Chocolate is a trigger for some migraineurs, and not for others

Chocolate and headache are often linked, and it's true that chocolate
is a trigger for some people. But read on! Many people who think they
should avoid chocolate may not have to. Others will simply have to
avoid it no matter what. But for some, the chocolate and headache link
may be that chocolate gets rid of the headache once it starts.

The culprit may be phenylethylamine (PEA). PEA is the chemical in
chocolate that may cause the blood vessels to expand and contract.
However, it's also a natural mood enhancer, stress reliever and memory
enhancer. So once again, it may have more good than bad for some
people. The chocolate and headache connection is still unclear.

A study at the University of Pittsburgh suggested that the role of
chocolate as a migraine trigger may be over emphasized.

Do you have a reference? Where can I read more

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:20:09 -0000, Farrel > wrote:

>
>Do you have a reference? Where can I read more
>

The OP mentioned a study being done by the University of Pittsburgh,
so it may be this one:
http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/28/91495/24.html

"Research finds no evidence that chocolate triggers migraines

Chocoholics take heart. A study being conducted by the headache clinic
of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Pain Evaluation and
Treatment Institute has not turned up any evidence that chocolate is a
trigger for migraine or tension headaches in most people..." (more at
the link)


There's also this link, which contains much of the same content as the
OP:
http://www.relieve-migraine-headache...-headache.html

I would suspect that for some it is the caffeine that is present in
chocolate. (Though at the same time, if this is true, I'd also suspect they
would blame caffeine in coffee, tea, colas, energy drinks, etc. too).

We have recently put together an article on caffeine and chocolate that goes
into a fair amount of detail about how much caffeine is found in
chocolate.(
http://www.amanochocolate.com/articl...chocolate.html )

Hopefully, they will get to the bottom of this soon. I have a few friends
who can not eat chocolate because they are prone to get migranes afterwards.
It would be nice if they could come up with something like "Beano" but for
those who want to avoid the chocolate migranes. ;-)

-Art