Migraine – Part 3

In my last blog article, I started to explore how every day food choices and medications were having an adverse impact on our magnesium levels.  I now want to take a look at what we drink and ageing. 1. Cola drinks Most dark colored soft drinks contain phospates, which actually bind to magnesium inside the digestive tract making it unavailable to the body. 2. Caffinated drinks The kidneys regulate the level of magnesium in our body.  Caffine found in tea and coffee caues the kidnesy to release extra magnesium. 3. Alcohol Alcohol increased the excretion of magnesium by the kidneys. 4. Ageing Finally if the list wasn't long enough, we need to add one more thing that we can't avoid, getting older.  The over 55's are particularly vulnerable to low magnsium.  Magnesium metabolism may be less efficient as we grow older as changes to the GI tract and kidneys contribute to older adults aborbing less and retaining less magnsium. References Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. New York: Ballantine Books; 2007. Weiss GH, Sluss PM, Linke CA. Changes in urinary magnesium, citrate and oxalate levels due to cola consumption. Urology 1992;39:331-3 Brink E. J., Beynen A. C., Dekker P. R., Beresteijn E.C.H., Meer R. Interaction of calcium and phosphate decreases ileal magnesium solubility and apparent magnesium absorption. The Journal of Nutrition. 1992; 122:580-586 Seelig M, Rosanoff A. The Magnesium Factor. New York: Avery Books; 2003 Heaney RP, Rafferty K. Carbonated beverages and urinary calcium excretion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001; 74:343–347 Irwin R, Rippe J. Irwin and Rippe’s Intensive Care Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2008 Bernstein A, Luggen AS. Nutrition for the Older Adult. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2010.

This week it has been widely reported in the press that Hector Sants is taking time off to recover from stress and exhaustion.   While it is fantastic that he is getting the time and space he needs to recover his health, it reminded me of the importance of looking after ourselves.  So today I wanted to share my top tips for building your resilience. I say building resilience, as the key to good stress management is to build the emotional and mental strength to know that you are OK, even if you don’t feel fully in control of your situation.  While I encourage everyone to manage their time effectively, take control of what you are able to, there are times when we simply have to accept there are things we can’t control.  I was reminded of this myself this week when my landlady told me she would like me to move out by the end of the year, so her spare room is available for her cousin in case he needs it.   This came as a big shock given that I only re-located to London in August.  So while yes it was a shock, it is annoying to have to move again so quickly, I am very aware that I have the resilience to cope with moving again. So what helps build resilience?

1. As I already said taking control of what you can control and accepting what you can’t control.
2. Building a supportive network of friends to who are able to listen when you need support is essential, the old adage a problem shared is a problem halved is true.
3. Be active, whether it’s simply going for a walk in the park or going to the gym.  Physical activity helps us feel mentally stronger and helps clams us emotionally so we are able to see the root cause of our problems so we are able to find effective solutions.  I find going for a walk in a park, clears my mind and gets my creative juices flowing so I can calmly deal with my problems.
4. My next tip may seem rather strange but volunteer or do some kind of community work.  Being around people who have more challenges helps us put our problems in perspective.  For example talking to someone who is dealing with the challenges of cancer really put my needing to move again into perspective.
5. When we feel really in a rush and under pressure it is very tempting to reach for alcohol, coffee or chocolate, but in the long term these don't offer real solutions.
6. In the spirit of keep it simple, stupid, always remember that deep breaths helps the body to relax and help you to let go of whatever mental angst is going on.  When you get busy or anxious it is common to breath very rapidly from the top of your chest.  Putting your hand on your belly, and try breathing in for a count of three and then breath out for a count of three - with the aim of seeing your hand move as you breath deeply enough.
7. Remember Reiki is great if you feel all over the pace  and jaded, while massage helps release all those tight achy shoulders.

In part 1, I explored what pain was, the pain response and briefly explained how reflexology helps manage pain. Much anecdotal evidence shows the benefits of reflexology in pain management and several studies indicate successful treatment outcomes including pain reduction. (See references at end of article). However I would like to focus on one recent study by Dr Carol Samuel and Dr Ivor Ebenezer of University of Portsmouth as this is the first time Reflexology has been scientifically evaluated as a study for acute pain.  The results indicate that reflexology may be as effective as pain killers for common conditions such as osteoarthritis, backache and cancer. Participants attended two sessions, in which they were asked to submerge their hand in ice water. In one of the sessions they were given reflexology before they submerged their hand, and in the other session they believed they were receiving pain relief from a Tens machine, which was not actually switched on.  The use of the Tens machine is equivalent of a sugar pill in drug trials. The researches found that people felt about 40% less pain, and were able to stand pain for about 45% longer, when they used reflexology as a method of pain relief. So if you are in pain now, by not book a reflexology session. References Booth L (1997) Vertical Reflex therapy: results of a reflexology trail in a Bristol residential home for elderly Khan S, Otter S and Springett K (2006) The effects of reflexology on foot pain and quality of life in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report, The Foot 16 pg 112-116 Brown CA and Lido C (2008) Reflexology treatment for patients with lower limb amputations and phantom limb pain: an exploratory pilot study, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 14 pg 124-131 Hughes CM, Smyth S and Lowe-Strong A (2008) Reflexology for the treatment of pain in people with multiple sclerosis: a double-blind randomised controlled trail, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14(1) S1-S109