Headache Remedies: Top 11 Tips for Headache Relief

Hey, guys. Dr. Josh Axe here along with Jordan Rubin. Welcome to Ancient Medicine Today. We're so excited for you to be here with us. And hey, if you're new to the show, we want to welcome you and let you know we come every 5 days a week. We're talking about how to naturally heal your body using natural remedies such as diet, essential oils, herbs, and natural treatment protocols here as part of the show. And on today's episode, we're going to be talking about The top 11 headache remedies. And Jordan, there are a large number of people that struggle, I would say millions of people, especially in the U.S., that struggle with headaches on a regular basis. Now, there's lots of different types of headaches from migraines to cervicogenic headaches to tension headaches, but there are many of the same treatments. And so you're going to see great results following the tips we have today. Also, every week on the show, we talk about food. Food is medicine, and we'd ask you today to take a minute and help us spread the message. I guarantee you by sharing this information, you're going to help transform lives. So take a second right now and punch that share button, click that like button, help us spread the word. So Jordan, why are so many people getting headaches today? What are some of the root causes?

Well, first of all, I can tell you that a headache is not an aspirin or acetaminophen deficiency, right? And that's not why we get a headache. There are a lot of reasons, we're going to go into some of those. I actually think the number one reason for headaches, and my kids know this very well, is dehydration. And I'll give you a headache remedy when we're going through this that works like 90% of the time. It's funny, my kids will come and say, Dad, I have a headache and I already— I don't want to give it up, but I'll tell you in just a moment.

Yeah.

They've already tried it, so they know a little bit of that. But it's interesting how headaches are a topic that affects everyone, and I've never done a poll or a survey, but I'm guessing that everybody has had a headache, right? And I have headaches, not very often, thank God. I have relatives who have had migraines to the point where they're carried out in a stretcher, they're down for days. I mean, horrible stuff. So migraine headaches, cluster headaches, whatever you call that other kind of headache, which sounds super scientific. I've never had one of those, I don't think. But you're right, tension headaches, it goes sort of to jaw pain, sinus headaches.

Yeah.

That I do get sometimes. You know what's the worst? I almost always, when I have a sinus headache, then I fly. Like 30,000 feet in the air is how I treat my sinus. Isn't that the worst? I mean, there are times when you're landing and you have that sort of sinus headache that's here and here that you just want to punch the seat in front of you. But anyway, headaches are common and I believe you can get rid of so many of them without having to grab for that bottle of pills.

Yeah, absolutely. And by the way, we are live right now with Ancient Medicine Today and we'd love to hear from you. Let us know right now. We've got it pulled up here on Facebook and YouTube. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know the city you're from, the state you're from, and the country you're from, and we'd love to say hey to you here today. All right, we've got people joining from all over the world right now. We have Pia Lekku watching from Finland. Hey, Pia, thanks for joining us here today. We have Julie Larson watching. We have Tracy Hall from Dillon, Colorado. Nanette Belgian said she just shared this live video. Nanette, thanks so much for being on mission with us.

Awesome.

We have Sandy Lee Reynolds watching from Gig Harbor, Washington. We have Tanisha Yvonne watching from Arizona and Zolata Zaid watching from New York City, New York. Guys, thanks so much for being with us today. So we're going to dive in and talk about some of these remedies, but again, there are multiple causes of headaches, Jordan. And so we're going to get into many of these, everything from food sensitivities are a big one. We'll talk about tension in the neck, tension in the jaw, poor posture, all kinds of things we're going to do. But number one, Jordan, here, this is a nutritional deficiency a lot of people have today in magnesium.

Magnesium is responsible for hundreds of different enzymatic activities in our body. And people— calcium gets a lot of credit as an important mineral, magnesium is so important. And when it comes to headaches, not only do you need to To have your proper levels of magnesium from foods such as greens, plant foods are really good sources of magnesium, animal foods to a lesser extent, but taking magnesium is great. You know what's great for a headache? Magnesium oil.

Oh, yeah.

You know what's pretty cool?

Awesome.

It's not an oil. It's actually sort of like an extract of seawater minus the salt, feels oily, but that is a great way to ease a headache. It's very absorbent and you put it on certain areas of the body, you put it on the temples and especially on the neck, and if you put it on your larger portions of your body, your legs and your arms, it'll help you absorb magnesium. Another way to get magnesium is an Epsom salt bath, which is also great for headaches, especially when combined with essential oils. So magnesium is a mineral where deficiency symptoms can include headaches.

