Herbal Hacks for Headaches & Migraines

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Most of us have experienced a headache at some point in our lives. If we are lucky, they come and go and only disrupt our days occasionally. Unfortunately, too many people suffer through a quite different experience. Migraines and chronic headaches can be extremely debilitating, causing missed work, unrelenting pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, depression, and fatigue.

If you are one of the over 28 million Americans who suffer from headaches or migraines, you are likely very familiar with the wide range of treatments and “cures” on the market. Many of these can be of great help, while some provide only temporary relief or even no relief. Few of these treatments are individualized or take the wide range of potential causes into account. The key to finding long-lasting relief for headaches is to uncover and address your individual issue.

Chinese medicine has treated headaches with acupuncture and herbal medicine for millennia. Let’s see how it may be able to help you, too!

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Remedies for Treating Headaches

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be extremely powerful in treating headaches. From mild tension headaches to debilitating migraines, this holistic herbal medicine can be used to re-establish a healthy balance in the body and relieve pain.

Most pain conditions are seen as “blockages” or “stagnation” in either the vessels or organ systems. While you might think headaches would simply be stagnation in the head, there are actually many different types of headaches in Chinese medicine. The location, intensity, type of pain, and accompanying symptoms are considered when working with headaches.

So, why is Traditional Chinese Medicine so helpful when it comes to treating headaches? This approach works to the root of why you’re suffering from headaches. This means you’ll not only experience a decrease in the intensity and frequency of headaches, but you may be able to resolve them entirely.

Diet and Lifestyle to Treat Headaches & Migraines

Those who have endured migraines for any length of time are usually familiar with the current research on how to prevent and cure them. But despite the vast amount of information and medications available for treating headaches, many of us are still suffering. Before getting into the magic of herbal medicine for headaches, let’s look into some ways we can help improve our chances of relief:

Food as Medicine

Headaches are sometimes the body’s way of letting us know that something isn’t right – especially when it comes to diet. Triggers are different for everyone, so it’s best to keep a journal/food diary to help you match any correlations between your diet and headaches. This can take some detective work and a little bit of time, but it can be worth it!

There are some general foods that are known migraine-inducers. These common culprits like alcohol, chocolate, MSG, aged cheese, and foods with nitrites like processed meats. Do your best to avoid these foods and favor anti-inflammatory foods rich in nutrients like magnesium, riboflavin, omega-3s, and water.

Go-To Food for Headaches

• sweet potatoes
• Swiss chard
• amaranth
• quinoa
• sunflower seeds
• brown rice
• whole grains
• lean beef
• mushrooms
• broccoli
• salmon
• mackerel
• olive oil
• watermelon
• apples
• berries

Stress & Headaches

It’s no surprise that stress can cause headaches. These little disturbances are just a part of life, and usually go away after rest or with time. When stress really starts to impact our health, however, it can be a major trigger for more serious and debilitating headaches. Adding in light exercise and a meditation or visualization practice can greatly help reduce stress and reduce both the intensity and frequency of headaches.

Herbal medicine helps to rewire our unhealthy response to stress and start to unwind the issues that stress has caused in the body.

Herbal Remedies for Stress-Related Headaches

Hormone Balance and Menstrual Cycle-Related Headaches

Migraines often have something to do with hormone imbalance, especially for women. If you notice your headaches or migraines change along with your menstrual cycle, it’s a good idea to take a look at hormones.

Traditional Chinese Medicine began to understand women’s bodies long before structures like hormones were ever thought of or studied. Ancient doctors discovered that certain times during a woman’s cycle correlated with different energy shifts and needs. Just like the moon, the yearly seasons, and the life cycle in general, the menstrual cycle has rhyme and reason. Understanding how illness correlates with this cycle can help us understand our health challenges even more.

Herbal Remedies for Cycle-Related Headaches

Premenstrual headaches: Premenstrual headaches are very common and often come with a slew of other symptoms: digestive changes, irritability, nausea, leg pain, back pain, moodiness, and other “PMS” troubles. At this time in the cycle, the body is preparing to release – and sometimes there’s a little friction. This causes stagnation, heat, and agitation in those who need some herbal soothing.

Headaches during bleeding: Some women find that their headaches follow the start of their bleeding. In most cases, this is due to insufficient blood. Periods tend to be light and short with little bleeding and even feelings of dizziness or great fatigue. What’s happening here is that there is not enough blood in the system to properly nourish and enrich the body. As more blood leaves during menstruation, the body is stressed and a dull, tired headache creeps in.

A General Herbal Remedy for Headaches

Topical Chinese Medicine Headache Hacks

Most herbal formulas for headaches are best used regularly to both help relieve headaches and fix the root of the problem. With regular use, the pattern of imbalance will be set right and headaches will naturally diminish.

Sometimes, however, you need a little extra help in the throws of a headache to help naturally relieve pain. This is where topical liniments and tinctures come to the rescue!

Conquer Your Headaches With Chinese Herbal Medicine

Herbal and plant medicine is one of the most amazing gifts the Earth offers to us. Even many of our current medications are derived from plants (like common aspirin). Getting to the root of your headaches can be tricky, but there’s no need to suffer through them.

The first step in conquering your headaches is determining their cause. It may take some detective work but it is all worth it in the end. With the right herbal formula, your headaches can be a thing of the past – allowing you to take your life back and live to the fullest, pain-free!