Migraine Sufferers: Seek Supplements for Relief

I consider myself fortunate to not know what a migraine headache feels like. I’m told they can be so painful, so all-encompassing, people would rather stick their head inside a vise than experience the excruciating pangs of agony migraines unleash.

There may be some relief on the horizon, though, and it may be in the form of a B. The B vitamin, that is.

There’s some conflicting information out there on the efficacy of taking vitamin B supplements. Some studies charge that they show no tangible evidence of anything worthwhile other than turning one’s urine a bright shade of yellow (due to its richness in riboflavin). Others contend, myself included, are big advocates of taking vitamin B supplements, as they help rev up the body’s metabolism and improve the body’s ability to convert food into energy.

But there’s been an increasing amount of studies done lately on the tie between brain function and vitamin B. For instance, I’ve written two articles in the past on the link between brain shrinkage and vitamin B deficiency. Now we have a study involving migraine headaches – which, of course, originate in the brain – and the notion that vitamin B supplements may lessen their severity and frequency.

It’s more than just a notion, though. Because one of the study’s researchers made one of the most definitive statements you’ll ever see regarding its success: “The success of our trial…has shown that safe, inexpensive vitamin supplements can treat migraine supplements.”

That’s quite a statement. You very rarely get that definitive a statement from a researcher, who typically hedges his words with “may” or “potential.”

What led him to make such definitive statements? Well, after supplementing 52 patients diagnosed as migraine sufferers with random doses of vitamin B (others with a placebo) to be taken over the course of six months, the prevalence of migraines was cut in half! The only group that did not show any improvement in migraine suffering (prevalence or intensity) was the group taking the placebo.

Now, the one fly in the ointment of this study – if you can even call it that – was the presence of certain genes. In other words, when researchers took into consideration the genotypes the participants had, some people fared far better, and this was because of their genetic make-up (something beyond our control, of course).

Researchers say that people who have a C allele respond better to B vitamin treatment for migraines, as the folic acid is better able to reduce their homocysteine levels – the amino acid believed to responsible for making migraine sufferers, well, suffer. The study was conducted by Australian researchers from Griffith University in Brisbane. The study is published in the journal Pharmacogenetics and Genomics.

As aforementioned, supplementation with vitamins is more than just a nutrition thing. It’s an overall wellness thing. This is just the latest example of how “safe, inexpensive vitamin supplements,” as the lead researcher himself said, improves overall wellness.

Source
nutraingredients-usa.com