sarahfromaustin Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 I'm on Day 12 and I keep waking up with headaches that just don't quit. This has been going on for about 4 or 5 days now. I've read other posts about headaches on Whole30 and the general consensus is to drink more water and salt your food-- which I think I'm doing just fine, but I'll definitely try to keep it in mind. I'm just wondering if someone can speak to the science behind the headaches? Is it withdrawals and to what? To walk you through a typical day: I've never been a breakfast person-- food before noon seriously makes me gag, so that hasn't changed. I start with a bit of coffee and water in the morning and around noon make a salad with compliant dressing (fats), compliant mango salsa (veggies/fruit), and toss some pistachios or tuna on top (protein). For dinner, I've been making chicken or steak (protein) with some kind of veggie side, adequately salted. If I start to feel mega hungry between meals (rare) I'll pop a few pieces of dried fruit (no sugar added) and a handful of cashews or pistachios. The only thing that I haven't had much of at all is carbs-- I think I may have eaten exactly one potato since I started this wild ride. Could it be carbs?? AND DON'T JUST SAY YES, IT'S CARBS! TELL ME WHY!! Please and thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted June 12, 2019 Administrators Share Posted June 12, 2019 Lack of carbs can cause blood sugar drop which can cause headaches (especially when working towards fat adaptation). For best results we really recommend eating within an hour of waking and the fact that you are physically averse to this is a sign that you have a hormonal imbalance. If you wish to correct this, the best way forward is to start with a template meal (1-2 palms animal protein, not nuts, 3+ cups veggies and 1-2 servings of fat) and eat as much as you can from around the plate. Then pack it up and take it with you and eat from it again as soon as you feel able. We recommend starting with at least a fist sized serving of starchy veggie each day (potato, sweet potato, winter squash, carrot, turnip etc) and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahfromaustin Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 Hrrrrm. I had a friend suggest that maybe the salt wasn't doing the trick because it wasn't iodized (was using sea salt only). I read up on it and it turns out, we humans need the iodine, and all of the processed foods I cut out contained loads of it. I bought some last night, cooked dinner with it, and bam! Problem solved. Also added some red potatoes with dinner last night and I feel much better today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchrodingersCat Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 29 minutes ago, sarahfromaustin said: Hrrrrm. I had a friend suggest that maybe the salt wasn't doing the trick because it wasn't iodized (was using sea salt only). I read up on it and it turns out, we humans need the iodine, and all of the processed foods I cut out contained loads of it. I bought some last night, cooked dinner with it, and bam! Problem solved. Also added some red potatoes with dinner last night and I feel much better today. The whole Iodine thing is fascinating. People weren't getting enough, so they started adding it to salt, and problem solved. But because it was so widely accessible in salt, no one bothered to make a public awareness effort to emphasize it's importance, and so when people started using other salts (instead of just the good old Saxa off the supermarket shelf), the incidence of iodine deficiency started to rise and people didn't know why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jihanna Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 That is actually extremely fascinating, and has me considering a mix of iodized and sea salts in my table shakers... because heaven knows we don't currently have any iodized salt in the house, and I couldn't begin to tell you where else I might get iodine, but I certainly do live with some massive and prolonged headaches that aren't ALL due to the need for chiropractic care... *thoughtful* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenX Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Iodized salt is certainly an easy source, but you can get plenty of iodine in your food. Tuna, shrimp, shellfish, salt-water fishes (cod, salmon, swordfish, sardines, etc.), & eggs have it, as does seaweed. And they don't have sugar which many brands of iodized salt do contain. My $0.02, your headache went away because of the potatoes more than the iodine. On 6/13/2019 at 4:36 PM, sarahfromaustin said: Also added some red potatoes with dinner last night and I feel much better today. Waking up with a headache points to dehydration in some form. Carbs help you retain water. I'd personally make sure to get one serving of carb-y veggies in with dinner each night and see if that doesn't cure your morning headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.