Migraines And Headaches Why They Appear And How To Prevent Them !
Migraine attacks,can last from a couple of hours to couple of days and can be caused by neurological, environmental, and genetic factors.Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from migraine headaches( 6-7% of men and 15-18% of women) from which 20 million have migraine attacks on a daily basis.
Common symptoms are throbbing and searing pain, also “auras” before onset, nausea, chills, sweating, sensitivity to light, sound, or smell, and vomiting can be symptoms.
Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from migraine headaches( 6-7% of men and 15-18% of women) from which 20 million have migraine attacks on a daily basis.
Causes of Migraine
The majority of migraine are causes by:
– Changes in the brain chemical serotonin.
– Vascular constriction in the brain.
– Excessive increase of blood flow in the brain.
– A neurological disorder linked to nerve cell activity.
Dr. Weil, gives a list of foods that can cause a migraine headache, and a list of food additives like nitrites, MSG, nitrates, and food coloring that can trigger headache .
Here is a list of the foods :
– Caffeine
– Raisins
– Wine
– Citrus Fruit
– Processed Meats
– Chocolate
– Lentils
– Herring
– Anchovies
– Figs
– Peas
– Sardines
– Cheese
– Red Plums
– Bananas
– Raspberries
– Soy Sauce
– Avocados
– Peanuts
Note: lack of sleep may cause migraines.
Vitamin deficiency and migraines
B6, B12 and folic acid supplements are the ones you need to consume more in order to reduce migraines .A study made in 2004 by the European Journal of Neurology showed that migraine attacks can be prevented by consumption of high doses of riboflavin.
A gene mutation or dysfunction caused by increased levels of homocysteine can cause migraine but B6 and B12 can reduce hymocysteine. Dosage of these vitamins depends on your gene-type.
Professor Lyn Griffiths:
“… if all patients received the same vitamin dosage for the same period of time it would be expected that those with TT genotypes, having a reduced enzymatic rate, would metabolize less homocysteine over the treatment period compared to C allele carriers, thus resulting in a smaller reduction in homocysteine and consequent migraine symptoms.
Indeed, it may be that TT genotypes although having a higher risk of disease actually require a larger dosage of vitamins to exhibit the same effect as C alleles. Further clinical trials of much larger patient cohorts are required to test this hypothesis.”
“The success of our trial has shown that safe, inexpensive vitamin supplements can treat migraine patients.”
One study at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Headache Society showed that because of vitamin D deficiency 42% of patients had chronic migraine .The longer a person suffers from chronic migraines, the more deficient in vitamin D appears.
Stay healthy …