Are Migraines Making You Miserable?

Migraines are more than really bad headaches. In addition to throbbing head pain, migraine symptoms include sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, dizziness and sudden mood changes. They can cause agonizing pain that leaves you huddled in a dark room with a cold cloth on your forehead for hours or even days.

Are you tired of unpredictable migraines derailing all your plans? Let’s take a look at what triggers migraines and key lifestyle changes and supplements that can help.

Who is at Higher Risk of Migraines?

Genetics play a big role in who gets migraines. According to research, migraine tendencies are hereditary – but your genes only speak to your risk of getting migraines. Lifestyle and environmental factors can determine which gene expressions are turned on and off.

So even if migraines run in your family, you may never typically experience one. But if you go through a period (and who doesn’t?) of high stress, bad food choices and too little sleep, a migraine may strike out of the blue.

Women Are More Likely Than Men to Get Migraines

Women are three times as likely than men to get migraines. Changes in estrogen levels are a key migraine trigger factor, so the fluctuation of a monthly cycle, the onset of menopause, or a hormonal imbalance that is difficult to predict can all lead to issues. It’s not surprising men are at much lower migraine risk.

Common Migraine Triggers and How to Avoid Them

Often wrongly associated with excessive alcohol consumption, Rhinophyma rosacea primarily affects the nose. It causes the skin on your nose to become thickened and bumpy, with visible pores and broken blood vessels. This subtype usually occurs alongside at least one other subtype and affects more men than women.

Hormonal Changes

Changes in estrogen levels are key migraine triggers. Key life events that feature estrogen such as your period, pregnancy and menopause are all times when migraines are more likely to strike.

Low Estrogen

Low estrogen levels often go hand in hand with low serotonin levels, which can further contribute to a migraine by encouraging release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Not to mention the wild mood swings.

Stress Related Hormone Fluctuations

Stress interplays with our hormone pathways as well, creating the imbalance that triggers the migraine. Have you noticed that you get migraines more often after a difficult day? You’re not alone!

Foods and Beverages

Migraine food triggers are as individual as people. Food Sensitivity Testing can identify your personal food triggers, so you can avoid them. Here are the biggest migraine offenders:

● Alcohol (especially red wine), coffee

● Processed foods

● Gluten

● Dairy

● Sugar

● Aged cheese

● Additives like MSG, nitrates or aspartame

Sensory and Toxin Overload

Avoid situations that involve bright lights, loud sounds and exposure to chemical smells. Paint, perfume and cleaning products are the worst triggers, as they contain hormone-disrupting environmental toxins.

Check Your Personal Care Products

Avoid chemical-laden personal care products and cleaners, and opt for more natural choices. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a great resource for toxin-free living. Their Guide to Healthy Cleaning rates more than 2,500 cleaning products and their Skin Deep Cosmetics Database rates over 87,000 products for toxicity risk. Don’t forget about sunscreen! Their 2020 Guide to Sunscreens is now out, featuring the safest sunscreens for sports, children, and moisturizers with SPF.

Weather Changes

You may notice you get migraines when it’s very humid, or on rainy days. Barometric pressure is the most common weather trigger, but you might also be reacting to changes in humidity, temperature, wind and sun conditions.

Limit Your Migraine Triggers At Any One Time

You can’t control the weather, but you can control how many triggers you’re exposed to at the same time if you know the weather is about to change. Some weather apps include ‘migraine forecasts’. Barometric pressure can change hours or even days before we actually see a storm. So if a migraine strikes on a clear, sunny day, chances are a storm is brewing. Consider yourself an early-warning storm system!

Daily Routine Changes

Our bodies function best with a consistent food and sleep routine. Skipping lunch to finish that work project? Staying up late to do laundry? Skimping on your water intake?

Too much disruption to your ideal routine and migraines could result. Try to keep at least one routine consistent, and not change too much at a time. Add alarms to your phone to keep sleep and meals on track. Your body will thank you by not going in migraine mode!

Medications

Fried and spicy foods, drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine, hot soups and drinks, and foods that contain cinnamaldehyde (like cinnamon, citrus fruit, chocolate and tomatoes) are all high on the list of foods to avoid if you have rosacea.

Pass on the hot sauce, and instead sprinkle some fresh herbs or lemon juice on your meal to punch up the flavor. Try iced decaf versions of your favorite teas and coffees – lavender and mint make calming and delicious iced teas for example!

Preventing or Reducing Migraines

Did you see any familiar triggers in this list? The tricky thing is that what triggered you last week may not trigger you this week. Here are some tips that may help you prevent your next migraine, or reduce its severity:

Keep a Migraine Diary

Keeping a migraine diary for one to three months will reveal your migraine trigger patterns. With so many potential triggers, it’s vital to know what combination of circumstances will push you over your personal migraine threshold. Apps such as Canadian Migraine Tracker, Migraine Buddy and Migraine Monitor make it easy to track your triggers. Paper diary templates are available too.

