Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-07
FOOD HEADACHES
By H. Addington Bruce

/ ~ EVERYBODY knows that overeating in
r. general is common cause Of head
| - aches Not nearly SO well known is
the fact that some people are SO constituted
| that if they eat certain foods to any great ex-
| tent-in some cases, If they eat certain foods
at all-the consequence to them is almost
sure to be a severe headache.
| In this way we have what may be called
| carbohydrate headaches, protein headaches,
| and headaches resulting from the eating of
| one special carbohydrate, protein, or other
| food
| OF these three groups the first two are nu-
merically the most important. Physicians diff
| fer, however, as to whether carbohydrate
| headaches or protein headaches claim the
| larger number Of victims. The majority in
cline to award the palm to proteins as head
ache producers. Others insist with DR..
Thomas r. Brown, Of Baltimore:
"Our experience is that in the largest
group of cases it is excessive intake of car
bohydrate food-or, to put 1t better, an In
take of carbohydrate food in excess of the
body's ability to consume it thoroughly-that
plays the largest role in those headaches as
ISOLATED with dietetic error"
There are people, it would appear, so in
tolerant of carbohydrates that they should
forego them almost altogether. In one case
periodic headaches of most painful type
persisted until diet was adopted limiting
the carbohydrate intake to two slices of
bread and one potato daily.
Fortunately such rigid restriction usually
| is unnecessary. The essential thing is recog-
nize that sugars and starchy foods cannot be
eaten by the susceptible individual with any
thing like the freedom possible to other peo-
| pie.
| Similarly with regard to protein-caused
headaches.
The degree Of intake-reduction needed
! varies with the individual, and experiment
| alone can determine the limit of safety
Though, to be sure, total abstinence may be
| required when it is question o. headaches
caused, not by excessive eating of proteins in
| general, but the eating of some one pro-
! tein or other food In that case even the
! smallest quantity Of the harmful food may
mean trouble.
! And it would s yem that almost any food
may be a headache producer for predisposed
| individuals According to DR.. w. A. Bastedo,
| Of New York, in statement made at meet
| ing of the American ltedical association:
| eve have found patients who had head
| ache from chicken, others from beef, lamb,
| mutton, or fish. Chicken and eggs, in our
| experience, are most productive OF prOCeln
! headaches.
again, we find in some persons dried
| peas or beans, as in black bear or white bean
soup, will produce headache, while green
| peas or beans will not"
/ The so-called skin tests for protein sensi-
! tiveness afford some ai6 in determining foods
| specially to be avaided. Not always, though,
| are they Of the desired revelatory value. So
that long and tedious period of experiment
ing with the exclusion of this or that food is
at times necessary to trace down the particu-
| lar food that poisons.
| Clearly, however, such experimenting Is
! worth while when the outcome may be the
! obtaining of relief from headaches that have
| been perpetual or recurrent torment.
(COpyright, 1929