Care2 Healthy Living/Michelle Schoffro Cook: Is Sugar the Cause of Your Headache or Migraine?

Care2 Healthy Living | Is Sugar the Cause of Your Headache or Migraine?
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Is Sugar the Cause of Your Headache or Migraine?
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    By: Michelle Schoffro Cook
    January 20, 2018

    About Michelle
    Follow Michelle at @mschoffrocook

Let’s face it: most of us eat too much sugar. While sugar consumption is increasingly linked to a host of health problems, most people still don’t realize just how harmful or addictive sugar is, or how it may be at the root of everyday health concerns like headaches and migraines.

While headaches and migraines often find their roots in dehydration, magnesium deficiency, stress, and the resulting shoulder and neck tension, and neck misalignment, sugar consumption may also be behind them.

Sugar consumption causes rapid blood sugar fluctuations including headaches that can be the result of high blood sugar which can occur immediately after eating it, or conversely, excessively low blood sugar that arises about an hour or so after eating sugar. People who have insulin resistance or diabetes are especially at risk of headaches resulting from high blood sugar because insufficient insulin in response to excessive sugar consumption can keep blood sugars unnaturally high and potentially dangerous.

Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body stops efficiently responding to the blood sugar lowering effects of insulin and is often considered a precursor to diabetes. Diabetes arises when a person is unable to produce sufficient insulin or use the hormone insulin effectively, which can cause blood sugar levels to rise, and in addition to headaches can lead to a wide variety of health complications like heart attack, stroke, nerve damage and kidney failure.
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Does that mean you should switch to Splenda or another synthetic sugar substitute? Absolutely not. Splenda (sucralose) has been found to be a contributor to migraines in research published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. Stevia, a natural herbal sweetener is the only sugar substitute that does not impact blood sugar levels.
How to Get Off the Blood Sugar Roller Coaster for Good

You can balance your blood sugar and nix cravings to get off the blood sugar roller coaster for good and stop experiencing its many harmful effects. Here are some simple strategies:
Eat less sugar

While it is okay to have a small amount of sugar on occasion, it is a good idea to reduce the overall amount you eat. That’s something only you can do for yourself. Obviously it will take some discipline. If you absolutely can’t resist sweets, reduce the amount you would normally eat. In other words, eat half of the pastry instead of the whole thing.
Eat a piece of fruit

Before you completely cave into dessert, eat a piece of fruit. While fruit contains sugar, it is in a form that requires the body to metabolize it, along with beneficial fiber and plant nutrients that help slow its absorption or improve its use.
Eat fiber at every meal

Fiber helps to slow the absorption of sugar into the blood stream thereby reducing the likelihood of blood sugar highs and lows.
Snack on healthy snacks

By eating small amounts periodically we help to prevent our blood sugar from dropping to low levels, which in turn causes cravings for unhealthy foods like sweets.
Eat high protein plant foods

Like fiber, protein in foods slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. Some good plant-based sources of protein include: nuts, seeds, legumes, coconut and avocado.
Sprinkle cinnamon on your meals

Research in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease found that cinnamon improved all markers of the condition known as metabolic syndrome, the symptoms of which include high blood sugar levels, abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels and excessive abdominal fat.
Supplement with saffron

The spice saffron contains a natural compound known as crocetin which reduces insulin resistance.
Eat more cultured foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and vegan yogurt

Research in the medical journal Gut Microbes found that probiotics in the gut can improve glucose metabolism in the body.
Switch to stevia

When sweetening coffee, tea or other foods and beverages, choose stevia since it does not impact blood sugar levels.
Related Stories:

    A Guide to Cutting Sugar Out of Your Diet
    How Bitter Foods Can Help You Cut Sugar Out of Your Diet
    3 Easy Ways to Turn Avocado Into a Guilt-Free Chocolate Dessert

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM is the publisher of the free e-news World’s Healthiest News, the Cultured Cook, president of ScentsationalWellness, and an international best-selling and 20-time published book author whose works include: The Cultured Cook: Delicious Fermented Foods with Probiotics to Knock Out Inflammation, Boost Gut Health, Lose Weight & Extend Your Life.
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43 comments
Anne M
Anne M5 minutes ago

No,, but when you stop eating sugar,, you will get a headache...
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Peggy B
Peggy B6 minutes ago

TYFS
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divergent revolution
divergent r10 minutes ago

have not eaten sugar for 5 years now
never felt better in my whole life
tyfs
SEND
Monica Buchanan
Monica B26 minutes ago

Headache, migraines. Look for infections, bacterial and parasitic. They hijack the immune system for their benefit, they cause inflammation. They steal your nutrients, depending on the what bacterial or parasitic infection, will depend on what nutrients they steal. Parasites affect the gut and there are many bacterial infections that affect the gut. The gut feeds the entire body including making ones neurotransmitters. If one has too much sugar or carb cravings or feel the need to always snack, it might be due to nutrient deficiencies caused by pathogens, they steal your nutrients and eating sugar or too many carbs can a way of getting a quick boost, it does not solve the underlying problems. The difficult part is to know what infections to go testing for and even if you do test for the infections you have, false negatives are common when testing for parasitic and bacterial infections. People can have gut issues and headaches, migraines, bad head, but they can be so focused on the 'bad head' they don't take notice of the gut issues. They might have various symptoms they do realize are connected to gut issues.
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Sandra Vito
Sandra Vabout an hour ago

Thanks
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Sandra Vito
Sandra Vabout an hour ago

Thanks
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ANA MARIJA R
ANA MARIJA Rabout an hour ago

I avoid sugar for years and many symptoms have disappeared... Thank you.
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Mark T
Mark T2 hours ago

Ty.
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Ellie M
Ellie M2 hours ago

ty
SEND
Lenore K
Lenore K2 hours ago

k
SEND
view all 43 comments
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