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A
friend of mine was laughing about her daughter, who has one of those little
dorm fridges in her dorm room at college. Mostly, she keeps some fresh
fruit, a few cans of soda, and several bottles of water.
But
recently, she had started keeping some deli meats and cheese in there for
studying. The first tests were going to be starting soon and apparently, she
needs sustenance.
What
made my friend laugh was that her daughter asked if it was okay to eat cheese
if it was starting to turn green.
“How
long has it been in there?” Her mom asked with a chuckle. Apparently she
bought it with the first batch of drinks and sodas, but didn’t know exactly
when that was.
Her
mom was trying to explain that some foods need to be tossed after a couple
days, and some last longer. Then she asked where she was for the last 18
years and why she didn’t remember the “fridge cleaning out days.’
Her
daughter always thought that on those days, her mom was just really
enthusiastic about cooking…mom would pull eggs, cheese, meats, biscuits and
vegetables every now and then and cook up several dinners and freeze them.
Her
daughter hadn’t realized that what Mom was doing was cooking everything that
would be expiring soon in order to be able to freeze it.
This
is a pretty good practice, especially considering that some foods are just
really nasty when left in the fridge too long, like souring milk, browning
ground beef and moldy cheese.
Other
foods, however, can affect your health long before the expiration date is even
reached, and not because of anything food manufacturers do or don’t do to it
before you buy it.
Foods
that sit in the refrigerator, once cooked, begin a build-up of a chemical
called tyramine. This amine is a by-product of an amino acid called
tyrosine.
As
tyrosine breaks down – this is a natural process- it produces tyramine.
This is actually a chemical that has an important role in the body as it helps
to regulate blood pressure. However, too much of it can cause serious
problems for some people.
The
problem with this chemical is that it has been shown in many studies and
through years of research to trigger migraines
for people who suffer the dreaded cluster monsters.
The
foods most likely to be offensively high in tyramine levels are foods that are
more than 24 hours old, such as leftovers sitting in the fridge. Deli
meats, aged cheeses, and many nuts are also on the list of foods to either consume
in moderation or even avoid altogether.
Some
whole meals can therefore be off the list even before they make it to the
fridge, such as pizza. If pepperoni, sausage, and mozzarella cheese can
trigger a migraine
when it’s fresh-baked, refrigerated pizza leftovers are going to be worse.
Additionally,
people who take Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) such as those for depression,
are at increased risk of negative effects from aging foods. MAOIs are
designed to suppress the enzyme monoamine oxidase. This enzyme breaks
down tyramine.
So
what are the recommendations for people who suspect they might be affected by
tyramine?
Start
with data. Keep a diary of what you have been eating and how it affects
you. If you notice that you wind up with a bad headache
within 6 to 8 hours of eating barbeque or your favorite deli sub, you might
want to consider cutting back on those foods.
Just
for the record as well, there are expiration and freshness dates on most food
packaging. Fruits and vegetables, though, won’t carry such stamps.
While
some dates are intended to be a guide that the associated food is simply better
if consumed by that date, others indicate an actual expiration.
Generally,
in order to receive maximum benefit from the foods you are eating, you will
want to consume it right away. Stockpiling food for a later day will
diminish the nutritive value of it and can also introduce chemical and
biological changes (tyramine with meats or mold on cheese) in the foods.
Relieve Migraine Pain
- Supplement and Prescription Interaction- A Bad Brew?
There
has been a lot of concerns about what people are taking and when with respect
to their prescription drugs, and they almost always will go on to disclose a
supplement (or five or ten) they are also taking.
Sometimes,
we find that folks are using the natural, herbal world to make their nutrition
a more complete picture. Other times they are taking something that helps to
correct a disease process that is a result of a deficiency, as with iron, calcium,
or vitamin D shortages.
But
occasionally, we come across disclosures that raise a flag, as in the cases
relating to people who are on serious prescription drugs and also supplementing
from nature with highly concentrated herbal supplements or mineral compounds.
Many
times, there are no interactions. In fact, some herbal supplements actually
help a drug to be either better absorbed or to be more effective. An example
might be people taking fish oil capsules as well as hormone replacement
regimens (whether natural or herbal).
Far
too frequently, though, a supplement will have a dangerous interaction with a
prescription drug, and this is generally because of “too much of a good thing”
or a duplicating effect.
An
example here may be taking St. John’s Wort for boosting your mood while you are
also taking a prescription serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Most bottles for both
products warn about the interaction, but some medicine-herb packaging might
not.
Another
place where trouble brews is where prescription blood thinners and supplements
or spices meet. Curry powder and cayenne pepper are natural blood thinners, and
when taken as an extract or a super-concentrated capsule, can pose a clotting
problem.
This
can occur anywhere in the body where blood vessels happen to be…such as the
brain, heart, and other vital organs.
Or,
you may be taking an herb or other product that renders the prescription drug
either completely useless or makes it less available for receptors.
An
example here would be the “grapefruit effect” that occurs when people eat
grapefruit or take an extract and they are also taking a statin drug for cholesterol.
Properties in the grapefruit and extracts destroy an enzyme that is critical
for the statin drug to be metabolized.
That
is also an example where many times there will be warnings on the labels of the
drug and/or the packaging of the extract.
But
what about the interactions that aren’t as famous?
Take,
for example, the simple, yet effective multivitamin. The capsules generally
include a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, and are in a chemical makeup
such that it is easily absorbed.
But
if a prescription drug is also being taken that has many of the same
properties, this can be a real problem.
Iron
in a standard multi-vitamin is great, and in a high enough amount that the
general public would really benefit from. But if you are also taking a prescription
calcium bicarbonate (or even an over the counter one) the iron will not be
absorbed.
Vitamins
or drugs not absorbed and used by the cells of their intended tissues will wind
up in the filtration system, namely the liver and the kidneys.
