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Ouch, migraines aren’t fun for anyone.
While mild headaches can be quite manageable and will pass on its own, severe migraines can leave you incapacitated. In such cases, you might have to go lie down in the dark and try to manage the excruciating pain.
There are various types of headaches, with tension headaches being the most common one. Migraines designate a more severe type of headache, with additional symptoms such as nausea, pounding pain, and accrued sensitivity to light and sound.
Thankfully, there are natural remedies for migraines that you can use to reduce your symptoms without using drugs. You can prepare these treatments at home as a way to help prevent migraines, or at least mitigate their duration and severity.
This article will give you 10 essential natural remedies to help you deal with your migraines and headaches. Read on!
1. Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral which plays a vital role in many bodily functions. Those include nerve transmission and control of sugar levels in the blood. Additionally, it’s been used successfully as a way of treating headaches.
People who are prone to getting migraine headaches also have been shown to be more likely to have a magnesium deficiency than people who aren’t.
Taking 600 mg of magnesium citrate a day will help manage the severity, and reduce the frequency of your migraines.
Make sure to procure magnesium citrate or glycinate, rather than oxide, as it is more bioavailable. This means that it can be absorbed by your body to get the full effect.
However, magnesium can also provoke side effects on your digestive system, such as diarrhea. So you might want to start taking lower dosage to evaluate your body’s reaction to the supplement.
2. Avoid Histamine
Histamine is a chemical that occurs naturally in the human body. Its functions encompass the digestive, nervous, and immune systems. It also appears in certain foods such as fermented foods, aged cheeses, cured meats, and smoked fish.
In some people, the enzymes tasked with breaking histamine down don’t work properly.
If you have a sensitivity to histamine, consuming it may be a trigger for migraines. In this case, make sure to stay away from those histamine-rich foods, and alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer.
3. B Vitamins
B vitamins are micro-nutrients that play an important part in the body. For instance, one of their attributes is to turn food into energy. What’s more, some B vitamins may protect you from headaches.
According to some studies, B2, B12, and B6 vitamins have a hand in lessening headache symptoms.
To get all of them at once, you can take some B-complex vitamins, which have all of the B vitamins.
B vitamins are safe for consumption, as any excess will simply get evacuated through the urine.
4. Use a Cold Compress
When the going gets tough, a cold compress might be your best ally. To make one, fill a bag with ice and wrap it in a cloth. Apply it to the painful areas.
It may decrease the inflammation, constrict your blood vessels, and slow down nerve signaling, which will help soothe your headache pain.
5. CBD Oil
CBD oil is made from the cannabis plant. Don’t worry however, it won’t get you high, only make you feel relaxed.
It’s been used successfully in helping treat depression and anxiety, and is an efficient aid for sleep. But that’s not all, as it also helps in reducing inflammation, which is how it’ll reduce your migraine symptoms.
You can read more here about the properties of CBD oil.
6. Drink Enough Water
Lack of hydration, especially as it occurs recurrently, is a common cause of headaches. Being dehydrated is also linked with impaired concentration and irritability, which can make a headache worse.
In that case, drinking water should be enough to soothe your headache symptoms. It might take from 30 minutes to three hours for the effects to be felt, however.
You can avoid dehydration headaches by ensuring to drink enough water daily.
7. Reduce Your Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol can be a cause for tension and cluster headaches. It acts as a vasodilator, which means it enlarges your blood vessels. For some, vasodilation can trigger headaches.
In particular, alcohol can bring about a migraine in one-third of people who get headaches frequently, according to studies.
Furthermore, alcohol, through its action as a diuretic, makes the body lose fluids through repeated urination. This can result in dehydration, and can start a headache or worsen an existing one.
8. Use Herbs
Some herbs, such as butterbur and feverfew, can be used to treat headache symptoms.
Daily doses of 50-150 mg feverfew supplements might help lessen headache frequency, thanks to feverfew’s anti-inflammatory properties.
The butterbur root also displays anti-inflammatory properties. When consumed in doses of 50-150 mg, butterbur extract can reduce headache symptoms.
Be careful with butterbur, however, as unpurified forms of it might damage your liver. As for feverfew, it is considered to be safe when consumed in the recommended amounts.
9. Steer Clear of Nitrites and Nitrates
Nitrites and nitrates are food preservatives, commonly found in foods like sausages, bacon, and hot dogs. Their purpose is to stop bacterial growth, thereby keeping the food fresh.
Like alcohol, they can act as vasodilators and cause headaches in certain people.
In order to avoid nitrites, you might want to exclude processed meats from your diet. Make sure to check the list of ingredients when purchasing products, to pick the nitrate-free ones.
10. Ginger Tea
Ginger has many interesting properties, as it contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. It’s helpful to diminish nausea and vomiting, which might happen in the case of severe migraines.
Ginger root may be made into a tea or consumed in capsuled powder form. Taking 250 mg of ginger powder was found to be very effective in treating migraine pain.
Enjoy Your Natural Remedies for Migraines
Headaches can be terrible and ruin your day. But hopefully, these 10 natural remedies for migraines can prove useful in soothing the pain.
Pay attention to the signs of a migraine. If you manage to recognize them early on, you can minimize its impact by using preventive treatment.
If your migraines are too frequent, or too severe, make sure to talk to your doctor about it.