Absolutely. So magnesium, again, the great relaxation mineral. Number 2 here is a gluten-free diet. Now, this can also go with other food sensitivities, but if you're consuming gluten, it can cause an inflammatory response in the body. Many people today, in fact, Some numbers show about 1 out of 7 people are gluten intolerant. And I know, Jordan, for you and I, we believe that sprouted grains and lacto-fermented grains that are ancient can be much better for our health, but a lot of people today are going to have gluten sensitivities. So again, gluten is one of the biggest ones. Sometimes it can be casein and dairy though. There can be other things, but if you have a food sensitivity, it can absolutely be causing a headache. And so one of the things you want to do if you get a headache, You want to go and start tracking what you're eating on a daily basis. Was there something you ate that meal before your headache came on that is a potential trigger? Again, certain grain products, especially gluten, dairy, food additives is another big one that can cause some form of reaction. So again, and there are some testing that can sometimes be beneficial, IgG testing, some IgE, but the best way to really know is to start tracking. is by listening to your body. Now, Jordan, this next section here, you and I both love essential oils. And by the way, we'd love to hear from you if you have ever used essential oils for a headache, neck pain, or any type of pain or discomfort. Let us know the essential oil that you used and the results you saw with using essential oils. Jordan, here are 2 of your favorites, peppermint and lavender.

Absolutely. Lavender is the best. You want to rub it on your neck, you want to rub it on your head. You can even take lavender internally, especially if it's organic, a couple of drops.

Yeah.

Very good to ease anxiety. Diffusing it, rubbing it in your hands, smelling it right out of the bottle, rubbing it on your feet, those are all great things to do. And when you're getting magnesium in the form of an Epsom salt bath or applying magnesium oil, lavender is great. And peppermint, got to be careful applying peppermint because it's very strong, so you want to be careful on the eyes. And I've made the mistake of putting Oils like that on my head that then came down my face, you know the rest. Peppermint is awakening, but that combination smells great and I do believe it helps with a headache. Here's what you alluded to that I want to mention or clarify. Writing things down is really important because people that have cluster headaches or migraines, I think it's important to know their frequency and the severity.

Yeah.

So, I would journal this because here's why, when someone has a headache, Especially if they don't want to do something, you hear about it, man, I would, but I just have this headache. My kids are great at this. Oh, you know, I just really have a headache. I would, but I have a headache. We don't see people going around saying, I don't have a headache today. You don't know when you don't have one.

Yeah.

It's really sort of on or off, and then of course, if you've got migraines or cluster headaches, they can be severe or minor. But start journaling, and I'd love to see a week-over-week or month-over-month basis if you can reduce the severity. And the frequency of headaches, and essential oils are a great way to do it. I think certain chemical fumes can cause headaches, essential oils can help them go away.

Yeah, totally agree. What I'd love to see with peppermint and lavender, what I would do is I would do a few drops, typically 3 drops of each. Now, you can do them neat straight on the skin, but right on your hand and rub them wherever the pain and discomfort is, especially though That upper part of the neck where your neck meets the base of your skull, and also on your temple area and forehead, rubbing those essential oils on in that area or doing a great mixture of magnesium oil with peppermint and lavender, what a great combo for that. And sometimes even taking a warm compress or hot compress on it for 1 minute, holding it on there, can help you actually feel the results even faster. Now, number 4 here, Jordan?

Chiropractic care.

Now, chiropractors really deal with misalignments of the spine, and this can absolutely help headaches. There was a medical study, Jordan, where chiropractic was more effective than medications at the treatment of headaches.

Yeah.

And so chiropractic, tried and true, absolutely probably the number one natural treatment, holistic treatment when it comes to headaches. Now, one of the big things, Jordan, we know that can cause headaches is sitting at a desk all day and poor posture. You know, a lot of times people don't realize this, but when someone's looking forward, there should be a curve in the neck at 45 degrees. And really, your ears should be right over your shoulder. Most people today, yeah, most people today though start to look down and get their head forward and they sit like this all day. What that's doing is putting tension on all of these posterior cervical muscles, okay, these muscles in the back of your neck causing tension and muscle spasm. So again, if you've got poor posture, seeing a chiropractor, oftentimes they can prescribe Rehabilitative exercises, some of the best things to do, Jordan, I know I've been going to the gym lately and seeing a lot of people in there, especially all the guys, it's like it's all chest and bicep and no back. I mean, you want to be doing things like rows and pull-ups and reverse flies, things where you're really working those back muscles, opening yourself up, getting up from your desk every hour, walking for just a couple minutes, staying loose. But again, seeing a chiropractor can have great results. In helping you overcome headaches.

