Migraines are a very common issue that affects many people nowadays and can continue from several hours to 3 days. This health problem is one the least treated medical problem due to its environmental, genetic and neurological nature. Also, not all symptoms that people experience are the same.
One of the most common are: searing pain (usually not only one-side), and throbbing, and some people can experience auras. In addition, they can cause sweating, chills, vomiting, nausea, fever, and sensitivity to sound smells, and light.
Worldwide, over 300 million are faced with this problem or precisely 6-7% of men and 15-18% of women. There are over 20 million migraine attacks every day.
Reasons for Migraine
The occurrence of migraines was analyzed in various research, but not a single research could provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for migraines. Although conflicting, the majority of the theories claim that the reasons for migraines include:- Increased blood flow in the brain. Some studies point out that headaches do not occur prior to decreased blood flow, but by an increase of almost 300%. However, when the migraine attack operates at the highest level, circulation tends to be normal or even slightly reduced.
- A neurological disorder as a result of nerve cell activity. It is believed that migraines are a result of a neurological disorder because of the nerve cell activity that moves across your brain and causes pain.
- Changes in the level of serotonin. It is also believed that migraine pain is a result of inflamed and swollen blood vessels in the brain.
- Vascular constriction in the brain. Migraines can be provoked by constriction of the blood vessels and a decrease of blood flow, stretching and dilation of blood vessels which affect the neurons and they indicate pain.
Deficiency in Vitamins and Migraines
The latest studies show that vitamins folic acid and B6, and B12 supplements can reduce migraines over six months. The previous research affirmed the 2004 study’s statement in the European Journal that claims that you can avoid migraine attacks by consumption of high doses of B2 or riboflavin. Some gene mutations and dysfunctions can increase the levels of homocysteine production, thus making you more prone to migraine attacks. It was further discovered that vitamins B6 and B12 can reduce these levels of homocysteine. The researchers also point out that depending on your genotype, you may need a higher or lower dose. Professor Lyn Griffiths states that if all patients receive the same dose of vitamins for the same period of time, it would be expected that those with TT genotypes can have reduced enzymatic rate and metabolize less homocysteine in relation to C allele carrier that can have a small reduction of homocysteine and frequent migraine. So, the TT genotypes have a greater risk of disease but need a larger dose of vitamins in order to provide the same effect as C alleles. Prof. Griffiths claims that their purpose is to determine the optimal dose of B vitamins depending on the genetic profile. She points out that the success of this trial was that the inexpensive and safe vitamin supplements can release migraine symptoms. In addition, such migraine symptoms can be a result of a vitamin deficiency. One year ago, at the 50th Meeting of the American Headache Society was indicated that around 42% of the patients who suffered from chronic migraine experience vitamin D deficiency. This can further provide different health consequences of a deficiency in Vitamin D. Via Healthy Food House | Healthy Food House
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