Flax (Photo credit: bwmaddog21)
You know… I really hate health food some times!
People just assume that if it is good for one, it’s good for all.
And the FDA does a horrible job at keeping up with the need to label allergens.
As much as EVERYONE is on the flax is the perfect food bandwagon, you have to be careful what you eat.
Twice I have gotten very sick by eating/ingesting healthy things.
The first time was when I took a natural decongestant when I lived in TN. It had bee pollen in it and I blew out an ear drum a few weeks before moving away to grad school.
Flax seed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The other time was, at the instance of a then-boyfriend who was a health food freak, when I started taking flax-seed oil supplements and eating bread made from flax-seed. He insisted that it was a “bad” batch of flax until I found a site from Andrew Weil that said it was possible. I didn’t want to go to the ER so I made him stay up all night with me, to make sure that I could breathe as my throat closed.
And what did I learn? Never date a guy who insisted on things I did not feel comfortable with … like crazy “health” remedies that felt counter intuitive. And get to the doctor when you are not sure…
My point is, if you are intuitive at all, do your own research and go within to decide what you need to do about your own body… don’t let someone try to force you to do a treatment (of any kind) that you don’t feel is safe. Don’t fall for gimmicks that promise the moon and will most likely not even deliver moon rocks!
Here is a blog post that disguises her experiences with flax.
Learn from our lessons. When in doubt, research, research, research!
http://allergyfoodie.com/2010/03/16/uncommon-allergies-flax-seed/
Add your thoughts here... (optional)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/ — the article where I found this diagram
Remember that health institutions put out guidelines for the general public. I do believe that some people do better with some foods or should totally avoid some foods.
I think this is a great depiction of what a plate should look like. Research shows that most women with migraines tend to eat high carb, high fat diets and I am sure there are a lot of reasons why… comfort and the ease of digestion come to mind first.
Be smart. Don’t be extreme. Listen to your body. Breathe. Drink water. Manage Stress. Love some one or something… or practice lovingkindness to all beings.
Here is what author, Carol A Foster said about food and migraines in her out of print book, Gotta Headache?
“Many of the foods you eat may contain something that interferes with how your brain functions; but don’t give up on eating. It appears that small amounts of certain foods consumed at a time when your disease is well controlled might not trigger a headache or other symptoms. However, when certain foods are eaten together or over several days a headache will result. these foods are “trigger foods.
Naturally occurring amino acids, the basic building blocks of all protein, are in the foods that interact with serotonin and other brain-cell activity.”
Here is a PDF text from Foster. I wish she was still in practice!
Enjoy and hope it helps!
I chose the above picture for a reason… Yes, you can eat on a migraine friendly diet. There isn’t anything on this plate that you can’t eat.
Here is the list of allowed foods: allowed foods Sheet1
It’s not quite as plentiful as the foods to avoid but the nice thing is that almost all spices are on the list. When you aren’t using tenderizer or marinade, spices come in very handy!
I had forgotten that honeydew and cantaloupe were on the list. I bought some on my last trip to Whole Foods. I was trying to have some in the mornings with my eggs. I felt pretty inflamed today — my face can get rosy if I have too much going on. I couldn’t figure out why. The melon didn’t help.
But that’s okay. I can have watermelon and actually it was the ripest of the three.
And the other night, I had a small piece of steak, brown rice. I had asparagus the two nights before so I wanted a different veggie. I had a container of cut up yellow squash and zucchini. The zucchini didn’t look that good but the yellow squash was fine. And I had some French green beans.
So, I added a little garlic infused olive oil to a sauce pan, added blanched green beans and the cut up squash. I had no other foods on my plate that could have given me a migraine. When the veggie dish was done, I added a very tiny bit of feta and salt and pepper. It was delightful and headache free.
Now, I can’t have as much feta as I would love to have but it was a safer day. I was okay. And I didn’t pair it with other trigger foods.
The next morning, I had warmed brown rice with a little brown sugar and cut up apple. I had a little dish of it at work after a meeting. Again, a good headache-free meal.
So, don’t think that you can’t eat or that food is the enemy. There are friendlier foods.
One note… with this list, please read labels. Things that are on the “safe” list might be, in their normal packaging. But let’s take a look at something that is unhealthy for headaches…
I used to love bran flakes. Posts’ to be exact. I had it with a little skim milk and thought it was super. Well, Post Bran Flakes have BHT in it, a known headache trigger and not a friend to healthy living. But, bran flakes, colon health. Skim milk, good for the heart, right? Nope. Skim milk is not on the safe list. So, a healthy little bowl of cereal used to start my day off in the wrong way.
Potato Chips are fine. But not barbecued ones or flavored. Stay away from things that are Parmigiana flavored.
Really, stay away from the middle of the grocery store, unless you are looking for canned tomatoes or juice. Pick healthy whole foods instead of processed. Probably that tip alone will cut your pain by a lot.
Hope my lessons help you to start experiencing more pain free days!
Namaste.
