Migraines are nothing to mess with. They disrupt your day. They change your life. They cause pain that you will never experience any other way. Once you start getting migraines, it seems like your life is almost over. You may find yourself in your doctor’s office way more than you would like. You submit yourself to blood tests, brain scans, and treatment options that seem to get you nowhere. Instead of giving up and deciding that you must live your life in pain, here are five vitamins and supplements that could help to reduce or relieve your migraines. Remember that you need to let your doctor know what you are taking so that they can adjust your medications as needed.
- Magnesium
Magnesium has many health benefits. You may notice that when taking it, you no longer suffer from constipation. Your digestive tract is able to flush out many more toxins when you take magnesium. It has been known to help with female reproductive issues.
The best candidates that will see relief with magnesium are females who get migraines associated with their cycle, if you have auras with your migraines, or if your migraine affects your vision in any way. Magnesium helps your body to flush out toxins. That is one reason that it helps with migraines.
How much do you need? 400 mg is recommended per day. You cannot overdose on magnesium, but you will get loose stools if you take too much. If this happens, simply cut back on your magnesium. Pay attention to the dosage you are taking. Start off with 400mg a day. Then, decrease by 100 mg if you have any issues. Most people will not see a significant difference until they are taking it daily for three months. Your body takes three months to completely change your blood chemistry, which is based on what you take and what you eat.
- B Vitamins
You probably already know that your body uses B vitamins to give you an energy boost. Almost all of the B vitamins give you the feeling of well-being and make you feel good in general. Of course, one theory is that when you feel good, your body releases chemicals that can relieve depression. Depression is considered a trigger of migraines.
Vitamin B-2 helps to train new cells to release energy or possibly to change the way that it is released. What does that mean for your migraine? To be honest, no one knows exactly why or how it works but the results are fewer migraines that have a shorter duration than those who don’t supplement with magnesium.
How much do you need? The recommendation is to take 2(100 mg) vitamin B tablets twice a day or a total of 400 mg per day. There are no significant side effects. You really should let your doctor know what you are taking and when so that your doctor can let you know if there are any potential interactions with medications you are in. In most cases, you simply need to space them out two hours from each other.
- Vitamin D
Put on some sunscreen and go outside. Absorb some vitamin D. When given 50,000 IUD of vitamin D, at the onset of a migraine, patients saw a reduction in symptoms and in the duration of the migraine. There are no two people who need the exact same amount of Vitamin D. You can that will help to determine how much you need or you can visit your doctor and let him help you. The downside of Vitamin D is that it does have drug interactions and side effects.
- Coenzyme Q10 (CQ10)
There is not a lot known about this supplement. It is found naturally in your body. It is an antioxidant. Here is how it works. As it goes through your body, it grabs the toxins and flushes them out. That means your body is going to function so much better. It enables cell functions.
CQ10 has been known to help with male infertility, lower heart disease, and help balance blood sugars. It can even boost weight loss. With all of these great benefits, it is little wonder that it helps with migraines.
How much do you need? You don’t need much. You can probably get what you need by making a few dietary changes. 100 – 300mg a day should be enough for you to see benefits. There are some drug interactions so please let your doctor know if you want to give this a try.
- Melatonin
Melatonin is the chemical that your body makes to help you go to sleep. There are studies that show some migraines are caused by a disrupted sleep cycle. You are likely to have more intense and longer lasting migraines if you are having trouble sleeping. This may mean you aren’t getting enough sleep, you can’t fall asleep, or you are having trouble falling asleep.
How much do you need? Most people only need 2mg at night. You should take it 30 minutes before you plan on going to sleep. Make sure you can devote at least six hours to sleep. If 2mg doesn’t work, try 4mg. However, do not take it if you are already taking sleeping medications.
Overcoming Migraines with Food
You have heard before that you must eat what you want to be. This doesn’t mean that you become the food that you eat. What it does mean is that your body will feel what you put into it. You eat junk food, you will have less nutrients. Your body will run less effectively. You will feel sluggish and achy. You want to feel better, you must eat better foods so that your body can make the fuel it needs.
This applies to migraines as well. If you are getting headaches, including migraines, one of the first things that you doctor is going to ask you to do is to keep a food journal.
Water is so important. It can help your body to rid itself of toxins. Being able to flush them out is just as important as allowing your body to rid itself of them in the first place. Let’s look at it this way: You have decided to take magnesium so that it can go through your blood stream and gather all the impurities that are disrupting your cells. You take it just as you should every day for weeks. However, you aren’t drinking enough water so your cells are distorted. Fluids are moving smoothly. What happens with all those toxins? They have settled in other parts of your body and are now causing issues. Why? Simply put, your body doesn’t have the fluids it needs to remove them. You may notice that you are bloated. How much water do you need? 1/3 your weight in ounces every day. The first thing you will notice is that your bloating is reduced, this is known as water weight. Then you will notice that you begin to use the bathroom regularly. Your head will be clearer. The magnesium is beginning to work.
There are some things that you should avoid if you want to reduce your chances of getting a migraine. For instance, MSG, nitrites, and aspartame are all known for triggering migraines. That are additives in a lot of foods that we eat. They cause toxins to build up. They can also add to your dehydration and cause you to suffer more than you should.
It is really simple. You want to feel your best, fill with the best. Single ingredient foods are best. Cook at home rather than eat out. Don’t use convenience foods. Yes, this can take some getting used to. There will always be days where you don’t feel like cooking. What’s the best way to overcome this? Meal prep!! Take a few hours at the beginning of your week and get everything ready. It won’t take long to see the difference that it makes. You will soon notice the change in your own taste buds. Sodas, processed foods, and sugary foods will no longer taste the same. It makes it easy to create a healthy way of eating.
Talking to your doctor
If you have more than five headaches, migraines or not, it is time to go see your doctor. Your doctor will probably order some tests, like blood work, to rule out underlying conditions. The desire is to treat the condition not the symptoms. Sometimes this is simply not possible. Your doctor will try to help you get to what is causing your migraines while offering you solutions to treat the symptoms. This might be as simple as counseling to help you determine your triggers or as life-changing as having to take a daily medication. Remember to be open and honest with your doctor.
It is up to you to take control of your health. This may mean something as simple as adding a daily vitamin or supplement to help your body work the best that it can. After all, the only thing you have to lose is your pain.
