Your Garden RX: garlic, spinach, sunflower seeds, feverfew, mint, valerian
Migraines are debilitating forms of headache that affect about 10 percent of us and are more common in women than in men. It has long been suggested there is a hormonal component to migraines, although the headache pattern is highly individual.
Known migraine triggers include:
Red wine
Chocolate
Cheese
Foods that contain nitrites (such as hot dogs and deli meats)
Food that contains MSG (monosodium glutamate), especially Chinese food
Flashing lights
Weather changes
Certain odors, particularly perfumes
Hormone swings
Stress
By keeping a journal, you’ll be able to get a good handle on your triggers and avoid them.
Yes, stress can cause migraines as well as tension headaches. The primary difference between a migraine and a tension headache is that in addition to the crushing head pain, migraines usually are accompanied by nausea and vomiting and are often signaled by an “aura” or a warning signal that may include disturbances in vision, or specific smells.
Most migraines are believed to have a vascular element, meaning that blood vessels are either contracting or spasming, contributing to the pain.
Your Garden to the Rescue
Magnesium and vitamin B6 have been shown to stop migraines and perhaps even to prevent them, so eating magnesium- and B6-rich foods like spinach and pumpkin seeds may help.
Garlic helps thin blood and can stop migraines due to narrowed blood vessels.
Feverfew, mint and valerian can all help when a migraine strikes. Feverfew, traditionally used in Europe for headache relief, has painkilling and anti-inflammatory effects that can help migraine sufferers when other methods fail. Mint will help calm a queasy stomach, and valerian will help you sleep and relieve tension.
RX from Outside Your Garden
Ginger can really relieve the inflammation, the spasms, and the blood vessel constriction and dilation that sparks migraines.
STRESS HEADACHE
Your Garden RX: blueberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, chamomile, catnip
The vast majority (about 90 percent) of all headaches are related to stress and are triggered by tightening of the muscles of your neck and scalp.
Stress headaches can have a number of causes, including the obvious: emotional or mental stress, depression and fatigue. There can also be less obvious causes: hunger, overexertion and poor posture.
Chronic tension headaches can occur at regular intervals, sometimes even on a daily basis, and can last anywhere from a few minutes to days on end.
Conventional medicine treats headaches either by ignoring them and suggesting they are “all in your head” (they are—quite literally) or by going overboard with prescription painkillers that can be addicting and have a host of harmful side effects. There are even headaches that are caused by taking too many medications to treat headaches.
Your Garden to the Rescue
Blueberries are a natural source of pain-relieving salicylic acid, a close cousin to the pain-relieving ingredient in aspirin. Green peppers, tomatoes and cantaloupes are also good sources of salicylic acid.
Better yet, try preventing a headache with a cup of calming chamomile or catnip tea. (I promise the catnip tea won’t make you goofy like it does your cat!)
