headaches | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Randy and Jessica

Headaches may be a symptom of other medical conditions such as gluten intolerance, fibromyalgia, PMS, a reaction to aspartame in diet soda, or even pork tapeworms in the brain. Artificial sweeteners may cause headaches.

How to Treat Headaches Without Medications

Lavender oil and ginger may help relieve migraine headaches and hot sauce compounds may help relieve cluster headaches.

A double-blinded randomized controlled trial compared Imitrex, the medication most commonly prescribed for migraines, with powdered ginger. One-eighth of a teaspoon of powered ginger was found to be as effective as Imitrex.

Another placebo-controlled trial looked at lavender oil as a treatment for migraine pain. Once they noticed the early signs of a headache, the lavender group was told to place 2 to 3 drops of lavender essential oil on their upper lips, in addition to inhaling the vapors of the lavender oil for 15 minutes. The control group did the same using unscented liquid wax. In the lavender group, 74 percent reported an improvement in their symptoms, which was significant compared to the placebo group.

For substantiation of any statements of fact from the peer-reviewed medical literature, please see the associated videos below.

Image Credit: Pxhere. This image has been modified.

38 videos

All Videos for Headaches

Two people helping each other with yoga poses

Yoga Put to the Test for Headaches, Diabetes, Osteoarthritis, and the Elderly

What happens when real yoga is compared to sham yoga?

Woman holding upper shoulder as if in pain

The Best Diet for Fibromyalgia and Other Chronic Pain Relief

Anti-inflammatory diets can be effective in alleviating chronic pain syndromes.

Wooden spoon with sweetener

Does the Sweetener Allulose Have Side Effects?

How safe are fourth-generation sweeteners, such as the rare sugar allulose?

Dried prunes on plate

Prunes: A Natural Remedy for Constipation

Prunes, figs, and exercise are put to the test as natural home remedies for constipation.

Hand raised showing a rock sign over the crowd at heavy metal concert

The Dangerous Effects of Heavy Metal Music

How might we moderate the rare but very real risk of headbanging?

Plate as an Alarm clock with knife and fork as clock hands on blue background

Fasting for Post-Traumatic Brain Injury Headache

What effect do fasting and a plant-based diet have on TBI and migraines?

Kombucha’s Side Effects: Is It Bad for You?

Kombucha’s Side Effects: Is It Bad for You?

What are the risks versus benefits of drinking kombucha?

COVID-19 Symptoms vs. the Flu, a Cold, or Allergies

COVID-19 Symptoms vs. the Flu, a Cold, or Allergies

What does the clinical course of COVID-19 look like for both those who survive and those who don’t?

Foods that Help Headache and Migraine Relief

Foods That Help Headache and Migraine Relief

Plant-based diets are put to the test for treating migraine headaches.

Are Weight Loss Supplements Safe?

Are Weight-Loss Supplements Safe?

Only 2 out of 12 supplement companies were found to have products that were even accurately labeled.

The 5-2 Diet and the Fasting-Mimicking Diet Put to the Test

The 5:2 Diet and the Fasting-Mimicking Diet Put to the Test

The effects of eating only 5 days a week or a fasting-mimicking diet 5 days a month.

Is Fasting for Weight Loss Safe?

Is Fasting for Weight Loss Safe?

The reasons why fasting longer than 24 hours, and particularly three or more days, should only be done under the supervision of a health professional and preferably in a live-in clinic.

man on cell phone

Do Cell Phones Cause Salivary Gland Tumors?

What effect does mobile phone radiation have on your parotid gland?

How to Treat Jet Lag with Light

How to Treat Jet Lag with Light

Use cheat sheets to figure out exactly when and how to treat jet lag using light exposure and light avoidance at specific times of the day, based on which direction you’re going and how many time zones you cross.

Is Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Real?

Is Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Real?

There have been at least 46 studies involving more than a thousand people to see if those suffering from electrosensitivity are deluding themselves.

Marijuana Legalization and the Opioid Epidemic

What happened in states after medical marijuana laws were passed? Did opioid overdoses go up, stay the same, or go down?

Is Candida Syndrome Real?

Does the presence of Candida in stool correlate with “Candida-hypersensitivity” symptoms, such as headaches and tiredness? And what happens when people are placed on a high-sugar diet?