Yoga & Relaxation

As stress and migraines are closely linked, any relaxation practice like mediation, Tai Chi or breathing exercises will reduce your migraine risk. Regular yoga practice can help by reducing anxiety and upper body tension, improving circulation and promoting relaxation. A May 2020 study concluded that “Yoga as an add-on therapy in migraine is superior to medical therapy alone.”

A Nutrient Rich Diet

Which nutrients are effective for migraine treatment? Research shows that magnesium (a.k.a. the relaxation mineral) and CoQ10 supplementation can significantly decrease migraine frequency, duration and severity.

Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine also has much to offer migraine sufferers. Feverfew and ginger are both ancient herbal migraine remedies, and modern clinical research now supports their efficacy. Ginger also makes a delicious after dinner tea to help you relax and digest!

Don’t Let Your Migraines Linger Untreated

The longer migraines disrupt your life, the more likely that additional issues like depression and anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, constipation and chronic pain in other areas of the body may appear.

We can look at genetic testing to see if you’re at higher migraine risk, Food Sensitivity Testing to find your food triggers, and check your hormone levels to get the full picture. Get in touch with us and let’s work together on a personalized treatment plan with nourishing nutrients that will get you out of non-functioning migraine mode, and ready to face all life’s challenges pain-free.

Migraine Resources

American Migraine Foundation

Migraine Research Foundation

Association of Migraine Disorders

Migraine Trust

References

Aggarwal M, Puri V, Puri S. Serotonin and CGRP in migraine. Ann Neurosci. 2012;19(2):88‐94. doi:10.5214/ans.0972.7531.12190210

Anttila V, Wessman M, Kallela M, Palotie A. Genetics of migraine. Handb Clin Neurol. 2018;148:493‐503. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-64076-5.00031-4

D’Onofrio, F., Raimo, S., Spitaleri, D. et al. Usefulness of nutraceuticals in migraine prophylaxis. Neurol Sci 38, 117–120 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017-2901-1

de Boer I, van den Maagdenberg AMJM, Terwindt GM. Advance in genetics of migraine. Curr Opin Neurol. 2019;32(3):413‐421. doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000687

Edvinsson L. Role of CGRP in Migraine. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2019;255:121‐130. doi:10.1007/164_2018_201

Ferroni P, Barbanti P, Spila A, et al. Circulating Biomarkers in Migraine: New Opportunities for Precision Medicine. Curr Med Chem. 2019;26(34):6191‐6206.

doi:10.2174/0929867325666180622122938

Ghorbani Z, Togha M, Rafiee P, et al. Vitamin D in migraine headache: a comprehensive review on literature. Neurol Sci. 2019;40(12):2459‐2477. doi:10.1007/s10072-019-04021-z

Gormley P, Anttila V, Winsvold BS, et al. Corrigendum: Meta-analysis of 375,000 individuals identifies 38 susceptibility loci for migraine. Nat Genet. 2016;48(10):1296. doi:10.1038/ng1016-1296c

Kumar A, Bhatia R, Sharma G, et al. Effect of yoga as add-on therapy in migraine (CONTAIN): A randomized clinical trial [published online ahead of print, 2020 May 6]. Neurology. 2020;10.1212/WNL.0000000000009473. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000009473

Maghbooli M, Golipour F, Esfandabadi A, Yousefi M. Comparison between the efficacy of ginger and sumatriptan in the ablative treatment of the common migraine. Phytotherapy Res. 2014;28:412-415.

Mauskop A, Varughese J. Why all migraine patients should be treated with magnesium. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2012;119(5):575‐579. doi:10.1007/s00702-012-0790-2

Nattagh-Eshtivani E, Sani MA, Dahri M, et al. The role of nutrients in the pathogenesis and treatment of migraine headaches: Review. Biomed Pharmacother. 2018;102:317‐325. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2018.03.059

Pareek A, Suthar M, Rathore GS, Bansal V. Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.): A systematic review. Pharmacogn Rev. 2011;5(9):103‐110. doi:10.4103/0973-7847.79105

Wells RE, Beuthin J, Granetzke L. Complementary and Integrative Medicine for Episodic Migraine: an Update of Evidence from the Last 3 Years. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2019;23(2):10. Published 2019 Feb 21. doi:10.1007/s11916-019-0750-8

Zeng Z, Li Y, Lu S, Huang W, Di W. Efficacy of CoQ10 as supplementation for migraine: A meta-analysis. Acta Neurol Scand. 2019;139(3):284‐293. doi:10.1111/ane.13051

CALL US TODAY! 630-777-5912