Absolutely. We're here at Ancient Medicine Today talking about 11 natural headache remedies. And guess who needs to hear this? Everybody, because you've had a headache and you're going to have another headache. We want to make sure that they're less severe and less frequent, and we want to help you get rid of a headache quick. So if you're someone who has headaches and wants to overcome them, let us know, and more importantly, if you know somebody who has headaches, and there's people where it completely disrupts their life, share this message. We do these live videos, Ancient Medicine Today, to transform your health while helping you use food as medicine. I just thought of these top 11, we left one out. My number 1 treatment for a headache is getting a babysitter.

That's pretty good, Jordan, I like that. All right, we're getting a few great comments here from people. Heather Shan says, I love essential oils and I use rosemary scrub. And it really helps clear up my sinuses and sinus headaches using rosemary oil. I also use peppermint and lavender with that. Heather, great idea. I love that comment. All right, number 5 here, Jordan. You know something about herbal formulas. I know that you've formulated hundreds and hundreds of products using herbs. Talk about feverfew and butterbur.

Absolutely. I think butterbur is the most effective herb for migraines, also good for seasonal allergies. Feverfew is more good for tension headaches, but if you have migraines, you owe it to yourself to take butterbur. You want to use a butterbur extract. You can certainly make a tea, but it's not easy to find bulk herb of butterbur.

Yeah.

But it is really strong in reducing headaches. And I've seen some research that shows a significant response for chronic migraine sufferers simply using a butterbur extract supplement, and they compared it to various other migraine medicines.

Wow.

It worked by itself and in combination with the medicine. The medicines are rough.

They are.

I mean, I'm thinking of some right now. They can be really rough and they cause dramatic side effects, but people with migraines are desperate. Migraines cause missed work, lost jobs, and I know there's athletes, the Football Hall of Fame balloting is coming around, there's one whose career was cut short due to migraines and was one of the best running backs of all time when he played. So, it's absolutely disastrous.

Yeah.

Butterbur and feverfew are worth a try if you've got chronic migraines.

Awesome. Great advice, Jordan. Number 6 here, B complex. And let me say this quick, you know, we appreciate all of you taking the time today to watch the show. Remember, every week we talk about food is medicine. Hey, help us spread that message right now. There are millions of people that are suffering with headaches that need to know this information. So take a minute right now, punch that share button, click that like button, help us spread the word. Now, B complex is full of many different types of B vitamins. to B12, one of the most important B vitamins is vitamin B6 as it really helps support circulation and the opening up of your arterial system. And so again, a lot of times that lack of blood flow, lack of circulation— in fact, Jordan, I've known plenty of people who said, oh, I drank coffee or I had caffeine and that helped.

Absolutely.

I exercised and my headache went away. You want to increase your circulation. B complex, specifically B6, can help with that amongst boosting your energy and many other benefits. So B complex or certain B vitamin deficiencies can absolutely contribute to headache symptoms.

Right. And we didn't talk about this, but you can have a headache due to toxins being released. You know how I know that? Go on a fast and see how your head feels.

Yeah, correct.

Because when your body eliminates toxins, you feel yucky, and I've heard it described as a toxin headache. Number 7, bone broth. Now, this is interesting because There is a way to make bone broth that could actually trigger headaches. If you're cooking bone broth for 24 to 48 hours, which is what we recommend, it can in some people create a histamine reaction and cause headaches. So, if you're prone to headaches, bone broth is still great, but make a hotter— so a hotter temperature. So, instead of bringing it to a boil and then reducing to a simmer, keep it higher on the flame for a shorter period of time and it can actually help headaches. Mainly due to hydration and the powerful nutrition in bone broth. So adding bone broth to your diet also helps with your gut, and many headaches or chronic headaches are caused by hyperpermeability of the gut, also known as leaky gut syndrome.

Yeah, absolutely, couldn't agree more. Number 8 here, now Jordan, this is one you've talked about a lot, stay hydrated. I'll give you the floor here.

