How to Manage Migraines with Nutrients, Herbs and Relaxation Techniques

Tuesday, March 09, 2010 by: Maddie Ellison
Tags: migraines, relaxation, health news

(NewsTarget) Migraines affect millions of people each year, with about 60% of them being women. Thankfully there are many natural and simple things you can do to prevent migraines from occurring or to help deal with the pain if one strikes.

Many herbs and vitamins have been shown to help ease migraine pain or to prevent migraines. Some migraines have been linked to a magnesium deficiency. Taking a magnesium supplement daily may reduce your chances of getting migraines. Make sure that you don`t take your magnesium supplement with calcium. Taking it with calcium will lower its effectiveness against migraines. If you take a calcium supplement take it at least an hour after you take magnesium.

Adding evening primrose to your diet may also help keep migraines away. You can buy evening primrose in pill form at many health food stores. It contains omega 6 which is an essential fatty acid.

Herbs like feverfew and butterbur, which can also be purchased at health food stores, have shown to be helpful to migraine sufferers too. Butterbur can be used not only as a preventative but also to help ease the pain.

Once migraine pain has set in, there are some breathing techniques that may help with the pain. The first technique to try is called rhythmic breathing. If you see that your breathing is short and fast, try slowing it down by taking long, slow breaths. Inhale slowing and count to five, then count to five slowly as you exhale.

Second, you can try deep breathing. Breathe in deeply and watch your abdomen rise. Then slowly let the air out, like deflating a balloon. You should feel more relaxed with every long, slow exhalation.

Last, you can try visualized breathing. This breathing technique combines slow breathing with your imagination. Breathe in through your nose and picture a balloon rising as you inhale. Exhale slowly through your mouth and picture the balloon dropping. Another variation is to picture that you`re breathing in relaxation and blowing out tension. Each time you breathe in imagine that you are breathing in a little more relaxation and breathing out a little more tension.

Suffering from migraines can make it difficult to live a normal life. Using these natural remedies and breathing techniques may help you get back in the game of life without taking medications that have serious side effects.

http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/gui...
http://www.butterburresearch.org/
http://www.ctds.info/magnesium-migraine.html

About the author

Maddie is a health and fitness enthusiast who likes to research and write about all health and green living topics. She writes about herbal remedies for Sassafras Station, a health and fitness website, and edits the blog at http://www.sassafrasstation.com/blog/ .