Cause of Headaches

It is not uncommon for almost everyone to suffer from mild to severe headaches from time to time. Identifying the cause of most headaches is not really difficult since most people experience them after long periods of tension and stress. Learning how to deal with these headaches appropriately is one of the first steps toward eliminating them altogether.

With this being said, when a person is having a tension headache or muscle contraction headache, the pain or muscle spasm that they suffer from can be traced to several common areas including the neck, scalp, and the face, which tightens and constricts with spasm and pain. Once identified, people can begin to look for a remedy for their problems by reviewing the latest research that has been provided by John Hopkins.

According to the information that they discovered in recent studies, these types of headaches can be completely eliminated by simply leaving out one ingredient, and that is sodium. Based on the details of this research study, researcher’s found the following:

Group #1 – consumed the lowest amount of sodium, which was 1.5 grams per day

Group #2 – consumed a medium amount of sodium, which was 2.4 to 2.5 grams per day

Group #3 – consumed the highest amount of sodium, which was 3.2 to 3.3 grams per day

When the study was concluded, the results showed that Group number 3 experienced the most headaches, while the Group #1 suffered with the least amount of headaches.

Even though many people are already familiar with the link between headaches, sodium and high blood pressure, there are some things that this study revealed that most people do not take into account. In specific, higher levels of sodium can be traced back to experiencing more headaches without the blood pressure of an individual being raised.

In fact, there are other contributing factors that can be eliminated from the normal higher blood pressure levels including age, race, sex and weight. To that end, if an individual is seeking to be healthier, while also eliminating the headaches minimize and get rid of the entire heavy salt intake.

Cause of Headaches and how to slash the salt

Slashing the salt may not be as simple as you may think. This is because the average person today consumes at least 3400 mg per day, while the intake for healthy people is normally around 2,300 mg. One of the main reasons for these ongoing problems is the hidden amount of sodium in packaged and restaurant foods, which adds up to approximately 75%. With this being true, what can you do to ensure you follow a healthy diet without all of the sodium.

Listed below are some great tips and recommendations that can assist with these efforts.

• Eliminate canned foods that have 1,000 mg of sodium and more by replacing them with soups that have been made from scratch.
• When boiling water for rice, pasta or hot cereal put a pinch of cardamom, ginger or a stick of cinnamon in it.
• Scramble eggs with dried thyme in place of salt
• Sprinkle fresh lemon juice on fish and vegetables for seasoning
• Before consuming, canned beans should be rinsed under water. Or, the individual can the sodium by cooking and simmering their own dried beans from scratch. One of the best options is to make a big batch of beans that can be stored away for eating at a later time.
• Grilling and roasting vegetables brings out its natural flavors.
• When cooking turkey and chicken, add lots of chopped herbs, like garlic, onions and shallots.

What causes headaches and what to do when a headache does appear

By following the tips and recommendations listed above, people can lead a much healthier lifestyles without all of the unnecessary headaches, heart disease, kidney problems and strokes. In fact, when a person leaves an old fashioned life styles that eliminates smoking, drinking alcohol, while also adding in the proper amount of rest, people can lead headache free lives.

Also, if an individual does experience tension headaches from time to time, they can find the relief that they need much quicker with a hot towel that can be pressed on the forehead, back or other areas where they feel tight muscle strain. The same process can be done for migraine headaches. However, the towel should be cold instead of hot.

Other helpful techniques include taking time out to relax. Relaxing is great for relieving tension headaches. People can also benefit greatly from drinking lots of water on a regular basis. Tension headaches can also be kept at bay by taking short walks. Further, it is also important for the individual to keep a diary of their headaches so that they can identify when they are most likely to occur (i.e. not enough rest, no sleep, no food, or the like).