Eat Away Your Headache

Chronic headache sufferers may find pain relief in their food choices.  Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have been shown to impact physical pain and psychological distress.

Previous studies had indicated that lowering omega-6 in the diet led to a decrease in headache pain.  Researchers now know that increasing omega-3 at the same time the omega-6 is being reduced brings an even greater reduction in pain.  Additionally, subjects reported significant reduction in psychological distress, as well as improvement in both mental and physical health and fewer total headache days per month.

Unfortunately, the modern western diet tends to an overabundance of omega-6 without sufficient omega-3.  Omega-6 is found in many major food oils as well as poultry, some nuts and cereals.  Common sources of Omega-3 are cold-water fish, such as salmon and tuna.

Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about getting the proper proportions of these essential fatty acids as part of a healthy diet.  Chiropractic care, hand in hand with proper nutrition, allows your body to perform at its optimal level without the need for medications which may have dangerous side-effects.

 

SOURCE:  Targeted alterations in dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids improve life functioning and reduce psychological distress among patients with chronic headache: a secondary analysis of a randomized trial.  Pain.  April 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25790451?dopt=Abstract