A migraine is not just a bad headache. In fact, the headache is just one symptom of a larger problem - a neurological and vascular disorder that may include nausea, flashes of light or blurred vision, vomiting, numbness of limbs and speech impairment.
Stress is not often associated with the true migraine headache.
Keeping a journal or diary is one of the most productive tools you can use to treat migraines by preventing them. The most effective natural migraine remedy is to prevent them. You can pinpoint what foods or chemicals trigger your migraines.
Those who get chronic migraines have usually discussed their problems with a doctor and received some form of prescription drug treatment. While drugs can help, side effects can be deadly. When I've spoken to people about their treatments they often report that they longed for relief that did not require drugs.
SPECIAL WARNING - SOME TRIGGERS ARE "NATURAL"
It seems that toxins and nutritional deficiencies are major causes of migraines.
While eating well can prevent many migraines, some foods and food additives can make things worse; and even trigger the start of the migraine. The most notable trigger is a common food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG). It is often found in oriental foods, but you can find it (or one of iots derivatives) in almost every packaged of processed food. It can also be generated in food by cooking. This is particularly likely when cooking meats slowly in the presence of salt (stew, slow cooker meals, pot roast, etc.) The process releases glutamate which bonds with sodium to form the triggering agent.
Small amounts of MSG can get a migraine started. If you make every effort to avoid all sources of MSG you will likely find that the incidence of migraines will decline. For a complete discussion of MSG, and other chemicals like it, visit www.msgtruth.com and plan to check labels carefully. It surprises many people that such a widely used additive can be so harmful, but such is the case.
An excellent natural migraine remedy, then, is avoiding substances that can trigger the migraine. See our page about tension headaches for information about head pain and stress.
NATURAL MIGRAINE REMEDY
Some research points to a vitamin deficiency as a basic trigger for a migraine. Riboflavin (vitamin B-2), is an "essential" vitamin; that is, the body doesn't produce it on its own, and yet it is vital for good health. It must be provided in the diet. Riboflavin assists in the metabolism of energy by processing protein, fats and carbohydrates. Benefits of riboflavin intake include healthy vision and skin, and a possible preventive effect against migraines.
All of the subjects took 400 mg of riboflavin for six months. Questionnaires recorded the subjects' rates of migraine frequency, duration, intensity and the use of analgesic drugs. The average frequency of migraines had been cut in half, and the rate of drug use was nearly cut in half as well. Subjects reported no change in the duration or intensity of headaches that still occurred. The dose of riboflavin used is considered high, but none of the subjects reported any adverse reactions.
GOOD FOOD IS A SOURCE OF RIBOFLAVIN
Foods that contain good amounts of B-2 include;
* leafy green vegetables
* hole grains
* meat
* eggs
* yogurt
* cheese and milk
SOME PRODUCTS CAN CAUSE A DEPLETION OF B-2
Alcohol and oral contraceptives can cause riboflavin deficiency. People who use these items would be well advised to increase their intake of B-2, and the other essential B-vitamins as well.
ASSISTANCE FROM AN ENZYME
Sometimes Vitamin B-2 is not efficiently absorbed by the digestive tract. If you decide to use it for migraine prevention may also want to add other natural agents such as magnesium and feverfew, an herbal anti-inflammatory. But the biggest preventive boost may come from coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).
One study enrolled 42 migraine patients to receive either 100 mg of CoQ10 three times each day, or a placebo (contains nothing). Subjects agreed to not use any other methods to prevent migraines during the study period. Migraine frequency, total days with migraine, and total days with nausea were all significantly reduced in the CoQ10 group. Overall, the incidence of migraines was almost cut in half in the CoQ10 group, while the reduction of migraines in the placebo group was less than 15 percent.
In another study, 32 migraine patients each received 150 mg per day of CoQ10 for three months. By the end of the study the monthly average days with migrain was reduced. About 60 percent of the subjects reported that their incidence of migraines was less than half of what it had been before the study. As with the riboflavin study, no adverse side effects were reported in either of the CoQ10 studies.
We recommend using a highly purified form of CoQ10, called CoQ Melt. It is a 100mg, easy-to-use orange flavored tablet. It's no more costly than the capsules, but it is a lot easier to use.
CONCLUSION
Migraines are frequently caused by nutritional deficiencies and toxins. Home migraine remedies that seem most helpful are those that avoid the start of a migraine in the first place. Sufferers can reduce the number of attacks and their length by a significant amount if they use 400mg of riboflavin and 150 to 300mg of CoQ 10 every day; and avoid toxins like MSG.
