Chinese Cure for Migraine Headache

Written and verified by Holly Hazen

The Chinese cure for migraine headache believes that the imbalance of certain internal organs is causal for the many symptoms. Traditional Chinese Medicine would say let’s douse the 'Liver Fire Blazing Upwards' and focus on supporting the organ.

Once the organ gains its strength back, the symptoms stop.

Lack of effective painkillers eventually led me to search for a Chinese cure for migraine headache.

Ok, I know what you might be thinking - there is no such thing as a 'cure' for migraines. You are right.

But knowing that has never stopped me from searching for my own solution. I continued this search for an answer... possibly to my detriment sometimes... until a few years ago. So just fyi, about 26 years. 

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As I said, Chinese medicine sees a one-sided splitting headache or migraine as liver fire blazing upward! Along with this comes irritability, easy to anger, bitter taste in mouth, and constipation. Tick! Tick! Tick! Do these sound just like your migraine symptoms too?

One thing I thought was amazing when I was studying all this was how much the symptoms were so aligned with my own experiences. For example, the liver meridian opens at the eyes and my intense eye pain is my early warning signal for a migraine. I found that connection really fascinating! Like proof my eye pain was actually linked to the attacks.

The Chinese cure for migraine headache is holistic and considers many symptoms.

The whole body is looked at, felt and smelled! Yes... smelled. 

Headache can be the principal complaint of a wide assortment of patterns; they can be sudden in onset or short in duration or severe and long lasting.

These are all considered excess patterns.

Chronic mild headaches are considered a more deficient pattern, but you can be mixed!

Let's take a look at what you can do now.

Fall Asleep Before 11 pm

The time of day the Gallbladder and Liver are 'in power' is between 11 pm and 3 am.

Failing to sleep during these times may cause an imbalance that may contribute to increasing your migraines.

It's important to be asleep before 11 pm so your liver energy is not diverted from its important physical function of filtering your blood.

The liver must regenerate effectively to assist in reducing migraines.

Acupuncture, Food and Herbs

Chinese practitioners use acupuncture, herbs, food, Tai Chi and Qigong as tools of their trade.

Because this area is so big, here are the links to the pages I've already written for routines you can do at home for acupuncture and acupressure as that part of the Chinese cure for migraine headache:

•  acupuncture for migraines

•  migraine pressure point routine
  
  

I will just focus on foods and herbs that support organs here.

Food is considered to have powerful healing properties and is used as medicine. So here are some of my favorites and one absolute necessity for preventative maintenance over a migraine episode.

The Element is Wood and the Taste is Sour

If you want to experiment now using a Chinese cure for a migraine headache, here are the foods to choose to use as medicine.

Foods the gallbladder likes: wheat, chicken, peach, and leek. If you find yourself craving sour foods like lemons or pickles you may be feeding a wood imbalance or it may be trying to re-balance itself.

Even more supportive to the gallbladder are: artichokes, green beans, beetroot, carrots, endive, fennel, kale, mustard greens, nettles, olive oil, parsley, radish, sweet potato, nuts, beans, lentils and watercress. 

Spring Time and Stir Fry

Spring is Liver / Wood time so the cooking method is stir fry and use lots of green vegetables. Strawberries are good for the liver. More supportive are: asparagus, berries, buckwheat, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, leek, sesame seeds, quinoa and amaranth.

Chinese Cure for Migraine Headache - 5 Simple Recipes

Tip 1 – Umeboshi plums are a common Chinese cure for migraine headache. Umeboshi plums neutralize extremes, so ¼ eaten every 20 minutes at onset may help abort the attack. I personally like to drink a nice hot cup of kuzu (Japanese arrowroot powder) tea with an Umeboshi plum in it.

Depending on how I am feeling, I use 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of kuzu dissolved in a few tablespoons of cold water first and then boiled in a cup of water in a saucepan. Then I put the plum in or if I am feeling the need for sweet, I add just a little (1/4 t) rice malt or rice honey.

You can get them here, so you know you're buying quality umeboshi plums and kuzu. 

Tip 2 - An easy Chinese cure for migraine headache, for deep inside headaches, is heated apple juice or hot water with 1 tsp of rice vinegar or 1 tsp of barley malt or rice honey. I keep a jar of apple juice concentrate in my fridge so I can always make a hot apple drink.

Tip 3 – Even better to reduce liver stagnation try: 240 ml hot water, with 1 tablespoon of apple vinegar. If you live in a hot climate or experience hot flushes, try fresh lemon juice as it is considered cooler than vinegar.

Tip 4 – Michio Kushi in his book Basic Home Remedies suggests Daikon Tea _{(p. 23)}. A Daikon is a mild flavored Japanese radish and looks like a large white carrot. Michio's recipe uses dried Daikon.

• Shred the Daikon and if it fills one cup - add four cups of water.

• Simmer the shredded root for 15-30 minutes and right at the end of cooking add a pinch of sea salt. You can also use kombu, or Umeboshi plum instead of sea salt. Do not add sweet to this drink, it is already Yin.
  
  

Tip 5 – The Chinese herb for migraine is Corydalis – Yan Hu Suo. It is an analgesic and has been used as a Chinese cure for migraine headache for centuries.

Chinese herbs come in the dried raw form, an alcohol based extract or tablet form.

I can recommend getting quality powder, pills or granules from Amazon if you can't find the raw herbs locally (just click on the links). These work well (not the alcohol based extract so much).

The dried raw herb is boiled and drank as a tea. 5-10 grams per day is a normal dose.

I find pill form or extract crystal granules to be best because of the bad taste of the tea and by providing a more reliable measured dose. Although, I grew to love my raw herb tea despite the taste.

• 1 gram of extract crystals equals 5 grams of raw herb. 

You might want to experiment and start with the lower dose first and see how effective it is for you. Currently there are no known drug interactions with Corydalis, however, do not take it if you are pregnant.

Find Relief Using These Combinations

Experts are now saying the best way to cope with migraines is to use a combination of traditional and alternative therapies. Acupuncture for migraines and migraine pressure points are most commonly paired with traditional treatment.

It can pay to experiment. Here are the links to your ingredients again: 

• Umeboshi Plum

• Kuzu Root

• Daikon Radish (for the tea recipe at tip 4)
  
  

I do more food experiments in my migraine pain management course. Come have a look, the first module is free.

I hope you have a pain free day.

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_{Reference:  Kushi, M (1994) Basic Home Remedies. One Peaceful World Press, Beckett, Massachusetts. p. 23.}

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