yesshealth: (NaturalNews) Migraine headaches have become all too common in our fast paced high stress world. With the hectic pace of our lives and the fear that is too often associated with the modern lifestyle including wars, terrorism, the economy, family and work, and poor quality processed foods and more, it's little wonder that more and more people are suffering from mild and severe migraines at an increasing rate.
Migraines are very painful headaches that often occur on one side of the head, which is the basic meaning of the word migraine. These headaches are sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and changes in vision. They usually begin on only one side of the head and may become worse with exposure to light.
The severity of migraine pain can be anywhere from very slight to debilitating. Sometimes the pain from migraines can become so severe that the person is literally incapacitated and unable to do anything but lie in bed. More women suffer from migraine headaches than men by about a 4 to 1 ratio. Some women report that migraines disappear during pregnancy in a fairly large number of sufferers.
Wikipedia says this about migraine headaches;
The typical migraine headache is one-sided and pulsating, lasting 4 to 72 hours. Accompanying complaints are nausea and vomiting, and a heightened sensitivity to bright lights (photophobia) and noise (hyperacusis). Approximately one third of people who experience migraines get a preceding aura, in which a patient may sense a strange light or unpleasant smell. ….Other symptoms of the aura phase can include auditory or olfactory hallucinations, temporary dysphasia, vertigo, tingling or numbness of the face and extremities, and hypersensitivity to touch.
Migraine headaches have been documented as far back as 1200BC by the Egyptians who described it as a "headache with neuralgia". In 400 BC Hippocrates described the visual aura that can precede the migraine headache and the relief which can occur through vomiting. Aretaeus of Cappadocia is credited as the "discoverer" of migraines because of his description in the second century of the symptoms of a unilateral headache associated with vomiting.
Throughout the millennia hundreds of theories and ideas have been proposed to explain the causes of migraine. Treatments included everything from the somewhat reasonable to downright ludicrous in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
For relief of migraine, Andalusian-born physician Abulcasis, suggested application of a hot iron to the head or insertion of garlic into an incision made in the temple. In the Medieval Ages migraine was recognized as a discrete medical disorder with treatment ranging from hot irons to blood letting and even witchcraft.
The exact causes of migraines in western medicine are unknown even today. The most widespread theory is that it is a disorder of the serotonergic control system. Recent PET scans have demonstrated the aura to coincide with spreading cortical depression after an episode of greatly increased blood flow (up to 300% higher than normal).
There are many triggers of migraines including; environmental, stress of either a physical or emotional nature, nutritional deficiencies, allergic reactions, bright lights, loud noises, and certain odors or perfumes, changes in sleeping patterns, smoking or smoke exposure, skipping meals, alcohol, menstrual cycle fluctuations, birth control pills, hormone fluctuations during the menopause, foods containing tyramine (red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, chicken livers, figs, and some beans), monosodium glutamate (MSG) or nitrates (like bacon, hot dogs, and salami).
Some people who suffer from migraines also react to salt and eliminating salt can be helpful for some of these people. Lactose-intolerant individuals may benefit from avoiding milk and ice cream. Tryptophan, an amino acid found in protein-rich foods, is converted to serotonin, a substance that might worsen some migraines. As a result, low-protein diets have been used with some success to reduce migraine attacks.
Chinese Medicine and Migraines
While western medicine still struggles to understand the true nature of disease in the human body, Chinese medicine is thousands of years ahead in understanding and offers many simple and effective remedies into the cause and treatments of migraines.
In Chinese medicine it is your chi or bio-energy that is responsible for everything that occurs in the body. Western medicine has dismissed this idea and far too simplistic, always opting to choose the extremely complex over the simple. But this is really a very dangerous mindset because you can be just as blinded to the truth if your mindset is always looking for complex answers. The same holds true when only looking for simple answers too.
