SINUS HEADACHES AND DAIRY

Dairy has never really been a part of my diet as I've been milk protein intolerant since birth. I'm not a huge fan of it either - I never have milk (nut milks are much tastier anyway), but I'll occasionally have a bit of cheese or a small bit of ice cream if it's on offer - I very rarely buy them myself. What I've realised in the past few months is that dairy is the cause of my sinus headaches, even in very small amounts. 

I wanted to blog about it in case anyone else has the same problem. Sinus headaches are basically the only headaches I'll ever get unless I'm really dehydrated and they are so painful! I have had about 3 this year and they have all coincided with consuming dairy. The medication doctors prescribe for it (nasal steroids or heavy decongestants etc) are a pretty nasty go-to treatment. 

I'm all for figuring out the cause of problems, especially ones like this. If you have any symptoms that are out of the ordinary pay close attention to your body around the time they arise. Stress and food are two huge factors I find. Symptoms are the bodies way of sending you a message so it's best to not mask them with pain killers or heavy medication. 

One natural option that has been extremely effective is a nasal rinse. The headaches are relieved immediately for me and completely gone the following day. I picked it up from the chemist and it's a squeeze bottle with a saline solution. Salty water pretty much, but the right amount. It clears out any congestion really well. Great for hay fever symptoms too. 

Anyway, that's all - if you know of anyone that suffers from sinus headaches perhaps you'd like to pass the suggestion on. Worth a shot!

The photo above is from my recent surf trip to the Maldives. I had a bit of dairy as the food was buffet and a few sneaky desserts. I think the daily salt water being flushed through my face really helped as I didn't have any problems over there nor did I wake up with puffy eyes which is another lovely symptom I tend to get.

Elle :)