Natural Relief from Headaches, Even Migraines

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It’s important to keep eating, however, because low blood sugar can set off headaches. The trick is to find your personal offenders. To do that, avoid the most common problem foods for a few weeks, then add back one food at a time. Note what happens in your headache diary.

The role of caffeine is less straightforward. In people who aren’t java or soda junkies, caffeine relieves migraine headaches by constricting blood vessels surrounding the brain (the dilation is part of the pain process), which is why it’s often packaged with aspirin and other analgesics. Overuse of these medications, however, can result in chronic headaches. More on that below.

But regular heavy coffee consumption, as well as withdrawal from caffeine-containing beverages, can actually cause headaches. Caffeine-induced chronic headaches have even been reported in cola-swigging children. Mauskop emphasizes that as little as 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day can worsen headaches through withdrawal. If you’ve ever slept late, delaying that first cup of coffee, you may have experienced this particular type of dull ache. Experts generally recommend that people with frequent headaches reduce or eliminate caffeine intake.

Nutritional Supplements

Small clinical trials support the use of three supplements to thwart headache pain: magnesium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and coenzyme Q10.

Magnesium. Mauskop’s research shows that intravenous magnesium helps break migraine and cluster headaches, particularly in those with low levels of this mineral. Other trials also have shown that oral magnesium may help prevent headaches. Magnesium deficiency is particularly common in women with menstrual migraines. Mauskop routinely recommends patients with migraines take 400 to 600 milligrams a day of magnesium oxide, as this form is effective and inexpensive. Magnesium can loosen the bowels, a problem usually solved by experimenting with different forms, such as magnesium glycinate, magnesium citrate or magnesium chloride.

Riboflavin. The research on riboflavin is less extensive, but nonetheless encouraging. In an open-label trial (no placebo control group), 400 milligrams a day for six months cut migraine headache frequency in half and decreased medication use. Another study showed that three months of riboflavin led to a 50 percent improvement in almost 60 percent of the volunteers, versus a 15 percent improvement over the people taking a dummy pill.

Coenzyme Q10. This vitaminlike substance participates in mitochondrial energy production. When 42 migraineurs took either coenzyme Q10 (100 milligrams three times a day) or a placebo, the supplement significantly reduced the frequency of attacks. An earlier study without a placebo group also showed significant improvement.

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