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Top 12 Heath and Dietary Habits that Contribute to Headaches! Continued
We are going to round out the last few health and dietary habits that may be contributing to your headaches!
Food Allergies
Food allergies will trigger a headache quickly! If you’re allergic to a food, whether it’s yeast, milk, peanuts, wheat, or sugar, its possible that you will have a headache after eating that food. In children suffering from migraines and epilepsy, eliminating offending foods will result in reduction of seizures.
What makes food allergies more complicated is that a food essentially stays in the body for four days so you could be reacting to a food eaten four days ago!
Faulty Elimination causes Headaches
For a minute, think back to a time you were constipated. How did you feel? Miserable! I must tell you how important it is to have a bowel movement at least twice daily. If you don’t, you are constipated.
What happens inside of the body when you are constipated is not pretty. all that waste matter inside your intestines is rotting!Forgive me for being so graphic, but i want you to understand this. There is a process in the body called diffusion that happens inside the cells that works like this: whenever you have a higher concentration of wastes in the intestines, they start “polluting” the rest of the organs in your abdomen. This is part of the reason why so many men have prostrate problems!
Those wastes in your colon are in such a high concentration that they start “flowing” to other places of the body. Countless patients have told me over the years that part of the reason why they got headaches was because they were constipated.
Stop carrying around those old meals as a suitcase in your colon and start feeling better. You will clearly have fewer headaches as a result.
Dehydration
Your body uses water to dissolve EVERYTHING except fats and fat-soluble vitamins. When you don’t have enough water, you can’t dissolve toxins and get them out of the body. Your blood has a high percentage of water. when your water levels are only 5% lower, your efficiency suffers by 30%. Aim for 1 oz water for every 2 lbs you weigh. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, you need a minimum of 75 oz water per day. That’s equivalent to a little over nine 8-oz glasses of water. If you drink three in the morning when you wake up, you only have six more to go for the rest of the day. That’s easy!
Malnutrition causes headaches
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies cause headaches. I’m not going to go through every one of the vitamins and mineral deficiencies that do this because you’ll rush out and try to buy them. The problem with that thinking is that it doesn’t work. You must have balanced nutrition, a balanced amount of vitamins and minerals to make nutrients work. A good vitamin/mineral plan is important.
Stress
I understand that you may be experiencing a very difficult time in your life; during difficult times, there’s a lot of stress. For every problem, there’s a solution. Some of the top ways to beat stress are:
Exercise
Taking a walk somewhere peaceful
Listen to music or play an instrument
Pray
Add an extra vitamin B
Processed Foods
Processed foods cause headaches by causing inflammation; the more inflammation, the more frequent you’ll have headaches. The way that processed foods cause inflammation is by the chemicals in them called advanced glycation endproducts, or AGE’s. These AGEs are worse than free radicals, causing mini explosive reactions inside the body’s organs that lead to aging, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and inflammation.
Call our office today and schedule your next appointment with Dr. Morgan or Dr. Chowning!
Abilene, Tx 79606
Top 12 Heath and Dietary Habits that Contribute to Headaches! Continued
The Top 12 Heath and Dietary Habits that Contribute to Headaches! Continued
3. A diet that contains too much Monosodium Glutimate (MSG), Nutrasweet, Aspartame, diet sodas causes headaches.
Researchers discovered that certain chemicals, especially MSG added to Chinese food is a strong headache trigger in many people.
Foods that contain MSG might not necessarily list “MSG” or “monosodium glutamate” on the label. Instead, you’ll see: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, natural flavorings, sodium caseinate, yeast extract, hydrolyzed yeast, hydrolized oat flour, calcium caseinate, hydrolyzed plant protein, hydrolyzed protein. Protein isolates of any type may contain MSG, even soy protein. If you eat processed foods, it will be rare for you to see a label without one of these! Every fast food chain uses it in their food ingredients.
4. Low blood Sugar from eating too many carbohydrate foods in a meal causes headaches.
Carbohydrate foods are foods such as breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, candy, muffins, rice, beans, whole grains, tacos and tortillas. Starchy vegetables such as peas, corn, potatoes, acorn squash, and other winter squashes also contain high levels of carbohydrates. Milk products are another good source.
