Headaches can be caused by certain foods when there is a predisposition to suffer neurological diseases, and also it can be due to bad life habits.We can highlight as the most common causes of headaches the following agents:
* Tobacco, smoked meat and fish:
Consuming smoked products and swallow tobacco smoke can lead to headaches.
These products contain a harmful substance called PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) that result from the incomplete combustion of food, tobacco and any kind of organic matter.
In addition to smoked food, other food that contain a high amount of PAH are food that has been cooked at very high temperatures, mainly barbecued, baked, fried, and roasted food. Boiling and steaming creates much less PAH. Here you will find more information about PAH concentrations in different cooking methods.
PAH are carcinogenic, and although in small doses, like the amount that can be normally found in the environment, it doesn’t signify a danger for most of the people; in more considerable amounts, like the intake of a smoked product or smoking tobacco, the effect begins to be significantly important enough to trigger a headache; and higher doses imply a significant risk of cancer.
* Alcoholic drinks and endogenous alcohol
It is known that the intake of an amount of alcoholic drinks that a person is not accustomed to, ends up in a hangover the following day.
But our body will suffer the consequences of the alcohol even without having any alcoholic drink, if we have a dysbiotic gut flora, such as for example, if there is an intestinal candidiasis or an intestinal overgrowth of any kind of mold or yeast. In this article you can read more about the endogenous alcohol production and its consequences. In this case, it’s necessary to find out which are the causes of that dysbiosis: a food intolerance, an excess of food consumption, stress, etc.
* Coffee addiction
The people who have coffee daily, experience migraine when they don’t have their daily dosis of coffee (caffeine).
Coffee is like a drug that creates addiction, so when the consumption is stopped or decreased, the related withdrawal syndrome appears, characterized mainly by headaches.
In order to abandone this addiction, it’s recommended to gradually reduce the amount of coffee every day, until stopping completely.
* Histamine intolerance
The people who have a histamine intolerance can suffer headaches, between other symptoms, when they have a certain amount of histamine in their food that exceeds their tolerance threshold.
The food that contains more histamine are all fermented food, such as dairy products, wine, vinager, soy products and fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, pickles, etc.). Other foods also high in histamine are: all processed meat and fish, such as charcuterie and canned fish; and shellfish.
Other food with a considerable amount of histamine are chocolate, coffee, tea, bread yeast, nuts, some fruits and any kind of food that is not fresh made.
Also, some food induce the release of our own histamine, such as some fruits, spices, egg yolk and additives.
To know more about histamine intolerance you can consult this article.
* Food intolerances
Eating food that you are intolerant to, such as gluten, eggs, dairy, nuts, etc., triggers an immune response caracterized by inflammation. The inflammation is shown as heat, redness, swelling, and pain. Depending on every person, the part of the body affected by the inflammation can differ. If the weak part of your body is the head, then food intolerances can lead to headaches.
You can know if you have a food intolerance with a blood test.
*Glutamate, aspartame
The artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, and some additives, specially the glutamate, are responsibles of many migraines.
* Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Some women suffer migraines before the period due to the hormonal changes and, headaches can start up to 14 days before the menstruation.
But PMS shouldn’t be considered as something “normal”. Improving nutrition and different aspects of life style PMS can be greatly decreased or even completely get rid of it.
* Electromagnetic sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)
The people with electromagnetic sensitivity can experience migraines and cephalea when exposed to electromagnetic fields (WIFI, mobile, etc.); and people with MCS have the same problem when come in contact with any kind of chemical substance (cleaning agents, pesticides, perfumes, smoke, paint, etc.)
This sensitivity can be reduced in large part to a lower sensitivity thanks to nutrition and life style. In this article I explain my personal experience with MCS and how I got rid of it.
* Dehydration
The lack of water in your organism decreases the blood flow in the brain, and this may cause headaches.
In order to know if your headache is caused by dehydration, you can observe the presence of other usual symptoms associated with dehydration: dry mouth and thirsty; tiredness or sleepiness; low volume of urine and darker coloured urine; dizziness; dry skin; and even rapid heart rate, fever, nausea and vomiting, etc.
Evidently, you must drink more water if you are dehydrated, or take more food with high water content (fruits and vegetables).
* Other possible causes are: sleep depravation, extreme temperatures, strident noises, emotional problems, etc.