Awesome, I get 2 in a row. So this is the remedy of all remedies. Now I learned this from a Dr. Feridun Batman-Gelij. Now I'm really excited because I can pronounce it.

His name is Batman too, that's—

It's awesome. Now, he was a prisoner of war in Iran. This is an amazing story. And he, as a medical doctor, was a prisoner and he would hear the cries and screams of inmates. And he developed over 4 years protocols to cure peptic ulcers and headaches using tap water. And he developed certain systems and protocols. His first book was Your Body's Many Cries for Water, and then my favorite title, You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty.

Wow.

So, here's a headache remedy that I learned from him, adapted it a little bit. When you have a headache, drink 8 ounces of water. Room temperature is probably better, but— and drink it quickly, don't sip on it. Set your timer for 10 minutes and repeat. So you drink 8 ounces of water, not anything else, just water. Don't eat anything in between. 10 minutes later, if you still have a headache, drink it again. Then go for some of these great treatments.

Yes.

But could you imagine if you don't really have a headache, you're just dehydrated? There's no doubt that your body works hard to remove things that don't belong, but in the absence of hydration, it struggles. So this is a good tip and I want to hear from you. If you're somebody who uses the water cure for headaches, let us know about it. Hydrotherapy is great in general.

Oh, yeah.

Using hot and cold showers, compresses, we could talk about that with essential oils, but 8 ounces of water right away, following 10 minutes later, then try a natural remedy. Don't grab medicine first. I promise you, your headache is not an aspirin or acetaminophen deficiency. It is not. So thank you for giving me that one.

Oh yeah, great comment here from Ashley. She said, hydration is very important to prevent headaches. Rhonda Goddard says, aloe vera juice works great as well. I've noticed it instantly helps my headaches. Great thoughts and comments here, Jordan. You know, one of the things too is staying hydrated. I think I see this a lot when I worked in clinic, seeing a lot of kids because a lot of them were drinking so much soda so often. So especially for soda drinkers, And coffee drinkers, I think they can become dehydrated even easier with some of the things they're consuming every day.

Absolutely.

Number 9 here, taking a detox bath is great for headaches. We call this a detox or healing bath. Jordan alluded to this earlier when he was talking about essential oils. Taking 1 cup of Epsom salts, taking 20 drops of essential oils like lavender and peppermint, other good ones can be chamomile is another great one. And soaking in the tub for 20 minutes is tremendous. It helps reduce stress. And really, this is very, very good especially when it comes to tension headaches that can start in the neck or jaw area, relieving those. So again, 20 minutes soak in a hot bath with essential oils and Epsom salts goes a long way.

Absolutely. Stretching and moving. You know what's really frustrating? I occasionally, and this is probably once a year, get a headache where when I stand up, it's like someone's punching me multiple times, like that kind of... You have this hollow head, boom, boom, boom, and when you stand up, you're like, make this really scary face. So it's hard to get up and want to move around.

Yeah, true.

You know what would be great if you have a headache? Go outside, take your shoes off, and walk on the grass, or if you live on a coast, walk on the beach. We know that that lowers cortisol levels. We know that lowers certain adrenaline and adrenaline-like hormones, but that's really good. But if you can do some stretching and moving followed by a bath. That could be really, really good. Try to do it in a way that's easy. You know what you're doing is you're really sort of diffusing the circulation because when you have a headache and you're all balled up, everything is focused on that. Stretching and moving also takes your mind off things. That's part of it. Your headache's worse when you're wallowing in your headache misery. So get out and move a little bit.

Absolutely. We got a question here which is an excellent question here from Sandra. She says, can you drink organic— or can organic coconut water be used for hydration as well?

From a long-term standpoint, yes, but tried and true, the water cure works. I really recommend using just water, as pure as you can find, certainly filtered. I have not tried it with coconut water, but because there's sugars in it and it still would require more digestion, I'm guessing it's not going to have the same effect.

All right, great advice. Number 11 here, the cayenne muscle rub. Now, we've all seen the commercials where people are using something that is hot and cold in a cream Rubbing that on an area and getting relief. You know, that's really the benefit of when you're consuming a food that is hot and spicy versus a food that is cooling. Both of them, one constricts, one dilates. What you want to do is use them in combination. So you can actually do a muscle rub, and cayenne is great for this because cayenne is a very hot spice that opens up the arteries. Remember earlier we talked about one of the causes of headaches?

