Put a stop to disabling headaches with these five simple solutions.
Migraine is the third most common disease in the world and the seventh most disabling.
1 Apart from severe headaches, symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and increased sensitivity to light and sound.
While
prescription drugs like methysergide, sumatriptan and ergotamine are
available to treat the condition, they come with a long list of
side-effects, from dizziness and drowsiness to chest pain and high blood
pressure. Methysergide has even been associated with fibrosis, where
scar tissue accumulates in the organs.2
Here are five natural ways to beat the condition instead.
1) Figure out food allergies
Certain chemicals in foods have been linked to migraines, especially in children and teens,3
so try to keep a food and migraine diary to pinpoint any potential
triggers. A study of nearly 600 migraine sufferers found that
sensitivity to cheese, chocolate, red wine and beer had the most
clear-cut associations with attacks.4 Eliminating the key
suspects from your diet may even lead to a full recovery, as it did for
93 percent of children in one trial,5 and 87 percent in another.6
2) Fix nutritional deficiencies
Not
getting enough of certain nutrients could be a cause of migraines, so
identifying and addressing any deficiencies could help to solve the
problem. A lack of magnesium, for example, has been linked to migraine,7 and several trials suggest that supplementing with the mineral can reduce the frequency of attacks.8
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is also commonly low in migraine sufferers.9 Taking this vitamin-like antioxidant may cut migraine frequency by half.10
Suggested dosages: 200-600 mg/day magnesium; 150 mg/day CoQ10
3) Bank on butterbur
This
popular herbal hay fever remedy also works against migraines, studies
show. Pitted against a placebo, a standardized extract of butterbur (Petasites hybridus)
significantly reduced the frequency of migraine attacks, with either no
side-effects or just mild ones (like burping) being reported.11
Suggested dosage: 50-75 mg twice daily of a standardized extract of the herb, containing at least 15 percent petasins, the main active ingredients
4) Try 5-HTP
5-Hydroxytryptophan,
better known as 5-HTP, is a naturally occurring amino acid that may
help prevent chronic headaches of various types, including migraines,
tension headaches and headaches in children.12 In one
study, 5-HTP supplements were just as effective as the migraine
prevention drug methysergide—and were especially good at reducing the
intensity and duration
of attacks.13
of attacks.13
Suggested dosage: 200-600 mg/day (20 mg for every 10 lb body weight for children)
5) Have a go at HIIT
Growing
evidence suggests that exercise can be beneficial for treating
migraine, but a particular type of exercise known as high-intensity
interval training (HIIT)—where you alternate periods of intense exercise
with less intense recovery periods—might be better than the rest.
Scientists recently compared the effects of twice-weekly HIIT sessions
with moderate continuous exercise and a control intervention and found
that HIIT had the most beneficial results, significantly reducing the
number of migraine days among sufferers.14 There are lots
of easy HIIT workouts available online, but bear in mind that exercise
can be a migraine trigger for some people.
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