Mitigating Migraines

Mitigating Migraines

Discover the natural remedies to relieve headaches and migraines.

Are you constantly suffering from a headache or migraine? You’re not alone; they are one of the most common health complaints and affect women more than men- around one in every five women are sufferers, compared to one in every fifteen men.

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether you are experiencing a typical headache or a migraine, but there are stark differences which can help you tell them apart. Headaches are unpleasant pains in your head that may cause pressure and aching. They can range from mild to moderate pain and usually occur on both sides of the head.

A migraine is a severe headache felt as a throbbing pain at the front or side of the head. You may also suffer from other symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light or sound, temporary vision loss, pain behind one eye or ear, see spots or flashing lights and pain in the temples. Usually, migraine headaches only affect one side of the head. Another difference between the two is the pain’s quality, a migraine headache will cause intense pain that be throbbing but will make perform daily tasks very difficult.

Here are the best natural remedies which help prevent and ease symptoms of headaches and migraines:

Magnesium
Studies have shown that those who suffer from migraines and headaches have low brain magnesium levels when attacks strike.

“Studies have consistently indicated that migraine sufferers typically test poorly for magnesium levels and that treating the deficiency can possibly alleviate certain symptoms,” commented Andrew Thomas, founder and managing director of BetterYou.

BetterYou’s Magnesium Oil Spray was trialled with 68 migraine sufferers, and the results found that overall half of the sufferers felt that the magnesium spray had a positive effect on their migraine experience and experienced a decrease in the severity of attacks. 70% of these also experienced a reduction in the duration of the attack.

Thomas recommends using a magnesium spray compared to a supplement: “Magnesium is a mineral that is difficult to supplement through traditional oral means. Transdermal magnesium is a more effective method.”

Magnesium is available in powder, capsule, liquid, spray and tablet forms. You can also buy magnesium flakes, which you can add to your bath.

Food containing magnesium: Legumes, whole grains, nuts, green leafy vegetables, seeds, bananas, soy products, dried apricots and avocados.

Feverfew
The herb feverfew has a long history of use in traditional folk medicine, and has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for many disorders such as headaches, stomach aches, arthritis, skin conditions, insect bites, asthma, allergies, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. 

Feverfew is believed to help ease migraines and headaches due to a substance it contains called parthenolide, which helps relieve muscle spasms. It also helps stop the brain’s blood vessels from contracting and prevents inflammation.

Feverfew is available in tablet, capsule, liquid extract and powder forms. You can also buy fresh and dried feverfew, and feverfew tea.

Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 is involved in the creation of an important substance in the body known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which serves as the cell’s major energy source and drives a number of biological processes- including muscle contraction.

A number of studies have found that CoQ10 is a good migraine preventive. In one study 32 patients who regularly suffered from migraines were given a daily dose of 150mg of CoQ10, the results found that 61.3% of the patients had a greater than 50% reduction in the number of days with migraine headache. The reduction in migraine frequency after one month of treatment was 13% and this improved to 55% after three months. 

CoQ10 is available in capsule, tablet, soft gel, powder and drops forms. You can also buy oral sprays, lozenges and chewable wafers.

Food containing CoQ10: Chicken, salmon, herring, mackerel, beef, canola oil, soybean oil, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, orange, boiled egg and roasted peanuts, pistachio nuts and sesame seeds.

Riboflavin
In recent years riboflavin (vitamin B2) has been found to help migraine and headache sufferers as it has been identified that sufferers are often deficient.

“Studies involving using riboflavin alone show benefit in migraine prevention,” commented Kelly Rose, nutritional therapist at Higher Nature. “Schoenen and others studied 55 migraine patients and reported that 59% of the participants who took 400 mg/day riboflavin for 3 months experienced at least 50% reduction in migraine attacks compared with 15% for placebo. Statistically significant reductions in both migraine frequency and number of headache days were reported too.”

Riboflavin is available in capsule and tablet form.

Food containing riboflavin: Asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, turnip greens, spinach, milk, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, almonds, whole grains, poultry and lean meat.

Fish Oil
Fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, is most known for its positive impact on heart health; however, it can also help to ease symptoms of both a headache and migraine too.

According to the American Heart Association the ingredients present in fish oil help to reduce blood clotting, reduce inflammation, steady heart rhythm and lower blood pressure. It is these actions, particularly the reduction of inflammation and swelling, which makes fish oil helpful in reducing head pain and other symptoms of a migraine. It may reduce migraine head inflammation.

Fish oil is available in capsule, liquid and tablet form. You can also buy fish oil gummies and effervescent packets.

Food containing fish oil: Mackerel, salmon, tuna, mullet, sardines, herring and trout.

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