Clean Eating causing migraines??

ellebish
ellebish Posts: 50 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,

I have recently started eating clean, it has been a couple weeks and while I would not say 100% of my diet is clean (still have my cheat meal, at most once a week) a good percentage is, I have had a steady headache for a couple weeks now, it comes and goes but has been lingering for almost two weeks,

I know I am eating enough and still have coffee (caff withdrawal can be a trigger for me) so I am not sure if the headache is related to the change in my eating.

Any thoughts??

Thanks,

Replies

  • medicalstudent
    medicalstudent Posts: 4 Member
    Maybe you are allergic to gluten or artificial sugars like splenda, sweetnlow , aspartame type products. Try relieving the migrane with holistic herbs or even products from the healthfood store like some options are; feverfew, peppermint, ginkgo,passionflower, cayenne (peppers), meadow sweet, chamomile, vallerian, skull cap, and even butterbur extract has been in many pharmaceuticals. Hope you feel better! PS they say that changing your eating can be a psychological 'withdrawel' from carbs :/
  • Springfield_Rocks
    Springfield_Rocks Posts: 289
    Make sure you are not cutting out too many calories or complex carbs. Drink lots of water. Hope this helps.

    Congrats on treating yourself to a healthier life!!

    :flowerforyou:
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
    I would think you are having 'withdraws' from all the chemicals and additives in the processed foods you were eating before. It will take your body some time to get used to properly digesting *real* foods.

    I do remember being crabby and feeling bloated when I stopped eating all the processed foods and going out for fast food.

    Also, I agree with the 'drink plenty of water', you want to flush out the bad stuff!
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    Yes, and it is rarely the carbs that you need to keep. Many people are allergic to just those. Cut the grain carbs out and up your protein and see where that gets you. Probably feeling much better.
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
    I take magnesium every day to keep my cluster headaches under control. Have you added in any new foods that may be a trigger. Dairy and anything with msg are the most common. Is it an actual migraine or a severe headache? You may need to see a Dr and figure it out. I've had allergy headaches that lasted for days and were similar to a migraine. I didn't even realize I had allergies because my only symptom was the headache.

    Hope you get it figured out and feel better soon.
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    Maybe you are allergic to gluten or artificial sugars like splenda, sweetnlow , aspartame type products. Try relieving the migrane with holistic herbs or even products from the healthfood store like some options are; feverfew, peppermint, ginkgo,passionflower, cayenne (peppers), meadow sweet, chamomile, vallerian, skull cap, and even butterbur extract has been in many pharmaceuticals. Hope you feel better! PS they say that changing your eating can be a psychological 'withdrawel' from carbs :/

    I don't use any artificial sweeteners, I would rather have sugar and then work the excess calories off, not really a sweets person :smile: I will def look into a couple of the holistic approaches you suggested.

    Sorry for the late response - was in bed most of the day yesterday with my migraine!!

    Thanks
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    I would think you are having 'withdraws' from all the chemicals and additives in the processed foods you were eating before. It will take your body some time to get used to properly digesting *real* foods.

    I do remember being crabby and feeling bloated when I stopped eating all the processed foods and going out for fast food.

    Also, I agree with the 'drink plenty of water', you want to flush out the bad stuff!

    thanks, it is a little more reassuring to hear that others that made this change reacted. and I do drink lots of water, usually between 2-4 litres a day :)

    Sorry for the late response - was in bed most of the day yesterday with my migraine!!
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    Yes, and it is rarely the carbs that you need to keep. Many people are allergic to just those. Cut the grain carbs out and up your protein and see where that gets you. Probably feeling much better.

    thanks for the suggestion!!
  • Rhea30
    Rhea30 Posts: 625 Member
    Maybe you are allergic to gluten or artificial sugars like splenda, sweetnlow , aspartame type products. Try relieving the migrane with holistic herbs or even products from the healthfood store like some options are; feverfew, peppermint, ginkgo,passionflower, cayenne (peppers), meadow sweet, chamomile, vallerian, skull cap, and even butterbur extract has been in many pharmaceuticals. Hope you feel better! PS they say that changing your eating can be a psychological 'withdrawel' from carbs :/

    I don't use any artificial sweeteners, I would rather have sugar and then work the excess calories off, not really a sweets person :smile: I will def look into a couple of the holistic approaches you suggested.

