Posts Tagged ‘magnesium headache’
It can make a person feel so healthy and energetic to have smooth digestion and elimination, and it can feel equally as bad to experience an upset stomach, constipation or diarrhea. With infrequent bowel movements, the digestive tract can retain a large quantity of toxic material that can accumulate over time and contribute to many […]
Many people who experience the pain of headaches or migraines are reaching out for natural remedies, as they would prefer to avoid taking drugs or medications.
A headache is defined as a continuous pain in the head, whether it’s a chronic daily tension headache caused by muscle contractions or it’s a full blown migraine. A migraine is a throbbing, pounding pain that can last from a few hours to a few days. It can come from sensitivity to noise or light and often has an aspect of nausea or stomach upset.
Aside from over the counter drugs or prescription medications, there are a number of natural headache remedies that have been shown in studies to be effective. Here are some of the most studied ones.
B vitamins
In a study from Griffith University in Brisbane Australia, scientists studied 52 people diagnosed with migraines. They were split into two groups and one half received a daily dose of B vitamins that included 25 milligrams of B6, 2 milligrams of folic acid (vitamin B9), and 400 micrograms of B12, After six months, there was a significant lessening of migraine disability and symptoms from 60% to 30%. No reduction was seen in the placebo group.
Cayenne
The powerful active ingredient in Cayenne pepper is known as capsaicin. It is known for its ability to remedy pain and inflammation. One study on capsaicin for headache relief was published in the Clinical Journal of Pain. The researchers noted that capsaicin inhibits Substance P in the body, which is a substance that helps transmit pain signals. Substance P is a part of what creates feelings of pain and capsaicin helps to remove it. The study found that when capsaicin was applied topically to the nasal passages, the participants found relief for headaches, whereas those taking the placebo didn’t. Capsaicin is available as a pill, skin cream or nasal spray.
Gluten free diet
In the quest for natural remedies for headaches, scientists have researched whether or not there’s a connection between migraine headaches and the gluten found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. Gluten is a protein-like substance that gives the dough from grains its elastic texture. One study from the journal “Neurology” discovered that eating a gluten-free diet brought relief from migraines to 9 out of 10 of the participants. This leads to the possibility that foods containing gluten can bring on headaches.
Magnesium
Studies have found that people with migraine headaches have low concentrations of magnesium in their body. The word “cephalalgia” literally means head pain or headache. In a German study of 81 migraine patients published in the journal “Cephalalgia”, 42 percent of the people taking oral magnesium reduced both the duration and intensity of their migraine attacks. They also reduced their reliance on medications to control migraines.
Natural headache remedies can be a good first defense against headaches and migraines and can help one avoid strong medications that can come with side effects.
This natural health news is shared with you by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a provider of nutrition articles and effective natural remedies since 2001. Nutrition Breakthroughs, makes the original calcium and magnesium based natural sleep aid Sleep Minerals II, as well as Joints and More, the natural solution for joint relief, aches and pains, stronger hair and nails and more energy.
The abuse of prescription pain medications is at an all-time high. A recent White House study reported a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment centers and emergency rooms for abusing prescription pain drugs. The increase was tracked during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008 and it spans every gender, race, education and employment level, and all regions of the country. A government representative from the Substance Abuse program said, “The non-medical use of prescription pain relievers is now the second-most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the Nation.”
A battle has been raging for some time between potent natural remedies and addictive drugs and medicines. This is mostly due to the lack of easily understood knowledge about which natural options have been proven effective. In 400 B.C. the “Father of Medicine” Hippocrates said to his students “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. Mother Nature has provided us with two natural remedies for pain and insomnia that are backed by scientific studies as well as the test of time – calcium and magnesium.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) fact sheet on magnesium says that the mineral is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, and supports a healthy immune system. Calcium is needed to form bones and teeth and is also required for blood clotting. It helps lower colon cancer risk, helps control high blood pressure, and acts as an effective insomnia remedy.
Headaches are a common source of pain. Studies have shown that people with migraine headaches have low concentrations of magnesium in their body. The word “cephalalgia” literally means head pain or headache. In a German study of eighty-one migraine patients published in the journal Cephalalgia, 42 percent of the people taking oral magnesium reduced both the duration and intensity of their migraine attacks. They also reduced their reliance on medications to control migraines.
Adelle Davis was one of the first nutritionists to base her recommendations on scientific studies. In her book “Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit” she says, “Calcium is a pain killer par excellence. One physician tells me that he uses no painkillers but injects calcium into the veins of patients suffering even excruciating pain and that relief occurs almost immediately.”
In a recent study of 497 women, calcium was shown to be an effective pain reliever. The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was called “Calcium Carbonate and the Premenstrual Syndrome: Effects on Premenstrual and Menstrual Symptoms.” Within two to three months, the women who were supplemented with 1200 mg of calcium daily, were able to reduce their pain symptoms by 54%, while the women not on calcium actually experienced an increase in pain.
In addition to pain relief, Adelle Davis also recommends calcium as an insomnia remedy. She says: “A calcium deficiency often shows itself by insomnia, another form of an inability to relax. The harm done by sleeping tablets, to say nothing of the thousands of dollars spent on them, could largely be avoided if the calcium intake were adequate.”
Regarding the use of nutritional remedies containing calcium and magnesium for relief of pain and remedying insomnia, certain formulas are more effective than others. The combination of minerals included and the presence of cofactors in the product are key. Formulas should contain a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium (twice as much calcium as magnesium). The original research on this recommended ratio appeared in 1935 in the Journal of Physiological Reviews and was made on the basis of long-term metabolic studies in men and women.
One natural insomnia remedy showing good results is Sleep Minerals II, made by http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com in Glendale, CA. This sleep remedy contains calcium, magnesium and vitamin D — all combined in a softgel with carrier oils for rapid absorption.
Sleep Minerals II has had beneficial results with lessening pain and relieving insomnia. Corrine E. of Alberta Canada says: “I have used many types of sleeping pills during the last 20 to 25 years to try to help cope with chronic insomnia from the chronic pain, and none of them have helped me for as long or as consistently as Sleep Minerals II. This sleep remedy has made a big difference for me. I am on my third bottle. I ran out between the first and second and realized just how much it was helping my sleep.“
The war between natural remedies and toxic medications can be won in our very own medicine chests by keeping some powerful forms of calcium and magnesium nearby. For more information on Sleep Minerals II visit http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/html/sleep_remedy_for_insomnia_help.html
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