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Your Online Guide » Common Illness » Migraine Headaches

[H1502]How To Prevent Migraines
by Marci Lall, Mar
Here's a list that covers the common ones.

Aged cheeses, sour cream, and certain other milk products.

Fresh yeast, sourdough, and other yeasty breads.

Fermented foods, including pickles, soy sauce and miso.

Some legumes, especially dried beans, lentils and soy products.

Nuts, seeds, and peanut butter.

Chocolate and cocoa.

Organ meats and meats that are salted, dries cured, smoked, or contain nitrites.

Sardines, anchovies, and pickled herring.

Fruits, including avocados, bananas, citrus fruits, figs, grapes, papayas, passion fruits, plantains, pineapples, raspberries, red plums, and raisins.

Alcohol, especially red wine.

Chicken livers.

Seasonings and flavor enhancers, especially artificial sweeteners, ginger, and molasses.

Sulfites used as preservatives in wine and dried fruits.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Each year 70 percent of adults in North America alone seek medical help. Most headaches are brief and happen because of tension or a temporary condition, like a cold or the flu, but some reflect a serious problem.

When you see your doctor about your headaches b sure to bring a detailed written description of your headaches. To make it detailed make sure you cover some of these questions. How severe are they? How often? How long? Which areas hurt?

Migraine Headaches

More than 20 million North Americans suffer from migraines. Migraines are severe throbbing or pulsating feeling that occurs on one side of your head. They're often accompanied by sensitivities from light and sound, as well as with nausea and vomiting.

Migraines are also called vascular headaches, because they typically involve a spasm of the arteries in your head, which results in a pulsating pain. The headaches may last from a few hours to several days or even longer.

Most importantly migraines affect women about three times more often as men. They usually start between the ages of 18 and 44. Many doctors think migraines are triggered from different factors such as dietary, hormonal, environmental, emotional, and other factors that cause your blood vessels in your brain to constrict and then relax. These distorted blood vessels quickly cause the nerve endings to send out pain signals.

A good way to get rid of migraines is to try relaxation techniques. In addition to taking different courses or classes in using relaxation techniques you can also try biofeedback. Biofeedback is a course in which you learn how to raise the temperature in your hands to divert some of the blood flow from your head to another part of your body.

Migraine Triggers

Environmental Triggers: Glare, bright lights, loud noises, strong odors, cigarette smoke changes in temperature, weather or altitude.

Hormonal Triggers (usually women): Menstrual cycle, estrogen supplements, and high-estrogen oral contraceptives.

Activity Triggers: Irregular or no exercise, inadequate or excessive sleep, eyestrain, motion sickness.

Emotional Triggers: (tend to be negative ones): Anger, resentment, depression, fatigue, anxiety, and stress.

Dietary Triggers: Keep a food diary and see what you've eaten. Once you feel a migraine come on, you'll be able to track and see what food has caused it.

Over-the-counter (OTC) supplements use in headaches, migraines, and fibromyalgia can be controversial, especially since they are not rigorously tested like prescription drugs. Nevertheless, there is a good deal of science behind some OTC supplements. I have my favorites that I like to recommend, and I will give them to you. Bear in mind, these are my recommendations as of today. As the science supporting supplements changes, my recommendations will change. An excellent example is Vitamin E and Beta Carotene. Both were highly recommended in the 1990's, but now problems with both have been found. Currently I recommend neither beyond the amount of each that is found in a regular multivitamin.

Over the Counter Supplements
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 200-250 mg twice a day
Magnesium Capsules 250 mg two to three times a day (remember Milk of Magnesia is a form of magnesium and MOM is used to treat constipation; therefore, if you develop loose stools from taking a form of magnesium, you may need to reduce your dosage of magnesium capsules)
Feverfew 100 mg a day
--or-- Migrelief one pill twice a day is a good source of B2, Magnesium, and Feverfew.
--and add-- Co Q 10 150 mg two daily to above supplements.

I have not started recommending Butterbur; however, there is science supporting its use. I do not usually recommend Omega-3 fish oil for migraineurs. Diabetic and metabolic syndrome patients can use 3000 mg of fish oil to help lower triglycerides, raise HDL cholesterol, and decrease clotting-all of which are very important in reducing cardiovascular complication. This is Dr. Castelli's recommendation. He has been a world authority on cardiac risk factors, and I have great respect for him. For about 30 years, he was the medical director for the Framingham Heart Study looking at long-term risk factors.

I recommend avoiding ephedrine products because of side effects which may include headache, palpitations, heart attack, and worse. Products containing ephedrine are Chinese ephedra, ma huang, and epitonin. Neither do I recommend Ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo mixed with certain foods or beverages can raise your blood pressure.

Prevention of migraines is very important. Continued migraine activity can lead to fibromyalgia, neck pain, sinus pain, TMJ syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, chest pain, palpitations, and panic attacks.
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About Author
Both Marci Lall & J. Wes Tanner, Md are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Marci Lall has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blood Pressure, Migraine Headaches and Fitness. . Marci Lall's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.

J. Wes Tanner, Md has sinced written about articles on various topics from Migraine Headaches, Fibromyalgia and Panic Attacks. J. Wes Tanner, MD is a family practice and headache specialist who has been treating people for about 30 years. He has extensive experience in treating migraines and fibromyalgia with excellent success. In Doctor, Why Do I Feel This Way?, Dr. Tanner expos. J. Wes Tanner, Md's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.
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