6 Major Causes of Migraine Headaches
Do you suffer from painful, recurring migraines? Would you like to learn how to prevent them from happening in the first place? The key lies in the underlying cause. Watch as Dr. Hotze discusses 6 major causes of migraine headaches.
Podcast Video Highlights:
1:17: Migraine is a form of headache. The headache is just a symptom of underlying problems.
1:52: The headaches can last for several hours to several days, and they’re very debilitative, and oftentimes, cause people to miss work or just not be able to function at all in their household activities or in their work activities.
2:36: Remember, when a doctor tells you that you have headaches, or migraine headaches, or cluster headaches, or neurological headaches, he’s simply taking the symptom and converting the symptom to a diagnosis, which it’s not. Headaches have underlying causes; they’re not caused by low levels of pharmaceutical drugs.
3:22: There are really six major causes of severe headaches, which oftentimes are referred to as migraine headaches.
3:54: If it happens at the same time every month, that’s very classical for headaches caused by hormonal imbalance.
5:09: Low magnesium can be a cause of migraine headaches because, when a person has low magnesium, they can get spasm of their arteries. This can occur in their brain, and when it does, it’ll cause headaches, severe headache, which are oftentimes referred to as migraine headaches.
6:06: When a woman has progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance, that can cause some fluid retention in the brain, as well, and that can lead to migraine headaches.
6:45: It’s not at all uncommon for individuals to be allergic to a specific or several foods that can precipitate headaches.
7:43: People that have yeast problems can commonly have recurring and chronic headaches.
8:15: When people are under stress, their adrenal glands tend to produce high levels of adrenaline. They get an adrenaline rush when they’re under stress and get very anxious. That can cause vasospasm – spasm of the arteries – and that can lead to migraine headaches.
8:30: So, the key thing is not to treat your symptoms, which is the migraine headache, but to treat the underlying cause.
Podcast Video Transcription:
Stacey Bandfield: Welcome to Dr. Hotze’s Wellness Revolution. This is Stacey Bandfield, here with Dr. Steven Hotze, founder of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center. Just a reminder to go to hotzepodcast.com, that’s H-O-T-Z-E podcast.com, to download all of our podcast programs.
Now, this topic is near and dear to my heart because I suffered from it for years, and I know that millions of people suffer from it as well. I really feel for you if you’ve got this problem. What am I talking about? Migraines.
If you have not suffered from migraines before, maybe you know people who have. It really is a very debilitating condition that does affect your personal life and your career. So, Dr. Hotze, maybe you can explain to our viewers more about migraines.
Dr. Hotze: Okay. Migraine is a form of headache. The headache is just a symptom, really, of underlying problems. A migraine headache is a form of a symptom that is really caused by severe, oftentimes debilitating, pain – usually one-sided.
It can cause nausea and vomiting, and it can cause tremendous sensitivity to sound or to lights, so a person oftentimes has to seclude themselves in a very quiet place in the bedroom or someplace where they don’t hear any noise or have any lights to get as much relief as they possibly can. The headaches can last for several hours to several days, and they’re, as we mentioned, very debilitative, and oftentimes, cause people to miss work or just not be able to function at all in their household activities or in their work activities.
The real question is, what causes these problems? Most people, when they have a headache, they go see the physician. He’s going to tell them that their diagnosis is a headache. Might be migraine headache, depending on the severity, and he’s going to prescribe medication, a pharmaceutical drug, simply to try to mask the symptoms.
Remember, when a doctor tells you that you have headaches, or migraine headaches, or cluster headaches, or neurological headaches, he’s simply taking the symptom and converting the symptom to a diagnosis, which it’s not. Headaches have underlying causes; they’re not caused by low levels of pharmaceutical drugs. Migraine headaches are not caused by low levels of Imitrex or Zomig or other pharmaceutical drugs that relieve headaches.
As a matter of fact, all those drugs do is mask the symptoms. Nobody has migraine headaches, nobody has cluster headaches or any form of headaches because they have low levels of pharmaceutical drugs in their body. There’s an underlying cause, and that underlying cause is the diagnosis.
6 Major Causes of Migraine Headaches
There are really six major causes of severe headaches, which oftentimes are referred to as migraine headaches:
1. First is hormonal imbalance that occurs in women during their menstrual cycle. If headache, particularly a migraine headache or a severe headache, tends to occur in a cyclical fashion at the same time every month, that will be related to your menstrual cycle, which is related to the hormonal balance in your system over the month of your cycle. If it happens at the same time every month, that’s very classical for headaches caused by hormonal imbalance. (1, 2)
2. They can also be caused by low thyroid, a hypothyroid situation, where a person does not have enough active thyroid within the cells of their body – can’t produce enough energy – and that can lead to some swelling, some mucin formation, and that can affect the brain. As the brain swells, you can get severe headaches, and that can be a cause of migraine headaches: low thyroid situation.