It’s okay to have carbohydrate foods in your diet, but limit them to a maximum of 3 or 4 servings per meal.
5. Low Blood Sugar from not eating regular meals causes headaches.
When you don’t eat regular meals, you get energy from stored fats and carbohydrates. This happens automatically in response to low blood sugar from not eating. Keep a journal of your diet and look for a pattern of headaches that appear when you don’t eat breakfast, skip lunch or dinner, or go to bed hungry.
The best diet you can eat is one that supplies you with three meals a day and snacks between.
6. Low blood sugar from not eating enough protein in the meal or in the diet causes headaches.
Many people believe that it’s not a good idea to eat red meat, so they eliminate it from their diet. Grass-fed red meat is am excellent source of nutrients, including omega-3 fats that prevent headaches! The problem is that when many people eat less meat, they don’t substitute other protein foods for the red meat. Other protein foods include fish, chicken, turkey, wild meats, eggs, cheese and dairy products.
Look for our next blog that will contain more of the TOP 12!
Until then, give our office a call and we can get YOU started on the headache free path!
Dr. Jake Morgan & Dr. Kendra Chowning
Top 12 Heath and Dietary Habits that Contribute to Headaches!
Some of these habits may surprise you. My recommendation is that you first read through each one of these habits and then decide if each habit could be contributing to your headaches in any way. Now I understand that you wont know for sure if each one is contributing at the time that you read it the first time, but you’ll probably have an intuitive feeling about it immediately or even an internal revelation as times goes on. If the habit could possibly be contributing to your headaches because it is your habit, circle it. One by one, work on eliminating the habits that are circled, noticing your progress. The more habits you can eliminate, the more you are moving towards a headache-free life, life as usual with no headache pain!
I will list a few in this post, be on the lookout for our next post covering a few more!
1. Bad Sleep Habits Cause Headaches
Sleeping on your stomach or with your pillow bunched up is a sure way to a headache. What happens is that your neck becomes twisted for long periods of time as you sleep, putting pressure on the nerves, blood vessels and vertebrae in your cervical (upper) spine. That pressure sends messages to your head. Presto! You have a headache and your neck hurts as well.
The solution is sleeping on your back with a pillow that supports your neck fully. You may also sleep on your side, but check with us at the office about the proper sleeping position that won’t create headaches. If you bring in your pillow to our office, I’ll check to see if it’s part of the reason you have headaches. For example, a pillow that is too thin or too fluffy will contribute to headaches because it doesn’t support the cervical curve of 
In the past 20 years, chiropractic physicians have used a complete range of cervical pillows to fit the necks of those who are young and old.
2. Too Much Caffeine and/or Chocolate Causes Headaches
Scientists don’t know exactly what it is about caffeine that can cause a headache, but they do know that there is a clear connection. The big question is what is too much coffee? If you’re drinking six cups a day, that’s too much! Four cups a day is too much! Three cups a day may be too much as well. For some people, any coffee is too much; the caffeine triggers a headache and keeps them away from a headache-free life.
If you are drinking too much coffee, it is important that you decrease your coffee consumption slowly. DON NOT STOP COFFEE COLD TURKEY! If you stop drinking coffee cold turkey, you will get a headache and it wont be just an ordinary headache. It will be a monstrous headache!
The best way to cut your coffee consumption is to decrease slowly by 1/2 cup a day.
The same principle can be applied to chocolate. If you eat chocolate every single day three times, decrease it one time a day. Chocolate contains caffeine and you can develop that monstrous headache from its withdrawal.
Check Back with us soon to see the rest of the Top 12!
Here is a sneak peak at whats to come
MSG ,NutraSweet, Aspartame, Diet Sodas
Low Blood Sugar
Food Allergies…….
And many more!
Call Our office TODAY to schedule your FREE Consultation with Dr. Morgan or Dr. Kendra to help get you set on the Headache-Free PATH!
Ask our office staff about our NEW PATIENT SPECIAL!!!
