Vitamin B6 Outlawed Soon?

"Big Pharma wants to market its own form of Vitamin B6 and call it a "drug."

Say what? OK, once again - "Medicure Pharma, Inc., has been studying the clinical effects of Vitamin B6 (which they call "MC-1") on humans. This is part of a process for receiving FDA approval on MC-1 as a "drug."

Well, that doesn't sound too bad. Let them do that; we'll still be getting B6 as a vitamin, you might say.

Not so fast, my gentle readers. Once B6 is classified as MC-1, a drug, a pharmaceutical, the only way to get it might only be through the conventional medical system.

Don't think it's a joke either. There were some precedents. Take red yeast rice, for example. It contains lovastatins, natural compounds that balance cholesterol levels. Big Pharma patented "statin" drugs and now is trying to outlaw red yeast rice on the basis of it being "adulterated" with drugs. Same thing will happen with B6. Oups, sorry, MC-1.

And here is why we, the migraine people, should care. Vitamin B6 plays an important role in the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. Serotonin levels are of outmost import for us. They are the reason the "stupid pill", Imitrex, along with the rest of triptans, exist. Not to mention all the anti-depressants we are prescribed as a "preventive".

If you use a computer, you are probably on a so-called Standard American Diet (you don't have to be an American for that, BTW). As such, you probably are not getting enough B6 vitamin with your food. The easy way to fix that would be to start eating healthy but who's got time for that. That's why you most likely than not need some B6, at least in your multivitamin. You take one, don't you?

The whole thing would have been laughable if it weren't true. While it's not too late, you can make some noise (quietly-like, please :P) and tell FDA how silly the whole idea is. On the outside chance that they would listen. Or sign a petition. Or buy a life-time supply of B6 while it's still available without prescription. It keeps.

Correction: Thanks to Megan for noticing this and posting the following in the comments: "The petition link actually takes you to the FDA's comment page on the pharma company's petition. So if you want to weigh in against this, look for the little yellow quote bubble labeled "add comments" in the "document details" section. You're not actually signing a petition, you're commenting on one."

link: Health Freedom Warning: Drug Company Seeks to Outlaw Vitamin B6 to Protect Pharma Profits

Foods for Better Concentration and Memory

Dr. Nicole has promised it to us here, and she has delivered:

What to Eat for better Concentration and Memory: The ADHD Diet

While we, the migraine people, might not have ADHD, we do have to deal with certain concentration lapses, some brain fogginess and even short memory loss. Be it from the pain or as side-effects of the meds we are taking, this fog-of-war can definitely be annoying.

According to Dr. Nicole, some simple changes in our eating habits might help. Here's the highlights of Do's and Dont's that she recommends:

Do's:

• Eat protein for breakfast
• Avoid a high carbohydrate lunch
• Determine if you have food allergies
• Enjoy caffeinated beverages in moderation
• Eat plenty of antioxidant rich foods
• Do eat a whole foods diet
• Do eat fat!
• Do add herbs in to your diet
• Do try some concentration exercises

Dont's:

• Don’t load up on sugar, sweets, and white refined bread products
• Don’t drink juice
• Don’t eat food coloring!
• Don’t eat only carbohydrates at meals

For the Why's to these Do's and Dont's, check out the complete article. As usual, it's well researched and referenced with a couple of nice twists; a good read.

And now, Dr. Nicole, we'll be waiting for that "Foods for Migraine Relief" article (hint, hint :P).

Related Article: Depression and Concentration Natural Remedies

technorati tags: Concentration ADHD diet migraine hacks natural supplements migraine migraines headache headaches

Calcium-Magnesium Balance in Pregnant Women with Migraines

Yours truly has been promising left and right to do a piece on the Magnesium supplements but the fact is - yours truly is lazy. In addition, as soon as any interesting bit of info that even hints on some additional insight into our common malady appears on the horizon, this adamant truth-seeker is on it like a yellow on a banana. And that happens way to often. Some call it an attention deficit disorder, yours truly calls it a scientific pursuit.

Why Calcium-Magnesium instead of Magnesium alone you ask? Isn't Magnesium what helps us while Calcium hurts us, by hardening the walls of the blood vessels? That's because those two compliment and counterbalance each other; they work in tandem. Many a migraine sufferer have tried taking Magnesium by itself only to find that a prolonged supplementation of it leads to feeling weak, depressed, nauseous, anxious. Etc, Etc, Etc...

However, the complete "Calcium-Magnesium Balance in Patients with Migraine and Comorbid Diseases" or however it's going to be called, will still have to wait. The grand experiment is still being performed; the data is still being collected; yours truly is still too lazy to write the whole thing down.

