HSI members agree: B vitamins are effective against migraine

“Have managed to completely stop my migraines by taking niacin every day.”

That note comes from an HSI member named Annie who dropped us a line after reading the e-Alert “B Rings a Bell” (5/11/09).

In that e-Alert I told you about an Australian study that showed how a daily mix of 2 mg of folic acid, 25 mg of B-6, and 400 micrograms of B-12 reduced headache frequency and pain severity in patients who experience migraine with aura.

Researchers believe that reduced homocysteine levels may have been the key to migraine relief.

Another HSI member named Ruth wrote to say that she too reduced chronic headaches by taking a B vitamin supplement.

Ruth: “With regards to B vitamins, I remember Adele Davis in Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit said first of all to take the complete complex. She also said that sugar depletes B vitamins in the body. Some years later I read that B vitamins keep the homocysteine levels down. Doesn’t it make sense then to consume small to moderate amounts of carbohydrates (which turn to sugar) and to eliminate sugar as much as possible to keep homocysteine levels low?”

That makes perfect sense, Ruth. Especially when simple carbs from highly processed foods are avoided.

You can read more about the migraine benefits of B vitamins (as well as other non-drug therapies that reduce migraine frequency) in “B Rings a Bell.”