Contributed by: Healthians Team
Introduction
When it comes to our health, we sometimes underestimate the importance of what we consume. Dietary decisions have the potential to affect or influence health trends.
For vertigo patients, a small change in eating habits can either increase or decrease their likelihood of a vertigo attack.
Some people experience discomforting symptoms of dizziness and unsteadiness after eating particular foods.
Others see an improvement in their vertigo condition after following a vertigo diet.
The below foods can help you maintain a healthy balance of fluids to relieve the symptoms of vertigo.
Vertigo Diet – Foods to Avoid
Avoid foods high in sugar
Sugary foods may cause vertigo to flare up in a vertigo-prone person. Avoid consuming fluids that have high sugar content in them. Sugar can affect the fluid balance of the body.
High-sugar foods list:
- Pastries
- Soda
- Sports drinks
- Energy drinks
- Jams
- Jellies
- Fruit syrups with added sugars
Avoid foods high in caffeine
Caffeine may trigger severe vertigo attacks. Intake of foods and beverages that contain caffeine, in high concentrations, should be regulated because it may worsen ear disorders, which are a potential cause of vertigo.
Caffeine has been reported to cause constriction of blood vessels, resulting in a reduction in the blood supply to the inner ear, which may make patients’ symptoms worse.
High-caffeine foods list:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Chocolate
- Energy drinks
- Colas
Avoid foods high in sodium
It has been reported that some of the worst vertigo attacks immediately follow salt-heavy meals.
Dietary salt reduction is a potentially simple and very inexpensive alternative that is commonly advocated as a first-line treatment for patients with vertigo.
Salt causes the body to retain excess fluid, influencing fluid balance and pressure.
A high salt intake disrupts the vestibular system’s intrinsic equilibrium. You can substitute low sodium salt for ordinary salt because sodium is the main cause of vertigo aggravation.
High-sodium foods list:
- Soy sauce
- Chips
- Popcorn
- Cheese
- Pickles
- Papad
- Canned vegetables
- MSG (monosodium glutamate)
Avoid foods rich in tyramine
Other additional dietary modifications include limiting the consumption of foods that contain high levels of tyramine.
Typically, these include aged cheeses and meats such as pepperoni, salami, smoked sausage, mozzarella, and pizza toppings.
A high-tyramine diet may trigger adverse reactions and aggravate the conditions leading to vertigo.
High-tyramine foods list:
Tyramine is found in small amounts in some foods, including:
- Processed and cured meat products
- Cheese
- Bananas
- Sauces
- Raspberries
- Plums
Vertigo Diet – Foods to Include
There are plenty of anti-inflammatory foods and beverages that you can enjoy regularly. These foods reduce the swelling of the tissue in the inner ear, repair the cells and ensure healthy cell regeneration.
- Drink lots of water to stay help you stay hydrated.
- Include tomato in your diet to help flush out excess fluid from the body. They are loaded with antioxidants, micronutrients and are anti-inflammatory too.
- Nuts are counted as one of the best vertigo or dizziness treatment food as they improve blood circulation in the body and inner ear, thereby reducing the inner ear pressure build-up due to excess fluid.
- Ginger is one of the oldest surviving spices with purported healing properties for various ailments, especially for vertigo. Drinking ginger tea daily is quite effective in treating vertigo for non-diabetic and non-hypertensive patients.
- Drink a cup of lemongrass tea at the onset of the symptoms of vertigo for immediate relief.
Final thoughts
Vertigo is an extremely common disorder that affects about 15% of the world’s population.
Balance and dizziness disorders remain widely under-reported — their prevalence in India is around 180 million people.
However, it is important to keep in mind that it is not a sickness in and of itself, but rather a symptom of disorders of nearly 40 disorders of the inner ear, neurological system, or brain.
After visiting your doctor, you may try some of the food ideas indicated above if you are experiencing vertigo attacks.
Additionally, it is critical to restrict the intake of alcohol and nicotine as it aggravates vertigo by altering the inner ear fluid dynamics.
It is also recommended to undertake preventive health checkups to determine the root cause of vertigo or dizziness so that a specialist doctor can prescribe appropriate treatment based on the underlining disease.
