migraines and supplements

health-wellness-nutrition-energy

Migraine Headache Relief – Can Vitamins Help?

24 February 2010 149 views No Comment

Non-prescription migraine relief generally falls into two categories: over-the-counter (OTC) medications and ‘alternative’ therapies. Over-the-counter items include painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen as well as various medications for easing stomach discomfort that often occurs with migraines. Alternative therapies include the use of herbs, nutritional supplements, massage, psychotherapy and physical therapy.

Scientific studies suggest that there is a strong genetic predisposition for migraine headaches, although the hereditary nature of migraines is still being determined. It is suggested that people who experience migraines may have inherited a genetic abnormality that affects blood vessel regulation. Researchers indicate that there is a physical migraine pain center located in the brainstem and when surrounding blood vessels expand, inflammation occurs leading to the pain experienced during a migraine.

The pain associated with migraine headaches that is experienced on a regular basis can be debilitating. Many people turn to alternative medicine for help and acupuncture, reflexology, massage, relaxation or other treatments may also be helpful. There is also a growing body of evidence that vitamin supplements may help some migraine sufferers.

A small, but significant, study was recently conducted at the Genomics Research Centre at the Griffith University in Australia utilizing vitamin B and folic acid as a means of reducing the frequency of migraine attacks. A large number of people within this small study (50) experienced improvements after taking these supplements for six months. This may be due in part to an alteration in the MTHFR gene that seems to be related to migraine risk. This altered gene form may lead to higher than normal homocysteine levels in the blood and excess homocysteine has been linked to higher cardiovascular risk and stroke. Since both vitamin B and folic acid help to reduce excess homocysteine, this vitamin combination may help to reduce the number of migraine headaches that people suffer. More studies are planned that examine the benefits derived from vitamin B and folic acid vitamin therapy.

Two additional studies, one citing research that vitamin B2 (riboflavin) may play a key role in preventing migraine headaches, used on its own or in combination with the other B vitamins and the other study citing vitamin B12 supplementation in a nasal spray shows promise. The thinking behind use of vitamin B12 lies in its ability to reduce nitric oxide in the blood.

Also there is anecdotal evidence that taking feverfew on a regular basis can help prevent migraines. On a personal note I had frequent and terrible migraines at one point in my life and a friend recommended feverfew. It doesn’t make a migraine go away but it does seem to help build up some sort of resistance to headaches. I certainly never suffered as much again.

On a cautionary note, none of the studies listed above have been conducted in large clinical trials. If you wish to try taking these supplements to see if they improve your migraines, we suggest that you speak with your physician first. Make sure that the dosages are safe over a 3-6 month period of time. It also makes a lot of sense to keep a daily chart detailing foods eaten, exercise taken, vitamins ingested and other relevant information to track the effectiveness of various treatment options.