Have You or a Loved One Dealt with Any Type of Pain, Obesity, Weight Gain, ADD/ADHD, Peripheral Neuropathy, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, Migraines, Thyroid Issues, Dental Issues, or Cancer?
Have you or a loved one dealt with any type of pain, obesity, weight gain, ADD/ADHD, peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, migraines, thyroid issues, dental issues, or cancer?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these disorders, you or someone you know, maybe even a close loved one– may be dealing with inflammation, even if they don’t feel it.
It may be hard for you to believe that some of the foods that you eat, can cause inflammation, but its TRUE. Let me give you five of them:
- Sugar
- Saturated Fats
- Trans Fats
- Omega 6 Fatty Acids
- Refined Carbohydrates
Sugar
Just about everything that you buy packaged lately has some form of sugar in it, so you’re eating sugar, you’re causing inflammation inside your body. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition warns that processed sugars trigger the release of inflammatory messengers called cytokines. Sugar goes by many names so look out for any word ending in “OSE” e.g. Fructose or sucrose on ingredient labels.
Saturated Fats
Several Studies ave shown that saturated fats trigger adipose, or fat tissue inflammation, which is not only an indicator for heart disease but it also worsens arthritis inflammation. Pizza and cheese are the biggest sources of saturated fats in the avg. American diet, according to the National Cancer Institute. Other culprits include meat products (especially red meat), full-fat dairy products, pasta dishes and grain-based desserts.
Trans Fats
Harvard School of Public Health researchers helped sound the alarm about trans-fat in the early 1990s. Known to trigger systemic inflammation, trans-fat can be found in fast foods and other fried products, processed snack foods, frozen breakfast products, cookies, donuts, crackers and most stick margarine’s. Avoid foods with partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient labels. Butter is really something you SHOULD be eating. Do not listen to someone that tells you that butter is bad for you. They do NOT know what they are talking about.
Omega 6 Fatty Acids
These are an essential fatty acid that the body needs for normal growth and development. The body needs a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals. these fatty acids are found in oils such as: corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, soy, peanut oil, and vegetable oil; mayonnaise; and many other good tasting, widely used salad dressings.
Refined Carbohydrates
White flour products (bread, rolls, crackers) white rice, white potatoes (instant mashed potatoes, or french fries) and many cereals are refined carbs. According to Scientific American, processed carbs may trump fats as the main driver of escalating rates of obesity and other chronic conditions. These high-glycemic foods fuel the production of advanced glycation end products that stimulate inflammation.
Sadly, most of us are suffering from one or more of these disorders- but have no idea how to eliminate inflammation. I know there are a lot of drug advertisements on TV telling you that drugs help, but as you know, those are given to cover up the symptoms only, not to help alleviate the problem.
So many Americans think that just because they don’t FEEL pain, or any type of discomfort, they are cured. THAT’S WRONG! REALLY WRONG!
Schedule your appointment today, and let us help you get to the root of the problem. We don’t just cover up the symptoms, we get to the root cause.
Kendra Chowning DC
Abilene, TX 79606
If you suffer with constant or intermittent pain from your accident…Do Not Put This Off or You WILL Miss Out!
Do Not Put This Off or You WILL Miss Out!
You NEED to protect your future.
If you suffer with constant or intermittent pain from your car accident… If your neck hurts or you have back pain and headaches… If you worry about playing with your children or doing the things you love to do because you’re always in pain… If you worry about your future because you’re getting worse, or might get worse, and you NEED to have your medical bills paid…, you need to read this and future blogs!
At this point the statistics are not on your side if you have been involved in an auto accident and suffered.
9 Mistakes People Make When Dealing with Doctors after an Injury!
- Failing to seek immediate medical attention after a traumatic injury or event.
- Failing to fully communicate your health history to your doctor.
- Missing or showing up late for treatment or appointments.
- Failing to get your pain accurately documented in medical records.
- Failing to inform your doctor if or how your injury is affecting your ability to work.
- Failing to inform your doctor of how your injury is affection your activities of daily living.
- Failing to take prescribed diagnostic procedures.
