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Migraines and foods

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Migraine Headache
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Posted 12/10/2006 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
I have IBS and have to watch my diet pretty sevearly, I dont usually eat potatoes but have twice this week and have woken up with really bad headaches, I had to stay in bed this morning it was so bad.  I know certain foods can trigger migraines, do potatoes?? 
Posted 12/10/2006 2:34 AM (GMT 0)
yes, potatos and corn are on the list. Better safe than sorry. :(
Posted 12/10/2006 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Banje,

Honestly I've been very strict on myself with the foods I eat and have put myself on a strict diet staying away from the certain foods/things in food that trigger migraines. While on that, I kept a diary and noted really there was no pattern. So, for as long as I can remember my mom and my family physician had said you are what you eat according to my migraines. However, after the diary evidence, in my case, foods aren't a trigger. Mine are almost everything ELSE, but not foods. Normally MSG, Tiramine and Caffeine and a few others are major triggers for some migraine sufferers. I haven't heard of anyone saying potatoes. And potatoes are on the list of foods that DO NOT contain tannins. But who's to say that maybe they are YOUR trigger? Maybe try and keep a journal and see what your triggers could possibly be. There are quite a bit of spices with tannins that may have been the culprit if they were added to your potatoes. Hope this list helps!!!

FOODS CONTAINING TANNINS

Common beverages 
Apple cider 
Apple juices  
Beer (hops) 20,000-40,000 ppm 
Coffee bean 90,000 ppm 
Grape juices 
Guarana 85,000-120,000 ppm 
Mate 40,000-160,000 ppm 
Red wines  
White wines aged in oak
Rose hip tea 
Tea 33,000-270,000 ppm 

Beans 
Black beans 
Red beans 
(White beans have few if any tannins)

Spices 
Allspice
Cinnamon 
Clove 
Coriander
Cumin 
Oregano
Tarragon 
Thyme 
Turmeric
Vanilla
Probably many more spices have tannins

Products with phenolic additives

Food dyes  (including annatto - often used in 
yellow cheeses, margarines)

Vitamin pills; prescription and non-prescription
drugs with food dyes, acacia, herbs,
phenolic fillers and binders

Most herbal products contain tannins

Phenolic fumes such as perfumes, paint
fumes, "fragrances" as in ingredient in
soaps, shampoos, skin creams, hand
creams, etc.; petroleum-based
cleaning products, etc.

 Fruits 
Apricot 600-1000 ppm 
Banana 
Berries (see below) 
Cherries (red)
Currants, red and black  
Dates 200-18,000 ppm 
Eggplant 2000 ppm 
Grape 
Kiwi 9,000 ppm
Nectarine
Peach 8,000 ppm 
Persimmon, Hayachi
   Fuyu persimmons do not have tannins
Pomegranate (juice) 17,000 ppm 

Berries 
Blackberry  
Blueberry  
Cranberry 
Gooseberry 
Raspberry 6,200 ppm  
Strawberry 

Nuts 
Black walnut 147,000 ppm 
Cashew 
English walnut 122,300 ppm 
Pecan 
Pistachio6 
(Peanuts without skins have few if any tannins) 

Misc. 
Alfalfa (herbal supplement base) 27,000 ppm 
Barley
Breads with barley flour (check ingredients!)
Chocolate (Cacao bean) 75,400 ppm 
Carob 12,000 ppm (& carob bean gum) 
Chicory 
Many herbs & herbal teas
Smoked foods  (Oak, mesquite, etc.)

Posted 12/10/2006 5:06 AM (GMT 0)
thanks for the "tannins" list.  I hadn't seen that one before.  BINGO on the perfumes.  Perfume contains tannins.  I can't even be in the same room with someone wearing perfume.  I wish it were outlawed!

Posted 12/10/2006 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Banje,

Welcome! I have found that potatoes can bring on a headache and also reduce one. Potatoes increase your blood sugar very quickly which can be why they trigger migraines. However, they also increase your serotonin, so if you're stuck with a migraine and no medication eating a couple of plates of fries can make a migraine go (in my experience).
Posted 12/10/2006 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
I think everyone is unique in what their triggers are.

For me, tomato, potato, bell pepper, and all their little friends and relatives (food additives galore) are migraine triggers. Makes life interesting and I always carry my own food. If potato is a problem for you, look into the whole Solanaceae plant family (tobacco, bell peppers, tomato, eggplant, etc...) and food additives and things made from them. This means that canned soups are out for you (they all have one or more of those foods in them). You have to start reading the fine print and eating only whole unseasoned foods. It's a new way of life.

By the way, after doing this for twenty years....the easiest way to explain the problem to others is to tell people that if you eat these foods, you will throw up. Otherwise peculiar people try to feed them to you to "watch you get sick". I have no idea why; I think they just can't believe that a perfectly lovely food would make you ill and they want to experiement with you. If you tell them you will vomit on them, then they avoid feeding it to you where they have to watch. heh heh. One has to be devious.

Post Edited (thornappleriver) : 12/10/2006 10:56:40 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 5/1/2013 9:14 PM (GMT 0)
On the list that Mandalynn provides it is stated the Fuyu persimmons do not contain tannins. From my research that is not true. They contain them in much reduced amounts when compared to the Hachiya. I am a persimmon lover and both types give me migraines.
Posted 6/7/2013 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
It is difficult to know what foods are causing a migraine, because sometimes I can eat a food (i.e. chocolate) for a few weeks with no headaches. After a few weeks, I find a persistant daily migraine that won't go away until I stop eating that food (i.e. chocolate). Now I wonder about potatoes. I am thinking we all have different reactions to different food chemicals.
Mostly I wanted to say Thank You to everyone for sharing what you have been working on with foods. I don't feel as lonely in my struggle to find the triggers and give up soooo many yummy things I want to eat. rolleyes
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