Foods to Eat to Relieve Headache and Migraine Pain
Getting an occasional headache is common for most of us. However, some individuals suffer with the intense, disabling pain of migraine headaches. Whether you suffer from an occasional headache or frequent headaches, and whether you experience small headaches or migraines, there are certain foods you can eat in order to relieve your headache pain naturally.
Ginger
Ginger is one thing you can eat in order to relieve headache pain. Research has shown ginger may actually be as powerful as taking a prescription or over-the-counter pain reliever would be in relieving pain. More specifically, ginger acts like aspirin in that ginger blocks the production of prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that control inflammatory responses. When the synthesis of prostaglandins are blocked, both inflammation and pain are reduced.
Fish and Fish Oil
Eating fish and taking fish oil as a supplement has also been found effective for relieving headache pain. One research study that supports this is a study conducted by Dr. Timoth McCarren at the University of Cincinatti College of Medicine. In the study, participants who regularly experienced migraine headaches took fish oil as a dietary supplement for the duration of six weeks.
The researchers discovered fish oil cut the occurrence of migraine headaches in half from four migraines every two weeks to two migraines every two weeks. The pain and intensity of the migraine headaches also decreased for individuals who took fish oil. The researchers noted that men responded better to the fish oil supplement than women, but it is not clear why.
Copper-Rich Foods
Dr. James G. Genland, a psychologist at the United States Department of Agriculture noticed a copper-rich diet can help prevent headaches. He examined research that studied individuals on low and high mineral diets in the hospital. He discovered that individuals who were on the low mineral diet requested over-the-counter pain pills two times more often than individuals on a high mineral diet for pain, including headaches.
While the link between copper-rich foods and headache pain is not clear, it seems that eating food rich in copper is likely to help prevent headaches. Some foods high in copper include:
· Oysters
· Nuts
· Liver
· Lobster
· Wheat bran
· Green olives
· Seeds
You may want to use these foods and spices to prevent and/or relieve headache pain. Please see my post on foods to avoid for headaches to learn about what foods lead to headache pain.
Source:
Food – Your Miracle Medicine: How Food Can Prevent And Cure Over 100 Symptoms And Problems by Jean Carper
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