Natural Relief from Headaches, Even Migraines

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Is the effort you might put into managing stress worth it? Absolutely — according to the American Institute of Stress, stress has been linked to the following disorders: depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, increased susceptibility to infections and many others. Plus, a 2002 analysis of three decades of behavioral interventions (biofeedback, relaxation training, stress management and cognitive behavioral therapy) reported a 35 percent to 50 percent reduction in migraine and tension headache activity — an improvement, the authors noted, that “may rival those obtained with widely used pharmacologic therapies.” While learning to relax demands more time than popping a pill, its effects are enduring.

Sleeping Skills

Disturbances in sleep patterns, such as insufficient sleep, too much sleep and jet travel across multiple time zones, can trigger headaches. A study in children and teens found that nondrug strategies to improve sleep habits reduced the frequency of migraines (see Sleep Deeply, Live Longer).

Melatonin is a pineal gland hormone that rises at night and regulates many biorhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle. Although the evidence is mixed for using melatonin to treat sleep disturbances, new research demonstrates people with cluster headaches and migraines have low melatonin levels. Preventive melatonin supplementation proved particularly helpful in those with cluster headaches.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture also is widely used to treat headaches. This sort of needling has an analgesic effect, and some studies support its use in headache treatment and prevention. For instance, in a recent study, acupuncture treatment compared favorably to preventive migraine treatment with a beta-blocker called metoprolol. Electrically stimulating the needles also has produced benefits in reducing tension headaches.

Avoid Trigger Foods

In 1979, a study in The Lancet reported that 85 percent of migraineurs markedly reduced headaches when they avoided common foods such as wheat, oranges, dairy, corn, beef, tea and coffee. Subsequent studies also supported the role of food intolerance in migraines.

Based on his work at the New York Headache Center, Mauskop’s list of foods and beverages that commonly trigger migraines in susceptible people includes chocolate, yogurt, buttermilk, bananas, dried fruit, beans, aged cheese, citrus fruits, pickled and marinated foods, beer and wine. Also try to avoid the preservative sodium nitrate (in hotdogs and lunchmeat), the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG, found in processed foods — sometimes listed as hydrolyzed protein) and the artificial sweetener aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet).

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print