New dietary guidelines can lead to more headaches

The new dietary guidelines issued by a government advisory committee have many positive changes from the old guidelines. These include a focus on food rather than nutrients. For example, there is no proposed limit on the intake of cholesterol and eating eggs is encouraged. There is an emphasis on eating less meat and more fruits and vegetables and on limiting sugar intake. All these recommendations apply to headache sufferers as well.

However, the guidelines are advising people to increase their consumption of coffee. They suggest that 3 to 5 cups a day can be part of a healthy diet because there is evidence that coffee may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease (and possibly Parkinson’s disease). This is because coffee contains flavonoid compounds that have health benefits. However, coffee and caffeine in general are proven to cause worsening of headaches. As little as 2-3 cups a day can worsen headaches by causing caffeine withdrawal. Flavonoids are present in many fruits and vegetables, so it is not necessary to drink coffee to benefit from these compounds. If you are prone to having headaches it is better to limit your caffeine intake to one cup of coffee a day.