Nutrient Deficiencies In Migraine Sufferers?

Most migraine sufferers would do just about anything to avoid the ensuing pain, hassle and sensitivities that come from dealing with that type of headache. They can often be debilitating, leaving the victim in bed in a darkened room with an ice pack on the head or spurring a trip to the urgent care for strong medication in an injection or IV. If there would be anything that could be done to help in the prevention of them without added risks or side effects, it would most likely be welcomed by many. Diet could always be a possible source of concern, and a recent study explored a possible link that showed many young people who suffer from migraines also have vitamin deficiencies.

The study included children, teens and young adult migraine patients who were treated at Cincinnati Children's Headache Center. Researchers found that a high percentage of them had mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 (a vitamin-like substance used to produce energy for cell growth and maintenance). There were also some trends that emerged along a gender predisposition. Girls and young women were more likely than boys and young men to have coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, but boys and young men were more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. There was also the broad finding that patients with chronic migraines were more likely to have coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin deficiencies than patients with episodic migraines.

Many of the patients were prescribed preventive migraine medications and received vitamin supplementation if their levels were low. Unfortunately, outcome measures of how the migraines were affected were not recorded for this study because too few patients received vitamins alone. Further research would be needed to determine if vitamin supplementation of these nutrients could help prevent migraines. Previous research has suggested that certain vitamins and vitamin deficiencies may be important in migraine, but studies using vitamins to prevent migraines have yielded mixed results, according to the researchers.

Whether they may actually be considered a preventative for migraines or not, all of the aforementioned nutrients should be maintained at normal levels for proper health. Riboflavin helps in energy production and is important for iron metabolism. Vitamin D helps regulate your immune system and is necessary for calcium absorption and bone growth. CoQ10 is essential for heart muscle health and helps protect various aspects the circulatory system. If you are a migraine sufferer, make sure you are maintaining proper levels of these nutrients.