There was a time when my life consisted of daily headaches and regular migraines. No prescription medications, not even trial prescriptions, worked for me, and I began to feel helpless. When I took matters into my own hands and began researching headache and migraine triggers, I found a lot of information about food ingredients that can cause headaches. Since then, I’ve been reading food labels, knowing that MSG, artificial sweeteners, food colorings, and artificial flavors were all things that could make my headaches and migraines worse. I focused solely on the food and ingredients I needed to avoid, so I never thought about the foods I wasn’t eating and what adding to my diet could do for me. I was avoiding what I knew was bad, but for the most part, most of the food I ate still came in packages. Before I enrolled in IIN, I never considered eating whole, natural foods as a way to avoid headaches and migraines. Once I started to bring real food into my daily diet, I quickly noticed a difference.
Now I look at food very differently. My daily headaches and regular migraines were my body's way of communicating that it was not happy with what I had been feeding it. I just didn't realize it at the time. As I progressed through my IIN program, I started to learn how to nourish my body, not just feed it processed "foods", so my migraines started to get better. Thanks to my newfound relationship with my body, I had more energy, was taking less medication, and my focus improved too. It felt good to feel better, but I still had a nagging headache each morning as I left for work. I had reduced the packaged foods I ate, was eating mostly whole foods, but now that I knew how to communicate with my body, I understood that there was room for improvement if I still didn't feel my very best. Finally, I thought to read the ingredients label on my toothpaste. And there it was - artificial sweetener. I had been reading labels long before I enrolled in IIN and was so disappointed that I didn’t take the time to read that label until then. Since I’ve changed to a natural toothpaste, I no longer experience a daily headache. And because I’m eating real food now, it's been months since I last had a migraine.
Every small change makes a big difference. Listen to your body, and take the time to learn how to nourish it so you can feel your very best. When you feel your best, it manifests itself in the rest of your life.
To read more about developing your awareness of your body's reaction to what you feed it, check out my article The Food Mood Connection.
B Well,
Momma B.