Are Headaches Normal?
Although it is extremely common that people get headaches, it is not normal. Headaches are always a sign that there is imbalance in the body. A healthy person does not get headaches.
We do not fully understand biomedically what causes a headache. Some hypothesize that headaches are a kind of irritation to brain tissues and blood vessels caused by expanding blood vessels in the brain causing pressure on pain sensors. Others postulate that it has to do with endorphins. Still others think that the nervous system is overactive.
While this may be the case on a cellular level, Naturopathic Doctors often find that there are lifestyle factors that are highly associated with headaches. Certain common medications are the first things to rule out. Next, there are specific foods that may cause headaches in people with allergies to those foods.
Drugs that cause headaches:
- Birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy
- Caffeine
- Blood thinning medications
- Aspirin
- Cold medicines, antihistamines and decongestants
- Corticosteriods, such as prednisone and hydrocortisone
Foods that may cause headaches:
- Dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, ice cream, and less commonly butter and keifer
- Sugar: cane sugar, beet sugar, raw sugar
- Alcohol: wine, beer, hard liquor
- Coffee, soda and other high caffeine drinks
- Gluten grains, specifically gliadin containing grains (wheat, rye, barley, non-gluten free oats)
- Less commonly: eggs, citrus, nuts, yeast and corn