Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Are Bananas a Trigger for Migraine Headaches?

Migraine headaches seem to follow a characteristic pattern - from prodrome to postdrome - and the symptoms may differ from person to person. But in most cases, the patient may experience a throbbing pain in any one side of the head (sometimes it spreads to both sides as well), and the condition is usually accompanied by phonophobia, photophobia and nausea or sometimes vomiting.

As per the general conclusion reached upon and accepted globally by doctors and researchers (the exact cause of migraine is still under contention), migraines are caused by a reduction in blood flow to the brain cells. This in turn springs from the constriction of arteries, which is triggered by certain external factors.

There can be a number of factors that trigger the onset of migraines. One such factor is food triggers. Each of these food items triggers migraine due to some chemical compounds found in them. One such chemical is tyramine.

Even though the exact effect of tyramine or the genuinity of such an explanation is still a subject of debate, it is widely believed that an excess concentration of tyramine in a migraine patient's blood can cause vasoconstriction of the blood vessels in the brain. In addition, it appears that people with migraines caused by dietary factors appear to be deficient in enzymes needed to break down tyramine. Some drugs used to treat depression (such as Nardil, Marplan and Parnate) also interfere with the process of breaking down tyramine.

Source : articlesbase

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