3. Another common cause of migraine headaches is magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is a natural mineral which the body needs for healthy cellular process and biochemical process in the cells. It’s what enables the cells to properly develop the energy molecules in the cells that allow the cells to carry out the biochemical processes. It’s also important in relaxing the smooth muscles in the arteries or regulating the heart rhythm.
Low magnesium can be a cause of migraine headaches because, when a person has low magnesium, they can get spasm of their arteries. This can occur in their brain, and when it does, it’ll cause headaches, severe headache – which are oftentimes referred to as migraine headaches.
But also, estrogen dominance can lead to a magnesium deficiency, so it’s important. Most people are low in magnesium. The average person doesn’t even get what the recommended daily allowance is, which is low, anyway. So I’d highly recommend…In our guests, we recommend 600 to 1,000 mg at least daily of magnesium in divided doses.
I know in your case, when you were having the headaches, we talked about whether or not they could’ve been hormonal. It didn’t seem to be because they could occur at any time during the month. I said, “Why don’t you just try some magnesium?” And…
Stacey Bandfield: That’s right, and that did the trick. I really think, looking back, that for me, it was actually a combination of hormones and magnesium, because I did notice, definitely on day two of my cycle, that would historically be that day when I could count on a migraine. But I would also have them during the month, and a lot of more minor headaches throughout. So, definitely the progesterone and the magnesium was what did it for me.
Dr. Hotze: That’s right. Because when a woman has progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance, that can cause some fluid retention in the brain as well, and that can lead to migraine headaches. So, that’s common.
4. Another problem can be food sensitivities or food allergy. It’s not at all uncommon for individuals to be allergic to a specific or several foods that can precipitate headaches. Some people get it after drinking wine. It may be the chemicals in the wine – it’s the nitrates. Other people may get it after eating wheat, corn, egg, milk, yeast, soybean. Those are the big six. Those are commonly in all the processed foods.
Any of one of those can cause an allergic reaction, which causes the release of histamine into the system, which can cause spasm of the arteries in the brain. It can lead to the headaches. It’s a neurotoxin, really, the histamine is, and it can cause headaches by adversely affecting the neurotransmitters in the brain. So, that’s a very common problem.
5. Another problem we see is with yeast overgrowth. People that have yeast problems can commonly have recurring and chronic headaches. Yeast is caused when a person takes antibiotics because they’ve had an infection, and those antibiotics have killed not only abnormal bacteria but also healthy bacteria in the gut. They get yeast overgrowth, so yeast produces toxins, which can lead to some severe and debilitating headaches.
6. Also, stress can cause migraine headaches. When people are under stress, their adrenal glands tend to produce high levels of adrenaline. We get an adrenaline rush when they’re under stress – get very anxious. That can cause vasospasm – spasm of the arteries – and that can lead to migraine headaches.
So, the key thing is not to treat your symptoms, which is the migraine headache, but to treat the underlying cause. Talk with your physician. Particularly, someone here at the Hotze Health & Wellness Center understands this. Talk with one of our doctors here to try to determine whether or not your headaches are caused by hormonal imbalance (2), thyroid imbalance or decline, magnesium deficiency, chemical sensitivities, sensitivity due to foods – food allergy – or maybe stress. These are some of the common causes of migraine headaches that can be easily addressed without having to place you on pharmaceutical drugs.
So, my encouragement to you is to get yourself a health coach – a doctor and staff of professionals who can coach you on the path of health and wellness naturally, help you with your underlying problems, solve it by correcting the underlying cause of your symptoms so you enjoy a better quality of life and you don’t have to use a bunch of pharmaceutical drugs.
Stacey Bandfield: That’s right. You never know how many days you have in front of you. Why not live to the fullest, to have a high, really good quality of life? Give us a call today at 281-698-8698. It would be a privilege to serve you. You don’t have to suffer, you don’t have to live like this. There is a natural solution. 281-698-8698. Thank you for joining us today, here, at Dr. Hotze’s Wellness Revolution.
What’s Could be Causing Your Migraines?
Take our symptom checker quiz to find out if yeast, allergies or hormone decline could be the cause of your migraines. Don’t wait, it’s time to find the underlying cause of your migraines so you can treat it and finally have migraine relief.
Research
1. Treatment of Menstrual Cycle Associated Migraine
2. Defining the Relationship Between Ovarian Hormones and Migraine Headache
