FAQ Episode 21: Ginger root as Migraine therapy

FAQs for Natural Migraine Relief

Ginger root has long been used as a home remedy for migraine headaches.  In this episode, I’d like to review how and why ginger could help, and how to use it as acute therapy for a migraine headache.

When we think about how any potential remedy could help a health problem like migraine headaches, it is helpful to consider that the management of any health problem like migraines requires the identification and management or removal of the individual specific root cause factors that cause the problem.

Because ginger has been found to reduce both pain and nausea, it has been studied in the context of migraine headaches.  Results have varied from ‘no benefit’ to ‘pain-free 2 hours after treatment’.  On the anecdotal side, I have had many patients report to me that their at-home use of ginger when they sensed an approaching migraine, minimized or blocked their headache pain and associated symptoms.

In one 2013 study of 100 patients, researchers found that taking a half teaspoon of ginger in a little warm water at the onset of a migraine attack can be "statistically comparable to sumatriptan," a commonly prescribed migraine abortive.¹  Ginger has far fewer side effects than sumatriptan and is considerably less expensive, so it may be worth trying to see how it works for you.

Some migraine root cause factors that ginger may address include:

-increasing the levels of serotonin, which acts as a chemical messenger during migraine attacks. Increasing serotonin can help migraines by reducing inflammation and constricting blood vessels.

-inhibiting excess prostaglandins. Excess prostaglandin enzymes have been used associated with painful menstruation, osteoarthritis, and migraines.

-downregulating overactive white blood cell neutrophils, which are hyperactive in several autoimmune diseases, perpetuating ongoing inflammation. Inflammation in general is one of the more important migraine root cause factors we should always address.

Because ginger has multiple active chemical constituents, it’s not yet clear which of them plays the greatest role in helping to relieve migraine.  We also have to consider that the chemical constituents of ginger will vary depending on the source and extraction method. These factors, along with your individual-specific root cause factors for migraine will determine the potential benefit of ginger therapy for you.

Having given you that general disclaimer, let’s get down to details on how you might use ginger to manage a migraine. First off, while some may use daily ginger to prevent migraines, it is more commonly used at the onset to manage the acute event, and that is what we’ll be reviewing. 

Here are some of the more commonly used ‘ginger strategies’:

1.  One of the more common recipes is to stir a ¼ or ½ teaspoon of ground ginger directly into 6-8 ounces of water and drink it as ‘ginger juice’.  You might find it easier to mix it in an 8 oz bottled water. Pour off an ounce or two first, put the ginger in, cap the bottle, and shake well.  You can also make it into a hot tea using the same recipe.

2. You can also take ginger in capsules, where the equivalent dose is 1-2 caps taken when you first note pre-headache aura symptoms or at the onset of pain. You can repeat the dose in 2 hours if needed.  Look for this as the 550 mg capsules, and it’s probably best to get the full spectrum root extract, as we are not sure which combination of ginger ingredients gives the best benefit.  You can generally buy 100 caps in the $4-8 price range.   If it works, that beats the full retail sumatriptan cost of $10 per pill (although, through insurance, most prescriptions are now considerably less than that).

3. You can also use ginger as an essential oil, applying it directly to your temple area.  You can also add it to a warm bath or steam diffuser, although the benefit of this use is more for nausea than headache pain management.

4. Using ginger in a lozenge is an option if you don’t want to drink ginger tea, or prefer not to use essential oils.  Lozenges are generally more helpful for nausea.

If you want to give ginger a try for migraine management, you may need some trial and error to see:  1) does this work for me? And 2) what source, what dose, and which of the four methods described above works best for me?

Ginger is only one of 90 non-drug therapy options I’ve found useful for migraine headaches.  If you would like to understand the broader range of root cause factors that drive your migraines and then individualize the many possible therapy options, you should take a look at my comprehensive Natural Migraine Relief for Women course and its unique Migraine Action Plan system.   See www.naturalmigrainerelief.online for more details.

Also, remember to subscribe to this Substack blog to get regular postings on Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief for Women.

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References:

1. Comparison Between the Efficacy of Ginger and Sumatriptan in the Ablative Treatment of the Common Migraine  M . Maghbooli, et.al. Phytotherapy Research May 2013 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23657930/