We have had a number of readers ask, “How long does a headache last after chemical poisoning from processed foods?“  The first caveat is that each person is different, more or less sensitive to the effects of chemicals like aspartame, synthetic carrageenan, synthetic MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) and Sodium Nitrate.  Where not a poison caffeine and theobromine, natural chemicals of chocolate can also cause headaches. 

Not being overly sensitive I have very minor headaches that last a few hours and sometimes only feel a slight or unusual pressure, nothing more.  My tolerance for getting a headache from these chemicals is much higher than my wife and I often do not preserve a headache from smaller quantities of such chemicals.  Most people fall into my category and do not even associate the chemicals to the headache.  I only realized the association because of my wife’s more sensitive condition.  The first answer is, if you get very minor headaches as I do they might only last a few hours.  Mind you we rarely if ever get headaches since we learned how to avoid the chemicals.

My wife is very sensitive to the chemicals and from when the symptoms first start to when they end from one chemical poisoning she will have a headache lasting 3 days on average.  Now comes the sticky part.  It seems if the poisoning is very small the headache will not be as prominent and will start easing up on the third day.  However, if the poisoning is a heavy dosage she will have violent, blinding headaches with nausea, vomiting, loss of equilibrium, chills and a number of other discomforts.  This will last for 3 horrendous days and possible four.

Each person is different based on their sensitivity.  And it depends on how much you were poisoned and how often.  As an example:

1. For breakfast you have yogurt with carrageenanand toast with preserves that have synthetic MSG along with a cup of coffee with a creamer that has carrageenanand a sweetener with aspartame.
2. With in one to three hours the headache starts
3. For a mid morning snack you have a bagel with cream cheese, that has carrageenan and the bagel was made with powdered milk which also had carrageenan
4. Starting to feel bad
5. For lunch you have chicken noodle soup with MSG and a grilled cheese sandwich with carrageenan along with a small pudding with carrageenan
6. Feeling really bad
7. You attempt a little chocolate candy to boost your energy, carrageenan and thymanine
8. In bed with the lights out and in real pain
9. You drink some butter milk thinking it will help, carrageenan
10. You through up
11. Not wanting to eat but needing nourishment you try a fruit juice and crackers, synthetic MSG twice

Note:synthetic carrageenan often includes synthetic MSG.  Ultra-pasteurized milk is brought to 190 degrees ferinheight, high enough to free the bound glutamate.  Free/unbound glutamate is part of the problem.  If it is a problem for you, drop ultra-pasteurized milk and all aged cheeses since aging cheese also frees the glutamate.

Just from one day you can see you re-poisoned yourself multiple times, its like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer over and over and over again.  Is there any surprise you have a massive mind numbing headaches?

The next day, trying to get something down you try one or two things, Jell-o, synthetic MSG, Pudding carrageenan, a health bar synthetic MSG, cereal synthetic MSG.  Now you have started the process over and will be down for at least 4 days (3 from the last poisoning).  on the fourth day the headaches are subsiding leaving you fell weak, nausea and a loss of equilibrium, after not eating for a couple of days.  Now you need nourishment and guess what without knowing it you grab another dose of your favorite poison. 

Before we understood what was happening, my wife endured headaches that ran weeks and up to a month.  Extreme pain, hiding in light less rooms where even the slightest sound was painful.  Since I worked full-time she still took care of our kids and the household.  I can’t imagine running a vacuum cleaner, blender, mixer, washing machine or any other devices under such conditions.  Driving during the headaches was usually impossible on bright days.  Sun glasses in-doors and lights out throughout the day with shades drawn were often her technique for surviving while the kids were at school.  Working in the yard, gardening was near impossible, but had to be done.

As you begin to understand; the headache can be non-stop.  For my wife it stopped when she was too exhausted and to sick to eat and when she did eat it is was very basic stuff that just happened to not have any of the problem chemicals.  That lasted for about a week, when she started feeling better and started to eat normally she would get re-poisoned.  That’s right a week without a headache and then another 2 or 3 weeks of pain as we repeated the poisoning cycle.

It sounds all so foolish.  Why were we so blind to what was happening?  First, over a 17 year period we had her to specialists, she had MRIs, upper and lower GIs, you name it she got it.  We changed from one frustrated doctor after another and as they suggested pain pills and possible foods/chemicals to avoid.  Still no solution!  We stopped eating peanuts, we eliminated milk products, we eliminated wheat, sugar and about anything else you can imagine.  Several times we eliminated products with MSG and avoided Asian cuisine, but the headaches persisted.  We read articles about MSG and the false myth that MSG did not cause any problem, “The mytical Asian food syndrome.”  

Since we removed MSG from our diet and the headaches continued, we assumed it was not the problem, besides the food industry had research that showed it was harmless, our problem was elsewhere.  We cut out coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, fructose, cereal, eggs and on and on.  Each time she got headaches we recounted what she had eaten and focused on those things.  Each time she got a headache we considered household cleaners, microwaves, stress, car fumes, natural gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, eye strain and anything else we could grasp.  Early on we even consider issues specific to the female and there was no corollary.

