3 Ayurvedic hacks to relieve migraine symptoms

According to the World Health Organization, 1 adult in every 7 in the world is affected by migraines and it is three times more common in women than men.

Since migraines can be extremely painful and debilitating, sufferers’ first instinct during a migraine episode is to pop pills to get relief. However, Dr Dixa Bhavsar Savaliya, an Ayurveda expert, suggests switching to natural remedies to relieve the symptoms, the Indian Express reports.

To help manage migraines, the expert lists some common ingredients found in most Indian kitchens.

Taking to Instagram, she captioned a post that reads, “So, stop popping pills for migraine symptoms and switch to these Ayurvedic migraine healers found in your kitchen.”

Soaked raisins

Dr Dixa recommends drinking a special herbal tea first thing in the morning – right after this she advises eating 10-15 raisins that are soaked overnight.

The herbal tea is made with one teaspoon of coriander seeds, one teaspoon of fennel seeds, 5-7 mint leaves, and 10 curry leaves. Add all these ingredients in one glass of water and boiled it for 3-5 minutes on a medium flame, she said.

The soaked raisins reportedly work wonders in relieving migraine headaches.

According to the expert, when consumed consistently for 12 weeks, it helps to reduce the excess pitta in the body along with aggravated Vata and soothes all the symptoms associated with migraine like nausea, acidity, irritation, one-sided headache, intolerance to heat, etc.

In Ayurveda, the human body comprises three fundamental categories known as doshas which are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The Pitta dosha is linked to metabolism, digestion, and energy production while the Vata dosha is associated with bodily movement and motion-related functions.

Cumin-cardamom tea

This tea can be had one hour after lunch or dinner or whenever the symptoms of a migraine are prominent.

This concoction reportedly works best to provide relief from nausea and stress. To make this tea, add one teaspoon of cumin seeds (jeera) and one cardamom to half a glass of water.

Boil these two ingredients with the water for 3 minutes – strain and drink this pacifying brew.

Vouching for its effectiveness, Reema Kinjalkar, a nutritionist at Urban Platter, an online grocery shopping store reportedly said, “Undoubtedly, cumin and cardamom tea do help with migraine pain.”

According to the nutritionist, migraine is linked to elevated oxidative stress and neurogenic inflammation in the brain. So, explaining how the combination of ingredients works to help alleviate the migraine pain she said that the foods that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are important to counter this stress and inflammation.

The antioxidants present in the ingredients reduce oxidative stress and thereby limit the generation of free radicals, which in turn reduces tissue inflammation.

Reema states, “Cumin contains flavonoids including apigenin and luteolin, whereas cardamom has α-terpinyl acetates, which are antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, cardamoms have an antispasmodic effect that relaxes muscle tissues and aids in headaches and migraines.”

Cow ghee

“Nothing works better than cow ghee in balancing excess pitta in body and mind — a cause for migraine,” Dr Dixa adds.

Here’s how you can add ghee to your food:

• On roti, in rice, or while sautéing veggies

• Add ghee to milk at bedtime

• It can also be consumed as nasya (instill 2 drops in the nostrils)

• Ghee can also be taken with medicines

• Certain herbs for migraine like brahmi, shankhpushpi, yastimadhu, etc., can be had with ghee.

Dr Dixa also recommends following healthy food habits. She further advises practicing breathwork, and to avoid the triggers of migraines so that this condition can be healed from the root.