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Naturopathic Treatment

Migraine headaches are caused by excessive dilation of the cerebral blood vessels, though scientists do not fully understand what causes the dilation in the first place. Blood vessels don't just dilate spontaneously - they are presumably responding to chemical changes that are occurring in the body.

A naturopathic physician or holistic medical doctor will want to take a complete medical, family, menstrual, and diet history before considering the cause of migraine. Some of the illnesses to be ruled out are bowel problems, mold allergies, vitamin deficiencies, hypertension, TMJ misalignment, food allergies or intolerances, dehydration, spinal subluxations, coffee/caffeine intoxication, and aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) toxicity among others. All of these problems can cause migraine symptoms and usually can be treated very easily without the use of drugs.

Paradoxical as it may seem, a surprising percentage of migraine headaches may be caused by migraine medication. The "rebound effect" of analgesic and ergotomine compounds has been implicated as a contributing factor for sufferers of daily headaches. Discuss this phenomenon with your prescribing doctor if you are taking more than 30 analgesic tablets a month or if you regularly use ergotamine derivatives. Withdrawal from these products can temporarily make headaches worse, but eliminating these products altogether may ultimately mean no more headaches -- ever.

How & What You Eat Can Give You Migraines

When exploring the causes of headaches, the easiest, cheapest place to start is diet. Food reactions are a significant contributor to headaches and some improvement in symptoms, if not complete remission, can always be achieved by eliminating problematic dietary items. The elimination/challenge trial described below is a good way to identify food reactions that may be causing your headaches.

Foods that most commonly induce migraines:

• cow's milk
• wheat
• chocolate
• egg
• orange
• benzoic acid
• cheese
• tomato
• tartrazine (yellow food dye)
• rye

Foods like cheese, beer, and wine induce migraines in some people because they contain histamines and/or vasoactive compounds that cause blood vessels to expand. Women tend to react to histamine-containing foods more frequently than men do, on account of a deficiency in an enzyme (diamine oxidase) that breaks histamine down. Taking supplemental B6 may be helpful in these situations, as it can increase diamine oxidase activity.

Nitrites, which are common ingredients in lunch meats and smoked/cured meats, dilate blood vessels, and may trigger migraine.

The Elimination/Challenge Trial

This traditional naturopathic procedure has been accurately diagnosing food-related symptoms for many years and continues to be the standard for identifying food sensitivities.

There are two ways to approach an elimination/challenge trial. The first and more difficult but more effective route is outlined as option #1 below. It involves eliminating all the major suspects that usually cause problems and then slowly, over time, adding them back into the diet one by one. It provides clear insight into what foods are impacting you in what ways. (The added bonus of this approach is that you may find that there are other foods that, while they are not causing RA, are giving you headaches or insomnia or another health problem).

The second option is reserved for those who already have a good idea about what foods are problematic for them. The suspected food group is eliminated until symptoms clear and then added back into the diet in order to experience the response or return of symptoms.

Symptoms associated with food challenges may not be the same as the symptoms you were experiencing before you began the elimination process. For example, while you may have experienced chronic sinus pain prior to embarking on your elimination/challenge, you might find that upon challenging the suspected food that your stomach hurts. This doesn't mean the food group being challenged is not causing your sinus pain, rather your body and immune system may react a bit differently when re- introduced to the offending agent.

Some symptoms that can occur on a food challenge include: headache (may be brief or prolonged), nausea, sleepiness, irritability, depression, anxiety, excitability - feeling "hyper" or "buzzed, stomach ache, sharp abdominal pain, sore throat, stuffy nose, runny nose, itchy nose or eyes, tightness in the chest, skin rash or itching, facial flushing, red ears, muscle twitching or humming or aching, insomnia, fatigue, and apathy. Of course, there are as many ways of manifesting sensitivities as there are people who suffer from them, so be observant.

Elimination/challenge is the most effective way of determining food intolerance. It also provides you with an excellent opportunity to explore and understand your relationship with food more directly.

Option#1

Option #1 involves an elimination that lasts from 2 to 6 weeks, followed by a challenge. The elimination involves managing your diet based on the following criteria.

Eliminate all suspect foods:

• wheat products - pasta, breads, processed foods, faux meat
  
• dairy products - milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, etc.
  
• corn products - tortilla, chips, polenta, cornstarch/thickeners
  
• peanuts - peanut butter, peanut oil
  
• soy products - tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy protein powder, faux food, soy oil
  
• glutinous grains - rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, seitan, hops
  
• beef - this is usually more a problem with additives than with the protein itself
  
• chocolate
  
• sugar
  
• nutrasweet/aspartame
  
• food colorings/dyes
  
• pesticides and chemical spoilage retardants (especially sulfites)
  

Maintain a diet based on:

• FRESH fruits
• vegetables
• potatoes
• yams
• animal protein (fish, poultry, lamb)
• nonglutinous grains (millet, buckwheat, rice, amaranth)

If you have a choice, always choose organic. Otherwise, you could be ingesting pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and/or formaldehydes.

