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The excruciating, throbbing pain of this condition which, at its worse, can land a sufferer in bed for a day or incapacitate them for several days. These debilitating headaches are often accompanied by vision sensitivities (even temporary blindness), nausea, shaking, vomiting, fatigue, depression, skin problems, and irritable bowel, all symptoms that compound the suffering. Statistically, headaches cripple more people than motorcycle accidents, car collisions, and industrial accidents combined. Many get chronic, recurring headaches, and that number increases every year. 70 percent of all migraine sufferers are women.
These chronic, recurring headaches are severe enough to cause those in pain to seek medical attention and, in some cases, prevent them from maintaining full-time employment. In the United Kingdom, migraine sufferers comprise the largest group attending neurological clinics up to one-third of all patients in some centres. Some estimates have placed the incidence of migraine in the population as high as 30 percent. More working days are lost due to headache than through any other single category of complaint. When migraineurs try to work with a headache, they are less efficient and many feel they cannot plan their work and social lives for fear of being devastated by a headache.
Of the several types of headaches, most fall into one of three basic categories: tension-type headaches that bring an ache in the area where the muscles of the head and neck meet; vascular headaches, which include migraines, toxic, and cluster headaches.
Many popular treatments are available - including prescription and over-the-counter medications - yet the excruciating head pain still continues for millions. Often sufferers search their whole lives for help, willing to try anything that even remotely claims to be a cure. Many choose to suffer the dangerous side effects of drugs, including constricted blood vessels around the heart as well as in the brain, rather than endure a migraine's wrath.
Some sufferers, however, have found the solution - treatment for food intolerance. Thousands of patients and dozens of research studies show that identifying and eliminating their intolerant foods is a viable solution for many. How removing food (and chemical) intolerance's works to alleviate migraines is not clear. Up to now, the cause of headaches has been attributed to hormonal imbalance, genetic predisposition, chronic tension, and emotional issues, with some foods cited as the triggers. However, doctors who recognize food intolerance as a cause of headaches agree that medical professionals who ignore food allergy cannot get the whole picture. As Dr. Richard Bahr, an environmental medicine specialist in Cincinnati, puts it:
"We know that migraines are a food problem until you can prove otherwise. They are not all food-related, but the greater percent are. A large portion of head pain, including even the worst forms of migraine, are simply due to allergic reactions," writes Dr. Theron Randolph in An Alternative Approach to Allergies.
It's common to hear that certain foods trigger migraines - for example, aged cheese, chocolate, and red wine are often implicated. But you'll never hear popular medical focus on lamb, milk, or wheat. Yet those are the foods that caused people to suffer from excruciating headaches and migraines, no matter which of the commonly accepted headache - trigger foods they eliminated from their diets. Dr. Anthony Ferro in Palm Beach, who has successfully treated many patients with migraine, noted:
"I have one patient, Tom, who gets a migraine whenever he eats wheat."
Dr. Solomon has conducted research on the Food Intolerance Test to determine its effectiveness as a guide and barometer in the therapy of environmental and food sensitivities. Her study not only confirmed that the (F.I. Test) is a valuable guide in quickly identifying a person's food, mould, and chemical allergies, but it also showed that several conditions, including migraines, can be improved by addressing food intolerance.
"The traditional medical community says that classic migraine is not food allergy, but in my experience it is," says Dr. Solomon.
Her study included 71 patients with headaches. Of the nine patients with classic migraine (which includes visual disturbances such as flashing lights and split vision), 82 percent showed improvement after eliminating the foods to which they tested reactive. Of the 39 patients with common migraine (which includes no visual disturbances), 62 percent showed improvement. And of the 23 patients with sinus headaches, 58 percent showed improvement.
"My study showed that eliminating food intolerance's is effective in clearing a person's migraine 82 percent of the time, and 82 percent is pretty good."
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