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Laura ([personal profile] eve_prime) wrote2018-02-03 11:06 pm

Tyramine?!

Last night, after eating at least an ounce of a delicious aged havarti, I developed a headache, so I looked it up online. Aged cheeses are apparently a notorious source of tyramine, a naturally occurring chemical that can cause headaches in some, and much more serious problems in people who take MAOI drugs. (An early type of anti-depressant?)

There are lists of foods containing tyramine, and I can link some of them to my headache history (like vinegar and wine), but not others (like parmesan and broccoli). I haven't found any lists that have quantity attached, though, so it's hard to be confident about causes and effects and thresholds. At least I know to be more cautious.

Amusingly, some over-eager Florida legislators classified tyramine as a hallucinogen, which cannot possibly be enforced. No wine? No parmesan? No chocolate?