Archive for 'Allergies'
THE SYMPTOMS OF FOOD INTOLERANCE: ONE FINAL PUZZLE IN RELATION TO MIGRAINE
There is one final puzzle in relation to migraine. Within the past few years, several dentists have apparently discovered a ‘miracle cure’ for migraine. Being dentists, they did not set out to treat migraines, of course. What they were doing was treating people who habitually ground their teeth together in their sleep. This habit, which is usually due to stress and tension, tends to leave tell-tale marks on the teeth – a polished area where they rub together. Anyone whose teeth has these marks is usually offered a dental plate to wear in bed -this is designed to stop the grinding action. Surprisingly, some patients re-
ported that they previously suffered migraines, but that these had cleared up since they began wearing the dental plate.
Further research was carried out, involving patients with classical migraine, all of whom experienced migraines on waking up – the theory was that such migraines are far more likely to be due to nocturnal tooth-grinding. Some of these patients showed signs of grinding on their teeth, but not all did – it seems that only the most enthusiastic grinders actually manage to wear the teeth down. The effect on the patients of using dental plates at night was remarkable – almost all of them suffered far fewer attacks.
How can this discovery be reconciled with the finding that food intolerance is at the root of most migraine? One possibility is that the subgroup of patients being studied by the dentists are uncharacteristic of migraine patients as a whole – they are part of the 10 or 20 per cent of patients who cannot be helped by an elimination diet, chemical avoidance or anti-Candida treatment. Another possibility, and a more likely one, is that tooth-grinding is a trigger, just like bright lights or chocolate. The underlying tendency to get migraines is already there, and probably remains there after the dental treatment.
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