Sooo much pooping

[millymollymandy]

After years of random headaches and days of feeling sick and tired for no reason i think I have finally pinned down my problem hotdog headaches!!

 

I kept a food diary for a few months and originally thought i was allergic to pork but found as long as i ate proper cuts steaks etc i was fine. I was the processed ham, bacon etc that made me ill.

 

After reading in a magazine that nitates in processed meat can cause headaches i started to right down the ingredients of foods that gave me headaches and soon a pattern emerged all the foods contained either sodium nitrate/nitrite or potassium nitrate/nitrite. What proved it for me was when i had some gammon which i didn't think of as being processed and the next day i was a mess with a bad headache and feeling sick and just went back to bed. This morning I looked at the wrapper and there it is sodium nitrate!!!

 

After some google time i found they call it 'hotdog headaches' in america. So now I will have to read packets more carefully at the shops. I already choose the vegetarian option whenever i eat out as it is not worth feeling rough for a pepperoni pizza!!

 

Hopefully I can stop this now I know the cause. I just wondered if anyone else had heard of this as i certainly hadn't.

[Reikiranf]

I haven't heard of this before, but we stopped eating hotdogs years ago after seeing the parts of the animal used to make them, suffice to say you can't call it meat

 

It's good that you know what's causing your headaches though and that you'll be able to avoid them in future

[chickencam]

My YD gets headaches from eating hotdogs, and also if she eats too much gammon, or ham. She also gets them from certain crisps flavours too.

[Jin]

That is interesting. I had a similar experience and was worried that it was visiting friends that gave me a headache, until I realised it was the decaffeinated coffee I had drunk with them!

[millymollymandy]

funnily enough i always felt sick when visiting friends and thought i was just getting old when one glass of wine made me feel like i had a really bad hangover all day. Now it seems it was all those bacon sandwiches the morning after not the wine the night before

[LuckyChickenLover-]

Good to hear that you found the sourse of the problem. I had never heard of this before but it sounds nasty .

 

I also stopped eating hotdogs for the same reason as Reikiran F and also I don't eat chicken, which they often sneak in there.

[mostin]

I have the same problem.

 

I get really bad migraines, and have found that luckily I am fine with good quality red wine and cheese , but feel like death after eating food with meats with nitrites/nitrates in, or............the dreaded MSG .

 

I have turned into such a label reader these days............but it's worth it to have a clear head the day after

[Couperman]

I think Potassium Nitrate (Saltpeter) must be added to sausages and bacon by law if you are going to sell them. It is an important preservative particularly in sausages which happen to a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Botulism literally translated means 'Sausage Disease' A lot of manufacturers add it to give a nice pink colour too.

 

You could always make your own sausages, which is good fun and you know exactly what is in them .

 

I do tend to get a bit paranoid with cleanliness when making them but that isn't a bad thing.We immediately freeze any that we are not going to use that day too.

 

Anyhow I'm glad you found out the cause of your headaches.

 

Kev.