Anti-migraine diet really helping me!

[WrinkledClue]

Lots of folks who are newly diagnosed with rosacea express confusion about what they can and cannot eat, so I thought I'd share what works for me, in hopes that it helps somebody else.

From my reading I've learned that rosacea can be triggered by many things. Mine was triggered by peri-menopause approaching, ie.estrogen withdrawal. Others report rosacea after thyroid troubles, heavy use of accutane, and too many years of too much sun. Food doesn't seem to be a cause but it's certainly a trigger, and it's one that I can control.

I'm lucky that I don't get migraines, but I realized early on that certain foods which trigger migraines (in people vulnerable to migraines) also trigger flushing, in me.

This makes sense when you think about it, because migraines are apparently a result of inappropriate vasodilation of your cerebral blood vessels-- and flushing, of course, is a massive and inappropriate vasodilation response in your facial skin.

Apparently some foods are vasoactive -- they cause blood vessels to dilate -- on a small sensitive subset of the population, and I'm one of them.

So here is what I flush to, in case it helps you.

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/fea ... ggers2.pdf

Keep in mind that food triggers are sometimes hard to spot. They're cumulative, which means that any food that you're sensitive to might not trigger you on any particular day, if it doesn't bump you up over your threshold into the point where you'll flush. I've noticed it can take up to two days for some foods to cause flushing, while others cause trouble immediately. Sugar causes immediate trouble in me, and ice cream's the worst. Like heat, it will cause big flushing, quite rapidly.

You can google "Buchholz diet" or "migraines and food" if you want to learn more.

Hope this helps.

[WrinkledClue]

These are my limitations, on my Anti Flushing (Anti Migraine) Diet --



• No caffeine, and low salt;

• No sugar; no high carb foods that spike insulin;

• No wheat, no grains;

• No soy, no tempeh, no Textured Vegetable Protein; no soy sauce, tofu, soy milk or soy oil;

• No processed meat that's been aged, canned, cured, fermented, marinated, smoked, tenderized, or preserved. No sausage, salami, pepperoni, ham, bacon, smoked fish, anchovies, or liver;

• no nuts;

• No onions, eggplant, tomato, mushrooms; no sauerkraut, beans, or lentils;

• No citrus, bananas, or dried fruit; the only fruits I can tolerate are pears and blueberries;

• No spices; no MSG; no seasoned salt; no chili, no curry, no pepper, ginger, or garlic, and

• Nothing fermented-- no soy sauce, no bread with yeast, no alcohol, no yogurt, no sour cream, no vinegar and no cheese. The more aged the cheese, the more pain I'll get.



Whew!

It's actually easier than it looks. Some folks call it a Paleo Diet, others call it Atkins or South Beach-- I call it the Steak and Salad diet! I eat lots of chicken and green veggies. I can eat almost all vegetables (except those listed above), and I practically live on them.

The "no vinegar" is hard, I miss it in salad dressings, and the "no cheese" is hardest-- I do love a large chunk of salty aged cheddar. But apparently it's full of a chemical called tyramine that triggers vasodilation and pain. Such a shame!

I never mind if there's food there I can't eat when we go out. In fact I sometimes serve stuff I can't eat to our guests, otherwise things are so limited. It's just nice to have some things I CAN eat while everybody else is chowing down.

It's embarrassing to accept a lovely dinner invitation and then put a bunch of rules on it, but there it is. I'm thankful for my friends understanding!

[WrinkledClue]

Here's another article about food and migraines that I found very interesting!

This one explains the cumulative nature of triggers quite well.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5364970

[Aurelia]

Thanks for these very interesting articles. It's encouraging to hear that dietary changes are helping you. People sometimes complain that advice to "identify your rosacea triggers and eliminate them" is worthless, and it probably is for people with lots of triggers, especially ones that would be difficult to avoid. However, for those whose rosacea is set off by only a few minor triggers, relief gained from a few small changes might outweigh the hassle of those changes.

I'm lucky that I don't get migraines, but I realized early on that certain foods which trigger migraines (in people vulnerable to migraines) also trigger flushing, in me.

This makes sense when you think about it, because migraines are apparently a result of inappropriate vasodilation of your cerebral blood vessels-- and flushing, of course, is a massive and inappropriate vasodilation response in your facial skin.

Many people are triggered by particular foods - and if those people happen to have rosacea, then sometimes both conditions might share that trigger. I had migraines for most of my life, but they are fading out and are now very rare. For me, the activation was usually a combination of any two or more of these factors: trying to concentrate on work in poor lighting, inadequate sleep, dehydration, atmospheric pressure of high humidity especially just before a thunderstorm strikes. However, I found that unlike the people whose migraines were triggered by food, mine could be averted if I ate a high carb snack like chocolate or several slices of bread. That only worked if it was eaten well before the nausea of migraines set in. Far too late once you are heaving!

Kind regards,

Aurelia

[David Pascoe]

A new study is suggesting a link between rosacea and migraines in women. Worth a read.