Instead, lets concentrate on one particular application of taking Calcium and Magnesium supplements; namely - should pregnant women who have migraines take them and the benefits and dangers involved.

The topic of pregnant women taking Calcium and Magnesium supplements has been discussed so much it's gotten stale. A wealth of information is available that is not exactly contradicting but does have some discrepancies that we'll mention later in the article.

On the other hand, the comparative amount of information on pregnant migraine patients is practically none-existent. It might be an indication that no research has been done on the subject. Or, it might simply mean that the same rules apply to all the pregnancies, migraine-affected or not.

Let's run away with the later idea and see what the "experts" say:

Magnesium:

Magnesium And Calcium Supplementation During Pregnancy - New Research

Findings show that magnesium supplementation had no effect on the course of the pregnancy or fetal development but some benefits were detected on the fetus during labour. Perinatal hypoxia during birth was less in the women who took the magnesium supplements when pregnant. This suggests improved perinatal outcomes were the result of regular, controlled magnesium intake for pregnant women who were deficient in magnesium.

10 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy By Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum

Magnesium deficiency is routine in the American diet and can increase the possibility of high blood pressure and seizures during pregnancy, a condition known as eclampsia. To prevent this deficiency, take 200 milligrams of magnesium in the glycinate form daily. Whole grains, green leafy and other vegetables and nuts are good sources of magnesium. Taking the proper amount of magnesium a day also helps to decrease the leg cramps and constipation often experienced during pregnancy. In addition, magnesium is critical for more than 300 other body functions and will generally help you to feel a lot healthier.

Magnesium Intake during Pregnancy, Kay B. Franz

The mean dietary magnesium intake of pregnant women is 35-58% of the recommended dietary allowance of 450 mg. Low-income women consumed 97-100 mg magnesium/1,000 kcal while women with higher incomes averaged 120 mg/1,000 kcal. Diets high in fat and sugar and low in whole grains, vegetables and fruits have a lower magnesium density. Magnesium content of water can also make a significant contribution to magnesium intake. Magnesium from prenatal supplements, if present, is seldom more than 100 mg. Additional supplementation is needed for adequate magnesium nutriture during pregnancy.

Magnesium: Preventing pregnancy complications

When you're pregnant, magnesium helps build and repair your body tissue. A severe deficiency during pregnancy may lead to preeclampsia, birth defects, and infant mortality.

Magnesium and calcium work in combination: Magnesium relaxes muscles, while calcium stimulates muscles to contract. Research suggests that proper levels of magnesium during pregnancy can help keep the uterus from contracting until week 35. Dropping levels at this point may start labor contractions.

Calcium:


Calcium supplements during pregnancy by Sue Gilbert, MS

Between the foods you eat and your supplements, you should aim to get around 2000 mg. of calcium daily, especially during the last trimester.
Calcium interferes with magnesium absorption, so take additional magnesium.

Calcium: Why it matters during pregnancy

Your developing baby needs calcium to grow strong bones and teeth, a healthy heart, nerves, and muscles, and to develop normal heart rhythm and blood clotting abilities. If you don't get enough calcium in your diet, your baby will leach it from your bones, which may impair your own health later on.

Calcium and Pregnancy

Calcium is used throughout your body. It helps keep your bones and teeth strong. When a woman doesn't get enough calcium from her diet, the body takes it from her bones.
Unfortunately, many women do not get enough calcium. The average woman gets only about 700 mg every day. Aside from not eating enough calcium-rich foods, many women rely too much on vitamin supplements. Supplements often contain less than one-third of the recommended daily amount of calcium.

To summarize - all the "experts" agree that additional supplementation with Calcium and Magnesium is essential for pregnant women. The above mentioned discrepancies mostly lay in dosages and sources from which to get those elements. That is not to say that the nitty-gritty of it is not important but it's a good thing to know that it is not dangerous to take Calcium and Magnesium when you pregnant. On the contrary - it's recommended.

As an additional bonus, expecting mothers who do suffer from migraine headaches might possibly reduce the headaches frequency by finding a proper Calcium-Magnesium Balance.

Yet do remember, my gentle readers, it's not a cure-it-all. It's not going to get rid of your migraines and each woman should first listen to her body, not just blindly rely on the "population-average" recommendations for vitamins and minerals needed for either migraine relief or healthy pregnancy or, as is in this case, both. With that said, every little bit helps and finding your own balance of Calcium-Magnesium Cycle might be just the first step of creating the harmony of universe that you represent for the baby who is now living inside of you.