Sometimes,
this can be such an insult they just shut down.
The
point to this is not to say you should stop taking your prescription medicines.
It is more a call to action to talk to the doctor and/or pharmacist about
everything you are currently taking. Not just pills he or she doesn’t know
another doctor may have prescribed, but also supplements your herbalist
recommends for you.
The
dynamic that unfolds to create this is not typically forgetfulness. Usually, it
is embarrassment.
Consider
this: A person doesn’t want the doctor to know he or she is taking ginko, for
example, because he is afraid the doctor will shoot it down as so much quack
nonsense, but the person taking it knows the proven benefits.
He
also does not tell his herbalist that he is taking Coumadin, a blood thinner,
since he doesn’t want her knowing he relies on “big pharma” to get by.
The
end result to this made up scenario could possibly be death due to hemorrhagic
stroke. This is because of the “too much of a good thing” as it is proven that
ginko tends to interfere with the normal clotting of the blood, something which
Coumadin is prescribed to do on purpose, anyway.
It
might get you a lecture from one or the other (or both) providers, but the
lecture and subsequent dosage adjustment might just save your life.
There
is nothing wrong with looking at all the layers of comprehensive treatment that
goes with treating high cholesterol, problems sleeping,
or chronic pain.
The
problems arise when you fail to tell your prescriber that not only do you
prefer natural treatments, but you are also currently involved in their uses.
Let
us know if you have had problems with interactions. The advice you give may
help someone and keep him or her from making a mistake in what they ingest,
inject, or inhale.
Relieve Migraine Pain
- I Won’t See the Doctor Because I Hate Pills
This
statement occurs so much it leaves me wishing I could have a dime every time
someone mentions it.
Some
of my own staff have even said variations of it from time to time.
While
I understand the sentiment, it does concern me a lot since a licensed health
care provider someone who can accurately diagnose health conditions. Someone
off the street or in a health food store is not someone who can do that.
That
said, it can be very frustrating when you are trying to live according to
healthy, natural rules and your doctor hands you a prescription sheet after
spending 45 seconds with you. Does he or she even really understand the issue?
Does he or she respect my wishes to try natural methods first?
Only
you can answer this, and the only way is to develop a better communication
channel with your provider. Avoiding even seeing the doctor is the opposite of
this.
Many
times people write in with their frustration of the tendency their provider has
with reflexively reaching for the prescription pad to ink out some pill
regimen. When this happens, we are faced with 3 choices:
–
Agree with the doctor, fill the prescription, and take the pills, accepting
blindly any side effects that come along for the ride
–
Disagree with the doctor and not tell him or her, refuse to fill the
prescription and possibly suffer an even worse outcome
–
Disagree with the doctor and advocate for a better, more natural and healthy
treatment alternative
Drugs
can alleviate a lot of problems, but only if taken properly. Non-compliance is
actually listed as a drug ‘misuse’ problem for the Centers for Disease Control
and the Department of Health. They also carry frustrating or even dangerous
side effects, which is one key factor for non-compliance in the first place.
This
scenario can leave a person with a “rock and a hard place” kind of feeling. And
for what? Because our doctor doesn’t listen to us? Or how about maybe that we
haven’t tried hard enough to get our message across.
I
do understand that insurance limitations and economic factors play a role in
how easy it is to “fire” your doctor if you aren’t happy, but you might be
surprised at how easy it is to do just that.
If
you feel that you just can’t leave your physician, then honesty will get you a
lot further than agreeing to a course of treatment and then not carrying it
out.
Your
doctor may already suspect that you are not complying with the prescribed
treatment plan, especially if you keep appearing in the office with the same
treatable, chronic problem.
So
why not just have out with it if you know you won’t take the drugs? Your doctor
deserves to know when your non-compliance may endanger your life. And you
deserve for him or her to try harder to find an acceptable alternative.
The
only way this can happen is to be honest and open up that very candid dialogue.
A
friend of mine said once, “My doctor is so stubborn. He thinks he’s God or
something and that his opinion about my health is the only one that matters.”
There is a little bit of truth to his thinking in the vein of having had many
years of advanced training and experience…so his opinion is very valuable.
But
that’s where the truth in his statement ends. She acknowledged that she is a
very important player on the healthcare team because it’s HER health. She
finally up and told him, “Look, Doc, I appreciate where you are coming from but
the ‘cure’ is worse than the disease. I absolutely will not take those pills.
What else ya got?” this was in reference to a migraine issue she had been
having for a very long time.
Sure
enough, he said something to the effect that he suspected she was going to
eventually say that and put it back on her to understand fully what that
refusal means. It means that while there alternatives, she is the one who has
to do the work to make them effective, which was part of her problem.
Honesty
is an uncomfortable thing. It forces the lines of communication to be awkwardly
open and in this case makes it a 2-way street. She knew that if she stood up to
him on her behalf, that he likely would, too. And he did. He detailed the
laundry list of things that were causing problems for her, and even had a lot
of patient education materials related to treating migraine naturally.
He
had never offered it before…she wasn’t ready before. But the honest
announcement of “not gonna take the pills” was the sign that she actually was
ready.
The
point to all this is that you can decide you don’t like a treatment plan, but
you also have to decide to do the right thing and tell your doctor. Be open to
the truth about your condition; even if that means you have to change something
significant in your life. It might be easier than you think, though.
This post is from The
Migraine and Headache Program, which was created by Christian Goodman. This
program first explains how you can cure headaches and then gives you a simple,
step-by-step approach to deal with it through easy exercises.
This program can free
you up from the costly drugs and supplements which can pose adverse side
effects. It enhances your brain’s oxygen level and gets rid of pain through
exercises. Most importantly, it permanently treats your migraine and other
types of headaches.
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