Headaches from chemical poisoning will last as long as you keep poisoning yourself and will return as often as you have the strength to grab that next poison.  One poisoning 3 days, continuous poisoning continuous headaches.  Aspirin, Bufferin, Excedrin and all the rest will not help, they in fact make the next headache worse.

My wife rarely has headaches now.  We have learned how to avoid all of the chemicals except when we find a new food that says organic, natural or healthy and try it.  Nope it was not organic, natural or healthy.  Hidden in the ingredients were one of the poisons.  As long as we stick to what we know she is headache free. 

Here are some big tips to get you started:

1. Synthetic Carrageenan is in most dairy products beyond conventional milk.  Ice cream, cheese, yogurt, butter milk, powdered milk, chocolate milk and cream cheese often have synthetic carrageenan.  Synthetic carrageenan is used to make dairy products creamier and thicker after the makers of the food removed the natural more expensive fats.
2. Sodium Nitrate is in all meats that are beyond the butchered state.  Hot dogs, cold cuts, bacon, salami, pepperoni, sausage often have Sodium Nitrate and possibly synthetic MSG.  Meats that are not fresh are Gray in color.  Meats that are weeks old in packages would be Gray with out Sodium Nitrate.  It makes the meat look fresh and more importantly it kills bacteria from the over-sized meat processing plants.  You don’t need Sodium Nitrate when making these products at home, because your kitchen is cleaner than the processing plants.
3. Synthetic MSG over certain levels in a food must be labeled MSG, however there are multiple names it can go under and still be appropriately labeled.  Under a certain level synthetic MSG can fall under the class Artificial Flavoring (mind you it has not flavor).  Synthetic MSG is not a preservative and it has absolutely no flavor.  It is a mind altering chemical that tricks the brain into thinking something tastes good.  Lowering the salt and sugar in foods saves the makers of processed foods millions of dollars.  They can do this by adding the much cheaper ingredient synthetic MSG.
4. If the ingredient list on the label is long don’t bother reading it, put it back
5. If the ingredient list includes artificial flavors (from the lab) put it back
6. MOST processed foods including some from health food stores have either synthetic MSG, synthetic carrageenan, aspartame or sodium nitrate.  We estimate 70-80 percent of all foods have these chemicals.  There are a few food processors with exceptional standards that refuse to use these chemicals.  We applaud there ingegrity and identify them for you under the articles topic Companies That Care.  If you know of a company worthy, lets us know so that we can share another safe source.
7. Chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, taco seasoning and tomato puree, very basic foods can have synthetic MSG and often do.
8. Brand names are no solution since many brand name manufactures are the biggest culprits.
9. Some health books say eat from the outside isles of a grocery store to be safe from chemicals.  Meat products and dairy are often on the outside Isle and both have already been identified above as unsafe.

So we have helped eliminate your source of headaches.  All you have to do is stop eating and your headaches will go away.  We can do better than that.  On this WEB site we are sharing how we are able to eat anything and everything.  The secret we have found is where to buy our basics, what we fondly term sundries.  We then do the unthinkable and cook from scratch.  We have researched recipes from the distant past and modified them for the present and we have uncovered recipes for how commercial products are made and create great results at home.  We just leave out the harmful chemicals.

Sure, you are thinking where will I find the time!  Our answer, do you really want those headaches, they will only get worse as you abuse your body?  Yes, it takes time to cook from scratch, but far less than you are imagining.  We openly share how you can make great foods without standing at the butter churn all day.  You want one minute pudding, you can have it.  You want no cook pudding, its yours and it takes no more time then it does to buy and bring home the other junk.  Next time you go to the store calculate the time spent buying those processed foods, include bagging and un-bagging, standing in line, loading in the car and unloading.  Think about the cans and boxes you have to recycle.  By cooking from scratch we have cut our grocery bill in half and reduced our recycle waste by 75%.  We still eat everything we did before minus the chemicals.

Homemade bread, sausage, pepperoni, and salami make your house smell wonderful and they have a great taste.  Curing and smoking meats is easy.  Going to a real meat market with fresh meats is wonderful.  Candy can also be madeand just the way you like it.  Dark chocolate and milk chocolate is all that is offered in most over the counter candies.  There are a wide array of chocolate flavors.  If you have trouble with theobromineyou may have to fore-go the chocolate.  You can find sources for powder milk, powder butter milk and cocoa powder.  You can easily make yogurt, Ice cream, fruit pops, dill pickles, sweet pickles, catsup, barbecue sauce and marshmallows.

