Does Chocolate Help Prevent Headaches? | Health and Fitness

Does chocolate assist prevent headaches or is it the other way round? This article brings to you some basic facts on the effects that this ?sweet treat? can have on people who are prone to headaches.

Headache, as it is known, is one of the most usual medical problems faced by many. For some it may be felt like a discomforting throbbing sensation or a sharp pain which may either stay localized, or keep radiating throughout the head. While for some, it might be nothing more than a dull ache. This ailment can have a wide array of causes, which may be more appropriately regarded as triggers. And according to what scientists have determined, chocolate is one name that is included in the list of all such triggers. Thus chocolate, after a certain limit, rather than preventing headaches causes them.

Does Chocolate Help Reduce Headaches or Does it Worsen the Same?

By what I have put in the above section, you might have guessed that chocolate is of no assist for people prone to headaches or migraines (severe and recurring headaches). But what is more important to know here is what led medical experts to conclude that chocolate could be one of the potential triggers of headache in people.

Among other substances, chocolate contains caffeine and phenylethylamine. And these two are known to be the factors which activate headaches and migraines in people. If we speak of caffeine, it is true that it forms one of the usual ingredients of several headache medications. In other words, caffeine helps in curbing headaches. But according to scientists, consuming more than 200 milligrams of it a day, may reverse the effect thus causing headaches, and even abnormal irritability.

Coming to the other ingredient in chocolate, it is about phenylethylamine. It is a natural trace amine that is present in foods including chocolate. And it acts as a neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It is known to alter blood pressure levels in the body, and that of the blood-sugar. It has moreover been reported to bring about changes in the cerebral blood flow. And due to all such effects, this substance could moreover activate headaches.

It is moreover important to make a note of the fact that some people may be sensitive to caffeine, while some to phenylethylamine. And that may explain why a person complains against headache if he/she eats chocolate and not when drinking caffeinated beverages. Doctors have moreover come across people who show sensitivity to both these ingredients of chocolate.

So it can be inferred from the above explanation that chocolate may not contribute in the prevention of headaches, yet it may cause otherwise. However, the word is not to completely avoid eating chocolate yet enjoying it in moderation. Doctors advise eating moderate amount of dark chocolate which contains at least 70% cocoa, and without any milk. Chocolate is known to contain more antioxidants that fruits and vegetables. So eating it moderately would not only add to health, yet would moreover minimize chances of the onset of headaches or migraines.

Some Additional Information

In order to cope with and prevent frequent bouts of headaches, other than avoiding eating too much of chocolate, limiting alcohol, aspartame, caffeine-rich products, salty foods, and processed foods is moreover advised. Avoiding frequent exposure to bright lights, loud noises, and odors, and shunning smoking moreover helps. People who obtain plenty of sleep, and try to follow a regular go-to-sleep and wake-up timetable, suffer less from headaches, and so do those who maintaining a healthy diet, and an active lifestyle.

So as mentioned, for people who obtain headaches from eating chocolate, moderation is the key. And even if small amount of it causes the same, then avoiding it completely is what doctors would recommend.

Source: healthbuzz.com

Source: http://www.healthtweak.com/does-chocolate-help-prevent-headaches

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