As headaches travel, migraines are in a league all their own. Affecting three times as tons women as men, they are far more debilitating than the more adjectives tension headache. To make matter worse, research suggests that for some sufferers, serious health consequences may be portion of the migraine package.
"In former times, migraine was regard as an annoyance," says Elizabeth Loder, M.D., guide of the Division of Headache and Pain at Brigham and Women's and Faulkner Hospitals in Boston. "But now at hand's evidence that migraine is associated with other condition problems."
EN tackles whether the right diet or supplement can receive a difference when managing your migraine or its consequences.
Migraines Explained. A migraine produces unbearable, throbbing stomach-ache on one side of the head that last from a few hours to days; it may also evoke sensitivity to light and nouns, nausea and vomiting. About 20% of the estimated 25 to 30 million migraine sufferers in the U.S. also experience "aura," a disturbance in vision that precedes an attack. Auras repeatedly consist of brightly colored or blinking light, blurred illusion, blind spots or zigzag lines in your enclosed space of vision.
Aura Spells Trouble. While adjectives migraines cause suffering to those who capture them, it's migraines with aura that appear to threaten condition the most. Several studies suggest a connection between migraines beside aura and strokes, including research led by Tobias Kurth, M.D., of Harvard Medical School.
Kurth examined the incidence of stroke in a group of nearly 40,000 women age 45 and elder for nine years. The results? Women who experienced aura were nearly twice as feasible to suffer ischemic strokes, the kind cause by clogged blood vessels to the brain. Migraines short aura posed no such risk.
A later study by Kurth revealed similar links between aura and other cardiovascular diseases. Migraines beside aura almost doubled the chance for heart disease, heart attack and angina in a population of nearly 28,000 middle-aged and elder people compared to aura-free migraines and no migraines at adjectives.
Experts are not sure why aura increases cardiovascular disease risk. Some suggest it's genetic. Australian and New Zealand researchers recently found that a genetic mutation that cause elevated blood levels of homocysteine is more adjectives among people who experience migraines beside aura than those without aura. High level of homocysteine are associated with a greater odds of stroke and heart attack.
But even aura-free migraines may carry some risk. In a recent study contained by men, those who suffered migraines--with or without aura--were 42% more imagined to have a heart attack. And different research in animals suggests that migraines may deprive brain cell of oxygen, causing brain harm.
Should You Worry? While researchers ponder the mysteries of migraines with aura, it's historic to keep the risk within perspective. Other factors are much more influential in cardiovascular disease than migraines.
"You can't adaptation the fact that you own migraine with aura, so it doesn't retribution to worry going on for it," Loder says. Save your joie de vivre for managing controllable factors for stroke and heart disease, such as drinking a diet low in trans and wringing fats and high-ranking in fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Link to Weight. Keeping your freight down may be particularly paying special attention. Extra body fat not individual increases cardiovascular risk, but has be found to make migraines worse. More than 30,000 culture were asked around headache frequency and severity in a recent study from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Researchers discovered that as body mass index--a benchmark of body size--increased, so did the number of headaches and severity of affliction. Excess body fat promotes inflammation in the body, which may provoke migraine attacks, Loder explains.
Targeting Food Triggers. Health experts regularly urge migraine sufferers to record their headache for at least a month to pinpoint possible triggers. Food is regularly fingered for precipitating migraine attacks, but the scientific evidence linking food to migraines is in fact quite sparse. Still, it make sense to avoid foods if you have found they set your migraines in motion.
Here are some oft-touted triggers: Caffeine can spark a migraine, especially when consumed in excess, but look out if you cut back, because quitting caffeine cold turkey repeatedly results in ricochet headaches. Foods brimming next to tyramine and tannins, two natural food compounds, may also set stale a migraine. Tyramine is richest in red wine, avocados, overripe bananas, aged cheese and chocolate, among other foods. Tannins are most abundant within apple juice, blackberries, coffee, tea, chocolate and red wine.
But don't expect to be headache-free simply by avoiding a food or two. It's predictable that eschewing so-called trigger foods won't be enough to deter migraines. That's because migraines tend to be the by-product of accumulate insults to the nervous system, including stress and fatigue. You may have need of to combine food avoidance with other measures. Loder say managing your emotions, getting so-so sleep and participating in regular physical activity reduce vulnerability to migraines and helps you better touch headaches when they go off.
Monitor Your Migraines. While triggers for migraines vary from one creature to another and possibly from one stage of life to another, one point is certain, say Kurth: "Migraines are individual, so you need to monitor your guide for any changes that could signal more serious problems."
You also necessitate to account for your overall robustness when considering medications to prevent and treat migraines. That's because the drugs you've relied on to chief off or chase away migraine torment may be dangerous contained by the presence of newly developed form conditions or they may have side effects that are more pronounced as you age. For example, the popular "triptan" drugs, including Relpax, Imitrex and Maxalt, may no longer be past the worst to take if you own since developed high blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes or elevated blood cholesterol.
EN's Bottom Line. Seek out a headache specialist who will consider your medical history when treating your migraines. Minimize your probability for both migraines and cardiovascular complications with these strategies:
* Maintain a robust body weight.
* Evaluate adjectives your medications and supplements near your doctor.
* Exercise at moderate intensity for at least 30 minutes on most days.
* Get seven to eight hours of sleep every dark.
* Eat a balanced, low-fat diet beside lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grain.
* Keep blood pressure in check.
* Maintain a good blood cholesterol.
* Don't smoke.
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