While there are many lifestyle choices that can help you keep away from severe headaches, a few diet trends can actually lessen migraine pain. Doctors swear by the use of extra virgin olive oil – a Mediterranean
star food with a tremendous range of health benefits when regularly consumed. Loaded with healthy fats, extra virgin olive oil helps significantly lower the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks.
How does extra virgin olive oil help?
According to doctors, olive oil is a powerhouse of oleocanthal – a potent polyphenol with numerous anti-inflammatory properties that assist with pain relief when suffering from a migraine. Studies also say that oleocanthal acts in the same way as ibuprofen, which stifles components of a pain pathway, also called the prostaglandin system. Among the best ways to check for oleocanthal is to sip the oil neat and see how strongly it stings the throat. And once it does, it means you have found the right oil, which is highly recommended for pain relief. Take around 20mls - or a tablespoon, every morning on an empty stomach and wait 20 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. Experts believe this procedure helps the oleocanthals to be absorbed into your bloodstream and thereafter work their magic, resulting in a whole host of health benefits.
Olive oil is packed with magnesium
Extra virgin olive oil is also rich in magnesium, an essential mineral that relieves and prevents migraine pain. It also reduces the levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide, which is involved in migraine development. Magnesium regulates blood flow, calms overactive nerve signals, blocks pain-transmitting chemicals, and prevents cortical spreading depression – a wave of brain activity that is linked to aura, a symptom of migraine.
What are the other natural ways to reduce migraine?
Apart from generously using olive oil, you can also alleviate the painful migraine through:
Acupuncture
Acupuncture uses very thin needles in certain parts of your skin that stimulate relief from a wide variety of health conditions. Studies say around 20 sessions of manual acupuncture are more effective at preventing migraine in people with a history of episodic migraine without aura.
Turn off the lights
Whenever you have a migraine attack, make sure to turn off the light and sound and relax in a dark, quiet room. Try to sleep to rest out the pain.
Temperature therapy
A hot or cold compress applied to your head or neck can numb the area to dull the pain or relax tense muscles.
Yoga
Yoga uses breathing, meditation, and body postures to promote health and well-being. Doing yoga asanas helps relieve the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraine attacks and reduces anxiety, releases tension in migraine-trigger areas, and improves vascular health.
Eat
Whenever you have a migraine attack, make sure to eat – even though in small quantities. Do not skip your meals, as fasting increases the risk of migraines.