Why Does Green Juice Give Me a Headache?

If you are someone who has just started drinking green juice, and you’ve noticed that you’re getting headaches, then you are likely wondering what to do.

Why does green juice give you headache’s? Is it something to be worried about?

That’s a common question that turns up online and one that we should address.

For many people, headaches are not common and they cause people to freak out!

Let’s step back, slow down and examine why green juice might be giving you a headache.

 

Besides Green Juice, What Else Might Be Causing A Headache?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before you jump to conclusions and suspect that the green juice is what is giving you a headache, first assess what else might be the issue.

There are lots of things in a persons life that can cause headaches.

While you might want to correlate it to drinking green juice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the green juice is what is causing the problem.

• First, check that you haven’t had an increase in blood pressure. That can be dangerous and you will need to see a doctor.

 

• Second, take a look at your diet. Sudden diet changes are not uncommon for people who start juicing.

Have you all of a sudden started eating things like fermented sauerkraut and yogurt and soy? If so, then be aware that fermented foods which contain tryamine can lead to headaches.

In fact, in one double blind study, it was found that foods rich in tryamine had a marked correlation to migraines.

Third, there are other lifestyle factors to take into consideration.

• Are you dealing with more stress than normal?

If so, then be aware that stress is a major culprit in headaches. It’s not unusual for someone to suffer headaches because of an increase in stress in their life. This might be anything from work related stress to family stress.

Stress can be a killer, as you’ve often heard and read. So, beyond causing headaches, stress is something that damages your heart and causes all other sorts of issues. So get it under control.

• Are you spending more time on the computer or phone?

Eye strain is a serious cause of headaches. It’s not uncommon for people who spend hours a day staring at a screen to suffer from headaches.

If you are someone who is spending a lot of time in front of a monitor, I recommend that you pick up some blu-blocking lenses.

Is Caffeine The Culprit: Don’t Blame The Green Juice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This issue deserves it’s own separate entry.

Often times when people start on a juice cleanse, or just start drinking green juice, what happens is they cut out caffeine.

That can definitely cause headaches. It’s known as caffeine withdrawal. Long story short, caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches.

As someone who drinks coffee, I know first hand what happens when you suddenly quit drinking coffee  or any caffeinated beverage.

Headaches!

This is true no matter what type of caffeine you are drinking. If you’re drinking coffee, and you stop drinking it, you will get a headache.

If you’re drinking tea, and you stop drinking it, you will get a headache.

If you’re drinking Monster Energy drink, or any energy drink with caffeine and you drink a lot of it during the day, then you will probably get a headache if you go cold turkey.

That’s the key thing to highlight. Cold turkey. If you quit drinking caffeine cold turkey, then that’s when you risk getting caffeine headaches.

Here’s an interesting video from UMass Medical. The professor goes on to describe caffeine withdrawal and how it effects you not just physically but also psychological.

 

My suggestion is to ween off of caffeine, and not go cold turkey. So, if you normally dink a coffee or latte or tea in the morning, and you’ve switched to green juice, then what I would advise is to have your coffee mid-morning.

You can have half a coffee if you’re someone who normally only has one. If you normally drink two cups, cut it to one. Etc….

That’s what most experts suggest you do if you’re looking to reduce and eventually eliminate caffeine without getting annoying headaches.

It is a good idea to drink a green juice in the morning as opposed to coffee, but understand that you might get a headache if you simply cut out coffee straight away.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with caffeine! In moderation.

I am not one of those people who are totally against caffeine. Even though I have written blog posts about how to kick the caffeine habit, I am not totally against it.

So, either go back to a moderate caffeine, or else ween yourself off of the caffeine gently.

Are You Drinking Enough Water?

 

 

 

 

 

Never forget to drink water!

Even if you are drinking green juices, you will still want to be mindful to drink enough water.

You can dehydrate if you simply drink your green juice and not drink water.

Green juices have water in them, but one common problem I have seen is that people all of a sudden stop drinking real water just because they start juicing.

You should never cut out water.

One way to track this is to get a good water bottle and make sure to drink several servings a day.