Yeah. Okay.

So the first thing I would do is lack of circulation. Cayenne, of all the things on this list, by far will promote the fastest and most immediate circulation in the body. What I would do is a cayenne muscle rub. Take a teaspoon of cayenne, mix it with just a little bit of coconut oil, make a paste, and rub it on an area. Now, another thing you can do is make your own warm, hot compound by doing cayenne pepper, drops of peppermint oil with coconut oil, and rubbing it deep on an area. Sometimes, again, you can do a hot compress on the area as well. But cayenne pepper, really a master when it comes to improving circulation and it's fantastic especially for tension headaches.

Absolutely. And there are a few things that we could have added to the list, adaptogenic herbs, ashwagandha, rhodiola, schisandra, fungi such as cordyceps and reishi, lowering long-term cortisol exposure is really great. A lot of people have headaches because of stress, thus my joke about getting a babysitter. But how many people say, you know, You're a pain in the neck. You're making my head hurt. My head hurts just thinking about it. Obviously, people's heads hurt a lot and following these 11 headache remedies can make a huge difference. One of them, water, is practically free.

Yeah.

And I promise you it'll work so often. So here's a good recap. What we want to start with is magnesium. Magnesium in the form of supplements, fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafies. Magnesium oil that you can spray or rub on, and Epsom salt in the bath.

Really good stuff. Going gluten-free is big, getting gluten, potentially casein, and other food triggers out of the diet. Here's the key, just eat real food, get rid of the processed stuff.

Peppermint and lavender essential oil are amazing. Lavender you can apply neat or straight up, you can breathe it in or inhale it, the olfactory nervous system will create peace and harmony with lavender oil. Peppermint's a little invigorating. Combine the 2 in a carrier oil such as olive, jojoba, or coconut and rub it where it hurts and you will be very glad you did.

Love it. Chiropractic care, one of the most powerful natural treatments for getting rid of both migraine and tension headaches. Again, seek out a wellness chiropractor for a treatment.

And if you're somebody who wants to naturally treat Remedy migraines, try butterbur extract or feverfew available at your local health food store. Ask the person working there which brand they recommend. This works so well in certain people.

Yeah, I'm going to hit on a couple here. B complex, again, we talked about B6 supporting circulation. B vitamins are also critical for liver detoxification. So again, getting these in your diet is great for both helping headaches but also preventing them in the future. And getting bone broth contains some really, really crucial Amino acids and also other things like hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, chondroitin, which are good for the joints, good for headaches, especially as Jordan mentioned, a broth that is cooked at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time.

Absolutely. And stay hydrated and more importantly, use the water cure for headaches. Drink 8 ounces of water as soon as you feel it, 10 minutes later another 8 ounces of water, don't eat in between. Maybe wait a little bit after that to eat. I really think dehydration is a big cause of this. And one thing we didn't mention I wanted to bring up, some people have headaches because of jaw misalignment.

Oh, yeah.

Chiropractic can help, but also seek out a biological dentist. So for me, I'm a tooth grinder. I don't think it's at night, Nikki hasn't told me that, but I clench. So I wear a night mouthguard to try to get my— everything aligned. Not that I've had headaches as a result, but those type of things can really cause issues. So make sure that your jaw is functioning in good shape.

Yeah, remember, take a detox bath at night, use some of those essential oils, lavender, chamomile, peppermint, with some Epsom salts in a bath to relax and relieve a tension headache.

And get up and move gently. Pull your shoes off, walk outside, connect with the earth. They call it earthing or grounding, helps to reduce stress. Also, take some adaptogenic herbs, rhodiola, ashwagandha, eleuthero, schisandra. They're really amazing.

Yeah, and try a cayenne muscle rub, again, to increase circulation in the area. Well, guys, this has been Jordan Rubin, myself, Dr. Josh Axe. Hey, don't forget, we're coming to you every single week live. If you're not subscribed, make sure you subscribe here to this channel. And also, hey, thanks for being on mission with us and sharing and liking this video. So we're coming to you every Monday through Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Central Time. Also, we do pop-ins sometimes on Fridays and on the weekends. So make sure you subscribe so you don't miss those. So guys, we've been talking about ancient medicine and the top 11 headache remedies. Hey, we hope you've enjoyed this video.