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Causes of Headaches While Dieting

bad headache reactionCauses of Headaches While Dieting

When a person is on an intense diet, he or she seems to experience sporadic headaches. It is very normal to have mind-numbing headaches while dieting. This is caused by the type or amount of food you consume. These headaches should not be the cause of any alarm, but if they affect your day to day life, you should probably consider visiting your doctor for some dieting advice. There are a number of known causes of headaches when dieting namely:

Hunger

Counting the calories and cutting them back by reducing the amount of food you take can easily cause headaches. When the body doesn’t have enough food to function properly, the system will struggle to function properly causing and elevated heart rate. Lack of enough food can also cause anemia, which is the lack of red blood cells in the blood. They are responsible for carrying oxygen to the various organs in the body. When there aren’t enough red blood cells in the body, the blood vessels will be strained and cause migraines. When you resume your normal eating habits, the headaches will go away.

Dehydration

This is another cause of strain in the brain. Intake of water is important whether one is dieting or not. When you want to lose weight, water is very vital. Just like food, dehydration causes the blood vessels to be strained. If you want to lose weight, drinking water will make you feel full, hence you will consume lesser calories. These pains can be reduced by drinking water frequently

Caffeine and Sugar

When trying to lose weight, diet shifts from one extreme to another. When you are used to eating foods that are high in sugar and caffeine, then you suddenly stop, the body gets shocked. Caffeine is known to widen the blood vessels, sudden reduction may lead to shrinkage of the blood vessel and then migraines. Taking too much sugar and caffeine to give you energy when exercising will overload the body and make the heart beat faster. Find the right balance if you want to avoid the headache.

Too much stress

Stress play a big role in determining the reaction of the body to changes, and how you handle your dieting plan. When we are stressed, the body releases adrenaline to widen the blood vessels in the brain to cope with the sudden emotions. Too much stress can cause dizziness, migraines or even depression.

Reaction to New Foods

When you diet, you take new foods that can have some negative reaction in your body. Chocolate, cheese, dairy products and dried fruits are the common food known to cause migraines.

These headaches while dieting are normal, but if it affects you too much, consult a doctor.

Updated: January 18, 2015 — 5:30 pm

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