I’m not a fan of those giant water bottles, but rather prefer a water bottle that contains two servings. Then you only have to remember to drink 3 or 4 of them a day.

Do you know why you get a headache when you don’t drink water?  It’s actually a bit gross and scary.

So let’s discuss it so you never neglect your drinking water again!

When you don’t drink enough water you become dehydrated.

That shrinks your brain tissue (the fancy scientific word for this is vasodilatation).

That’s why people get headaches after they have been drinking. A hangover is a combination of two things.

First, it’s dehydration from the alcohol and secondly the body is processing an enzyme called acetaldehyde.

So, when you see people advise that you drink copious amounts of water right before you go to sleep, it’s because that water is meant to counteract the diuretic effect of the alcohol.

The extra water that people are drinking is meant to counterbalance the drying effect of the booze.

Now, let’s take it in another direction.

If you’re someone who is used to drinking water all day, and for some reason you cut back on the amount of water that you drink when you start drinking green juice, then you might get headaches.

Why?

Well, green juice does contain a significant amount of water, but again, it depends upon which juices you are making.

A juice made with leafy greens is going to less liquid if it’s pure kale and celery and spinach. If you’re adding things like cucumbers, which have more liquid, then you are going to have more “water” in your daily diet.

So, my suggestion is to look at how much water you used to take and compare it to how much water you now take.

The Tyramine Connection

This one is a bit of an outlier, but I wanted to address it anyways.

You are not going to get tyramine in your juice, but you just might be getting it in your food!

First, let’s discuss just what exactly tyramine is.

Tyramine is an amino acid. It’s something that the body needs.

You will often find it in foods such as aged cheese, sauerkraut, sausage, ….you get the idea.

It’s not that these foods will be in a green juice, but rather your diet might have changed.

Have you started eating natural sauerkraut? Blue cheese salad dressing? Soy sauce based salad dressings? Fancy IPA beers?

All of these things can and might contribute to headaches due to their Tyramine content.

 

Can Green Juice Give You Headaches?

Most people won’t suffer headaches from drinking green juice unless they have radically changed their diet.

That includes stopping the amount of water that they normally drink.

Remember, the recommendation is to drink between 11 to 15 cups of “fluids a day”.

Obviously a green juice, a cop of tea, and even a soda count towards that number.

But, if you’re not getting enough liquid in your diet, then that’s a concern.

Remember, though, that you don’t want to drink too much liquid. In fact, drinking more than 500ml of liquids a day is actually bad for you according to studies.

The reason that it’s not good to drink excessive amounts of liquid is that your body will begin to lose important minerals and other nutrients that are flushed out with excessive water intake.

If you are drinking enough water, then it is unlikely that you will get a headache from the green juice.

However, if you’ve got your diet in check, and you still are getting a headache from green juice, then the nitrates might be the culprit.

Nitrates in Green Juices, What!

Relax. These nitrates are actually good for you. They are not the added nitrates that you find in processed meats and all other sorts of unhealthy things.

Natural nitrates are good for you (they improve blood flow, among other things). I even covered them in detail in my article on the benefits of drinking beetroot juice. 

However, for some people, these natural nitrates might cause a headache.

The solution is to avoid adding things to your green juice that can increase the nitrate content.

I would skip beets, therefore, if you are experiencing a headache.

See if a plain green juice made with kale and apples and lemons gives you any trouble.

If it doesn’t, then you know that you are someone who is more sensitive to naturally occurring nitrates than other people are.

Try This Green Juice To Avoid Headaches

Here’s what I would suggest you try if you’re getting headaches from a green juice.

It’s a simple version of a green juice, but it’s lighter than most recipes.

I would try this version and then taper in more and more greens until I found the sweet spot.

• 1 Whole Apple
• 1 Bunch Baby Kale (maybe a cup)
• 1 Cucumber (to provide that liquid to prevent dehydration)
• Lemon slice is optional

I’d make these juices and see how my headaches were effected.

If they completely disappeared, then I would know that it was likely the original design of whatever green juice I as making.