Face it going to the store is exhausting and just a little boring.  What if some goods were delivered to your door at half the price?  What if you only bought 30 items at the store instead of 70.  What if you had common ingredients that allowed you to make multiple things.  From milk we make, cheese, yogurt, butter milk and low fat ice cream, I bet you just drink yours.  Butter milk and yogurt take less than an minute to mix up and then are left set at room temperature.  A number of cheeses can be made in 30 seconds to 30 minutes and they are not rocket science.  Ice cream is more about preparation freezing a container and then dumping in a few simple ingredients and watching the paddle spin if you have nothing better to do.  Smoking meats takes several hours, I use that as an excuse to read a good book on the patio while sipping a cold ice tea and snacking on one of my favorite treats.  I could do something else like yard work, but I prefer kicking back and smelling the smokey flavors roll out.  I keep telling my wife they need my personal attention.

People that cook from scratch have techniques to minimize the work and expand the results of their effort.  Here is an example of how you can make several products in a few easy steps.  We make catsup from tomato sauce and a safe tomato paste adding salt, vinegar, sugar and spices to create catsup.  We split some of that off and add an equal amount of horseradish to create a cocktail sauce.  We take another portion of the catsup adding more ingredients to make chili sauce and another portion of the catsup to make several barbecue sauces.  The catsup can also be the base for a salad dressing or tartar sauce.  Making the catsup, barbecue sauce, cocktail sauce and chili sauce all together takes the two of us under one hour with clean up and lasts several months, longer if canned.  We use canned tomato sauce and puree to reduce the cooking time necessary for raw tomatoes.

Yes, you can make all of the spice mixes you find in the store and you can make your own garlic and onion powder along with chili powders.

All the time you spend running back and forth to the store, finding food in the isle, standing in line, checking out, bagging and hauling home is lost time.  All the time you spend in bed with the headaches in non-productive time is lost.  Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a hobby where you create wonderful recipes that everyone loves.  Isn’t that more fun that standing in a grocery line or parking half a block away from the store.  Many foods purchased from the store are boring to make, there is little creativity and the taste is most often lack luster.

True dining is about robust mouth watering tastes and aromas that stimulate cravings.  If the family chips in, it can be fun for the whole family and it will be a lot more fun if they know you will not be sick.

Leave us a message if you have questions, we want to help.  Beyond the WEB site we have spent 3 years developing a series of cook books just for people like us.  The books are about the science of cooking with a wide array of enticing recipes from which you can start.  You can then adapt our lessons to foods special to you.  Our biggest battle has been keeping the cost down, way down so that it is easily affordable.  By breaking the material into smaller books, people can invest in what is important to them.  The first book with over 250 recipes is a survival book, helping people get a sound footing.  It has all the ingredients to eat a wide array of foods including some copycats of your favorite fast foods. 

It includes basic breads and cheeses.  Later we will be offering a book (near completion) on deserts and snacks and another on candies.  Self publishing, we hope to release each book at $15 or less; our publishing and distribution costs.  These are not health food books, these are robust, rich recipes that use what nature has to offer without the chemical additives.  Butter, sugar, gravies, salt, cream and lard are all common sense, natural foods you should be eating.  Yes, lard, it is far better for you than Crisco a hydrogenated fat!  Crisco’s more common product is already banned in a number of states due to know health issues.  For those states they offer a new healthier recipe.  For the rest of us, well you did not complain.

If your headaches are from the chemicals we have discussed above you can eliminate all of the headaches with less effort than you imagine and the mouth watering results are just a bonus.  You may find a family member that enjoys making candy, deserts, baked goods or their special meal.  Work as a team.  Who will be chief (chef de cuisine) and sous chief (under-chef of the kitchen).  Clean up as you cook, use pans wisely; brown vegetables for a soup in the pan that you will make the soup, not in a separate skillet.  Cut vegetables at the start of the week for the week.

Cooking from scratch is not about hard-work, it is about how to work smartly.  The giants of the food industry have been telling us for years how hard it is to cook from scratch.  Just like the leprechauns and fairies of our youth we have bought the story hook, line and sinker; maybe because we want to believe it.  Now, we are growing up and need to put away the fanciful stories of the food industry.  Eggs aren’t bad, butter is not bad, lard is not bad and sugar is not bad when compared to the junk they offer as a solution.  Eating in moderation has always been the key.  Normal helping, no camping on one food type like candy or deserts.  Moderation includes a balanced diet with reasonable portions. 

Interestingly good food made from scratch is more satisfying to the palette and fills us more quickly.  We slow down naturally to savor tastes that have been missing for so long.  Salt intake is down, sugar intake is down as other ingredients ignite additional flavors.  As for lard, we need fat for our joints, and no you do not eat it for every meal.  Without sufficient fat, eating meats that are too lean can actually make you sick as survival specialist will tell you.  A healthy diet is about balance, balance, balance.

So now you have an idea of how long chemically induced headaches last and how you can eliminate them.  It may not cure all of your headaches in life, but it is a huge jump from where you are with chemically induced headaches.  If you have ideas, sources, of food, dangerous ingredients, recipes share them here with us and our readers.