New Research for Migraine Relief
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I would like to talk about some new research on help with a debilitating chronic condition that thirty-nine million Americans suffer from: Migraines.
Migraines are severe headaches characterized by intense, throbbing pain throughout the head. It can last up to two days and attacks can occur several times a month – talk about a condition that can really diminish your quality of life! Women are three times more likely than men to suffer from the condition, and often experience more symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.
Men, however, are more likely to have migraines with auras; flashes of light, a blind spot, a change in vision or tingling sensation in the face or hands. These symptoms can be very concerning and upsetting.
I often recommend keeping a headache journal to record what you ate, what you were doing, and where you were when you felt a migraine come on. This can be useful. But if your trigger is a change in weather or a drop in hormone levels during your menstrual cycle, it’s going to be extremely hard – if not impossible – to eliminate these triggers from your life.
New research by the Journal of Headache and Pain identifies inflammation as a key component in migraine attacks. The study found inflammation, which is our body’s immune response, signals protein clusters to stimulate neurons and cause pain. Therefore, getting to the root of the issue, making changes to eliminate chronic inflammation, can produce better results for migraine relief than limiting the medical response to triggers.
Key contributors to migraine related inflammation, according to recent research:
Stress: Prolonged stress leads to elevated cortisol in the body, which causes not only inflammation, but can disrupt the digestive system, reproductive system, and growth processes in the body.
Inflammatory foods: These include red and processed meat, soda and sugary beverages, refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, pasta, pastries, etc.), refined sugars, fried foods, and trans fats.
Excess weight: Research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis confirmed that fat cells inside the abdomen secrete molecules that can increase inflammation.
Low vitamin levels: If you’re low in Vitamin D, folate, magnesium, Riboflavin (B12) and CoQ10, you may be more prone to migraine headaches.
Not eating enough antioxidants: Foods such as berries, leafy greens, nuts, olive oil and fatty fish are all excellent sources of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.
Caffeine and alcohol: Women metabolize caffeine and alcohol more slowly than men, and while every individual is different in tolerance levels, limiting caffeine and alcohol to no more than 1-2 servings a day may help limit the negative effects both these toxins have on the body.
Not getting enough exercise: According to the American Migraine Foundation, regular exercise can help reduce the frequency of migraines. Exercise releases endorphins which are the body’s natural pain killers, and it helps reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and maintain a healthy weight—all things that can contribute to inflammation and subsequently, migraine headaches.
Dr. Rajal Patel is a physician at WellcomeMD’s medical concierge clinic in Mooresville, North Carolina. Dr. Patel is proficient in all aspects of primary care, with expertise in gut and hormone health and considerable experience treating patients with chronic conditions. To help her patients find optimal health, she focuses on the underlying lifestyle behaviors, stressors, and environmental exposures that drive disease.
She is board-certified in Family Medicine and a diplomate of American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.
