Migraines & Headaches

A headache by other name is just as painful. Why the differentiation between migraines and headaches? Confusion abounds as to when the pain is a migraine, a cluster headache or what's termed a "tension" headache.

Recently, a television news show did a segment on migraines. The commercials, lead-ins and the interview itself showed a young man on the floor repeatedly banging his head against the wall. He hit his head so hard you had to wince watching him. He said the pain was so bad he sought something that would hurt more just to distract him from it. After years of daily torture, he contemplated suicide as an escape. The show's journalists said it was a migraine. Joel Saper, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, would probably consider it a cluster headache. In an article in World Health News, Dr. Saper said that men with cluster headaches tend to pace and cry out and often bang their heads and hands against walls, and throw things. Whereas people with migraines seek dark, quiet, cool rooms and reduce stimulation, whether it be from sound or light or smell. 1

A migraine is a headache that usually last hours to days, whereas a cluster headache usually lasts a half-hour to two hours. Migraines generally occur in women more than men, whereas cluster headaches generally affect more men. Cluster headaches are almost always around an eye with a runny nose, tears and sometimes eyelid drooping. If a headache is severe, if it is associated with severe nausea or vomiting, and is unilateral and throbbing, then it's more likely to be migraine. Because of the symptom similarities: presence of throbbing and pain on one side of the head, some researchers believe that the tension-type headache is a milder version of a migraine. Both can be associated with nausea, both can occur on one of both sides of the head, have moderate pain and be non-throbbing. So at times it's difficult to differentiate between them.

All sorts of alarms go off when a migraine is imminent. Hands get cold to icy; lights flash, like zig zags of lightening; blind spots; tingling, numbness, or weakness on one side of the face or body; changes in emotion, mood and appetite that occur a day or two before the pain and for some, the "aura." Ten to 20 percent of people with migraines experience the mysterious "aura," which are eye-widening symptoms that occur just before the pain starts. 2 Some researchers have come to believe that the aura occurs as a result of a deficiency of magnesium in the cortex of the brain. 3 This is not a surprising revelation when you realize the importance of magnesium to blood circulation, and further, that these aura symptoms are similar to those which occur just before a stroke.

Migraines Often Caused by Chemicalized Food

There is a lot of evidence that migraine pain is caused by certain foods and chemicals. A double-blind study reported in the The Lancet found that 94 percent of a group of 88 children with severe, frequent migraines were relieved of their pain after eliminating foods to which they were allergic. 4

Seymour Solomon, M.D., director of the Headache Unit at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., believes that about 20 percent of people with migraines are sensitive to chemicals in certain foods, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) and nitrites in hot dogs and sausages. 5

Tartrazine (FD&C Yellow No. 5), a common food coloring (read the labels1) has a history of provoking allergic headaches. 6 It is estimated that 90 percent of all migraine headaches are directly linked to food allergies or to reactions caused by additives, particularly certain preservatives and colorings, caffeine and chocolate. 7

All processed foods, whether bottled, bagged, canned or packaged have hidden dangers. MSG is only one of the identified dangers hidden in the plethora of chemicals contained in processed food. A very goof friend of mine has migraines for days after ingesting MSG. Unfortunately, he eats out often, and forgets to ask the waitress to "hold the MSG."

According to the FDA, approximately five thousand food additives are used in food products in the United States. 8 As the chemicals in our supermarkets grow, so do reported cases of migraines. The Center for Disease Control and the National Center for Health Statistics conducted personal interviews over a 10 year period with between 60,000 to 125,000 people. They found that between 1980 and 1989 the prevalence of chronic migraine headache sufferers increased nearly 60 percent from almost 26 to 41 individuals per 1,000 people. Tragically, 71 percent of the increase occurred among individuals less than 45 years of age. Interestingly, and indicative of the possibility of it being a mineral-deficiency, migraine sufferers was in the Western United States (45 per 1,00 persons), while in the South and Midwest the rate of migraine headaches was 41 and 40.4 per 1,000 persons respectively. The lowest rate was in the northeast and almost 37 per 1,000. 9

One of the reasons MSG gets such a headstrongreaction is that it contains a chemical known as tyramine. Tyramine dilates blood vessels in the head, causing the pressure dredged with the pain of migraines. If you suspect a food reaction is causing your migraines, consider the possibility that one of these tyramine-foods could be the culprit: cheeses, bananas, chocolate, yogurt, bean curry, pickled fish, citrus fruit, red wine, beer, fermented sausage, brewer's yeast, fava beans, soy sauce, MSG, Chinese broad bean pods, coffee, Licorice, and snails.

