Beating migraine naturally

QUESTION

I’ve been suffering from terrible migraines for the last two or three years. Can you recommend any effective drug-free solutions?

S.L., via email

ANSWER

Migraine is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and in the UK alone, some 86 million workdays are lost to the condition every year.1

Besides severe headaches, symptoms also include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and increased sensitivity to light and noise.

Prescription drugs like methysergide, sumatriptan and ergotamine can help, but they can come with an array of side-effects ranging from aches and pains to fibrosis, where scar tissue accumulates in the organs.2 

Happily, natural medicine has plenty to offer when it comes to migraine. 

Your best option would be to work with an experienced naturopathic practitioner who can help you determine what’s causing your migraines and then devise a personalized treatment plan. But here’s a comprehensive guide to what works. 

Hopefully, a combination of these approaches will help you beat the condition for good.

Figure out food triggers

Certain foods and drinks have been linked to migraines, especially cheese, milk, chocolate, red wine and beer.3 It’s particular chemicals within foods, such as tyramine, phenylethylamine, tyrosine, monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame, caffeine, sulfites, nitrates and histamine, that are thought to be the culprits.4

Keep a food diary to try to pinpoint potential triggers and then cut them from your diet for at least three months to see if you notice a difference. In one trial of children with migraine, an elimination diet led to full recovery in 93 percent of them.5

Supplement

These nutritional supplements can help to manage migraine.

Magnesium.  A lack of magnesium has been linked to migraine,6 and supplementing with the mineral can cut the frequency of attacks.7

Suggested dosage: 360–600 mg/day 

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This vitamin-like antioxidant is found in every cell of the body, but is commonly low in migraine sufferers.8 According to a recent review of six studies, supplementing with CoQ10 can reduce both the duration and frequency of
migraine attacks.9

Suggested dosage: 100 mg, three times/day of ubiquinol (the ‘body ready’ form)

Vitamin B2. Several studies show that this vitamin, also known as riboflavin, can reduce migraine frequency and duration.10

Suggested dosage: 400 mg/day

5-HTP.This naturally occurring amino acid appears to be just as effective as the migraine drug methysergide. Both brought about a significant improvement in roughly 70 percent of sufferers in one study. It’s most useful for reducing the intensity and duration of attacks rather than their frequency, the researchers said.11

Suggested dosage: 200–600 mg/day

Omega-3s. The evidence suggests that these beneficial fatty acids found in fish oil can reduce the duration of migraine attacks, although not their frequency or severity.12

Suggested dosage: try Wiley’s Finest Peak Omega-3 Liquid (www.wileysfinest.co.uk; www.wileysfinest.com), which provides over 2,000 mg of EPA and DHA per teaspoon

Make time to meditate

Mindfulness meditation, which involves sitting quietly and focusing on your thoughts, breathing and body sensations, has been found to be helpful for people who suffer from migraines and other types of headache.14 This may be because it reduces stress, which is a well-known trigger for migraines and may also play a role in the initial development of the condition.15 There are lots of free mindfulness meditation videos available on YouTube to guide you through the technique.

Strike a pose

Yoga has been shown to be effective both as an add-on therapy for migraine and as a stand-alone treatment. It appears to reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks and has the bonus of also reducing anxiety and depression.13

Healed by humming

See the WDDTY May 2020 issue for how one man beat his migraines with a simple humming technique—and how to try it for yourself. 

Go keto

Emerging evidence suggests that a ketogenic diet (high in fats, low in carbs) may be an effective treatment for preventing migraines, possibly by restoring brain excitability and metabolism and counteracting ‘neuroinflammation.’16 

In one trial of overweight migraine sufferers, a low-calorie ketogenic diet (compared to a low-calorie non-ketogenic diet) reduced the frequency of migraine attacks after just one month.17

According to WDDTY contributor Dr Sarah Myhill, the healthiest type of ketogenic diet is one that also follows Paleo diet principles. See her book, The PK Cookbook (Hammersmith Books, 2018) for a simple guide and recipes.

HIIT it off

Exercise is proving to be a useful treatment for migraine.18 In particular, high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—where you alternate periods of intense exercise with less intense recovery periods—might be the most effective. When scientists compared the effects of twice-weekly HIIT sessions with moderate continuous exercise and a control intervention, HIIT had the best results, significantly reducing the number of migraine days among sufferers.19

There are many simple HIIT workouts available online, but bear in mind that exercise can be a migraine trigger for some people.

Try herbs 

Butterbur (Petasites hybridus). A standardized extract of this herb can significantly reduce the frequency of migraine attacks.20 

Suggested dosage: 75 mg twice daily of a standardized, alkaloid-free extract, containing at least 15 percent petasins (the main active ingredient) 

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). Several studies show this herb is an effective remedy for migraine.21 In one, it reduced pain intensity as well as the severity of symptoms associated with migraine such as vomiting, nausea and sensitivity to noise and light.22 

Suggested dosage: herbalist Meilyr James recommends taking 5–10 drops daily of a 1:3 tincture in a little water. Or eat one tablespoon of fresh chopped leaf daily

Ginger. Taken as a powder, ginger appears to be just as effective as the migraine drug sumatriptan for reducing the severity of headaches, but has fewer side-effects.23 

Suggested dosage: follow the label instructions, or see right for a fresh recipe

Stimulate your brain

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive brain stimulation therapy, has been found to reduce the severity of headaches in chronic migraine sufferers.24  If you want to find out more about this therapy and whether it’s right for you, contact SmartTMS in the UK (www.smarttms.co.uk) and the Clinical TMS Society in the US (www.clinicaltmssociety.org).

Sort out your sleep

Migraine sufferers are five times more likely to have severe sleep disturbances.25 Speak to your doctor to find out if you may have an underlying sleep disorder, as addressing it may put a stop to your headaches.26

Get to the point

Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese needling technique, is a good option for preventing migraines; it’s at least as effective as common migraine drugs.27 To find a qualified acupuncturist near you, visit www.acunow.org.

Grated ginger migraine remedy 

According to herbalist Meilyr James, owner of the Herbal Clinic in Swansea, Wales (www.herbalclinic-swansea.co.uk), ginger is useful when you start to feel a migraine coming on. The herb can help prevent its progression as it’s an anti-inflammatory and relaxes tightness of the blood vessels, he says. (Constriction of the vessels in the brain is thought to contribute to the pain of migraine.) It also has painkilling properties and can help with any associated nausea.  

What to do: 

•  Grate a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (around 10 g) and infuse in one pint of boiling water for 20 minutes.

•  If the ginger is organic, there is no need to peel it first, simply wash it well.

•  Sweeten with honey and drink while hot (reheat in a pan if necessary).

•  Drink ¾ cup every half an hour until the pain subsides.

•  Alternatively, you can use dried ginger (be careful if you have a sensitive stomach): use a pinch, mixed in a little water, and drink up to three times daily.

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