- Discontinuing treatment too soon.
- Failing to keep up with your own medical records.
TRICKY INSURANCE COMPANIES LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK!
Here are some of the most common tactics used by insurance companies and adjusters:
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A quick cash settlement before you have had a chance to see a doctor. What they don’t tell you is that you may have to turn around and give that check to your health insurance company. They don’t care about you. The adjuster wants to close the file and get you to release all of your claims.
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Deliberate delay. They may stall or avoid calling you back. They know that you may be missing work or having to pay copays and deductibles, so they try to put you in a financial squeeze, all in hopes that you will give up. Oh, by the way, they expect you to continue to pay your premiums while they take their time. If you are in the process of settlement negotiations, they may try to avoid you and delay until statutes of limitations or time restraints are over. Texas law gives you two years after an accident to either settle your claim or file a lawsuit.
Texas law prohibits insurance companies from delaying payment of a claim to pressure you to sign a release. If you think an insurance company is delaying payment to pressure you, file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance.
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Requesting unnecessary information or using scary words like “We are investigating the claim,” to determine “Who was at fault?” Meanwhile they are earning interest on the money they are not paying or money that is set aside to pay you but will be delayed as much as possible.
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Disputing medical necessity of treatment. Now, I have never met an adjuster with any medical or health care training, but they seem to know just what treatment is right for you! In most cases they usually “know” that you were over treated because their computer or the adjuster at the desk beside them says you should be better by now.
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Misrepresentation of insurance benefits. They tell you that there is only $60,000 in coverage, but then you find out—usually too late—that magically there was an umbrella policy with $100,000 in coverage! Don’t you think they knew this information the first time they looked it up on their computer? Well of course they did. As I am writing this book, I have a patient who was involved in an accident and had spent fourteen days out of work. She had severe neck pain and headaches but had not had any treatments because she did not know if she had any coverage to pay for bills and missed time at work. She said she had attempted to call the insurance company but was not able to talk to anyone. The insurance company finally—out of their convenience—called her back ten days after the accident. The insurance adjuster told her they would only cover up to $1,000 of medical bills. She had already been to the ER in an ambulance—do you think that comes close to paying for those services? She told us her story and said she was hurting so badly that she needed treatment. We quickly went to work verifying her coverage, as this situation sounded odd. After all the smoke cleared, we were able to verify that she did have $5,000 coverage in personal injury protection benefits, $30,000 in liability benefits, and $50,000 in uninsured and underinsured benefits. WOW! Read that again: she went from $1,000 of coverage to $85,000. She was furious. I would like to say I was shocked, but nothing surprises me anymore. Insurance companies will go to incredible lengths to misrepresent benefits. Their excuse was that the injured party was not asking the right questions.
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Wrongly telling their own insured’s that they have to go through the careless driver’s insurance companies.
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These insurance companies want you to believe that the amount of damage to your car is related to the damage you feel. That is to say, if your car has minor damage, then you can’t be hurt. This is just not true. I have had many patients over the years who have pain following a minor auto collision. I have had many patients with major collisions with minimal injuries. There have been many studies published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) that show that there is little relation between vehicle damage and occupant injury.
Guess why insurance companies rush to settle your case as fast as they can? Well, they are hoping that you may not yet feel all of the symptoms and will be quick to say yes to a settlement before you are appropriately examined by an expert in auto collision injuries. You may even still be under the effects of the pain medications.
Don’t miss out on our next blog covering more on Auto Accident injuries.
If you can answer YES to any of these questions, we may be the injury clinic for you.
- Do you have neck or back pain?
- Do you have unrelenting muscle soreness?
- Do you have painful headaches or dizziness?
- Do you have numbness, tingling, or sharp pains in legs or arms?
- Is there visible property damage to your vehicle?
- Did the accident happen within the last year?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, give us a call at 325-695-9355.
Jake Morgan DC
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE:
I am not an attorney. I know the arguments and types of injuries that are common in medico-legal situations, and I can offer you suggestions and identify traps, but please do not construe anything I’ve mentioned as legal advice. Every situation is unique and different.