Better Nutrition May 2019
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Drink lots<br />
of water,<br />
and only<br />
water if<br />
possible.<br />
and putting pressure on the brain), then<br />
ice at the base of your neck and lying flat<br />
in a dark room will help. Sometimes the<br />
ice pack works better over the eyes.<br />
Sometimes pressure, like tying a<br />
bandana around your temples rather<br />
tightly will relieve headache pain. If that<br />
is true, the homeopathic remedy Bryonia<br />
may also help, especially if you tend to<br />
have dry mouth and lips. If the headache<br />
is always on the right side, homeopathic<br />
Sanguinaria may help. If left-sided, try<br />
Lachesis. If you have a dull, hammering<br />
headache at the base of your skull, your<br />
scalp is sore to touch, and it feels like there’s<br />
a band around your head, try Gelsemium.<br />
Homeopathic remedies tend to work<br />
quickly—within 20 minutes—and are<br />
widely available over-the-counter in 30C<br />
potencies. Just one tiny tablet placed<br />
under your tongue is sufficient to assess<br />
whether the remedy will help. If it does<br />
help, continue with 1 tablet daily for 10<br />
days. If it helps a bit, try taking 1 tablet<br />
three times daily for 7–10 days.<br />
Research has also shown that hand<br />
temperature drops 2 or more degrees<br />
before a migraine begins. Warming your<br />
hands will reduce the severity of the<br />
headache, and may even abort it. So try<br />
placing your hands in warm water at<br />
the first hint of headache and assess if<br />
this method is helpful for you. Stanford<br />
Medical School has developed a device<br />
that warms the hands in a type of vacuum<br />
chamber that increases blood flow, which<br />
will, of course, warm the hands.<br />
Possible Food Triggers<br />
Folks who get frequent headaches tend<br />
to have a higher level of circulating<br />
histamine than others. Foods that you<br />
are allergic or sensitive to will cause<br />
your mast cells to dump histamine into<br />
the bloodstream, and this often results<br />
in a headache. The top food triggers for<br />
migraines include:<br />
1. Added sugar or artificial sweeteners<br />
2. Cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products<br />
3. Aged or processed meats (hot dogs,<br />
salami, pepperoni, bacon, ham)<br />
4. Chocolate<br />
5. MSG (sometimes called hydrolyzed<br />
vegetable protein or even natural<br />
flavoring)<br />
6. Alcoholic beverages<br />
7. Any liquid other than water<br />
8. Any food you are known to be allergic to<br />
9. Any food you note triggers a migraine<br />
Determining the exact cause can be<br />
tricky, so you have to be your own best<br />
detective. One approach is to commit to<br />
a hypoallergenic diet for a minimum of 2<br />
weeks. Avoid the “big 9” of wheat, dairy,<br />
corn, soy, peanuts, shellfish, tomatoes,<br />
eggs, and caffeine. The Whole Life<br />
<strong>Nutrition</strong> Cookbook by Alissa Segersten<br />
and Tom Malterre offers a collection of<br />
delicious recipes made without these<br />
problem ingredients.<br />
Sticking to a diet this<br />
strict isn’t easy, but it’s<br />
essential to determine<br />
whether your headaches<br />
are caused by food<br />
choices. If 2–6 weeks<br />
on a hypoallergenic diet<br />
doesn’t help your headaches,<br />
work with a naturopathic<br />
physician or well-trained nutritional<br />
therapist to look for less-common<br />
food allergens. These could be literally<br />
anything: garlic, chocolate, apples,<br />
strawberries, nuts. It takes some sleuthing<br />
to figure out, but it’s well worth the<br />
effort because irritating foods don’t just<br />
cause headaches. They can chronically<br />
irritate other parts of your system, such<br />
as blood vessels and the brain, as well.<br />
Healthy<br />
Tip!<br />
For more information<br />
on natural remedies for<br />
chronic headaches, visit<br />
DrEmilyKane.com.<br />
Other Ways to Stop the Pain<br />
Your built-in pain medication is endorphins,<br />
which reliably increase with exercise.<br />
Endorphins are similar to narcotics—they<br />
relieve and prevent pain—without the<br />
side effects. Aerobic exercise causes a<br />
rapid increase in endorphin levels. Build<br />
15–30 minutes of cardio exercise into your<br />
schedule, 3–5 times per week. Studies<br />
have documented a 50 percent or more<br />
decrease in headache frequency after<br />
6 weeks of exercise. So stick with it!<br />
Drink lots of water, and only water<br />
if possible. Kombucha is a wonderful<br />
drink, but like alcohol it may trigger a<br />
migraine. If you smoke, quit. If you use a<br />
rescue medicine more than twice a week<br />
you have definitely set yourself up for<br />
rebound headaches. I strongly advise that<br />
you work with a qualified natural health<br />
care provider to wean to a minimum use<br />
of rescue pharmaceuticals. Of course,<br />
I don’t want you to suffer, but long term,<br />
migraine medicine will jerk your blood<br />
pressure around and actually cause you<br />
to have more frequent headaches.<br />
The natural cellular enhancer CoQ10<br />
may help, especially if you trend toward<br />
high blood pressure. Try taking 200 mg<br />
daily. Some folks also find that 400 mg<br />
daily of vitamin B 2<br />
(riboflavin) helped<br />
their headaches. An herbal preparation<br />
of butterbur called Petadolex has<br />
also been shown to significantly<br />
reduce headaches. One study<br />
published in the journal<br />
Neurology showed a<br />
55 percent reduction in the<br />
use of rescue medication<br />
when Petadolex was added.<br />
Sometimes headaches are<br />
exacerbated by “thick blood,”<br />
which can be caused by high platelet<br />
or high fat levels in the blood. If your<br />
platelets or triglycerides are elevated,<br />
these can be modified. Both findings<br />
can improve with fish oil (I prefer wild<br />
Alaskan salmon-based actual fish, but<br />
capsules are okay, too: 2,000–3,000 mg<br />
daily). Stay hydrated (2 liters of water<br />
daily for a woman and 3 for a man, on<br />
average) and eliminate processed carbs<br />
(crackers, chips, cookies, bagels) from<br />
your diet.<br />
Do you have a question for Dr. Kane? Email it to editorial@<br />
betternutrition.com with “Ask the ND” in the subject line.<br />
MAY <strong>2019</strong> • 25