Avoid sulfite-containing foods, which most commonly include canned vegetables and fruits, wine, and canned tuna (albacore).

Read labels. Know that "vegetable protein" is either wheat or soy; thickening agents and stabilizers are either wheat or corn; and food starch is usually wheat or corn. It is much easier to avoid processed food and faux food while on the diet than to figure out all the additives in prepared foods.

After 2 to 6 weeks of maintaining a strict elimination diet, you should experience relief from symptoms. You may also lose some weight.

Challenge

Begin your challenge with the food group you feel is the least likely culprit. Eat several servings from that food group throughout the day. For example, if you are challenging dairy, have milk with breakfast; include cheese, cream, and yogurt in your lunch and dinner menus; drink milk at meals; and snack on dairy items. Then wait. DO NOT continue to add that food group to your diet. You only challenge for one day, then wait for at least 48 hours. Return to eating ONLY your elimination diet foods. If you do not experience a return of symptoms after 48 hours, go on to the next suspected food group. Continue this process until you find the problematic food group. In most cases you will experience a return of symptoms within 48 hours. Rarely do symptoms appear several days or weeks later. If, however, you want to wait more than 48 hours, feel free to do so, as this will only increase the accuracy of this type of diagnosis. A week between food group challenges is optimal. Only challenge one food group at a time.

Option #2

Maintain your regular diet, eliminating only the food group that you believe to be causing your symptoms. Eliminate ALL items in that food group for at least one month. If your symptoms disappear before the one-month deadline, continue to abstain from that food group for one more week after symptom relief. If, for example, you find yourself symptom-free after just a few days of avoidance, you must still continue to avoid that food group for another week before you can effectively challenge. When you challenge, follow the guidelines stated above: eat several servings of the suspected food group during a 24-hour period then return to the elimination diet and wait. More often than not you will get immediate information about how your body is interacting with a problem food group.

Nutritional supplements for the relief of migraines

• Wobenzyme: 5 tablets 3 times a day between meals; or, if this dose causes loose stools, 3 tablets 5 times a day
• Magnesium citrate: 250mg to 500mg 3 times a day with meals
• Vitamin B6: 25mg 3 times a day with meals; vitamin B6 supports the enzymatic breakdown of histamine.
• 5-HTP (5- Hydroxytryptophan): 100mg to 200mg 3 times a day; 5-HTP increases seritonin and endorphin levels in the brain and has been shown to be as effective as commonly used migraine drugs and with none of the side effects.

Physical medicine

• Submerge the feet in a bucket of very hot water while applying an ice compress to the back of the neck. This actually draws the blood down to the feet away from the head. Reduction of pain coincides with the duration of application.
• Acupressure can be helpful. See a trained acupressure therapist for instructions on procedures to do at home.
• Chiropractic adjustments and maintaining correct spinal alignment can be very supportive in the prevention of headaches that are triggered by muscle stress and spasm.

Miscellaneous treatment options

• Intravenous magnesium: IV magnesium can be very helpful for migraine patients who have low-grade magnesium deficiencies. Physician monitoring is needed for this procedure.
• Biofeedback therapy: Look for a certified biofeedback practitioner to learn how to reduce pain with a relaxation response that is as effective as Inderol without the side effects.
• TENS Unit: Electrical nerve stimulation units can reduce muscle spasm in patients with tension and migraine headaches. A health care practitioner's prescription is needed for insurance coverage of these units, which should be available through medical supply companies. Some chiropractors and physical therapists loan these devices out to patients for a small deposit.
• Acupuncture: Acupuncture can balance underlying hormonal deficiencies, tone the gastrointestinal system, and calm reactive blood vessels.
  

  A word of caution: When selecting an acupuncturist, be very careful to research the training and qualifications of your practitioner. Medical doctors can take weekend courses in acupuncture and call themselves certified acupuncturists. A weekend course is NOT enough to time to understand the complex philosophy or practice of Chinese medicine. These doctors can do harm, so be careful.

  Choose a practitioner who holds a full doctorate degree in Chinese medicine, an O.M.D. (Oriental Medicine Doctor), or Lic.Ac (licensed acupuncturist). These practitioners are required to complete several years of training and often have completed internships in China, Japan, or Korea. The letters TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) after the name means that the doctor has additional training in prescribing Chinese herbs. The more knowledge a practitioner has about Chinese medicine and its supporting philosophy, the more able they are to diagnose and treat your symptoms. Also, as with all health care practitioners, check their practice's reputation in the community.

Migraines & Your Environment

Migraines can be agonizing, debilitating, and scary. The inclination to "make the pain go away now" can, ironically, be an obstacle to curing the pain. Migraines do not just happen -- they are not a random occurrence. They are your body interacting with its environment. Explore your environment to determine what is upsetting your internal balance, and you can learn how to control your headaches and prevent them from ever recurring.

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