7 comments:

  1. Good topic to address, Anthony, since headaches are so commonplace among women. Some women are more susceptible to headaches at different times during their monthly cycles and at different phases of their reproductive lives, and your advice about the diet-related aspects is very useful.

    Liz

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  2. I suffered from migraines for about 15 years. Likely due to hormonal changes. It helped being a dietitian myself so I knew how to manipulate my diet.

    Good seeing you in the blogfest!

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  3. Hi Anthony,

    Thanks for participating. This time around some weird things have been happening to the links Readers can visit my post so they can read the other submissions too (which is already showing at the bottom of this page under "Links to this post").

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  4. thanks for the list will check them out
    By the way I changed my address to match the blog!

    https://chowandchatter.blogspot.com

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  5. Great topic, Anthony, and glad to see you participated in the Blogfest!

    I suffered from migraines, but when I started getting involved in 'functional nutrition', after going on an elimination diet to see what the triggers were, once I removed the reactive foods, no more migraines!

    Oh, and the trigger food? Barley!!!

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  6. I have also suffered from migraines, mostly optical and they are severely debilitating. The suggestion to keep a journal is a great one.
    Great post!

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  7. Good to read about it,I know woman suffer but never read about it.The headaches are terrible and they certainly get worse with the menstruation cycle.

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