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Magnesium for Migraine

The Causes of Migraine

A few facts:

  • Women are three times more likely to have migraines than men.
  • Migraines may be hereditary
  • Some women may have fewer migraines when they are pregnant

The pain can last from four hours to three days, and if untreated, can be severe enough to hamper daily activities. Based on symptoms, they are classified into two types:

  • Common migraine: If you have a migraine with aura, you may see things such as stars or zigzag lines or have a temporary blind spot about 30 minutes before the headache starts. Even if you don’t experience an aura, you may have other warning signs in the period before the headaches starts, such as a craving for sweets, thirst, sleepiness, or depression.
  • Classic migraine is migraine without aura.

Migraines tend to first appear between the ages of 10 and 45. The exact cause is still not well understood, but the problem is considered to be related to the circulatory and nervous system and more common among people who have epilepsy, depression, asthma, anxiety, stroke, and some other neurologic and hereditary disorders.

A migraine can be triggered by a number of factors including alcohol, stress and anxiety, certain odours or perfumes, loud noises or bright lights, and smoking can trigger a migraine. These attacks may also be triggered by changes in hormone levels during the menstrual cycle or due to the use of birth control pills. Certain foods also act as migraine triggers, as do changes in sleep patterns, missed meals, and exercise or other physical stress.

Magnesium-migraine Connection

Researchers believe that there is a magnesium-migraine connection because of magnesium’s role in stabilising the blood vessel walls. Magnesium plays a vital role in multiple physiologic processes and deficiency of magnesium can be seen in many chronic medical illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, preeclampsia, eclampsia, sickle cell disease, and chronic alcoholism. Regular sleeping patterns are also very important to migraine sufferers and magnesium is an important mineral when it comes to helping you get sleep.

It was first suggested over 70 years ago that a deficiency in magnesium could cause headaches. A lot of the things that cause the body to run short of magnesium also either trigger migraines or lower your resistance to disease. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include premenstrual syndrome, leg muscle cramps, coldness of extremities, weakness, anorexia, nausea, digestive disorders, lack of coordination, and confusion. Magnesium also helps in protein synthesis and helps maintain normal nerve and muscle function.

In 1989, a study showed that sufferers have low brain magnesium during migraine attacks. Published in ‘Headache, The Journal of Head and Face Pain, October 1989, the study established that low brain magnesium is an important factor in the mechanism of the migraine attack.

Other studies have shown that a deficiency of magnesium may play a particularly important role in menstrual migraine.

Magnesium Supplementation

A German study in the Munich-Harlaching Clinic evaluated the effect oral magnesium supplementation has on patients. 81 patients aged 18–65 years with migraine, with an attack frequency of 3.6 per month, were examined.

After 4 weeks they received 600 mg of oral magnesium daily for 12 weeks or placebo. By weeks 9–12, the attack frequency was reduced by 41.6% in the magnesium group and by 15.8% in the placebo group. The number of days with migraine and the drug consumption per patient also decreased significantly in the magnesium group. Duration and intensity of the attacks also tended to decrease compared to placebo.

Another study done in Italy found that magnesium supplementation is helpful in managing menstrual migraine.

Getting more Magnesium

If you suffer from regular migraines, chances are you might be having low serum magnesium. Include plenty of magnesium-rich foods like wheat germ, beans, soy products, whole grains, seafood and dark green leafy vegetables to your diet.

You should also add some good oral magnesium supplements like Mag365. Another way to get magnesium is through topical solutions like Magnesium Rub. Transdermal magnesium therapy is ideal for those suffering from a severe lack of magnesium.

Mag365 not only has a high bioavailability, it is also gentle on your stomach. For best results, take on an empty stomach ideally a half hour before bed. Take magnesium for at least 60-90 days to see a more meaningful difference

For full article and references visit MAG365

 

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Stress, Anxiety and Low Mood – A.Vogel

Stress, anxiety and low mood are unpleasant emotions which are all interlinked. You may feel stressed about a looming deadline at work. The fear of not completing the task in time will make you feel anxious. The fact that you are now stressed and anxious makes it difficult for you to think about anything else, which in turn makes you feel a bit miserable.

The more miserable and anxious you feel, the less you are able to concentrate, which makes you stress more about the deadline. This in turn increases anxiety levels … and so it goes on.

Continuous pressure to succeed does nothing to help us relax. Against us is a need to perform at our best, and to keep up with the ever increasing standards. What is this doing to us? It’s putting us under stress, making us anxious and leaving us with a low mood.

Stress

Stress is not an illness in itself. It tends to manifest itself by way of unpleasant symptoms, both physical and mental. These include the feeling of nervousness, a racing heartbeat and sharpening senses, as well as a feeling of being overwhelmed, irritable or restless. It occurs when we are put under too much pressure and we struggle to react rationally or to relax.

Anxiety

Anxiety is the reaction to undue stress. It can be triggered by a wide range of circumstances including performing or speaking in public or social situations. Anxiety can be treated in a similar way to stress, and finding an effective management technique for you goes a long way towards easing your symptoms.

Low Mood

Low mood is found at one end of the unhappiness spectrum. This shares a border with mild depression if your mood continues to be low for a long period of time because you are unable to pick yourself up.

However, the boundary between the two is not clear. It often takes a medical professional such as a doctor or psychiatrist to determine if you are experiencing symptoms of depression or low mood associated with normal day-to-day living.

When you are feeling sad, down or fed-up, it is important to keep an eye on your feelings and symptoms as these will give you the clearest indication of the root cause of your problem. If you are feeling a bit down because it is the end of your holiday and are not looking forward to the normal routine of work and housework, or after some bad news, the chances are that you will feel sad for a few days but as things go back to normal, this feeling will lift. What is important with low mood is to distinguish it from depression.

Depression

Depression is a medical condition in which the sufferer experiences feelings outside the normal range of emotions. It is a serious condition which must be treated by a medical professional, particularly if accompanied by thoughts of suicide. It is important to establish if the emotions you are experiencing are due to low mood or depression. Although sharing many similar features, the two conditions are usually managed differently.

Low mood is part of the normal spectrum of emotions we go through in our daily lives. Moods tend to get better as circumstances improve or with the arrival of good news. Depression is a complex medical or psychiatric condition which may be severe and potentially life threatening if left untreated. Depression is also likely to interfere with everyday life – for example, someone with the condition may not have the motivation to leave the house for days at a time.

Understanding and treating

Having an understanding of these three conditions often helps us to tell if we are just having a bad day, or if we are indeed succumbing to the modern day illness of busyness. It is important to examine your symptoms carefully, as stress, anxiety and low mood may lead to more serious health conditions, including high blood pressure and heart problems. The good news is that they are all treatable, often through a combination of self-help techniques and herbal remedies, most commonly Valerian, Avena sativa and St. John’s Wort.

So take a deep breath and relax…

Written By Marianna for a.vogel.co.uk

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Nature’s Plus Rhodiola

Dipti in our Muswell Hill store likes to recommend Nature’s Plus Rhodiola.

Studies show that Rhodiola can help your body cope with stress better and increase energy levels. The restorative, energizing properties have been well known in Europe and Asia for centuries. An all-natural botanical supplement that has concentrated extract in a whole food base, making it more readily used by the body. You also benefit from a time release tablet allowing you to feel it working over a longer period of time.

Rhodiola is thought to fight depression, improve immunity, elevate the capacity for exercise, imporve memory, aid weight reduction, increase sexual function and improve energy levels and has therefore been used as an alternative for St. Johns Wort especially if on medication.

 

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