Headaches and migraines

According to UK’s Migraine Trust:

• Over 10 million people in the UK suffer from headache and migraine

• Three times as many women suffer from migraine than men

• Each working day up to 90,000 people are absent from work or school as a result of migraine

Headaches and migraines can have many different causes

Allergies

Allergy and adverse food reactions can trigger various types of headaches. One study found that 93% of children improved with a diet that avoided the offending foods. Foods that trigger headaches or migraines are often identified with elimination diets or food allergy tests.

Blood sugar imbalance

Some migraine sufferers have problems with the ability to control their blood sugar level. Dietary changes designed to control blood sugar have shown to help.

Female Hormones Imbalance

For many women headaches can be triggered by changes in oestrogen that occur during menarche, menstruation and menopause. Tests such as the Female Hormone Panel can indicate if there is a hormonal imbalance that could bring on headaches.

Amino Acid Imbalance

Headache symptoms can be triggered by imbalances of several different amino acids - the basic building blocks of proteins. Since amino acids contain nitrogen, one possible cause of headache is a nitrogen imbalance in the central nervous system. The Amino Acid Profile is a test that can highlight this problem.

Fatty Acid Imbalance

Several essential fatty acids influence the production of prostaglandins - hormone-like substances stimulate inflammation and are implicated in several types of headaches. Numerous studies have linked arachidonic acid, an important fatty acid, with migraine.

Toxic exposure

Recurring headaches can be a symptom of overexposure to heavy metals like mercury and aluminum. Hair Mineral Analysis is one way to identify this.

Chronic nutrient imbalances

Deficiencies of key nutrients like calcium and magnesium can also play an important role by reducing an individual's threshold for migraine attacks.

How Nutritional Therapy can help

The key to any treatment of ill health is to identify the root cause. At Essentia we start with a detailed questionnaire and a one-on-one consultation to try and identify which factors are contributing to your headaches. There are also a variety of lab tests we can do to confirm a suspected trigger.

Once a trigger is identified we work with you to create a customised nutritional programme that helps you to successfully incorporate the dietary recommendations, food supplements and lifestyle choices needed to correct imbalances and alleviate your headaches and migraines.

Discover optimal health - call Essentia Nutrition to find out how nutritional therapy could help you.

© 2006 Norma Bridge, Essentia Nutrition, 36 Chiltern Park, Thornbury, BS35 2HX, Tel: 07791 890 541, info@essentianutrition.co.uk