Do you often suffer from migraine? It may sound surprising, but something as simple as chewing on a carrot can help prevent an attack. How exactly does that work? Let me explain.
Bite force: essential for your brain
Our bite force is crucial from an evolutionary point of view. Without the ability to bite, we couldn’t feed or defend ourselves properly. Regularly using your jaw muscles signals to your brain that everything is fine. But what happens if you hardly use your jaws?
Your brain may start to think something is wrong. That makes you more alert, so your brain uses more energy. It can also lead to unconscious teeth grinding or jaw clenching, or you start chewing on the inside of your cheeks, because your brain wants to check that the bite force is still there.
Feeling unsafe and a lower pain threshold
When your brain detects that something is unsafe, it puts your body into a state of heightened alertness. As a result, your brain uses more energy, which is a risk factor for migraine, and so as not to miss a single signal, it lowers your pain threshold. As a result, pain such as migraine can come on more easily. The grinding, clenching or chewing can also cause tired jaw muscles and irritation of the trigeminal nerve, a well-known trigger for migraine.
The solution: crunch on a carrot!
Fortunately, there is a simple way to reassure your brain: crunch on a raw carrot now and then. The sound of the carrot snapping doesn’t just give your jaws work, it also sends a signal to your brain through your hearing. This lets your brain know that everything still works as it should.
