Migraine sufferers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there is some help for their pain in the form of nutrition and supplements. Drugs don’t have to be the only answer, which is great considering the number of side effects that usually come with them.

Neurologist Dr. Allen S. Josephs, Co-Founder & Chairman of Vitacost.com provides some insight into the recent studies that have been done using nutitional supplements to treat migraine pain. Below are some of the highlights.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
There was a double-blinded study published in the February 2005 edition of the journal Neurology regarding coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Forty-two migraine sufferers were randomly assigned to receive either 300 mg a day of CoQ10 or placebo. It was found that by the end of the third month of treatment, those individuals given the CoQ10 had a statistically significant improvement in the frequency of the migraine attacks.

The B vitamin Riboflavin
A ten year old study, again published in the journal Neurology, produced some profound results. Fifty-five patients with migraine were randomly assigned to receive either 400 mg a day of riboflavin or placebo for three months. Again, the riboflavin group at the end of the three months had a statistically significant improvement in the migraine frequency. An additional study found that as little as 25mg a day of riboflavin may also have a beneficial effect.

Alpha lipoic acid
In the January 2007 edition of the journal Headache, a total of five Belgium centers recruited 44 migraine sufferers. Half the group was given 600 mg a day of thioctic acid (alpha lipoic acid) or placebo for three months. Those individuals given the alpha lipoic acid showed a significant reduction in the frequency of migraine attacks along with the severity.

The herbal supplement butterbur
Two trials utilizing butterbur totaling 293 patients were reviewed. Both studies showed that butterbur reduced migraine frequency by more than 50% over three to four months. Butterbur has also been shown in clinical trials to apparently be effective for seasonal allergies.

Magnesium
Magnesium has actually been used in emergency rooms at hospitals and is given intravenously to abort migraines. Magnesium can also benefit asthma patients and is also used in emergency rooms for this purpose. In a double-blind study, 600 mg a day of magnesium citrate was given to 30 people with migraine compared to 10 people given placebo. It was found that those individuals given the magnesium had a significant improvement in the diagnostic studies.

The article in it’s entirety can be read here. The moral of this post is pretty clear though (at least I hope it is): there is an awful lot of natural help available for those who suffer from migraines. You just have to be willing to have patience because they usually take longer to make a difference than drugs do.


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