What food helps headaches go away?

Which medicine is best for headache?

Pain relievers. Simple OTC pain relievers are usually the first line of treatment for reducing headache pain. These include the drugs aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve). Prescription medications include naproxen (Naprosyn), indomethacin (Indocin) and ketorolac (Ketorolac Tromethamine).

But there are some common triggers that can cause or contribute to migraines in some people.

Caffeine. Too much caffeine and having caffeine withdrawal (or not having enough) can cause migraines.

Artificial sweeteners.

Alcohol.

Chocolate.

Foods containing MSG.

Cured meats.

Aged cheeses.

Pickled and fermented foods.

Here are some tips for headache relief:

Close your eyes and rest.

Massage your neck and temples.

Warm up your neck Try putting a heating pad or a warm cloth around your neck and the base of your skull to ease tension headaches.

Relax.

Minimize stress.

Watch what you eat and drink.

Vitamin B6 (just like B3 and B2) is a headache-fighting powerhouse. It is found in bananas, and it will help to increase the levels of serotonin in your brain, which acts as an anti-depressant. This will then lower the amount of pain your body is feeling.

Bananas usually don’t appear on lists of foods that trigger migraines, but they could trigger a migraine for people who are sensitive to tyramine, the same substance found in aged cheese. Studies show that the peel has about 10 times more tyramine than the banana pulp.

When your head hurts, you want relief fast. Whether it’s a run-of-the-mill tension headache or a migraine, caffeine can help. That’s why it’s an ingredient in a lot of popular pain relievers. It can make them as much as 40% more effective.

A: Ever since one reader reported migraine relief from eating chocolate peanut-butter ice cream, we have heard from many others that ice cream can help stop these horrible headaches. It is possible that the “brain freeze” from quickly eating something very cold may interrupt the migraine process.

Cold and heat may relieve pain and muscle tension that go along with headaches. You can ease symptoms of occasional headaches if you take a hot shower or put moist heat on the back of your neck. Try a hot water bottle, a warm towel, or a warm compress. If you prefer cold, wrap an ice pack in a towel.

Teas help reduce nausea, dizziness, and pain caused by headaches. Regularly drinking tea can help alleviate headache symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and pain in the head. Chamomile, for instance, can help relax your mind. Peppermint and ginger, on the other hand, are effective in calming your belly.

Other triggering foods or additives include:

eggs.

tomatoes.

onions.

dairy products.

wheat, including pasta and bread products.

citrus fruits.

nitrites found in foods.

alcohol, especially red wine.

Decades of research have shown that chocolate has several beneficial physiological effects, most notably on heart health. A new study presented today at the International Headache Congress meeting in Philadelphia suggested that cocoa powder has a healing effect on inflamed cells related to migraine headaches in rats.

Watermelon. Not being properly hydrated can be a huge factor when it comes to headache discomfort. It’s always important to drink water, but eating fruits and veggies like watermelon, cucumber, celery and carrots, which have a high water content, can help contribute to your staying hydrated all day.

These foods have been identified as triggers by some headache sufferers:

Peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, and other nuts and seeds.

Pizza or other tomato-based products.

Potato chip products.

Chicken livers and other organ meats, pate.

Smoked or dried fish.

Pickled foods (pickles, olives, sauerkraut)

Apples. Eating an apple on an empty stomach or early in the morning is said to help cure a headache, as the fruit is packed with flavonoids, which reduce blood pressure and thus decrease headache pain.

Grapefruit. Like oranges, limes and lemons, grapefruit is a water-packed citrus fruit that soothes a headache by delivering healthy hydration to the brain and body. Grapefruit also contains a small amount of magnesium, another headache helper, as well as vitamin C to keep away colds, and therefore, sinus headaches.

An additional list of foods that trigger migraines

Ham, hot dogs, other cured meats.

Monosodium glutamate, MSG, commonly found in Chinese foods, soy sauce and packaged foods.

Asparatame and other artificial sweeteners, including sucralose.

Asian foods.

Snack foods.

Fatty foods.

Ice cream and other frozen foods.

Food dyes.

And even certain fruits, like bananas and avocados, can have high levels of tyramine once they’ve become overripe. Alcohol. Alcohol increases blood flow to your brain, which can cause a migraine – regardless of the tyramine content mentioned above.

Using Foods to Fight Migraines

Emphasize pain-safe foods: brown rice; cooked vegetables, such as broccoli, collards, spinach, and chard; and cooked or dried non-citrus fruits.

Avoid the common trigger foods completely.

Since almonds are rich in magnesium, eating this nut may stop a migraine or prevent future ones. While it is proven that magnesium and vitamin B2 is beneficial for preventing migraines, almonds may not be as effective by themselves. In fact, for some people, almonds can actually trigger a migraine.

Blueberries. Like other berries, blueberries contain a flavonoid antioxidant called quercetin. Boasting all sorts of health benefits, this beneficial chemical has antihistamine properties, so increasing your intake of berries may help prevent or relieve allergy-related headaches.

While what triggers a migraine is different for everybody, the most common food culprits out there contain tyramine or phenylethylamine, two amino acids found in chocolate, aged or fermented cheese (including cheddar, blue, Brie, and all hard and “moldy” cheeses), soy foods, nuts, citrus fruits, and vinegar (both red