Migraines – Stop the Pain Now!

Migraines are painful, interfere with daily life, and…are painful! 

Photo by Carolina Heza on Unsplash

I was a sufferer of migraines when I was young (teens and 20’s).  At some point in my 20’s, and I don’t remember exactly how I clued into this, I realized that eggs were triggering migraines.  To this day, if I eat an egg I will get a headache and possibly a migraine.  I once had a flu shot and the pain set in 20 minutes later.  (vaccines contain egg) It was bad….one of those 3-day migraines with aura.  Needless to say, I haven’t had a vaccine since.  Of course, as a health coach, I’ve learned lots of alternative ways to keep my immune system strong, so flu vaccines aren’t necessary.  Did you know that flu vaccines are only 2%-12% effective?!  With stats like that, it is necessary to understand the ins and outs of flu vaccines as well.

I encourage you to take control of your health and learn ways to prevent your migraines. 

Causes of Migraines

Migraines can be caused by food allergies, food sensitivities, dehydration, medications, stress, food additives, and malnutrition.   It is hard to believe that here in the U.S. we suffer malnutrition but we do.

The definition of malnutrition is
“lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition”

With all the processed foods we consume today, we lack proper nutrition.  Our digestive systems have become so bogged down with toxins, food additives, and lack of nutrition that we suffer from leaky gut. 

We can’t discuss migraines without a few words about leaky gut. 

Leaky Gut

Leaky gut is essentially a breakdown of the lining of the digestive tract.  The lining becomes permeable and inflamed. This allows bits of undigested food, toxins, and bacteria to enter the bloodstream, which effectively contaminants the body.  Leaky gut also interferes with nutrient absorption.  This leads to inflammation throughout the body.  This inflammation then leads to disease, illness and chronic conditions, such as migraines.  

Leaky gut is becoming epidemic.  This is not a surprise when you factor in our diet today.  We consume more processed foods void of nutrients and filled with food additives, toxins, and chemicals and less whole, nutrient filled foods.  Leaky gut is caused, in part, by an imbalance of bacteria, which then leads to a breakdown in the lining of the gut. 

We have over 400 species of bacteria in our gut.  Due to our diets, food allergies and lack of nutrients, bad bacteria start to outnumber good bacteria.  Once this starts happening and we don’t correct this imbalance, the gut becomes compromised.   We are hearing a lot about probiotics these days.  Probiotics do help increase the number of good bacteria which crowds out the bad bacteria, but probiotics alone won’t fix a leaky gut…or migraines.  This is one of my favorite probiotics.

Recent studies have shown there is a connection between inflammation and migraines.  Inflammation is a side effect of leaky gut. So, it seems the best way to deal with migraines may be to deal with the gut.  Changing eating habits is the best place to start.  Click here to get your free downloadable guide to choosing better foods.

Migraine Triggers

Migraines can be caused by several different factors.  One of the most common migraine triggers is food allergies/sensitivities.  Years ago, I had a migraine triggered by anesthesia, and another triggered by an alcoholic drink.   Often there isn’t just one trigger.  Migraines can also be triggered by a combination of foods or events.  For example, a migraine might not be triggered by peanut butter or chocolate alone, but when combined with each other or other foods, they could cause a migraine. The key is to calm inflammation so that there will soon be no triggers!

Triggers:

• Food allergies/sensitivities
• Dehydration
• Stress
• Lack of sleep
• Improper nutrition/lack of specific nutrients
• Hormones
• Certain medications

Common Food Migraine Triggers:

• Chocolate
• Corn
• Soy
• Wheat
• Eggs
• MSG
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Dairy
• Peanuts

Deficiencies 

A lack of specific nutrients such as magnesium, B12 and B complex has been shown in studies to trigger migraines.  Magnesium is one of the most important, and overlooked minerals our body requires.  Magnesium plays a role in almost every cell in our body.  Lack of magnesium can not only trigger a headache but can cause muscle aches and cramps, poor sleep, inability to focus and low energy levels, just to name a few.  This is one of the best magnesium supplements I have found to date.  It is highly absorbable and causes little to no digestive issues.  Nearly 80% of Americans may be deficient in this very important mineral.  

 If you don’t get adequate amounts of dark leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds and pastured beef, chicken or eggs, you could be deficient in these nutrients.  Supplements are a good way to increase these nutrients, however, supplements can’t replace the real thing and supplements must be whole food based and have the highest quality ingredients.  If you would like suggestions on which supplement brands to choose reach out to me.  I use many different top-quailty, pharmaceutical grade brands to address my needs and would be happy to share this info with you!

Where to Start

A good place to begin with finding your migraine triggers is to start eliminating foods and making a few simple lifestyle changes. Keeping a food journal is a great way to see what preceded the migraine.  Although more challenging, an elimination diet is the most effective way to discover what might be causing migraines.  Doing an elimination diet is best done under the care of a naturopathic, functional medicine doctor, or trained, certified health coach (like me!).  Click here to get more information on how I can help you. Medication is another method for relieving migraine pain, however, getting to the source of the migraine is a much more effective way at managing long term and medications can have side effects ranging from annoying to serious. 

• Avoid common food triggers
• Stay hydrated
• Heal the gut with anti-inflammatory foods
• Cut out sugar, processed foods, alcohol
• Elimination diet
• Food Journal

Once you get inflammation down and start to feed your body necessary nutrients, your body will get back to balance.  When balance is achieved, most foods that caused issues can be consumed again in moderation. 

I know you’re probably thinking, but I want immediate relief!  Read on for a few suggestions on how to get relief now.  

While there are a few things you can do for immediate relief (see below), following some of the suggestions listed above will give you long term relief.  Fix the problem, don’t bandage it and you will find long term relief.

Quick relief:

• Hydration.  Drink plenty of water/fluids at the onset of migraine.
• Essential oils. Put a few drops of lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus, and/or chamomile in a carrier oil (coconut oil, jojoba oil, or sweet almond oil). Rub on temples or add to a diffuser. 
• Caffeine can help relieve pain by reducing inflammation.
• Conventional over-the-counter-medications. There are many over-the-counter-medications to help alleviate migraines and many contain a combination of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and caffeine.
• Ginger can help relieve migraine pain naturally.  Try ginger candies, ginger supplement (capsule or pill form), or add fresh ginger to tea or smoothie.
• 5HTP (produced from tryptophan) can help relax and reduce stress, which in turn can help alleviate pain.

What methods have you used to alleviate migraines?  Help others by sharing in the comments section.

Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898551/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21070397
http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/18/how-to-end-migraines/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26752497
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240046/
https://americanheadachesociety.org/news/migraine-and-inflammation-linked-in-young-adults/

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