Nearly 40 million people in the USA and over 1 billion people in the world suffer from a migraine. There is almost one person in every household in the USA that suffers from headaches.
A migraine is the most common illness among people, but the scientists are still researching the reasons for it. A migraine usually affects people between 30 and 50 years, the most productive and important period of our lives. By this, they influence the familiar, financial and social life in that period of time. The World Health Organization claims that migraines are the major reason for worldwide disability.
Also, they can cost over $20 billion every year in terms of medical care and work productivity. This cost is even greater for people who suffer from chronic rather than episodic migraines.
Migraines Are Worse Than Ordinary Headaches
A typical migraine is not an ordinary headache, but a more serious situation which includes a more severe pain on both sides of the head. They are results of a neurological disorder, most common ones, characterized by a tendency of repeating headaches.
Due to the influence of hormones, migraines are more common in women rather than in men and occur as attacks with different levels of intensity, sometimes just on one side of the head. They are not just a short headache but can last for a couple of hours or for days and some physical activity just can make the situation worse.
Migraines can be accompanied by some other symptoms, including blurred vision, sensitivity to light, smell, sound, vomiting, numbness and many others. Its medical care can raise up the family costs for 70%, even for just one person suffering from a migraine.
There can be various symptoms between the headaches as a result of the different types of migraine headaches:
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- Cluster Migraine
- Chronic Migraine
- Episodic Migraine
- Basilar Migraine
- Hemiplegic Migraine
- Retinal Migraine
- Optical Migraine
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- Abdominal Migraine
- Migraine with aura
- Migraine without aura
- Status Migrainous
- Transformed Migraine
- Menstrual Migraine
- Vestibular Migraine.
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Is There Some Relationship Between Vitamin Deficiency and Migraine?
The types of migraines are named according to the type of symptoms you experience. The scientists from the Cincinnati Medical Center, eported that there is a significant relationship between migraines and vitamin deficiencies as a result of the past researchers. However, other studies discarded this relationship.
Dr. Suzanne Hagler, a leading headache doctor from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, estimated more than 7000 participants.
The scientists took a minimum level of riboflavin, coenzyme Q10, vitamin D and folate because a great number of the examined people had mild vitamin deficiencies.
The research has shown that the women and girls experience a CoQ10 deficiency while the boys from vitamin D deficiency. They had also found a significant relationship between migraines, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in women. People with a chronic migraine had an increased risk of this kind of vitamin deficiency in contrast to those suffering from an episodic migraine.
Some of the patients were given some preventative therapy and some other were given only supplements in order the scientists to decide whether some supplementation therapy can prevent migraines.
The research pointed out that there was an alarming 20 to 50% of the examined people whose levels of vitamins was below average. The National Academy of Sciences Dietary Reference Intakes (DrIs), has determined national levels of vitamin deficiencies in order to prevent some diseases and to improve health. However, the percent of people who experience a vitamin deficiency is relatively higher.
Other Significant Vitamin For Those Who Suffer From Migraine
There have been many studies that have associated vitamin and mineral deficiencies with the problem of a migraine.
In a study in 2012, the scientist pointed out the significant relation between magnesium and certain processes in the body.
In the body, only less than 2% of magnesium can be measured because the remaining percent is stored in the bones and inside the cells.
If there is not enough magnesium, there is a perfect condition for many diseases such as depression, aggression, and many others.
According to the scientist, the people who suffer from a migraine have experiences magnesium deficiency as a result of many reasons, including poor absorption, increased excretion, renal wasting, low nutrition, stress, etc.
Never mind the reason, people who suffer from a migraine have a tendency to magnesium deficiency.
Because the level of magnesium cannot be easily tested, it is suggested for migraine sufferers to take an oral magnesium supplement. However, the chronic use of the medications leads to damage to the kidney of a liver. For that reason, everyone should start with some nutritional strategies rather than with medications.
According to the Association of Migraine Disorders, it is suitable to take some magnesium supplements for at least 3 months in order to get some results or some supplements with riboflavin and CoQ10.
Is This The Solution For Migraine?
