Headaches

CranstonJ2016
CranstonJ2016 Posts: 142 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Who else got headaches when they first changed their intake?

I never really ate badly per say, I eat a lot, but never a lot of processed foods. So I don't think my headache is from that..

Is it because I've reduced my caloric intake so quickly? I'm not really ever hungry and I drink 3L of water a day..

If its the intake difference, how long should I expect to have this headache for?

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,372 Member
    Have you reduced your caffeine intake as part of the changes? Lots of people cut soda or coffee when cutting calories, and caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches.
  • CranstonJ2016
    CranstonJ2016 Posts: 142 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Have you reduced your caffeine intake as part of the changes? Lots of people cut soda or coffee when cutting calories, and caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches.

    Now that you mention it, I have! Oh that must be it, thank you for bringing that to my attention :smile:

  • tofuligan
    tofuligan Posts: 45 Member
    Reducing caffeine significantly or reducing sugar significantly give me sharp withdrawal-headaches. Not eating enough, however, gives me dull, fuzzy-eyed headaches because I just don't have enough calories to function on. I've also noticed that if I cut back too much on fats, I can get headaches too-- avocados and olive oil help a lot with that. Hope that helps!
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Headache from caffeine or sugar withdrawal should last less than a week. Any headache that persists more than 7 days should be checked out by your primary care doctor.
  • CranstonJ2016
    CranstonJ2016 Posts: 142 Member
    tofuligan wrote: »
    Reducing caffeine significantly or reducing sugar significantly give me sharp withdrawal-headaches. Not eating enough, however, gives me dull, fuzzy-eyed headaches because I just don't have enough calories to function on. I've also noticed that if I cut back too much on fats, I can get headaches too-- avocados and olive oil help a lot with that. Hope that helps!

    Thank you very much for that! I think this "diet" is just an adjustment.
    MelissaPhippsFeagins wrote: »
    Headache from caffeine or sugar withdrawal should last less than a week. Any headache that persists more than 7 days should be checked out by your primary care doctor.

    Thank you very much Melissa, I'll be making sure I see if they go away within a week.

    :)

  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited October 2016
    Oh, just in case it doesn't disappear immediately, you can also have gluten/wheat withdrawal if you have dropped wheat products (wheat, along with sugar, have been shown to have a slightly opioid effect in studies, and you can actually have withdrawal symptoms if you stop eating them suddenly. 0.0 Or at least, in animals studies this seems to be the case, and as celiacs - who have to stop eating wheat suddenly - often report 'gluten withdrawal,' I have hear doctors discuss it as though it's a given that this happens to people as well.). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562 )

    Also, some people, if they have been eating foods high in oxalates and switch to a lower oxalate diet (which seems unlikely, but hey, who knows, right?), can have something happen called oxalate dumping, I believe. I don't know a lot about it, but that seems to be a cause of headaches for some, as well.

    And if neither of those is an issue, you might look at if you are adding anything IN to your diet at levels you didn't eat before, or if it's an entirely new food. Sometimes sensitivities to chemicals or foods can cause headaches, too.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    shaumom wrote: »
    Oh, just in case it doesn't disappear immediately, you can also have gluten/wheat withdrawal if you have dropped wheat products (wheat, along with sugar, have been shown to have a slightly opioid effect in studies, and you can actually have withdrawal symptoms if you stop eating them suddenly. 0.0 Or at least, in animals studies this seems to be the case, and as celiacs - who have to stop eating wheat suddenly - often report 'gluten withdrawal,' I have hear doctors discuss it as though it's a given that this happens to people as well.). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562 )

    Also, some people, if they have been eating foods high in oxalates and switch to a lower oxalate diet (which seems unlikely, but hey, who knows, right?), can have something happen called oxalate dumping, I believe. I don't know a lot about it, but that seems to be a cause of headaches for some, as well.

    And if neither of those is an issue, you might look at if you are adding anything IN to your diet at levels you didn't eat before, or if it's an entirely new food. Sometimes sensitivities to chemicals or foods can cause headaches, too.

    Gluten is not addictive and speaking as a person with celiac disease who had to stop eating gluten "cold turkey" I can assure you that this is just nonsense. I swear anything that people have a hard time fitting into their daily macro and calorie goals becomes "addictive" and therefore the excuse for not being responsible for their own decisions.

    There is rampant drug and alcohol addiction in my family - one of my brothers died of a heroin and alcohol overdose. You have no idea what addiction looks like until you've seen someone detoxing from a 50 pill a day vicodin habit.
  • LovelessFool
    LovelessFool Posts: 109 Member
    Other things that can cause headaches too is having too low sodium, magnesium or potassium. You also want to make sure your electrolytes are in balance or you can end up with a nasty headache. They normally don't last very long from what i've experienced by they sure don't feel good.

    One thing you can do is to use a few future days so for 1 day put in your diet as you would normally have eaten and then the next day put in how you eat now. Look at the macro differences in your sugars, protein, carbs, fat etc....and just see how far they could be off. That might help give you a clearer picture of what's going on and I certainly agree that if it persists see your Doc and let them know you've had a change in diet.

    Good luck with everything!
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    shaumom wrote: »
    Oh, just in case it doesn't disappear immediately, you can also have gluten/wheat withdrawal if you have dropped wheat products (wheat, along with sugar, have been shown to have a slightly opioid effect in studies, and you can actually have withdrawal symptoms if you stop eating them suddenly. 0.0 Or at least, in animals studies this seems to be the case, and as celiacs - who have to stop eating wheat suddenly - often report 'gluten withdrawal,' I have hear doctors discuss it as though it's a given that this happens to people as well.). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562 )

    Also, some people, if they have been eating foods high in oxalates and switch to a lower oxalate diet (which seems unlikely, but hey, who knows, right?), can have something happen called oxalate dumping, I believe. I don't know a lot about it, but that seems to be a cause of headaches for some, as well.

    And if neither of those is an issue, you might look at if you are adding anything IN to your diet at levels you didn't eat before, or if it's an entirely new food. Sometimes sensitivities to chemicals or foods can cause headaches, too.

    When I was diagnosed with celiac, my headache of six straight years was the first problem I had that resolved. Withdrawal from gluten was a definitely not a problem.
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