Magnesium for Migraines

Numerous studies have shown the connection between low blood levels of magnesium and migraines. Researchers at the prestigious Interuniversity Center For the Study of Headache and Neurotransmitter Disorders in Perugia, Italy, examined 90 adult migraine and tension headache patients comparing them with a control group. They found migraine sufferers, with and without aura and tension-type headaches, had significantly lower levels of magnesium between attacks, and even less during a migraine. The authors also note that it is probably more than coincidence that subjects with epilepsy or mitral valve prolapse have a higher incidence of headaches and also have low serum magnesium levels. 10

Magnesium is a minerals essential for brain function, and also regulates a deficiency of magnesium in about 40 percent of migraine patients. Robert S. Kunkel, M.D., director of the Headache Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, knows of physicians who manage acute migraine headaches with magnesium. 11 In another study, 35 out of 40 people suffering from frequent migraines given one gram of intravenous magnesium at the start of their headaches experienced a complete reduction in head pain. Almost none suffered any more pain recurrence over the next 24 hours. 12

Beat It with B Vitamins

The B vitamins are notorious bran booster. Anything that affects the brain depletes B vitamins. Two B vitamins: riboflavin (B-2) and niacin (B-3) help alleviate the pain of migraines.

A doctor in New York, Jeffrey A. Hall, D.O., reports that he has successfully treated his own migraine headaches for the last 15 years with doses of niacin. At the onset of his aura he takes 300 to 500 milligrams of niacin. Niacin is also used to reduce blood pressure as it dilates and opens constricted blood vessels, with the only side effect being menopausal-like like hot flashes from too much niacin at one time. When takes 250 to 500 mg. of niacin, use Flush-Free niacin.

Belgium researchers split 40 migraine sufferers into two groups: 26 took 400 mg. of riboflavin daily before breakfast for three months and the rest took the B2 and 75 mg of aspirin. All of the study participants were relieved to find that the severity of their head pain was reduced by nearly 70 percent. In all probability, the aspirin made no difference, except to the one participant who dropped out because of stomach problems. 15 I recommends migraine patients take 250 milligrams of B2 twice daily.

Other Natural Ingredients for Migraines and Headache are:

Feverfew and White Willow: Feverfew is a wild herb that has been used for more than 2,000 years as a remedy for headaches. White Willow Bark contains salicin which may be beneficial as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Key accessory nutrients are also added for a synergistic pain relief effect.

 Migraine Relieving Nutrients

For maximum absorption, take supplements with meals.

Nutrient Suggested Dosage

Antioxidants (grape seed):4 capsules daily

Borage Oil: 2 capsules daily

Flaxseed Oil:2 capsules daily

Ginkgo biloba: 1 three times daily

Magnesium: 1 capsule daily

Multi-Mineral Liquid: 3-4 ounces daily

Niacin (Flush-Free):500 mg daily

Vitamin B2: 250 mg twice daily

 References

1. Faivelson, Saealie, "Breaking he cycle of Pain: Experts' Views of Migraines Have Changed Radically, Yet Some Physicians Still Undertreat ot Mistreat the Excruciating Headaches," Medical World News, v. 34, n. 12, p. 22, December 15, 1993

2. "Migraines: Easing the Pain," Consumer Reports on Health, v. 5, n. 7, p. 72, July 1993.

3. Faivelson, Saealie, "Breaking he cycle of Pain: Experts' Views of Migraines Have Changed Radically, Yet Some Physicians Still Undertreat ot Mistreat the Excruciating Headaches," Medical World News, v. 34, n. 12, p. 22, December 15, 1993

4. Egger, J., et al, :Is Migraine Food Allergy?" The Lancet, v. 2, p. 865-869, 1983.

5. Faivelson, Saealie, "Breaking he cycle of Pain: Experts' Views of Migraines Have Changed Radically, Yet Some Physicians Still Undertreat ot Mistreat the Excruciating Headaches," Medical World News, v. 34, n. 12, p. 22, December 15, 1993.

6. Faelton, Sharon, The Allergy Self-Help Book, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, p.036-307.

7. Burton Goldberg Group, Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide, Future Medicine Publishing, Inc., Puyallup, WA, 1993.

8. "More Than You Ever Thought You Would Know About Food Additives," FDA Consumer, 1982.

9. "Prevalence of Chronic Migraine Headaches - United States, 1980-1989, " Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, v. 40, n. 20, p. 337-338, May 24, 1991.

10. Sarchielli, Paola, et al, "Serum and Salivary Magnesium Levels in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache: Results in a Group of Adult Patients, "Cephalalgia, v. 12, p. 21-27, 1992.

11. Kunkel, Robert S., M.D., "Magnesium For Migraine?" Consultant, p. 827, june 1994.

12. Kahn, Jason, "Low Ionized Magnesium Linked to Migraine Headaches, " Medical Tribune, v. 7, May 18, 1995.

13. Elin, R., "Magnesium: The Forgotten Nutient," The Nutrition Report, February 1995.

14. Hall, Jeffrey A., D.O., "Enhancing Niacin's Effect for Migraine," Cortlandt Forum, v. 46, p. 47, July 1991.

15. Schoenen, J., etal, "High-Dose Riboflavin as a Prophylactic Treatment of Migraine: Results of an Open Pilot Study, " Cephalalgia, v. 14, p. 328-329, 1994.