People who don’t suffer migraines don’t understand the blinding pain and associated symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity of light and sound, and so on. It can be very debilitating. Migraines can cause severe headaches, which can make it difficult to work or move around in a darkened room. For many of the 28 million Americans who suffer from migraines, pain relief could be as simple as changing your diet. A correlation has been found between migraines and monosodium glutamate, a neurologist who specializes in migraine treatment.
MSG
After being advised to avoid MSG, patients of these neurologists were able reduce their migraines to a minimum. MSG is an additive that is added to food to enhance its flavor. Glutamate, an amino acid that is a building block for all proteins, can be found in certain foods like tomatoes, grapes and mushrooms, as well as parmesan cheese and spinach. Glutamate-rich foods have a higher flavor, which is why they are often used in many recipes and meals. MSG is a synthetically produced version of natural glutamate.
MSG can then be used to enhance the flavor of a variety foods, including soups and sauces as well as Asian cooking and snack foods. How does MSG work? Naturally occurring amino acids interact to brain cell activity. MSG can be added to food to enhance the taste of the food. There are many receptors on your tongue that help you identify sweet and sour tastes. Your taste buds register free glumatic acid with your tongue to indicate the presence of protein.
Did You Know?
MSG tricks your tongue into believing that the food you eat is both a protein and nutritious. It also affects your ability to recognize nutrition in future food. Your tongue will be able to register nutrition in foods that may not have nutritional value. This allows for larger portions of nutritious, real food and greatly reduces the cost to food manufacturers. MSG stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. You feel hungry within an hour of eating. This is a great advantage for restaurants and food manufacturers.
How does MSG impact migraines? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there may be a subset of people who are sensitive to MSG. MSG is a trigger for migraines according to the Journal of American Medical Association. MSG is a known trigger for migraine attacks. Other evidence suggests that MSG may actually alter the normal functioning of serotonin in the brain.
Serotonin
Understanding migraines is important because serotonin, a “brain chemical”, calms overreacting brain cells. MSG stimulates brain cells. It is easy to see how quickly a migraine could develop if MSG has an effect on serotonin’s ability of pacifying overreacting brain cells activity. What can I do about it? You can take control of your migraines now, unlike other migraine treatments that give you a drug and then you wait to see if it provides relief. You are one step closer to reducing your migraines by simply reading this article. You have the power!
MSG is a common trigger for migraines in many people. You can now eliminate MSG from your diet. MSG-free living is possible by avoiding foods containing it. MSG can hide under many names in foods, including hydrolyzed vegetable proteins (HVP), HPT, “natural flavoring”, BHA and BHT, maltodextrans, modified food starch (WTP), maltodextrans, BHA, BHT and maltodextran. Soy products contain a lot of MSG, so it’s important to avoid soy sauce and soy lecthin products. While these can be significant changes in diet, it is often a small trade to ensure that migraine sufferers are free from the pain of migraines.
Read Labels
It is important to be a knowledgeable consumer. While it can be intimidating to read labels on your next shopping trip, it can be very helpful. You’ll be surprised at how many products contain MSG and how much you have been consuming without realizing. Shopping at your local health food store or cooperative can be a joy, as they offer many products without MSG. Keep a “headache diary” or daily log, where you keep track of what you eat and how you feel (e.g., headaches, migraines).
You should also record what medications you are taking. You will notice patterns and positive changes in your migraines if MSG is not included in your diet. Your doctor and you will both benefit from the headache journal. Keep your headache journal with you at all doctor visits. Please share this article and information with migraine sufferers you know. It is sad that so few migraineurs are aware about the MSG-migraine connection. Migraine pain is something that no one should experience. For many, simply eliminating MSG from the diet can make the difference between living a life free of migraines and suffering for the rest of their lives.
