Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Diet so Far

All the common migraine triggers (cheese, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, citrus fruits) are "out". Also excluded are other fruits, leeks, celery, garlic, mushrooms, baked beans, tinned fish, any seafood, any processed food, any preserves, ice creams, anything with monosodium glutamate, nitrites or vinegar. So most dressings, sauces and gravies are verboten and I'm suspicious of anything in a packet with an E number on the ingredient list.

Breakfasts are now Bran Flakes mixed with Oat Crisps with milk and sugar, or, porridge with toast and butter and a cup of decaf tea. I'm restricting myself to 3 (max) decaf teas a day and apart from that, water is the only other drink. For the last couple of days the bread has been soda bread, rather than the home made wholemeal/ciabatta mixture.

Lunches at home are usually chicken slices with bread, butter and tomatoes and or salad. No dressings.

Dinners vary. Today we had roast chicken with roast carrots, parsnips, potatoes and blanched spinach. Last night it was a jacket potato with sliced chicken, lettuce, tomato, cauliflower (raw), and water cress. On Friday night I had a rare treat - fish and chips with my daughter while my husband went out to a barbecue.

For dessert? So far I've restricted myself to meringue with dulche de leche, but I also eat the occasional shortbread biscuit.

What would I add back once I'm sure this diet is migraine-free? Apples

1 comment:

Sazzie said...

I’ve just discovered the MSG connection to my migraines, and I’m glad that you avoid MSG. have you tried completely elliminating it?
dont know if anyone has pointed you to MSGmyth.com but its an excellent site with instructions on how to try a “caveman” diet to see if MSG is the cause. you can buy the book on amazon–written by Deb —check out her story by listening to her interviews.
once you’ve been on the diet for a while you detox and can start eating more foods because you can tolerate them. I started having 2-3 migraines a week this winter —and after reading “excitotoxins” and "heal your headache" decided to throw away my meds and start this diet. I’ve been on it 2 weeks and have dramatically decreased my migraines. Its a tough diet—-brown rice, eggs, salad and fresh fruit and veg and organic chicken/turkey, but it seems to be working. BUT unlike your diet above to make it really work you must give up wheat and dairy too (just for now dont worry), and potatoes and tomatoe which are naturally high in glutamates.. Thats why Dr Buccholz’s (and your diet) in “heal your headache” doesnt work because it doesnt eliminate ALL the sources of natural glutamate (he allows cream cheese and milk and icercream which all contain hydrolysed protein. even a lot of bread has malted barley in it, another source of free glutamate). I strongly urge you to try it out— I know it sounds like a strenuous bland diet but once you get into it fresh veggies start to taste wonderful, and you can add all sorts of spices, make your own fresh juice etc. Cook big batches of rice so you can freeze. wash and peel veggies -- even the tiniest amounts of MSG will trigger a migraine for me. theres a great discussion board on the website that gives you moral support and advice. whats two weeks out of your life? try it!