Migraines can be a nightmare if you are one of the 36 million Americans who suffer from them. That’s 12% of the population! Did you know it is three times more common in women than men?
And what’s worse, 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during their migraine attacks.
So when I was with a friend recently, and she complained of having migraines, I thought maybe I could help.
And you know what she said?
“Oh, it’s not too bad. I only get my migraines for a few days once a month. If this is the only health problem I have, I am lucky.”
But here’s the thing. If you get migraines, your body is telling you something is wrong. If you ignore the signals, it may lead to more serious matters.
So I did an evaluation and here is what I found.
Her Migraines
My friend’s migraines started after she had her first child. Before that, she hadn’t experienced them.
She typically gets them for a few days in a row every month like clockwork.
She was told by her physician that it was probably hormonal and once she hit menopause they would subside.
She waited it out.
Now, three years past menopause, she still experiences migraines on a regular basis.
They are debilitating enough that she takes medication for them when they strike. If she catches a headache early enough, the medication can keep them at bay.
Unfortunately, the medication has side effects that she does not like. They make her thinking cloudy, and her speech gets slurred while taking it. She is unable to drive while taking the drug.
But she felt the side effects from the medication were worth it instead of getting the debilitating migraines.
Her Migraine Analysis Result
After a quick analysis, it was evident her diet played a crucial role in her migraine situation. Food triggers are common with migraines. Some of the most common foods that trigger migraines are chocolate, cheese, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), dairy products, and cured meats like hot dogs and bacon.
What was so wrong with her diet? In her case, it is sugar.
Although proud of the fact that she never touched coffee because she thought it was so unhealthy, she drank a Pepsi each day as her go to “pick me up”. And on many days, she would have more than one.
She also ate a diet filled with sugar. So this is what I recommended.
Remove Sugar
The sugar in her diet had to stop. Unfortunately, this meant not drinking any Pepsi. She asked if she could exchange Pepsi for something more healthy like Vitamin Water.
I told her no. Vitamin Water was also filled with sugar. Water is best. Particularly during the first couple of months.
Staying away from all sugary drinks is essential to determine if sugar is the culprit causing her migraines.
Vitamin B Supplement
I told her another nutritional change she could make was to start taking two supplements: vitamin B and magnesium.
Vitamin B is crucial for anyone who eats a lot of sugar. Sugar and alcohol deplete vitamin B levels in our systems. So anyone who ingests a large amount of sugar, or who drinks a lot of alcohol on a regular basis, risks depleting their vitamin B levels. So supplementing would be helpful.
There were even a few studies that indicated riboflavin, (vitamin B2), helped reduce the frequency and duration of migraines. In one study, people who took vitamin B2 had a more than 50% decrease in the number of migraine attacks.
Magnesium Supplement
Another supplement good for migraine sufferers is magnesium. Usually, individuals who suffer from migraines have low levels of this mineral.
In double-blind studies, magnesium supplementation was shown to reduce the frequency of migraines.
Magnesium is a vital supplement for optimal health. It is responsible for over 300 metabolic reactions in our bodies and is deficient in about 80% of our population according to Dr. Carolyn Dean. She has studied and written about magnesium for over 18 years.
Magnesium also works in combination with the calcium in our bodies. Keeping them in balance is crucial.
Calcium is the constrictor in our bodies. It causes our muscles to contract. Magnesium is the relaxer which counteracts the contractions arising from the calcium.
So without enough magnesium in your system, the calcium may be causing too much constriction in our systems. Your muscles can go into spasms which may contribute to the migraines.
Summary
As a recap, I suggested three things for my friend to do to help alleviate her migraines.
- Remove the sugar from her diet. She must stop drinking her sodas each day and remove them completely from her diet. Eating a diet filled with fresh whole foods is always beneficial for optimal health.
- Supplement her diet with a good quality vitamin B complex with additional vitamin B2 for the migraines. No need to worry about too much vitamin B. It is a water soluble vitamin. If your body gets too much, it will just wash out in your urine. There are excellent choices out there, both in pill form and in liquid form. I prefer liquid form myself, so you don’t have to ingest all those fillers found in capsules or tablets.
- Take a good quality magnesium supplement which will help relax her system and reduce her migraines.
Hopefully, you are not a sufferer of migraines. The pain can be very severe. But if you are, you may want to try these few lifestyle changes to see if they help.
If you are not a sugar lover, drop me a line. Maybe there is another food item that is the trigger for you. Email me and I can let you know if you have a different trigger.
Here’s to your good health and happiness.
Peace and be well,
Founder of Maty’s Healthy Products — a line of natural & organic health products made from whole food ingredients
Carolyn Harrington