12 May Get migraines? Magnesium can help
Bothered by menstrual migraines or migraines due to the weather, stress, food, irregular sleep or other culprits like I am? Here’s a natural remedy you might want to try–and that I personally take daily for my migraines: Magnesium.
For years, researchers have been examining an apparent link between migraines and magnesium. For instance, they’ve discovered that migraine sufferers tend to have lower blood levels of this mineral than those who don’t get migraines. And in some severe migraine cases, magnesium delivered intravenously in a hospital can halt a migraine attack.
Now a study in the journal International Clinical Psychopharmacology adds to the mounting evidence tying magnesium to migraines. In the study, researchers discovered that when magnesium dips to below-normal levels in migraine sufferers, they’re 35.3 times more likely to have a migraine.
No wonder then that in an older study in the journal Cephalalgia, migraineurs who took 600 mg. of magnesium daily for 12 weeks experienced a 41.6% reduction in headaches compared to baseline while a placebo group saw just a 15.8% drop.
What makes magnesium so effective against migraines? Researchers believe that this mineral affects key brain structures and chemicals believed to play critical roles in the onset of these types of headaches.
If you plan to try magnesium to rein in your migraines, it’s important to go slow and be patient. Start with 200 mg. daily for two weeks, then add another 200 mg. for the next two weeks and another 200 mg. two weeks later. This will help you avoid loose stool that can accompany higher doses of this mineral. And give the magnesium time to kick in. It can take 9 to 12 weeks to experience the full migraine-busting effect.
To learn more about magnesium and its precautions, other conditions it can treat and interactions it may have with certain medications (such as osteoporosis drugs, antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors), click here.
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