The term “rich foods” usually refers to high-calorie, high-fat foods made with heavy creams, butter and cheeses. Desserts and dishes made with heavy sauces are rich foods. For some people, rich foods that are heavily seasoned or deep-fried cause headaches. The ingredients in rich foods can cause adverse reactions in some people, including headaches. Rich foods cause physiological changes in the brain that can trigger headaches in some people.
Headaches and Foods
Although dietary causes of headaches vary for different people, health care professionals recognize some foods, such as cheeses and chocolate, as common headache triggers. Migraine triggers include cultured dairy products, fruits, cocoa and chocolate, freshly made yeast breads, commercial salad dressings and canned soups, according to University Health Services at University of California, Berkley. Many of the same foods can also trigger tension headaches.
Brain Changes
Researchers report that one high-fat meal can prevent proper dilation of blood vessels within three to five hours after the meal, according to studies conducted by a cardiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The abnormal functioning of blood vessels can last for up to six hours. Medical experts cite restricted blood flow in the brain as the likely cause of migraine headaches. Food triggers activate the physiological processes that cause migraine headaches. Scientists believe that tension headache triggers, which include fatty foods, cause fluctuations in the levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. The chemical changes create a series of physiological reactions that generate pain.
Symptoms
A tension headache, including those triggered by rich foods, begins within a few hours of eating the food, starts in the back of the head and moves toward the front. You might experience pressure or the feeling of a band tightening around your head. The pain usually occurs on both sides of the head and may cause problems with eating or sleeping. Tension headaches often affect the muscles in the jaw, neck and shoulders. Migraine sufferers can experience a wide array of symptoms, including pain on one side of the head, nausea, light sensitivity and vision problems that signal a developing headache. The headache can begin within minutes and last from six hours to two days.
Prevention
Medical professionals recommend keeping a dietary journal to help identify the rich foods or ingredients that cause your headaches. Include in the journal the time the headache began, foods consumed during the last 24 hours, the length of time the headache lasts and your efforts to stop the headache. You might be able to eat your favorite rich foods by using low-fat substitutions for the offending ingredients or by choosing a cooking method other than frying. For instance, you can make banana pudding with low-fat instant pudding, use skim milk and other low-fat dairy ingredients and choose low-fat varieties of creams and sauces.
