Page 10 - Family Wellness - Spring/Summer 2016

8
WHOLE LIFE
Get Ahead of the
HURT
Mitigate your migraines with solutions that actually work.
Without even knowing it you might be making choices that increase your chances of a migraine. What you just had for lunch or even your morning workout could be the cause. Some of the most common migraine triggers include food and drink. Too much alcohol may be the obvious one, but even one drink can be enough to trigger the onset for some. If you are battling migraines, Performance’s Dr. Michael Rizkalla says
you should avoid alcohol but also skip aged cheeses, chocolate, salty foods, artificial
sweeteners, cured meats, dried fruits, and, of course, caffeine.
HEALTH CHECK
Find your migraine triggers with help from online check- lists so you can get reflief.
However, it’s not just what you’re putting in your mouth that could be causing your pain. Other common triggers he says are stress, medications, odors,
too little or too much sleep, and certain activities or exercises.
says it’s very important to identify your unique triggers. “It takes diligence and time to focus on self-awareness,” he says. He suggests making
a list of potential triggers. There are online checklists, which you can download and print out for easy use. Each time you have a migraine, put a check next to all of the items that are potential triggers. Over the course of several weeks, see what items have the most check marks—those are likely your triggers, and you can start to remove any that are avoidable. If you have any questions, bring your checklist to your doctor and they can help you mitigate your migraines.
Stress, dehydration, menstrual periods, and changes in weather are also everyday triggers noted by patients.
WHAT’S YOUR TRIGGER?
Seeing as the list seems endless it might be discouraging for you to pinpoint your specific migraine prompts, but Dr. Rizkalla
pssmwellness.com
When migraines are a killer, try cutting out foods like caffeine, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, and cured meats.