Many people describe the tension headache as feeling like a band is wrapped around their head. Not everybody under stress gets headaches. Some people are just prone to develop headaches. Other causes for common headaches, besides stress, are anxiety, chemical sensitivities, coffee, constipation, food allergies, grinding of the teeth, low blood sugar, medicines, pollution, sinus congestion, tension, tobacco, and trauma to the head.
Royal Recommendations for Prevention and Treatment
1. Avoid caffeine withdrawal. This often occurs on weekends when people tend to sleep in and skip their morning cup of coffee. In this case, either: 1) don’t stop drinking coffee on the weekend, 2) gradually cut back your coffee consumption during the week, or 3) consider quitting altogether. The same goes for caffeinated drinks such as sodas or tea.
2. Be aware of foods that contain tyramine, an amino acid that results in a dull headache. These foods include alcohol, caffeine, cheese, chocolate, citrus fruits, processed meats, peanut butter, and freshly baked yeast products. Artificial sweeteners, MSG, NutraSweet, and nitrites found in luncheon meats are other sources of tyramine.
3. Check your food allergies. (See “Allergy—Food.”) Headache is a very common reaction to food sensitivities. Those who frequently suffer from headache may have reactions to such foods as wheat, chocolate, MSG, sulfites used on restaurant salad bars, sugar, luncheon meats, citrus and fermented foods such as cheeses, sour cream, yogurt, alcohol, and vinegar.
4. Eat regular meals and/or snack with complex carbohydrates (such as carrots, celery, etc.) between meals. Skipping or delaying meals can bring on a headache for patients who tend to have low blood sugar. (See “Hypoglycemia.”)
5. Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation may help align the vertebrae, which, if displaced, can result in reduced blood flow to the brain. This imbalance is often the result of flat feet, leg length discrepancies, wearing high heels, or poor posture. Massage may help relieve tension in the head, neck and shoulders. If headache is due to tension, try applying cold or heat to the back of your neck. If one doesn’t work, the other might. (See “Backache” and “Back Exercises.”)
6. Ensure that your bowels move at least once daily by increasing your fiber consumption in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. Oat bran, brown rice, and psyllium husk are also good sources of fiber. (See “Constipation” and “Coffee Enema.”)
7. Don’t stay in the sun too long. Excessive sunlight can bring on a headache, as can changes in the barometric pressure. Shun direct sunlight and cut glare with polarized sunglasses.
8. If you’re feeling exhausted, get some rest. If you can’t sleep, take a natural sleep aid such as calcium or magnesium, 5-hydroxy tryptophan, inositol, or melatonin before retiring to sleep. (See “Insomnia.”) Sleeping on your back is the best position for your body. Provide some additional support to your neck by placing a pillow under it as well. This will help to keep your neck from being to flexed or extended.
9. Exercise can help relieve a mild headache as well as prevent headaches by reducing stress and increasing oxygenated blood to the brain. (See “Stress.”)
10. Have your jaw evaluated for Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) dysfunction. If this is suspected, avoid chewing on gum, ice, hard candy or nuts. Splints are available to be worn at night to prevent jaw clenching or teeth grinding during your sleep. Stretching exercises of the jaw, by gently pulling down and out on the lower jaw, will help to strengthen the muscles as well as loosen up the joint. (See “TMJ.”)
11. Supplements found to be useful include B-vitamins (especially niacin), vitamins C and E, Bioflavonoids, flax seed oil, and magnesium (known as a natural relaxant). Magnesium is best absorbed in the chelated aspartate form and up to 1500 mg daily. Essentially, anything that helps to improve oxygenation of the cells, such as Co-enzyme Q10 and Dimethylglycine (DMG), is also helpful.
12. Herbs that may bring relief include cayenne, feverfew, goldenseal, and valeriana.
13. Homeopathics helpful in headache include Belladonna (for throbbing headache, face red), Cocculus (for sick headache with nausea), Glonoine (if due to sun exposure), Ignatia (for band-like pressure across the forehead), Iris (right-sided, worse in the morning), Nux Vomica (worse in the temples, after eating or alcohol). The Royal Remedy combination, Headache, is a useful remedy for most headaches of a general nature.
Getting your autonomic nervous system balanced may be a significant factor in more serious cases of headache. This can be evaluated with heart rate variability testing and treated with non-cognitive biofeedback technologies (e.g., a recycling of the body’s heart beat variations). To learn more about healing and health optimizing therapies, go to www.NewHopeMedical.org or call NEW HOPE MEDICAL CENTER at (702) 476-0000 (direct line) or toll free (866) HEAL-NOW!