Health, Healthcare, Mental Health, Women's Health
Although you may think that a headache is just a pain above the neck, over a hundred different types of head and facial pain are recognised by the International Headache Society, based on their different causes and symptoms. Of these, the most common are tension headache and migraine. If you experience recurrent headaches, it’s important to have a medical assessment to identify the underlying cause, as different types of headache need different treatments.
If you are diagnosed with migraine or tension headache, the following tactics may help.
Rob Hobson, Healthspan Head of Nutrition says, ‘Different people have different food triggers, and keeping a food diary can help to pinpoint any culprits. Keep the diary for long enough to cover 3 migraine attacks and look for patterns – trigger foods are usually eaten or drunk 24 to 48 hours before a migraine occurs. Foods that are most commonly implicated include spices, milk and dairy products such as cheese, chocolate, German sausages, seafood, wine, coffee, garlic, citrus fruit, fried foods, tomatoes, nuts and seeds, and any foods containing additives’.
Try cutting back on dietary fat as one study found that reducing intakes from 66g to 28g of fat daily significantly reduced migraine frequency, intensity, duration and the need for medication. Healthy fats, such as olive oil and fish oils may help to reduce the frequency, duration and severity of migraine – possibly due to their anti-inflammatory effects.
Red wine and spirits are well-known migraine triggers, and it now seems that alcoholic drinks in general can trigger a headache for around one in three people who suffer from migraine. The effect is most likely due to direct toxicity to brain cells rather than through changes in blood vessel dilation. If your diary shows an association, it’s worth giving up altogether.
Missing meals is a common migraine trigger, and is related to stress responses from low blood glucose levels. One survey of 123 people who experience migraines found that fasting was one of the most common triggers. Aim to eat regularly and have a healthy snack, such as fruit, every 2 to 4 hours.
Going all night without food raises stress hormones in a similar way to skipping meals or fasting during the day. Researchers who analysed over a thousand food diaries, from 34 people with regular migraine, found that having a night-time snack significantly reduce the odds of experiencing a headache on the following day by 40%.
Gum-chewing is a recognised cause of chronic headache due to muscle tension in scalp muscles. When 30 teenagers with recurrent headaches stopped chewing gum for a month, 26 reported significant improvement, and 63% experienced a full cure. When they restarted chewing gum, however, their headaches recurred within days.
Rob Hobson, Healthspan Nutritionist says, ‘People with migraine may have underlying vitamin deficiencies and as you grow older it actually becomes harder for our bodies to absorb the vital nutrients it needs’. A review of seven studies suggests that taking vitamin B2 (riboflavin) supplements can reduce the frequency and duration of migraine attacks in adults with no serious side effects. There is also growing recognition that vitamin D receptors in the brain may influence mood and headaches plus magnesium is involved in the regulation of blood vessel dilation and low magnesium intakes are associated with migraine headaches.
Low levels of co-enzyme Q10 reduce energy production in cells and are associated with headaches. A trial involving 130 adults with migraine showed that taking a combination of co-enzyme Q10, magnesium and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) reduced the number of headache days per month from 6.2 days down to 4.4 days within three months. These three nutrients are found together in a number of foods, especially wholegrains, legumes, nuts and green leafy vegetables so aim to eat more of these; seafood is also a good source of CoQ10 and magnesium. Try Healthspan Co-enzyme Q10* 100mg 60 tablets £16.95.
Dr Dick Middleton, Chair of the British Herbal Medicine Association says, ‘Feverfew is a traditional herbal medicine which is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties. Its approved use is for the prevention of migraine headaches which can last for hours or days, and may be preceded by warning signs. When the herb is chewed or taken orally it can very occasionally cause mouth ulcers and swelling and numbness of the mouth. Modern-day tablet and capsule forms of the herb help to prevent such a reaction. Good quality feverfew products can be difficult to identify – a good quality product will always display the Traditional Herbal Registration ‘THR’ logo on their pack.’
There are a number of products on the market such as Natures Aid MigraEeze, MigraHerb and Healthspan’s Feverfew Migraine Relief*, which is a traditional herbal medicine for migraine, and the results of six clinical trials show that this herb is more effective than a placebo, with no major safety concerns or adverse effects.
Exposure to pure-wavelength green light can reduce the severity of migraine headache by at least 20%. Scientists are developing a light bulb that emits a pure, narrow band wavelength of green light at low intensity, as well as sunglasses that block all but this narrow band of pure green light. In the meantime, green lenses that block red and blue light have been launched to reduce light sensitivity during a headache.
Cooling the head causes dilated blood vessels to constrict, helping to relieve migraine. Cooling the brain also appears to improve sleep. Gel-filled caps which are kept in the fridge, and cooling strips to place on the forehead are available. Swiping a levomenthol stick across your forehead such as 4Head* can also help with its rapid cooling action relieving most tension headaches within 15 minutes. Avoid eating ice-cream, however, which can trigger a headache in some people.
The symptoms of many migraine headaches involve the trigeminal nerve, one branch of which ends above the eye socket, and within the forehead. A device known as Cefaly II can reduce migraine symptoms by generating micro-impulses to relax muscles in the forehead and apply neurostimulation to the supraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve. When used for 20 minutes a day, Cefaly reduces migraine symptoms in 40% to 50% of migraine sufferers. It takes up to six weeks before full improvement is felt. Cefaly II* available from Amazon £336.00.
Researchers have found that if you make love when you have a headache, the pain can be re-triggered every time you make love for at least six weeks afterwards. In some cases, the re-triggering of headache effect lasts for a year or longer.
Easier said than done but there are various techniques and products out there to help. Simple breathing exercises can help or Dr Megan Arroll, psychologist, suggests reciting a poem in your head as this can also be grounding. Baking, cooking and learning to delegate can all help. Plus, there are a range of products out there to help with stress such as A.Vogel’s Stress Relief Daytime which is a herbal remedy containing freshly harvested valerian and hops 15ml £4.50.
Injecting Botox, botulinum toxin, into sites around the scalp relaxes muscles and is increasingly used to treat migraine and chronic daily tension headache. 75% of people receiving treatment report either complete relief or only experience mild headache, compared with no improvement in those receiving sham injections.
Dr Sarah Brewer is a Medical Nutritionist, GP and author of Eat Well, Stay Well* available from Amazon
Visit Dr Sarah Brewer’s website Nutritional Medicine
Related article: Magnesium – why you need to take it more seriously
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