    Sorry for the late response - was in bed most of the day yesterday with my migraine!!

    Thanks

    Are there any new kinds of food you have added since you started to eat clean? One of them might be a migraine trigger and as someone else had stated make sure you are not cutting out to many calories or complex carbs. When I had tried to limit my sugar and carbs it seemed to had instantly trigger my migraine.
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
    I had a similar reaction and checked with my doc. She said based on the kinds of things we cut out when we go clean, it's not uncommon for this kind of headache to hit and stick around for a couple of of weeks. Give it a few more days. If it doesn't get better, call your doc. Make sure to bring your food diary if you have to go so they can see what you are eating.

    HTH
  • runforyourlyfe
    runforyourlyfe Posts: 18 Member
    The same thing happened to me!! It was gone in a few weeks though, so I hope it stops soon for you as well!:happy:
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    It's chemical withdrawal... It should go away.
  • Jeneba
    Jeneba Posts: 699 Member
    DOn't have time to go through the entire thread right now, so please forgive me if I am repeating what someone else has said.... There are many healthy foods that can be migraine triggers - whole grains, especially wheat, avocado, citrus, etc.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    Hi everyone,

    I have recently started eating clean, it has been a couple weeks and while I would not say 100% of my diet is clean (still have my cheat meal, at most once a week) a good percentage is, I have had a steady headache for a couple weeks now, it comes and goes but has been lingering for almost two weeks,

    I know I am eating enough and still have coffee (caff withdrawal can be a trigger for me) so I am not sure if the headache is related to the change in my eating.

    Any thoughts??

    Thanks,

    I'm not sure what you're eating, but if you have cut out a lot of complex carbs from your diet, you may be experiencing low sugars. That will give you terrible headaches.
  • WhatDoesLisa
    WhatDoesLisa Posts: 214
    I don't know. Personally, when I hit 40, I started getting intense migraines for about two years. Maybe it is due to a hormonal shift? The doctor recommended changes in my diet such as getting rid of sugar, artificial colors, sweetners, etc but it was just hormones. Something to think about!
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    Make sure you are not cutting out too many calories or complex carbs. Drink lots of water. Hope this helps.

    Congrats on treating yourself to a healthier life!!

    :flowerforyou:

    thanks for the suggestions!! I drink a lot of water most days and tried not to cut my carbs too much.
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    I take magnesium every day to keep my cluster headaches under control. Have you added in any new foods that may be a trigger. Dairy and anything with msg are the most common. Is it an actual migraine or a severe headache? You may need to see a Dr and figure it out. I've had allergy headaches that lasted for days and were similar to a migraine. I didn't even realize I had allergies because my only symptom was the headache.

    Hope you get it figured out and feel better soon.

    I am going to try the magnesium, I think I have some at home. and they are migraines, been a sufferer for years but haven't had anything this bad in a couple years.
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    DOn't have time to go through the entire thread right now, so please forgive me if I am repeating what someone else has said.... There are many healthy foods that can be migraine triggers - whole grains, especially wheat, avocado, citrus, etc.

    Thanks for this!! I will do some research as I didn't realize that wheat could be a trigger.
  • ellebish
    ellebish Posts: 50 Member
    Thanks for all the responses - it is a little reassuring to know that other people reacted to the change in diet. My migraine is still here but a little less throbbing then previously, hopefully it subsides soom/
  • Jeneba
    Jeneba Posts: 699 Member
    Poor You! My migraines almost disappeared when I gave up gluten. Once I found feverfew, they disappeared completely. Feel better!

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