Saffron for Erectile Dysfunction

Saffron for Erectile Dysfunction

What are the effects of both oral and topical application of the spice saffron for impotence in men?

Best Food for Lead Poisoning - Garlic

Best Food for Lead Poisoning – Garlic

Are there any benefits of garlic powder for treating mild-to-moderate lead poisoning?

Benefits of Ginger for Menstrual Cramps

Benefits of Ginger for Menstrual Cramps

An eighth of a teaspoon of ground ginger power is tested head-to-head against the leading drug for the alleviation of painful periods.

Ginger for Osteoarthritis

Ginger for Osteoarthritis

A quarter- to a half-teaspoon a day of powdered ginger can be as pain-relieving as ibuprofen, without the risk of damage to the intestinal lining.

Wakame Seaweed Salad May Lower Blood Pressure

Wakame Seaweed Salad May Lower Blood Pressure

Seaweed salad is put to the test for hypertension.

Striking with the Root: Turmeric Curcumin and Ulcerative Colitis

Striking with the Root: Turmeric Curcumin and Ulcerative Colitis

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found a dramatic effect of the anti-inflammatory spice pigment curcumin against inflammatory bowel disease.

Ginger for Migraines

Ginger for Migraines

An eighth teaspoon of powdered ginger was found to work as well as the migraine headache drug sumatriptan (Imitrex) without the side effects.

Aspartame and the Brain

Aspartame and the Brain

The reason artificially sweetened beverages have been associated with depression may be because of psychological disturbances recently tied to aspartame (“Equal” or “NutraSweet”).

How to Diagnose Gluten Intolerance

How to Diagnose Gluten Intolerance

After a formal evaluation to rule out celiac disease, those who suspect they might have gluten sensitivity should first try improving their diet and then have other causes excluded before going on a gluten-free diet, since as many as 1 in 3 people who avoid gluten for symptom control end up having a different disease altogether.

Preventing Liver Cancer with Coffee

Preventing Liver Cancer with Coffee

Based on studies linking coffee consumption with lower liver cancer risk, coffee is put to the test to see if it can help reduce liver damage in those with hepatitis C.

Chronic Headaches and Pork Tapeworms

Chronic Headaches and Pork Tapeworms

Chronic headaches such as migraines or “tension” headache symptoms may be a sign of pork tapeworms in the brain.

Hot Sauce in the Nose for Cluster Headaches?

Daily application of capsaicin, the burning component of hot peppers, into the nostril on the affected side of the head of cluster headache sufferers results in an 80% therapeutic response rate.

More than an Apple a Day: Preventing the Most Common Diseases

Dr. Greger has scoured the world’s scholarly literature on clinical nutrition, and developed this brand-new live presentation on the latest in cutting-edge research on how a healthy diet can affect some of our most common medical conditions.

Lavender for Migraine Headaches

A placebo-controlled clinical trial of lavender essential oil aromatherapy shows it to be an effective migraine therapy.

Fibromyalgia vs. Vegetarian and Raw Vegan Diets

Plant-based diets may be effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia, a painful condition suffered by millions.

Erythritol May Be a Sweet Antioxidant – UPDATE: don’t eat! (See doc note below)

The natural sweetener erythritol does not appear to carry the adverse effects associated with other non- and low-caloric natural and artificial sweeteners, and may actually have antioxidant potential.

cups of dark soda

Diet Soda and Preterm Birth

Aspartame may be the reason that diet soda consumption during pregnancy has been linked to premature birth.

Saffron for the Treatment of PMS

The spice saffron appears to improve both the emotional and physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Avoiding epilepsy through diet

Avoiding Epilepsy Through Diet

Avoiding pork tapeworm parasites (cysticercosis) is not as easy as just avoiding pork.

Pork tapeworms on the brain

Pork Tapeworms on the Brain

Neurocysticercosis, infection with pork tapeworm larvae brain parasites, is an increasingly serious public health problem in the United States, potentially causing headaches, dizziness, seizures, other neurological disorders, and sudden death.

Update on Herbalife®

Update on Herbalife®

The liver toxicity associated with Herbalife® supplements may be due to vitamin A toxicity.

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