Curing Migraines - Naturally
Many people suffer from chronic migraine head aches, which can cause some brutal side effects like nausea, ulcers, seizures, dizziness, and extreme sensitivity to light. Most people respond to this by popping a pill to sleep the pain away. The most common ones they reach for are aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen. Unfortunately, many become addicted to narcotics. The problem with this is that these medications don’t actually treat the problem and might even make things worse. Narcotic addiction is a horrible problem.
These pain killers can also cause something called “analgesic rebound effect.” This means that immediately after your pain killer wears off the headache returns. Your body can even create more pain, almost like a withdrawal symptom, when the pain killer wears off. In response, your body creates more pain so it can receive a larger dose of the pain killer. Basically, it’s like creating a painkiller addiction in your body.
If that’s not scary enough, some pain killers, namely the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID), have also been linked to internal bleeding and liver damage. In fact, the FDA requires that all these pain killers come with a clear warning to make consumers aware of these risks. But don’t worry there’s good news. You don’t need to risk your life or your health in order to have a painless life, naturally.
There are a handful of nutrients that may eliminate your migraines for good.
Researchers from the Head and Pain Unit at the University Hospital Zurich discovered in a clinical trial that 300 mg of CoQ10 daily cuts migraine frequency by half.
But it’s important to take the right form of CoQ10.
A high-potency, reduced form of CoQ10 makes it convenient to take. Because it contains ubiquinol, it’s eight times more absorbable than other forms of CoQ10. So, 50 mg should be bio-equivalent to 400 mg of regular CoQ10 (i.e. give the same blood level). You can find a CoQ10 supplement in the Sage Store.
High doses of riboflavin increase the energy production in the brain cells which reduce headaches. One study showed that 400 mg of riboflavin a day cut the frequency of migraines in half.
You can get riboflavin from many foods. But you’d have to eat enormous amounts of liver, nuts, dairy, eggs, seafood, and greens to get to 400 mg a day.
So, while you should still eat these foods, I also recommend you supplement your diet with riboflavin.
You can find riboflavin (vitamin B2) in B-Complex and B Stress Plus in the Sage Store.
One of magnesium’s main jobs is to tone the blood vessels. Scientists have linked certain types of migraines to problems with blood flow and pressure in the vessels. So, if you have low magnesium levels, you could benefit from taking magnesium supplements.
Studies have shown that 600 mg a day reduces migraines by up to 41%.
Look for magnesium that is bound to citrate, malate, or aspartate. Take it with vitamin B6. It will increase the amount of magnesium that accumulates in your cells. You can find magnesium in our Mag-Cal supplement in the Sage Store.
Feverfew is an herb that may help with migraines. In three of five trials (mixed quality of studies), feverfew found to be more effective than a placebo, at dosages of 50-82 mg/day. Recommending dosages of feverfew is difficult due to variations among formulations but it is definitely an herbal supplement to be considered.
Resources
Sándor P. S. et al. “Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized controlled trial,” Neurology February 22, 2005; 64(4): 713-5.
Breen, Corinne et al. “High-dose riboflavin for prophylaxis of migraine,” Canadian Family Physician October 2003.
Murray, Michael, Pizzorno, Joseph. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised 2nd Edition. Prima Publishing, 1998, 660–661
Medications for migraine prophylaxis,” Modi S, Lowder DM, Am Fam Physician, 2006; 73(1): 72-8. (Address: Department of Family Medicine, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA
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