These Nutrients May Help Some Migraine Sufferers

worried manIf you have ever had a migraine headache then you know how debilitating they can be. There was an interesting study that revealed some new information about some old news.

Some migraine sufferers find relief from severity and frequency of migraine headaches by adding additional B vitamins but the study showed why some people get relief while other do not with additional B vitamins.

What these investigators did was combine that
information with the much newer science of
nutrigenomics and showed that some migraine sufferers
benefited much more from B vitamin supplementation
than others.

There is a genetic polymorphism called MTHFRC677T
(Don’t you love scientific nomenclature). All you
really need to know is that people with this genetic
polymorphism have significantly higher requirements for
folic acid and slightly higher requirements for
vitamins B6 and B12.

People with this polymorphism also tend to have
elevated levels of homocysteine and increased risk of
diseases that are influenced by folic acid, B6 & B12.

More to the point, this polymorphism significantly
increases the risk of migraines. For example, the
frequency of the MTHFRC677T polymorphism in the general
population is only 5-10%, but it approaches 40% in
migraine sufferers.

This was a double blind, placebo controlled study
designed to determine the effectiveness of B vitamins
(2 mg folic acid, 25 mg B6 and 400 ug B12) in
decreasing the frequency and severity of migraine
attacks in long term migraine sufferers.

The migraine sufferers were divided into two groups, a
B vitamin group and a placebo group, and were evaluated
at 3 and 6 months.

Migraine disability in the B vitamin supplement group
decreased from 60% to 30% (a highly significant
decrease) during that 6 month period, while there was
no decrease in the placebo group.

When the groups were stratified according to the
MTHFRC677T polymorphism the reduction in migraine
disability was an even more impressive 76% to 28%. No
significant decrease in migraine disability was
observed in either the placebo group or the B vitamin
group without the MTHFRC677T polymorphism.

In short, some people experienced dramatic relief from
their migraines by supplementing with B vitamins while
others experienced little or no relief – and the
difference in response was determined by their genetic
make-up.

So what about you?

If you are a migraine sufferer, B vitamin
supplementation is worth a try. You should know within
3 to 6 months whether you are one of the fortunate ones
who will experience dramatic relief from something as
simple and risk-free as B vitamin supplementation.

If you don’t want to wait 6 months, just try a holistic
approach. Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil), calcium and
magnesium help many migraine sufferers – and their
effects are independent of the MTHFRC677T polymorphism.

A holistic approach that includes B vitamins, omega-3
fatty acids, calcium & magnesium is likely to offer
some benefit to just about anyone who suffers
migraines.

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney

Dr. Stephen Chaney
Shaklee Master Coordinator

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