In other words - sweety, it's OK. Stop freaking out and take you supplements.

technorati tags: Calcium-Magnesium Balance natural supplements vitamin supplements mineral supplements alternative migraine treatments pregnancy migraine migraines headache headaches

Depression and Concentration Natural Remedies

Does sound like those two things are at a cross purpose, doesn't it. When you want to "chilax", you don't really want to "concentrate" on stuff, and when you need more focus, relaxing isn't the first thing that comes to mind.

Well, lets think about it again. In a long run, depression will weaken and water-down your concentration. The loss of focus on things that need to be done or things that are important might lead to more depression later on. It's a self-feeding loop of misery.

Sounds familiar to some of you, my gentle readers? It should. This is one of the perks of having a migraine - feeling blue and blurry-minded.

There are plenty of pills that should fix us up. Except, until they come up with a mix of Prozac and Ritalin, it will still be the same never ending circle of annoying side effects.

I came across a couple of excellent articles recently that list some natural remedies, one for depression, another for improving concentration. While most of the items on the lists were familiar, I did trip over a surprise item or two.

Here's the list from "Dr. Nicole"'s The Nine Best Natural Remedies for Depression

• St. John’s wort
• Schisandra
• Passionflower
• B-vitamins
• Calcium/Magnesium
• Omega 3 Fatty acids
• 5-HTP
• S-adenosyl-Methionine (SAMe)
• Vitamin D

Not only I was not aware of Schisandra, I never thought one could overdose on Vitamin D. The whole write-up is extremely well documented and detailed with some pretty specific recommendations. It looks more like a research paper than a blog post. A must read.

The second list, Concentration Foods: 5 Foods That Help You Concentrate and Focus at Work? , comes from The Daily Minder:

• Ginkgo Biloba
• Ginseng
• Coffee
• Brahmi (Bacopa Monnieri)
• Fish (Omega 3 Fatty acids)

Notice the interesting overlap of Omega 3 Fatty acids in both lists. It would be interesting to read about it in more detail; questions like - "Do Japanese make anime because they eat more fish and if we start eating more fish, do we start making anime too?" need to be answered.

Brahmi is a new thing to me as well. Curiously enough, it's not only used to improve the "noggin-werkz" but also recommended for treating anxiety and stress.

There's also a nice observation on coffee - the "more often you drink coffee the less effective it can become". Caffeine is somewhat of a controversy among the migraine people and it's something we should pay attention to. As Megan recently pointed out, for migraine patients, it's recommended "limiting caffeine to one cup per day, and using more to treat migraines when they arise."

Do give all the above-mentioned articles a read-through, you won't be disappointed.

link: The Nine Best Natural Remedies for Depression

link: Concentration Foods: 5 Foods That Help You Concentrate and Focus at Work?

link: Caffeine Withdrawal and Weekend Migraines

technorati tags: Depression Concentration migraine hacks natural supplements migraine migraines headache headaches

Achieving Relief for Migraines Through Blatant Commercialism

Starting an article with "Achieve Relief for Migraines" will guaranty lots of attention. A "natural" cure to relieve you from one of the most painful ailment ever to plague the mankind? Yes, please, I'll take a six-pack.

The product itself is not really bad - it mixes up all the things that are "good" for you, like Calcium, Magnesium, vitamin D, Folate, Feverfew Extract, White Willow, St. John’s Wort and Vitamin B Complex into one pill. Not a bad idea; not a new idea either.

This convenient new packaging for the old snake oil is hardly the most offensive - looking at the ingredients, it could possibly help a few people.

Lets look at a bigger picture. There are maybe a few dozen natural supplements out there that could help at least a little, depending on the person. There are a few good advises to follow. Yet doesn't it yerk you sometimes to see how many people trying to make a buck on your suffering? Here's some facts:

• There's over 30,000 listings on Amazon for migraine.
• The ads for migraine on Google, MSN and Yahoo go on for miles.
• You can't search for anything migraine-related on the web anymore without stumbling over parasitic sites that shout in your face - "Revolutionary New Migraine Cure", "Eliminate Migraines", "Learn "Secret" for Migraines", etc, etc.
• In 2002, prescription sales of abortive and prophylactic migraine therapies $2.86 billion.
• In 2012, the prescription migraine market is predicted to double.

We'll try anything and everything. Some things might do something and others won't. It is indeed good to have options but wouldn't you rather have something that works?

Here's what seems like a good strategy - if they promise "Achieving Relief for Migraines" and get your money because you bought into that claim, it would seem only fair that they must deliver. If not - get your money back, brand the product as a snake-oil, publicly, if possible, and make sure those around you don't waste their time on it. It alone might not keep the migraine-profiteering in check but it's a start.


link: Achieve Relief for Migraines Naturally

link: Pharmacor -- June 2003