* Tobacco, smoked meat and fish:
Consuming smoked products and swallow tobacco smoke can lead to headaches.
These products contain a harmful substance called PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) that result from the incomplete combustion of food, tobacco and any kind of organic matter.
In addition to smoked food, other food that contain a high amount of PAH are food that has been cooked at very high temperatures, mainly barbecued, baked, fried, and roasted food. Boiling and steaming creates much less PAH. Here you will find more information about PAH concentrations in different cooking methods.
PAH are carcinogenic, and although in small doses, like the amount that can be normally found in the environment, it doesn’t signify a danger for most of the people; in more considerable amounts, like the intake of a smoked product or smoking tobacco, the effect begins to be significantly important enough to trigger a headache; and higher doses imply a significant risk of cancer.
* Alcoholic drinks and endogenous alcohol
It is known that the intake of an amount of alcoholic drinks that a person is not accustomed to, ends up in a hangover the following day.
But our body will suffer the consequences of the alcohol even without having any alcoholic drink, if we have a dysbiotic gut flora, such as for example, if there is an intestinal candidiasis or an intestinal overgrowth of any kind of mold or yeast. In this article you can read more about the endogenous alcohol production and its consequences. In this case, it’s necessary to find out which are the causes of that dysbiosis: a food intolerance, an excess of food consumption, stress, etc.
* Coffee addiction
The people who have coffee daily, experience migraine when they don’t have their daily dosis of coffee (caffeine).
Coffee is like a drug that creates addiction, so when the consumption is stopped or decreased, the related withdrawal syndrome appears, characterized mainly by headaches.
In order to abandone this addiction, it’s recommended to gradually reduce the amount of coffee every day, until stopping completely.
* Histamine intolerance
The people who have a histamine intolerance can suffer headaches, between other symptoms, when they have a certain amount of histamine in their food that exceeds their tolerance threshold.
The food that contains more histamine are all fermented food, such as dairy products, wine, vinager, soy products and fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, pickles, etc.). Other foods also high in histamine are: all processed meat and fish, such as charcuterie and canned fish; and shellfish.
Other food with a considerable amount of histamine are chocolate, coffee, tea, bread yeast, nuts, some fruits and any kind of food that is not fresh made.
Also, some food induce the release of our own histamine, such as some fruits, spices, egg yolk and additives.
To know more about histamine intolerance you can consult this article.
* Food intolerances
Eating food that you are intolerant to, such as gluten, eggs, dairy, nuts, etc., triggers an immune response caracterized by inflammation. The inflammation is shown as heat, redness, swelling, and pain. Depending on every person, the part of the body affected by the inflammation can differ. If the weak part of your body is the head, then food intolerances can lead to headaches.
You can know if you have a food intolerance with a blood test.
*Glutamate, aspartame
The artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, and some additives, specially the glutamate, are responsibles of many migraines.
* Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Some women suffer migraines before the period due to the hormonal changes and, headaches can start up to 14 days before the menstruation.
But PMS shouldn’t be considered as something “normal”. Improving nutrition and different aspects of life style PMS can be greatly decreased or even completely get rid of it.
* Electromagnetic sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)
The people with electromagnetic sensitivity can experience migraines and cephalea when exposed to electromagnetic fields (WIFI, mobile, etc.); and people with MCS have the same problem when come in contact with any kind of chemical substance (cleaning agents, pesticides, perfumes, smoke, paint, etc.)
This sensitivity can be reduced in large part to a lower sensitivity thanks to nutrition and life style. In this article I explain my personal experience with MCS and how I got rid of it.
* Dehydration
The lack of water in your organism decreases the blood flow in the brain, and this may cause headaches.
In order to know if your headache is caused by dehydration, you can observe the presence of other usual symptoms associated with dehydration: dry mouth and thirsty; tiredness or sleepiness; low volume of urine and darker coloured urine; dizziness; dry skin; and even rapid heart rate, fever, nausea and vomiting, etc.
Evidently, you must drink more water if you are dehydrated, or take more food with high water content (fruits and vegetables).
* Other possible causes are: sleep depravation, extreme temperatures, strident noises, emotional problems, etc.
Gemma Calzada is a Holistic Nutritionist Ph.D. and a certified GAPS practitioner, accredited by ASCA. Her mission is to improve health through nutrition and to help people suffering from a dietary intolerance to live happily. 
