Drinking water - A simple cure for migraine

Researchers claim that increasing water intake by about six cups per day can reduce the intensity and duration of migraine attacks, reports Sade Oguntola.
Many migraine patients report that certain foods are often related to the triggering of migraine attacks. Fortunately, identifying and avoiding these foods can help to significantly reduce the frequency of attacks. In addition, research has shown that migraine patients may be able to decrease the number of migraines they experience by increasing their water intake by about 6 cups per day.

Wondering if this is possible? According to a new finding published in the European Journal Of Neurology, drinking water could be a simple cure for migraines. The findings, published in the European Journal Of Neurology, suggested that people that experience migraine especially in hot weather should drink more water to prevent dehydration, which is a significant factor in the build-up to migraine attacks, this can reduce the intensity and duration of attack.

In the study, the researchers examined whether increasing water intake in migraine patients would help prevent future attacks. For the study, the 18 people that participated were divided into two groups.  The first group received a placebo medication, while the second group was instructed to drink 1.5 additional Liters of water on top of their normal intake every day.  After 12 weeks of the experimental treatment, each group had their migraine headache symptoms measured.

The results of this study found that the group who increased their water intake, reduced their total hours of headaches in a two-week period by 21 hours.  This group also had a significant decrease in the intensity of their headache pain.

Simply put, dehydration occurs as the result of excessive loss of water from the body, when we lose more water than we take in. It’s a bit more complicated than that since the body loses valuable electrolytes as well. Dehydration can be a major issue, both in and of itself and as a headache or Migraine trigger due to the lowering of blood volume. Unfortunately, a reduction in blood volume causes less blood and oxygen to the brain.

Many people mistakenly think it occurs only in hot weather and that you’re not dehydrated if you’re not thirsty. Both of these misconceptions lead to many cases of dehydration every year, some of them quite serious. However, it takes an average of 64 to 80 ounces to replace the water our bodies lose in 24 hours. Under normal circumstances, how much water the body needs depends a great deal on the volume of perspiration and urine output. In addition, the bodies’ water needs increases under circumstances such as warmer weather or climate, increased physical activity, when experiencing vomiting, diarrhea or fever.

People suffering from migraines have learned that there can be many different types of triggers that lead to a migraine attack.  Weather, lights, noise, stress, sleeping problems, alcohol, caffeine, and many others can affect migraine sufferers in different ways.  And while the exact mechanism of what causes a migraine remains unclear, “almost 40 to 50 per cent of all triggers of migraine is due to stress, sleeping problems, diet, menstrual cycle and environmental changes such as light among others,” stated Dr Mayowa Owolabi, a consultant neurologist at the University College Hospital (UCH),Ibadan, Oyo State.

Although what triggers a headache for one person may not bother someone else, Dr Owolabi stated that dehydration was not a scientifically and recognized trigger of migraine.

According to Dr Owolabi, “even though generally water deprivation is not good for anyone because the entire body system runs on water, dehydration is not a recognized and well studied as well as established precipitant of migraine attack.”

Nonetheless, dehydration is best avoided because of its implications on health. According to Dr Owolabi, “the body composition is almost 70 per cent water. All the chemical reactions that take place in the body require water as a medium to take place. As such, when there is water shortage, the whole body system would go awry. A person that does not take enough water stands the risk of kidney stones and even a kidney failure. So many things can happen. Ordinarily, an adult living in the tropics needs to take three litres of water per day if he or she does not have kidney problem.”

By what mechanisms can lack of water produce migraine triggers? For one, our nerves (which are themselves tiny water pathways) send signals to control every part of our body. If a lack of water thickens the fluid inside nerves, their signals can be distorted. Distorted signals can be migraine triggers. In addition, water normally carries toxins away from cells. Without sufficient water, toxins build up and cause inflammation to nerves. Inflamed nerves are migraine triggers.

Water is a vitally important transport system, but it also plays an active role in body chemistry. For example, the liver uses water to metabolize fats into usable energy. Without enough water, there will be a lack of energy to power various cell pumps that keep migraine triggers from overwhelming neurons in the brain and causing a migraine

However, another way that migraine can be avoided with natural substances is to eat apples. Certainly, apple is no miracle medicine, but this will help to avoid unhealthy migraine triggers such as caffeine and alcohol. Apples, just like many foods, also contain a certain amount of water that can add to your water routine without forcing yourself to drink more water unlike coffee, chocolate, and anything else that contains a significant amount of caffeine which can ease bring about these headaches.

Changes in the body such as moderate hunger, stress, changes in the balance of hormones, and changes in normal sleeping patterns can also bring on a headache. But those who drink a moderate amount of water on a daily basis can easy some of the symptoms of these altered patterns, including reducing migraine headaches.

Written by Sade Oguntola - tribune.com.ng