Suzy Cohen in the 18-minute video, called America’s Pharmacist, speaks about the nutritional aspect in terms of migraines. The leading author in the study, Hagler claimed that it is believed that the migraine sufferers are more likely to be vitamin deficient than the rest of the population.
Some other stories have supported this fact because it is true that those who suffer from migraine are deficient in CoQ10, vitamin D and riboflavin. The riboflavin and CoQ10 deficiencies and the positive results from the supplements support the theory claiming that the migraines are a mitochondrial disorder.
Another research using vitamin D supplements has shown a reduced C-reactive protein or so-called CRP and an important reduction of the frequency of headaches. However, no other studies have found the scientific link between migraines and the deficiency of vitamin D.
Harler also claims that there is no a significant improvement with the vitamin supplements and the scientist did not always find out whether the participants are vitamin deficient before they are given supplements.
He also points out that a further research is needed in order to find out whether vitamin supplements are effective in migraine headaches and whether those with a mild deficiency will benefit from these supplements.
Turn Down the Light
If you have problems with your migraine, you are aware of the fact that they are sensitive to light. Migraine sufferers experience this state of photo sensitiveness during the migraine attack and in order to relieve the pain they lie in dark.
A research from the Medical School at Harvard showed that even blind people who suffer from a migraine, still having melanopsin receptors were sensitive to light.
In a full spectrum, light is a nothing but a blue wavelength and many devices and LED lights produce blue light. This increases your pain even more because the light activates the trigeminal nerve, the one that is related to the pain of migraines.
Another study published in Brain, a journal from the Medical School at Harvard, exposed the people suffering from a migraine to bright blue, amber, red and green lights. The participants were asked to react to each of the lights. All of the bright lights in some way increased the migraine pain, except one. Almost 20% of the participants reacted that the green light reduces and relieves them from pain.
There are still no sunglasses or light bulbs that emit some green light and are cost effective, but there are sunglasses that block blue light and prevent you from experiencing migraine. This protects you from exposure to the digital devices while you are in migraine pain.
Practice Vitamin-Rich Food and Healthy Lifestyle
Although there are significant supplements that may improve your vitamin deficiency, it is very important to include more vitamins in your food before you try some supplements. Your body can more easily absorb the vitamins from a vitamin-rich diet rather than a vitamin-rich supplement. By a healthy diet, you absorb the vitamins in the form that your body can use immediately.
You should bear in mind to choose a non-genetically modified food, organic products that will prevent the risk of intake of some toxins.
Magnesium-rich Food:
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Dark Leafy Greens
- Wild Alaskan salmon
- Bananas
- Avocado
- Yogurt (of organic milk and with no sugar).
Riboflavin-rich Food:
CoQ10 -rich Food:
- Pastured chicken
- Herring
- Rainbow trout
- Sesame
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower.
In What Way to Increase Your Vitamin D?
Sunbathing is the perfect way to get some vitamin D that your body needs. You can find some more information about that in my article Little Sunshine Mistakes That Can Give You Cancer Instead of Vitamin D.
Why Is Vitamin D Important In The Prevention Of Diseases?
The vitamin D plays an important role in the prevention of diseases and improving the optimal health. It affects almost 3000 genes in the body, out of 30,000 and vitamin D receptors are placed throughout the whole body.
For example, the necessary vitamin D levels can reduce the risk of cancer by 60%, especially some types of cancer, including ovarian, prostate, skin, lungs and pancreatic cancer.
How Can Vitamin D Testing Improve Your Health?
No matter what process or disease is controlled, the vitamin D has a very important role.
The Grassroots Health has designed the D*Action Project by Dr. Robert Heaney as the research director. It points out how you can act on known science with a consensus of experts but even without institutional lethargy. This project involves more members in order to spread this health movement throughout the world. In you want to participate, purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the instructions to register.
The participants, agree to test their levels of vitamin D twice a year, during the 5-year study. Every six months, there is a fee of $65 for your sponsorship of this project as well as some electronic reports for your progress.
Grassroots Health has started a new project called Protect our Children NOW. It aims to include at least 500 pregnant women to participate and to increase the serum levels to at least 40 ng/ml.
This project’s aim is to reduce the preterm births, at least 50% of reduction. It is also being supported by the scientists from various universities worldwide.
Via Mercola