There are many causes for headaches and migraines. Many people would probably agree, one of the biggest causes right now is the political climate and uncertainty that seems to always linger in the background of our thoughts. It can be really stressful!
Stress is a big cause of headaches and migraines. You may say “But I always have stress. So how do I get rid of stress-related headaches?” First you have to ask which organs or glands control the stress response. It is the adrenal glands (stimulated by the hypothalamus). The first order of business in getting stress headaches under control is to strengthen the adrenal glands and their response to stress. How do we do that? Acupuncture and herbs are the front line approach to giving them a boost. I cannot tell you how many of my patients are amazed at how calm they feel when they get acupuncture and how, as we build up their adrenal glands, normally stressful things seem to slide by without hardly a second thought.
Next, we have to look at what we are consuming, starting with water. Many headaches can be avoided, or quickly controlled just with adequate water intake. Most of the year, you need to drink ½ your body weight in ounces per day, maxing out at 100 ounces. So, if you weigh, for example, 140 pounds, you need to be drinking 70 ounces per day. Up to 20 percent more during the summer or strenuous activity where you are losing water via sweat.
Caffeine, alcohol and sugar could also be headache triggers, or prevent you from easily bringing them under control. If I personally, had a choice between having a headache or not drinking coffee, I’d abandon the coffee in a heartbeat. There are so many other substitutes today – no sense consuming something that can make you sick. Some people get relief from coffee, however, it is a short term fix that causes long term exacerbations in your headache control plan.
Blood sugar instability, hormonal imbalances, posture and vertebral subluxations, lack of or too much exercise, liver overwhelm, food sensitivities, toxicity, and medication side effects are all common causes of headaches. It is important to distinguish between headache triggers and causes of headaches. They are not the same thing. We are getting to the bottom line cause when we do a complete investigation of all of your health challenges collectively. We also look for deficiencies or things that are inhibiting you from healing.
So while there are some definitive things you can start doing, like the ideas above, getting a complete evaluation is really in order if you want to get down to the root cause so you can get rid of your headaches and migraines once and for all.
©2020 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
