Resolving Migraines and Headaches Naturally

“A migrenade describes something you’re exposed to that goes off in your body that triggers a grenade of inflammatory chemicals and causes a migraine,” says pharmacist Suzy Cohen, author of Headache Free: Relieve Migraine, Tension, Cluster, Menstrual and Lyme Headaches.
The most common trigger for a migraine is dehydration. An unbalanced microbiome coupled with dehydration is a walking time-bomb.
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In her book Cohen says gluten can be a migrenade and set off the explosion that takes you out of commission. She says people who suffer from celiac disease and irritable bowel disease suffer more migraines as well as more severe migraines than others. Going off gluten is not an option for these people it’s imperative to quality of life.
“Chemicals through the nose go to the trigeminal nerve and immediately go to the brain. Right away we get headaches. says Aristo Vojdani, PhD, MSc, MT and founder of Immnosciences Lab (ISL) which analyzes tests that depict pathogens, autoimmune diseases and illnesses.
The trigeminal nerve is responsible for feeling and sensation in the face.
Cohen explains her husband had trigeminal neuralgia for a year and says, “It’s where your face feels like somebody plugged it into an electric socket. It can be episodic or the pain in your face can be more chronic.”
Dr. Vojdani says trigeminal headaches are tied to chemical toxins. He suffers from chemical intolerances and experiences pain from certain triggers. He says, “If I go to the super market in the detergent isle that’s exactly what’s going to happen to me. It immediately affects my trigeminal nerve and I get a serious headache. That’s a sign of chemical sensitivity.”
The Mayo Clinic says, “The stabbing, lancinating, recurrent facial pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is considered one of the most painful sensations in human experience. It occurs in the distribution of the trigeminal nerve, is of sudden onset, and is excruciating. It can impact mood, sleep, overall health, and employment and, in some cases, has led to suicide.”
The root cause is linked to microbiome damage which effects immunity.
The Journal of Autoimmunity, volume 39, December 2012, focused on environmental vs genetics causing autoimmunity. Their conclusion, along with the NIH, based upon heavy study of twins and autoimmunity was 30% of autoimmunity was sourced from genetics the other 70% is from environmental triggers.
Dr. Vojdani, founder of a lab testing facility, says there are several ways to test for autoimmune diseases. He developed a test that measures over 40 autoimmunity diseases from one blood test. This saves costs as it can test many issues in one attempt. This test can be accessed at CYREX Laboratories, array number 5.
“Autoimmunity is developed over 20-30 years. You want to detect autoimmunity at an early stage so we can take precautionary measures by removing the triggers,” Dr. Vojdani says. He goes on to say, “The test is showing the weakness in your body. It is targeted by your immune system and if you do not do something about it, it can progress to full-blown autoimmune disease in the next years.”

The body is built with protection against autoimmunity. The thymus gland monitors attack. Oral intolerance tolerates dietary proteins and bacterium. Dr. Vojdani says, “Environmental factors, such as toxic chemicals, break down tolerances and the results could become gut dysbiosis. If we don’t correct gut dysbiosis it will lead to Leaky Gut. If we don’t correct Leaky Gut it will lead to autoimmunity.”
Some people experience good results by stimulating the thymus gland simply by thumping the thymus with a couple of fingers, gently and repetitively throughout the day.
When the gut is broken disease is imminent.
Many researchers and doctors are not recommending probiotics to prevent the problematic decline of the microbiome. There are many probiotics on the market capitalizing on this rising wave, however many of them are not worth the money as they contain fillers and GMOs which damage gut flora further. Three highly recommended probiotics are Prescript Assist (click here), Biokult (click here), and Gut Pro.
Nutrient dense foods are vital to complete the diet giving the body strength and prevent inflammation. These foods ensure the tight junctions in the gut remain fit, not leaky. Starches, sugars and processed foods of all kinds, including preservatives and additives, break down these tight junctions.
Leaky Gut and what is now termed as Leaky Brain are connected by the gut-brain vagus nerve. Dr. Vojdani says, “Many factors that affect the gut also affect the blood brain barrier. When gut brain barriers get opened, unwanted cells such as T helper cells, T Helper 1, T Helper 17 can get into the brain area attacking the tissue. Other brain proteins are going to be released and the body’s going to make antibodies against them. The whole vicious cycle of autoimmunity is going to start.”
He says aspects that assist strength of the blood brain barrier are vitamin D, vitamin A, glutamine, omega- 3, DHA, EPA, fish oil, resveratrol, mild outdoor exercise, nutrient dense foods and colostrum. Vitamin D and vitamin A taken together in the form of fermented cod liver oil is the most beneficial and most absorbable method to supplement D &A.
*If you learned something from this post share it so others can do the same. To support the efforts of this blog shop the affiliate links above like this one. You pay the same shopping through Amazon while the author receives a small referral fee from Amazon. This offsets the costs of this site.
*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, GAPS who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia through food she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. This is not a news article published by a paper trying to make money. This blog is put out by a mom who sees first hand the effects of nourishing food vs food-ish items. No company pays her for writing these blogs, she considers this a form of missionary work. It is her desire to scream it from the rooftops so that others don’t suffer from the damaging effect of today’s “food”.
Other sources:
http://www.cyrexlabs.com/meettheteam/tabid/165/default.aspx
http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/mucosal_barrier.pdf
http://www.glutensensitivity.net/VojdaniDiagrams.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/clinical-updates/neurosciences/treating-trigeminal-nerve-pain
http://migraine.com/blog/migraine-triggers-dehydration/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08968411/39
http://theglutensummit.com/team/aristo-vojdani/
http://thethyroidsummit.com/aristo-vojdani-phd-msc-mt/
http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/148.cfm
4 Comments
I have to disagree that this is always the cause, I have always stayed well hydrated, water, and have been adding fermented foods to my diet, and eating well for the last 4 months and last week with some crazy weather changes i suffered from a severe headache that lasted for 4 days, and it would not respond to ant natural remedies that i tried, the only thing that helped was my migraine medicine that I hadn’t taken for quite awhile.
after rereading the article i’m not seeing where it says anything is “the cause”. it gives options of potential causes specifically being food intolerances and dehydration. a great deal of food intolerances go unrecognized dues to what dr natasha campbell-mcbride calls phantom masking where the body covers the intolerance in its attempt to override the offender. this can include any food, including real organic foods. from what i understand if pressure changes are causing the situation it’s stressing the microbiome exposing weaknesses in the good flora, strengths in the pathogenic flora. it’s still a huge mystery and your findings are just as much evidence as what is found in the lab. if you find more that can help you put your finger on the cause let us know so it may help others too. so happy to hear that you were able to resolve your pain, migraine medicine is a tool in the toolbox.
I think you’re trying to convey that gluten is the root cause and I can not agree more.
My feet hurt me so bad I could barely stay on them more thAn four hours a day. Stopped eating bread and pasta etc and it’s like I never had pain at all. It was really painful. Couldn’t wear high heels. I switched sneakers everyday just to get by.
I have also gotten rid of brain fog. Was starting to think I had a brain tumor or something.
Have had other improvements but my point is stay away from Gluten!
All migraines are not created equal. Mine are hormonal, get them every month for 3 days, like clockwork. I am Gluten/processed food/additive free, eat home-made cultured foods and am well hydrated. I am also Chemically sensitive though and scented products, and highly stressful situations can bring about an extra occurrence sometimes.