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Peanut Butter & Chocolate
By Kerrie | June 28, 2005
I don’t care if it’s a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or the Trader Joe’s version of this popular candy, peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s Kiss in the middle, or a spoonful of Jif with chocolate chips stuck on top, any combination of peanut butter and chocolate is divine.
Last week I almost admitted that peanut butter and chocolate are triggers for me. Instead of accepting my fate, I say that I think that they could maybe be triggers.
I can do this because the medical jury is still out on whether foods are migraine triggers. Some believe that chocolate might be food people crave right before a migraine, but that it’s not the actual trigger. Or maybe a patient ate peanut butter and got a migraine, but stress and weather changes really triggered the headache. An ACHE newsletter article called The Trigger Quagmire explores this point of view.
Of course other articles deflate the argument, but I’m sticking with this one for right now. I’ll ignore that my husband is sure that peanut butter and chocolate are among my triggers. He doesn’t love peanut butter like I do. I’m skeptical that anyone loves peanut butter as much as I do. Add chocolate and I’m a goner.
Topics: Coping |
June 29th, 2005 at 4:09 pm
I know absolutely 100% for sure that alcohol is a trigger for me because it enters my system so quickly that the cause and effect can’t be ignored. I think the reason I don’t identify chocolate and peanutbutter as triggers as easily as I would a glass of red wine is because it takes longer for them to metabolize. If you step on the cat’s tail in the evening and she hisses and bites you at about 10am the next morning, you aren’t going to make the connection. Very interesting site, btw.
October 6th, 2005 at 8:53 pm
I know I am REALLY late commenting on this (going thru your archives) but OH MY do I love peanut butter! Ditto with added chocolate.
The downside–my son is VERY allergic, so I don’t indulge in that so much anymore, but sunflower “butter” is a close second
August 5th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Peanut butter is my all time favorite food, and it is without a doubt a migraine trigger for me so I avoid it now. I’m grateful for all the years I was able to consume it before it became a problem. I jokingly tell people now that it’s okay I can no longer eat it; I consumed so much of it in the first 35 years of my life I reached my lifetime quota.
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That’s a good way to look at it. I’ve really missed peanut butter this last week.
K
November 17th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Chocolate causes migraines due to its caffeine content. The caffeine constricts the blood vessels and the headache is caused when the blood vessel contract to their normal size as the caffeine is drained from the body.
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A natural amphetamine called phenylethylamine in chocolate is thought to be the headache trigger. There’s much, much debate on chocolate as a headache trigger. Here’s a good article on the not-a-trigger side:
http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/28/91495/24.html
K
May 16th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Hi I just read your article now after googling peanut butter and migraines. I am sure its a trigger for me. I used to eat it all the time for lunch and then stopped. Well this week I have eaten it every day and everyday day about 4-5 hours later i end up with a migraine…I’m convinced!