Thursday, April 17, 2008

Caffeine and Migraines

Caffeine and Migraines
Taking in too much caffeine has been found to cause
migraines.

On the other hand taking in just enough caffeine has been
found to successfully prevent migraines. What's the deal?

Caffeine withdrawal is the primary cause of
caffeine-related migraines.

Therefore, using caffeine as a preventative method in
migraine relief can be done in two ways. The first is the
easiest, and paradoxically also the most difficult. Simply
limit your ingestion of caffeine to zero. No caffeine, no
caffeine withdrawal. Get it?

The second method involves a little work, but it does work.
All that is required is to take in enough caffeine over
intervals that occur close enough together to ensure that
you don't go into withdrawal. Both methods have their
advantages and their disadvantages, both require certain
sacrifices, but more importantly both work to keep caffeine
withdrawal at bay which keeps migraines at bay.

You would think that complete abstinence from caffeine
would thoroughly rid yourself of a caffeine migraine
headache. And yet this is not always the case. In theory,
it works just fine, but as a migraine relief program, it
suffers the same fate as sexual abstinence: Not everybody
is capable of sticking with the program.

Another problem is that the all too easy intake of caffeine
without realizing you are doing it. Complete and total
caffeine abstinence requires educating yourself on all
available sources of caffeine. It's not nearly enough just
to give up coffee and Mountain Dew. In order to
successfully avoid caffeine you have to be aware of all the
sources of caffeine. If you are going to take the route of
giving up caffeine altogether, for instance, you'll have to
be prepared to give up or use alternative non-caffeinated
versions of: tea, chocolate, liqueur, pudding, pain-relief
medications, energy drinks, diet pills, stay-awake pills.

So perhaps, the route of limiting caffeine intake appeals
to you. The advantage here is that you don't have to print
out a twenty-page list of all the products in the world
that contains caffeine. You just merely need to exert
control over when you take in caffeine and how much you
ingest. Once you establish that control, however, you can
practically kiss your migraine goodbye.

This method involves the process of making sure you receive
doses of caffeine. Caffeine restriction works best if you
set out a pattern that you can intake the caffeine at
regular intervals. Coffee and tea rely on caffeine infusion
methods and therefore aren't the best method of ingestion
in this particular method. Because of the diffusion, your
caffeine amount varies significantly from cup to cup.
Ideally, you should purchase either caffeine tablets or
soda. Using these gives you much more precision over
controlling the amount of caffeine you are actually taking
in.

You can find caffeine tablets that contain 100 mg or 200 mg
per dose. Save yourself a little money by purchasing
generic rather than brand name tablets. As for soda, the
amount of caffeine varies somewhat with Mountain Dew on the
high end, though if you want to take the trouble to search
them out you can also find higher-dosage soft drinks
specifically designed for your tastes. For instance, Jolt
Cola!

The following caffeine amounts are found in 12oz servings
of these soft drinks:

1. Mountain Dew: 55 mg of caffeine
2. Coca-Cola: 34 mg of caffeine
3. Diet Coke: 45 mg of caffeine
4. Pepsi Cola: 38 mg of caffeine

Once you have decided how you are going to go about
ingesting the caffeine, the next thing to do is make sure
you keep a detailed journal of your caffeine intake. Keep
an accurate record of the date and time you take the
caffeine, the amount of the dose, how you ingested the dose
(tablet, soft drink,medication, etc.), the time of dose and
the amount of dose, etc. Also note any headaches you get
and be sure to include such information as date, duration
of headache, severity, etc. If you don't see a change
immediately, try altering it a little by either changing
the times you ingest the caffeine or the amount. And make
sure you keep to the regimen once you've found one that
words.


----------------------------------------------------
Steven Godlewski is a self-made millionaire and is
currently working with the staff at PillFreeVitamins.com He
has an extensive background in nutrition as well as other
health related fields. For more health-related articles or
2 FREE bottles of Liquid Vitamins see their website at:
http://www.pillfreevitamins.com SEE Video at:
http://www.emii-dcf.org

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