How Food Affects Deep Breathing

Deep breathing has a lot of benefits. According to most yoga practitioners, their deep breathing techniques have helped them cope with stress, anxiety as well as other stress-related disorders. Several studies have also shown that deep breathing can treat eating disorders and obesity. These studies have also shown that there are a lot of patients who have an abnormal concentration of carbon dioxide in their blood, causing them to tire easily because of disrupted tissue function. This shows that people who do deep breathing are more energetic and can do more physical activities. They are also less prone to depression which leads to eating disorders and obesity.

Now that we have established the importance of deep breathing as well as its link to weight loss, here's a question for you to answer: Do you know that the type of food that you eat can affect your breathing?

There are many substances in certain foods that may affect your breathing and promote breathing related disorders. The best example is the amino acid tyramine, which can have the same effects as the hormone that activates the sympathetic branch of your nervous system, causing you to feel the symptoms of the flight-or-flight reaction.

When released into the blood stream, tyramine blocks blood vessels, resulting in increased blood pressure, quickened pulse rate and rapid breathing. Some foods have a higher tyramine content than others. Here are some foods that contain high concentrations of tyramine:

It has been found that the tyramine content increases after it has been prepared. This is made worse by improper storage of food. So, if you are a busy person and you always have a hard time preparing your food, try to store it properly in order to lessen the amount of tyramine that can accumulate in your food. But, if you can make preparing your own food a daily habit then the lesser dose of tyramine in your body will give you a healthier lifestyle.

As mentioned earlier, the longer prepared food is left uneaten, the higher the amount of tyramine found in it. This is true for canned and pickled products. Even though they are sealed properly, it doesn't mean that the tyramine content doesn't increase. It's just lower than other uneaten foods that are not stored properly. So, you should avoid eating food from the can. By eating fresh raspberries instead of canned ones, you will also lessen your sugar intake. Subsitituting canned soups with freshly made ones will also lessen your sodium intake.

You should limit your intake of coffee, tea and carbonated drinks to 3 cups a day. You can compensate by having more decaffeinated coffee, cereal beverages and fruit drinks.

Since proteins are made up of amino acids, some of the protein-rich foods that we eat contain tyramine. You should lessen your intake of aged and processed cheese, pickled and dried fish, liver, peanuts and peanut butter, aged meats, and any meats prepared with a meat tenderizer or with soy sauce. Some dairy products, like yoghourt, also have a lot of tyramine. You should eat more cottage cheese, soft or semi dry sausage and cured meats because they have lower tyramine content.

Another food that has a lot of tyramine is chocolate. Although dark chocolate can also be good for the body, it doesn't mean that you can eat too much of it. Remember: Anything that is too much can be harmful to your body.

You should lessen your intake of Fava Beans. Other types of beans as well as other starchy foods, do not have a lot of tyramine so you can have more of them.

If this list reads like your shopping list, don't be surprised. For some reason those of us with migraines often crave foods that do us the most harm. If you're having a craving, don't go all out. If you must, eat a small amount, and follow up with something more head-friendly.

Eat it fresh, and cut down on the prepared foods. Yes, it does take a bit of work and planning, but it does get easier as time goes by. And not only will it help with the migraine situation, you may just find yourself with more energy, strength, endurance and less stress! Think it might be worth a try?