Can Grape Juice Really Cure Migraines? The Truth Will Shock You

What is a Migraine?

A migraine is one of the most common disorders prevalent today, affecting approximately a billion people. A Migraine is classified as a headache disorder that features recurrent headaches as the disorder’s hallmark.

The headaches are characteristically present on one side of the head and are throbbing in nature. The pain experienced may be very severe or moderate. Unfortunately, a migraine is rarely without other symptoms.

Associated symptoms include heightened sensitivity to light, sound, and smell. Most often, the headache and the sensitivity are accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

The condition can prove debilitating as physical activity worsens the symptoms. The only hope for relief is to lie down and wait for the symptoms to run their course. This process can normally take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days.

A Migraine takes a serious toll on the individual and affects his productivity. It is estimated that the loss in productivity attributed to migraines goes well into billions of dollars.

Prevalence of a Migraine

Affecting almost a billion, migraine is not an uncommon occurrence, and trends show that it will only rise. In terms of percentages by gender, migraines affect more women than men.

However, in teenagers approaching puberty, the incidence is higher in boys than in girls.

Teenagers with a propensity towards the illness first start exhibiting symptoms around their mid-teen years, while the disease becomes full-blown by the time people approach their middle age.

The loss of the ability to do work has a major impact on the individual’s life. Interestingly, migraines occur more frequently in the West than in Asian nations.

What Causes Migraine?

The high degree of prevalence and the sheer number of people affected by it have sparked a large interest in investigating the origins of the disorder.

The causes have been scrutinized as possible sources for the cure, but the causes are far from easy to pinpoint.

Migraines occur because of a combination of factors, including genetics and triggers. The triggers can further be divided into physiological, dietary, and environmental.

New research has shed light that migraines may be a neurovascular condition coming in heavy. Genetics plays the most prominent role in bringing out these conditions.

The likelihood of migraines associated with genetics is higher for symptoms with visual disturbances called the aura. Similarly, hormonal levels are also associated with migraines; these symptoms are largely felt by menstruating women.

The type of migraine they experience is aura without the visual disturbance.

The dietary triggers have been mostly self-reported but constitute important information regarding the cause of migraines.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), a culprit in many other disorders, has frequently been reported as a trigger for migraines.

Living with a history of a migraine can present itself to be a persistent challenge. The best treatment methods target managing the disorder through medication and coping mechanisms that can get a person through the dreary episode.

The reports that suggest that diet plays an important role in triggering a migraine episode have left people wondering if certain foods can trigger migraines and if some of them can provide relief from them.

This has resulted in research being conducted to determine which food or drink can serve as effective migraine pain reducers.

The underlying logic is that it is generally acknowledged that the splitting headaches caused by migraines may have hormonal or chemical imbalances as their core cause.

An example is that a fall in serotonin levels in the bloodstream can cause a strong pain that develops into a migraine.

The reason behind this fall in levels may be some nutritional oversight on the person’s part.

An adequate supply of these lacking nutrients through the diet can bring the chemical levels within the norms and thus reduce the symptoms of throbbing pain.

Treatment & Management of Migraines

Traditionally, migraines have been treated with a combination of drugs that aim at reducing the symptoms, most notably the splitting headache.

Drugs prescribed towards this end include the likes of paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Triptans are prescribed for reversing the neurological changes in the brain that bring migraines about, while anti-emetics tackle nausea and vomiting.

Grape Juice as a Potential Relief

A recent study by the University of Maryland Medical Center has revealed that foods rich in Vitamin B2, also known as Riboflavin, have been extremely effective in reducing migraine headaches.

Use over a period of time showed that the number of migraines experienced decreased by half due to the use of Vitamin B2.

This is where grapes come into the picture. As a naturally occurring fruit, grapes are filled with much-needed vitamins; the most potent are vitamins A, C, and B2.

Squeezing the grapes and making juice out of them can be the perfect remedy for migraine relief.

The seeds and skin of grapes are particularly high in Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin).

Hence, while preparing your juice, extracting the beneficial Riboflavin from them is essential to take full advantage of them. Other antioxidants present in the liver can also be of immense value as they aid liver function.

It is important to mention that store-bought grape juice will not do the trick.

Aside from the monstrous amounts of sugar added to it, the normal retail version of grape juice is made without riboflavin-containing seeds, which are central to reducing migraine-induced pain.

Hence, it is best to prepare your own juice or buy organic grape juice that has all the essentials intact. The recommended dose is two medium-sized glasses of grape juice a day.

The effect reduces the symptoms of an already existing migraine, while the protracted practice of this regimen reduces the occurrence of migraines.

The added advantage of this alternative remedy is that they do away with the disturbing side effects of prescription migraine drugs.

Following such a regimen will lower dependence on drugs and will encourage you to avoid triggers. The world seems to be moving to more natural lifestyles, which is an interesting and efficient remedy.

References:

Ferrari, Michel D., et al. “Oral triptans (serotonin 5-HT 1B/1D agonists) in acute migraine treatment: a meta-analysis of 53 trials.” The Lancet 358.9294 (2001): 1668-1675.

Morandi, E., et al. “Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale: a new migraine treatment?.” Journal of Interventional Cardiology 16.1 (2003): 39-42.

Lipton, Richard B., Sandra W. Hamelsky, and Jeffrey M. Dayno. “What do patients with a migraine want from acute migraine treatment?.” A Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 42.s1 (2002): 3-9.