You can not miss plants to calm headaches or headaches and migraines in your medicine cabinet. These remedies are an effective natural alternative to pain-relieving drugs. that relieve headaches. More than half of the population suffers from occasional or periodic headaches. Stress, diet and hormonal changes often favour annoying episodes of pain. Reducing stress and taking into account some nutrition tips can help prevent it. It has been proven, for example, that migraine episodes can occur after eating certain foods. One of the possible reasons is the presence of tyramine foods, a substance that dilates blood vessels.
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Foods that can trigger a headache typically include:
- alcoholic beverages
- the coffee
- dairy
- some vegetables (fava beans, peas, onions, olives)
- certain fruits (avocado, citrus, bananas, figs, nuts)
- chocolate
- certain additives
- natural
Another cause of the headache can be a reduction in the activity of the enzyme DAO or enzyme diamine oxidase. This enzyme metabolizes the histamine ingested in the diet. Hence, a reduction in its activity increases histamine levels in the body, which can favour the appearance of pain. Female hormones also interfere with the functioning of this enzyme, which makes women more vulnerable to headaches and migraines.
Medicinal Plants For Headache And Migraine
Each headache has a different origin, so knowing its cause is important to determine which natural pain relievers are the most suitable for you.
Medicinal plants can be great allies. Here are some of the most effective:
Chamomile with anti-inflammatory effect
Another useful plant for headaches is chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla ). It is indebted its anti-inflammatory and sedative effect to chamazulene and bisabolol. It also takes flavonoids and coumarins, which protect blood vessels and are analgesic.
Also Contains Bitter Substances That Facilitate Digestion.
How to take it: Preventively, you can take 2 or 3 infusions daily (prepare them with 5 or 6 flower heads per cup) or between 100 and 200 mg of extract daily.
Lavender For Tension Headaches
Lavender is effective in tension headaches. Its composition contains essential oil, rich in linalool, camphor and cineol, and rosmarinic acid, flavonoids, phytosterols & tannins—cheers to them. Benefits are attributed to it as a calming & anti-inflammatory plant and digestive, antibacterial, diuretic, antiseptic, and healing.
- How to use it: With 2 drops of essential oil on the fingers, massage the temples, the eye orbits, the nape of the neck and behind the ears.
Mint and pennyroyal when the cause is digestive
Mint ( Mentha piperita ) and pennyroyal ( Mentha pulegium ) infusions are effective in digestive component headache.
Menthol is also an analgesic: inhaling the essential oil helps regulate blood flow, relieving pain.
In migraine, peppermint can be used as an essential oil to massage the temples, the eye sockets, the nape of the neck and the area behind the ears.
Feverfew To Prevent Migraine
Feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium ) is par excellence the migraine preventive plant due to its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory action. It also contains parthenolide, a natural pain reliever.
- How to take it: 500 mg daily of dry extract reduces migraines’ frequency, intensity, and vomiting.
- Precautions: It should not be combined with anticoagulants or aspirin.
Linden, Passionflower Or Lettuce Tea
If the headache is due to nervous tension, it is best to drink linden, passionflower or lettuce tea, which have a mild antispasmodic and anxiolytic effect.
To prepare lettuce tea, boil some leaves in a glass of water for two minutes.
White Willow Against All Kinds Of Pain
White willow bark extract or decoction relieves all kinds of pain. It is also antispasmodic, febrifuge and digestive tonic.
- How to take it: If you choose to take bark extract, the dose is 120 to 240 mg of salicin daily if you choose to take it as a decoction, from 3 to 5 g per cup.
Riboflavin Or Vitamin B2
Not only analgesic plants will help you relieve headaches. You can also use vitamin and mineral supplements such as riboflavin.
Continued mental exertion causes headaches, and riboflavin is key in brain metabolism.
- How to take it: 400 mg a day is recommended to supplement all the B vitamins. You can also get it from food; Among the foods rich in vitamin B2, we have, for example, green leafy vegetables such as spinach.
Magnesium Is A Good Muscle Relaxant
Among its many functions, it stands out to relax the muscles. Magnesium is also helpful in treating or preventing migraines and headaches.
- How to take it: In doses of 300 to 600 mg daily. Nuts such as hazelnuts and cashews also contain it.