Migraine headaches can be horrific for many people. According to the CDC, about 20% of women and 10% of men had a severe headache or migraine in the past 3 months. Several drugs can help prevent and treat migraine headaches, but what if the real cause of your migraines is nutrient deficiencies?
In a pre-published study by The British Journal of Nutrition, migraine sufferers tended to have low levels of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin K. The study involved analyzing dietary nutrient patterns of 266 women and the intensity and duration of migraine headaches. The results found less migraine pain intensity and duration when vitamin B1, vitamin B3, vitamin B9 (folate), protein, and total fiber were at good levels in the diet. Also, the higher consumption of vitamin B12, B9 (folate), and D were associated with a lower duration of migraine headaches. However, there was a negative association between migraine disability when the nutrient pattern was low in calcium, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B2, and magnesium.
Several studies have demonstrated a reduction in migraine frequency for supplementing specific doses of magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin B2, B6, CoQ10, and other nutrients. I have written about the particular studies with some of these nutrients at www.MarkStengler.com
A whole-food diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, can provide many nutrients one needs for migraine prevention. However, vitamin D is difficult to attain in the diet and often needs to be supplemented. In addition, research demonstrates that approximately 70% of Americans are low in magnesium, and many people have low levels of B vitamins from stress, alcohol, coffee, and medications that deplete these nutrients.
At our clinic, we help patients identify the triggers of migraine headaches such as stress, food sensitivities, blood sugar dysregulation, hormone and neurotransmitter imbalance, and structural imbalances in the head and neck.
Improving your diet can work wonders for migraine prevention. Also, it is worth supplementing key nutrients that have been studied in migraine prevention. A straightforward protocol is:
Supreme Multi-two capsules twice daily with food
Magnesium Wellness-two capsules daily
Vitamin D3+K2-one capsule daily with a meal
CoQ10-one capsule daily with food
For more information on these products, see www.drstengler.com
Dr. Mark Stengler NMD, MS, is a bestselling author in private practice in Encinitas, California, at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine. His newsletter, Dr. Stengler’s Health Breakthroughs, is available at www.markstengler.com and his product line at www.drstengler.com
Bahrampour N, Mirzababaei A, Yarizadeh H et al. The relationship between dietary nutrients patterns and intensity and duration of migraine headaches. British Journal of Nutrition. 2022:1-23. doi:10.1017/s0007114522000046
